Beads of Joy Blog II (2025 - 2026)

The Lord of the Sabbath and Every Day A Reflection on Mark 2:23-28 In today's Gospel, the Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples are picking grain on the Sabbath. To us, this might seem like a trivial complaint, but to the Pharisees, it represented a serious violation of God's law. Jesus responds by reminding them of David, who ate the sacred bread reserved for priests when he and his men were hungry. Jesus isn't dismissing God's law; he's revealing its true purpose. The Sabbath was given as a gift to humanity, not as a burden. God created rest for our benefit, to restore us and draw us closer to him. When Jesus declares that "the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," he's showing us that he has authority over all religious practices because he understands their deepest meaning. He knows that God desires mercy and relationship more than rigid rule-following. And if Jesus is truly Lord of the Sabbath, then he is Lord of every single day, Mo...

New Wine, New Wineskins:  A Call to Transformation A Reflection on Mark 2:18-22 (MLK Day) In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks of new wine and new wineskins, teaching us that the Good News He brings cannot simply be patched onto our old ways of living. The religious leaders questioned why Jesus's disciples didn't fast like everyone else, and Jesus responded with images that reveal something profound: God's grace is not meant to be contained by our rigid expectations. Just as new wine needs fresh wineskins to expand and ferment properly, the life Jesus offers requires hearts that are open, flexible, and ready to be transformed. This doesn't mean abandoning what is good and true, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not destroy it. Rather, it means allowing God's love to reshape us from within, making us new creations capable of holding the abundant life He pours into us. On this day when we honor Martin Luther King Jr., we see a powerful example of this Gospel principle...

Called to Witness to the Light  of Jesus Christ A Reflection on the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A The readings for this Second Sunday in Ordinary Time weave together a beautiful example of calling, witness, and identity. In Isaiah, we encounter the Servant who will be "a light to the nations," someone whose mission extends far beyond what anyone initially imagined. The prophet speaks of restoration for Israel, yes, but God declares this is "too little", the Servant's purpose reaches to the ends of the earth. This expansive vision of salvation prepares us for what we see in John's Gospel, where John the Baptist stands at the Jordan River and proclaims the truth about Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John witnessed the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove, and this sign confirmed what he had been told, that Jesus is the Son of God. John's entire mission was to point beyond himself to the One...

Responding to Jesus's Call A Reflection on Mark 2:13-17 Jesus walks along the sea and calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him. In that world, tax collectors were despised, seen as traitors who worked for the Roman occupiers and often cheated their own people. Yet Jesus doesn't hesitate. He sees Levi at his tax booth, calls him, and Levi immediately leaves everything behind. Then Jesus does something even more shocking: he goes to Levi's house and eats with a whole crowd of tax collectors and sinners. When the religious leaders' question this, Jesus gives them a truth that echoes through the ages: "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Today's scripture reveals the heart of our Catholic faith: Jesus came not for the perfect, but for the broken. He came for those who know they need mercy. The Pharisees, so focused on their own righteousness, couldn't understand why Jesus woul...

Faith of Our Friends A Reflection on Mark 2:1-12 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, word spread so quickly that the house became completely packed with people eager to hear him teach. Then something remarkable happened: four friends arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat, but they couldn't get through the crowd. Instead of giving up, they climbed onto the roof, tore it open, and lowered their friend right down in front of Jesus. What strikes us most here is not just the faith of the paralyzed man, but the faith of his friends. They believed so deeply that Jesus could heal their companion that they were willing to do whatever it took to bring him into the Lord's presence. This teaches us something profound about intercessory prayer and the communion of saints. The faith of our friends matters immensely, not just for themselves, but for us. We need people, close faithful friends, in our lives who will carry us to Jesus when we're too weak, too discouraged, or too spiritua...

A Leper's Bold Faith A Reflection on Mark 1:40-45 In today's Gospel, we meet a man whose body is ravaged by leprosy, a disease that didn't just destroy his flesh but cast him out from his community, his family, his very identity as a beloved child of God. Yet something extraordinary burns within this outcast's heart: faith. He doesn't ask "Can you heal me?" but rather "If you will, you can make me clean." He knows Jesus has the power; his only question is whether Jesus will choose to use it. And here we discover something beautiful about our Lord's heart. Jesus doesn't simply speak a word of healing from a distance, keeping himself safe and clean. No, he does something shocking, something that would have made every witness gasp: he reaches out and touches the untouchable man. In that moment before the healing even happens, Jesus is already proclaiming the Gospel. He's saying that no one is too broken, too sinful, too far gone to rec...

  Purity Through 2026 Series Series Introduction After much research, prayer, and deep reflection on the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, particularly his profound work Praxis Confessarii (Guide for Confessors), I felt called to write this series. The story that stirred my heart and sparked this work came from St. Alphonsus's book, where he recounts the tragic tale of a woman who appeared holy to all but died with a hidden sin that cost her eternity. This is not meant to frighten anyone, but to awaken us to a beautiful truth: getting right with God is the most important thing we will ever do in our lives. Heaven and hell are not myths or metaphors; they are eternally real destinations, and our choices today matter forever. We never know when our last day will come, which is why it is so vital that we embed these truths deep in our hearts and minds, preparing ourselves daily to meet our loving Father with souls washed clean. This series is an invitation to freedom, to mercy, and ...