Traumatised youth has become ‘a national emergency’
January 19, 2026
Wednesday January 21st: Who Are You Affecting?
January 21, 2026
The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Mark 2:23-28
We can often look without seeing. The Pharisees looked at Jesus’ disciples picking corn and saw lawbreakers – people who disrespected the law of the Sabbath. On the other hand, Jesus looked at them and saw hungry people feeding themselves in a perfectly sincere way. The sabbath is God’s gift to us. It was not made to be God’s burden.
What do we see when a mother says that she couldn’t come to Mass because the child was ill? What do we see when a street-dweller ventures into the church and someone gives her money? We should look beyond appearances to the heart of a person despite what we see. Jesus teaches that human need is far more important than any law/s.
We often act like the Pharisees and judge others by pointing out their mistakes. Jesus calls us to love better: to love greater. Rules and regulations are opportunities to show greater love. God wants mercy not sacrifice. This standard of Jesus still holds today.
