Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where you read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day! Let’s get started! Today is Friday, January 16th, and the Gospel reading is Mark 2, 1-12, and the scripture to reflect on is Mark 2, 5. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Child, your sins are forgiven. After reading today’s Gospel, I thought of two different stories.
One is from a little kids' book I remember my mom reading to me and my brother.
It’s called The Little Engine That Could.
It’s about a train that’s pretty small to be carrying a heavy load over a mountain.
You need a bigger engine to be able to climb up the mountain when you have a heavy load behind you.
But the little engine believed in himself and said, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, while he trudged up the mountain and made it up and over.
The other story I thought of was Finding Dory, the Disney movie.
She wanted to find her parents so badly, but has amnesia and forgets all the time.
But she repeats to herself to just keep swimming, just keep swimming, and it’s a reminder to her to keep trying to do what she needs to do, even if it’s harder for her because she forgets.
We meet five good friends.
We read that one of them is disabled, a paralytic, and the other four friends carried deeply for their disabled friend, and they tried to help with things he couldn’t do.
They were determined to do all it took to bring their friend to Jesus for healing.
However, when they arrived at the house where Jesus was staying in town, it was overflowed with people.
The whole town came to the house to see Jesus, and there was no room to squeeze inside.
Archaeologists who have discovered homes in Capernaum say the largest house might have only been one or two rooms and fit approximately 50 people standing close together.
Just imagine the whole town trying to gather in this simple house.
Instead of giving up, they figured out a way to just keep swimming.
Today’s saint of the day, St.
Joseph Vaz.
He was born 1651 and died 1711.
He’s the patron saint of Sri Lanka.
Joseph Vaz was born in the southwestern coast of India.
His parents were Catholic converts who belonged to the Brahmin caste.
Joseph was a bright student who learned both Portuguese and Latin and studied rhetoric, philosophy, and theology.
And from a young age, he was known for his devotion and would spend many hours before Jesus at the tabernacle.
Joseph was ordained a priest in 1676 with a group of clergy.
Joseph started religious orders patterned on the oratory of St.
Philip Neri.
He was well-respected and soon became a superior of the order.
Although he loved his priestly work, Joseph had a heart for the missions he longed to help Catholics on the island of Ceylon.
Now, Sri Lanka, the Dutch controlled the area and refused to allow priests to minister the people.
Nevertheless, Joseph obtained permission to go to the Ceylon and left disguised with a former family servant.
He barely survived the dangerous trip, but as soon as he recovered, he began to help people supporting himself by begging.
Dutch persecutions soon forced Joseph to move to the Canby region, an area still controlled by the Buddhists.
There was a Buddhist king who jailed him, but after gaining his respect, Joseph was released and continued to minister to the people.
Joseph died in Kandy among the people he had served with great love.
When the four friends saw that there was no way to get to Jesus, they thought hard about what to do till an idea came to let their friend through the roof into the house.
It seems like a strange idea, but they were like the little engine.
I think I can, I think I can.
When you feel like giving up, remember the four friends of the paralytic man.
Don’t give up.
If you face your problems at home or school or anywhere, bring your prayers to Jesus and trust in him.
Joseph lived a simple, poor life in imitation of Jesus with little thought for his own comfort of safety.
How can I strive to dedicate all my energies to doing God’s will in my life?
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, help us to trust in you even when we feel like we can’t carry on.
And help us to see to live a holy life that gives glory to you.
Saint Joseph of Vass, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back next week scattering more flowers.
See ya!