16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
Today’s readings all emphasize God’s love for us. In the first reading from the Book of Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 23, verse 1 to 6, we hear the word of God through Prophet Jeremiah saying, “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD.” In our second reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 13 to 18, St. Paul reminds us that it is through and in Christ Jesus and His love for us, that we who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.
Then in today’s gospel reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark, chapter 6, verse 34, Jesus reminds us of God’s love for us when He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, and His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He immediately began to teach them many things. Take a moment to think about how exhausted Jesus and His apostles were after a long day of ministry and evangelization that He told them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while,” but people were still coming and going in great numbers, that they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place to rest. But people saw them leaving and many came to know about it and still hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. But He and His apostles still ministered to them.
My dear friends in Christ, God’s love for us is infinite and His mercy endures forever as we can all testify to. Try to imagine your life today without God’s Love. Our creation was an act of Love. After the fall of Adam and Eve, our redemption through the death and resurrection of Christ was also an act of love. In order not to keep us lonely or feel abandoned, as an act of love, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to sanctify us, help us and be with us forever. Then through the Sacraments, God has continually shown us His love and mercy by bestowing His mercies, graces and blessings upon us. So what have we done to reciprocate this love? How do we reciprocate God’s love for us? We can reciprocate God’s love for us is by: (1) Repenting from our sins, which involves us going back to God. This means to sincerely and truly go back to God through a thorough and sincere examination of conscience, confession and doing penance for our sins.
(2) By being Obedient to God, which means doing what God asks of us out of respect, reverence and love for Him.
(3) By being Loyal to God, which implies a faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any challenge or temptation to renounce, abandon or betray God.
(4) By Practicing and living out God’s love through acts of charity, corporal works of mercy and spiritual works of mercy.
(5) By Deepening our faith in God through prayer, meditation and reading the Scriptures.
My brothers and sisters, as today’s readings remind us to love God because of His loves us, let us do so by repenting from our sins, by being obedient to Him, by being loyal to Him, by practicing and living out the gospel of Christ, and by deepening our faith in Him through prayer, meditation and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.
