In This Together

Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist

First Reading: 1 Peter 5:5B-14

Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for:

God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
The God of all grace
who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you
after you have suffered a little.
To him be dominion forever. Amen.

I write you this briefly through Silvanus,
whom I consider a faithful brother,
exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Remain firm in it.
The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son.
Greet one another with a loving kiss.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17

R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O LORD,
and your faithfulness, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can rank with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the sons of God?
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Gospel: Mark 16:15-20

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

NAB

Do you try to heap the weight of the world onto your own shoulders sometimes? Yeah, me too. And I get a sore neck to prove it.

Why? I try to go at it alone.

The burden becomes more than I can handle, becomes the weight of the world, precisely because I carry something I’m not meant to carry alone.

Look to Jesus. Was He truly alone in Gethsemane? Was He alone along the Way of the Cross? Was He alone as He hung there on the Cross?

God was with Him even in His darkest moment in Gethsemane. Several helped Him along the Way as He stumbled, repositioning His Cross so that He could continue His steps to Golgotha. Saint John, the beloved and faithful disciple, and Mary, His mother, were with Him until His last breaths as He hung, dejected on that Cross. He even made a friend in His suffering—the Good Thief—who reaches out to Him as he suffers too.

You were not meant to go at this alone.

“Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” But also: “know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.”

God is there in your suffering. But we are also in this together, sisters. As one part of the Body suffers, so does the rest. We carry each other along in this valley of tears, offering words of comfort, bringing meals, bandaging wounds, offering a listening ear, picking one another up as we fall along the way so we can make it to that Eternal Glory the Lord has waiting for us.

Don’t be afraid to reach out.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us all in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-5

God is there in your suffering. But we are also in this together, sisters.Click to tweet

What are you shouldering all alone? Reach out to our Lord. Reach out to a friend. Share that burden.

photo credit

Laurel Muff is a creator and appreciator of beautiful things. She resides with her husband and daughters in Northern California. You can find more about her here.