10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Bullet Points (Mark 3:20-35)

• Jesus performs his first exorcism. A huge crowd gathered around Jesus and his disciples. The family of Jesus came to take him away, thinking that he was getting crazy! In response, Jesus points out to them that family for him is not based on blood but on doing the will of the Father. Thus, if you do the will of the Father, you become a member of Jesus’ family.
• The Pharisees denounced Jesus for being in cohort with Satan. In reaction, Jesus patiently demonstrated how silly their claim was. He handled the conflict calmly—showing a deep tranquility which is an outcome of His peaceful state of mind and love. Do we handle conflicts in our lives calmly as Jesus did?
• “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness.” God’s mercy has no limits Rather, the refusal to accept God’s mercy offered through the Holy Spirit is the only sin that cannot be forgiven (#1864 CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH). To refuse God’s mercy is rejecting God to the point of no return.