In Matthew 6:7, Jesus instructs us, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”  Well, I don’t know if pagans babble, but I know I’ve been guilty of it.  I’ve noticed that it occurs mostly when I’m praying for my kids.  I catch myself reminding God, the Creator, of my kid’s names and telling Him exactly why I need these prayers answered and how.  I also pray over and over, and in many different ways, the same prayers for God and his “warrior angels” to help and protect them.  The most terrifying fear of any parent is losing their children or having them suffer.

I don’t think any of this “babbling” business is bad, just unnecessary.  There is a superstitious aspect to it.  Jesus says, “My father knows what you need before you ask.”  Well, maybe what I need is not what I want. 

The truth is that when we pray, our prayers go through Christ and are perfected by Him.  Have you ever been jealous of someone whose prayers sound so eloquent while yours sound like clunkers?  It doesn’t matter.  They all get purified and polished before they are offered to the Father.  A good way to remind yourself of this is to end your prayers “Through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

In Mark’s Gospel this past Sunday, a leper begged Jesus to make him clean.  Jesus touched him, curing and cleaning him.  Then, Jesus sternly warned him to “tell no one anything, but show yourself to the priest.”

Now, what does the cured leper do, instead?  He “publicized the whole matter.  He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.”  This is not the first time Jesus tells someone to keep their mouth shut and they disobey.  After Jesus cures a man of his speech impediment and deafness, he orders the man and the crowd not to tell anyone. “But the more Jesus ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.”  This leads me to wonder.  Did Jesus wink when he ordered silence? Otherwise, how could they disobey orders from the one who cured them? Did these people intuitively know that Jesus, in his goodness, would not take back his miracles because he was disobeyed?

No, more likely, these people just couldn’t contain themselves. How could they hide their joy and astonishment at what Jesus did?  Jesus, must have realized this, even though he ordered them to keep quiet. Perhaps Jesus, in his humanness, didn’t want events to move so quickly.  He must have had an idea of his ultimate fate, but understandably, wanted to delay it as long as possible.

“Do you complain a lot?” I remember being asked this question by a former spiritual director.  No, not me, I thought, in shock.  I’m not complaining, I’m just expressing my concerns.  At least that’s what I thought I was doing.

It hurt.  Here, I thought I was doing something good in pointing out everything that was wrong with the situation and wanted sympathy, a solution, or maybe just to vent.  But this person saw me as complaining.  I’m not a complainer.  My concerns are very important.  Well, even so, I’ve learned that there is a fine line between complaining and “expressing our concerns.”  All of us have blind spots and this is a common one.

When I look back on that situation, I still think that my concerns were valid, and I felt helpless to change anything.  I wanted this person, who had more authority than me, to be as outraged as I was. But, I did learn an important lesson in self-examination.  Now, before I share my “concerns,” I ask myself if this might rather be a complaint.  If it a complaint, and if there’s nothing I can do about it, or if I’m not willing to do anything about it, then maybe it would be better to just keep my mouth shut. Ouch, that hurts!

As a Christian Catholic, I take my duty to evangelize very seriously. And by evangelize, I don’t mean proselytize.  Rather, I am talking about what the great St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”  I try to do this by leading a life of integrity.  I try to be kind, caring, forgiving, a good listener, and live by the golden rule.  But if someone asks me about my faith, I am willing to discuss it without judgement.  Of course, none of us are perfect, and we all fall short in some way.

However, there have been times in my life when my kindness and goodness have not been well received.  Instead, my good will was met with hostility, suspicion and resentment. Try as I might, I could not connect with the folks in these environments.  I have concluded that there are some people in this world who just don’t like “nice people.” If, after much self examination and consultation with trusted loved ones to determine if I might somehow be the problem, I conclude that I am not, then I dismiss that environment as “rocky ground.”  Then, I move on. Sometimes, it is better to not waste your time and energy where there isn’t good soil for growth.  If you are not welcomed, it is often better to “shake the dust off of your feet” and walk away.  Your departure might be the only possible message to send.

When inspired, I will post my thoughts about the day’s Readings.

Loving tomorrow’s Gospel from Mark 3:20-3:21.  They said, “He is out of his mind.”

Jesus, casting out demons, curing the sick, speaking with authority, subverting the Pharisees is surely out of his mind.  Reading this Gospel, I am in love with Jesus again.  Have you ever done anything that would cause people to think you were out of your mind?  Well, I am contemplating spending money to go back to school to pursue a discipline that will not pay off financially.  Am I out of my mind?  Maybe.  But it feels like a calling and the pay off will be to help people by leading them to hope, peace, and understanding.  The reward will be in heaven and that lasts for eternity.