Deuteronomy 18.15-20 ･ Ps.95.1+2,5+6, 7+8 ･ 1Cor 7:32-35 ･ Mk.1.21-28
During one of the meetings and updating among the members of the committee on spirituality, we often call first division committee, of the two parishes I serve in the diocese, with other members of the same committee of other three parishes nearby, we had the chance to elaborate among ourselves the meaning of the evangelical counsels in our lives. The time was well spent with each one of them realizing that the evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty, obedience) that have long been strictly applied to the nuns, brothers, and priests in religious life are now openly shared among the faithfuls in the parish. While each one is made aware of the different paths of life we are in, married and unmarried alike, with some others embracing the life of single-blessedness, we have done it with respect and proper behavior, and each one with a truly listening ears and open heart.
Today we include in our prayers the sacredness of each one's vocation (to where God is calling each one and to where each one is responding to). May the same grace of God allow each one of us to focus on things not of the world but on things of what maintains our body and spirit in the hands of the Lord, and holy. May we continue to respond to the invitation of recognizing Jesus in our daily efforts and hopes in this world, and so recognize Jesus authority in our lives. May our faith always become the foundation of our concerns, thoughts, and decisions either we are married or unmarried.