June 2

Our Lady of Edessa

Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs
Today’s Gospel: Mark 12:13-17

Photo created by Google AI Image Creator.


They thought they had Him.

The Pharisees walked up to Jesus with a coin and a clever question, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? It was a trap wrapped in a compliment, and everyone in the crowd knew it. Answer yes, and you betray your people. Answer no, and you're a revolutionary. Either way, they win.

Jesus asked for the coin. Turned it over. Whose image is this?

Caesar's.

Then render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.

They marveled at that one statement, and He walked away.

What the Pharisees missed, what most people still miss, is the second half of that equation. The coin bears Caesar's image, so it belongs to Caesar. But you bear God's image. Which means you belong to God. Every minute. Every ounce of energy. Every conversation. Every decision about where your time goes.

Marcellinus and Peter understood this completely. When they were arrested and handed shovels to dig their own graves, they didn't waste a single breath arguing with their executioners. They used every remaining moment they had to preach. Their time belonged to God. So, they spent it that way right up until the last second.

I learned a long time ago that not everyone who approaches you deserves your full energy. Some people want a debate. Some want a drain. Jesus didn't take that bait either. He answered in one line and moved on. I try to do the same. I pray for the people I can't walk alongside right now. Then I turn back toward what I was made for.

Our Lady of Edessa has been drawing pilgrims to her shrine for centuries, people who made a deliberate choice about where their feet would carry them, toward her, not away from her.

Something to sit with today:

Whose image do you bear on your heart, and who do you belong to?




Rosary Man Jim 🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.

Location: Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA

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