Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 10, 2018 Cycle B
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Faith allows us to see what ours eyes cannot, the true reality beyond the surface. Our inability to see the unseen is because of original sin. At the beginning of human history, we were all wounded to the depths of our beings. However, we have the opportunity to heal ourselves from our brokenness. The path to returning to the truth of ourselves is to do God’s will.

Today’s first reading tells us what happened to man because of original sin. God is looking for Adam. Adam is afraid and has hidden himself. The serpent’s poison had distorted our first parents’ perceptions. They no longer saw God as a friend but as a feared opponent. They no longer perceived God, things and themselves as they truly are. The harmony of all things in God was lost. Adam and Eve now saw all things as separated from their origin, as if God and creation were detached from each other. What was seen no longer revealed what was beyond.

We have inherited Adam and Eve’s distorted perception of reality. We are mysteriously wounded in the depths of our hearts. It is difficult for us to see the true nature of things, as given by God, to find the harmony that dwells beyond the visible. However, although we are presently far from God, we are called to return to him through divine grace.

Today’s responsorial psalm is the prayer of a man who recognizes his tragic condition and pleas for God’s help: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication” (Ps 130:1–2). The human cry does not remain unanswered. In the refrain of the psalm, we hear: “With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.”

In the second reading, Saint Paul says: “We look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:18). Conversion means changing our perception of reality. We need to look at things in search of their meaning, to seek the presence of Christ in everything.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is rejected by some scribes who had come from Jerusalem and even by his own relatives. The former say that he is possessed by Beelzebul, while the latter declare that he is out of his mind.

They had Jesus right there in front of them but did not perceive his true nature. Blinded by prejudice, they saw his appearance but not his heart (cf. 1 Sam 16:7).

Jesus says that his family is whoever does the will of God: “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:25). The only other person besides Jesus to have done God’s will perfectly was the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Yesterday, we celebrated the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In Mary’s Immaculate Heart, there is no wound of original sin. The Fathers of the Church used to call her the New Eve. Through Mary’s “yes,” humanity has the opportunity to return to our original relationship with God. Her heart is a human heart, recreated by God’s grace. Mary’s heart leads us to Jesus’ heart, the center of the universe. In her unique way, she helps us do God’s will. We need to consecrate ourselves and our deeds to Mary’s heart every morning. We need to place all our concerns and projects into our Blessed Mother’s heart. Devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart renews our inner self, as Saint Paul says: “Our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16).

Let us pray for an increase of faith, that we may see the unseen. May Mary’s example and intercession help us to do God’s will under all circumstances! Amen.

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