2 Tm 1:1-8 OR Ti 1:1-5 Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10 Mk 4:1-20

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

I never really thought about how I came to be Catholic. It was just something I happily accepted growing up. As strange as it seems, I actually liked going to church as a child. It was the music that made church so fun for me. I just loved to listen to the sweet keys of the piano, or the loud hum of the organ coupled with the cantor and congregation singing along to the music. I also really liked trying to out sing my older sister, Sarah.  It was a pretty even match between us, but we were both out sung by one person every time: my father. My father does not necessarily have the best voice, but it is definitely the loudest, although not in an obnoxious way. He sings with so much appreciation and love for God that it is amazing. When he sings, he is proclaiming the Word of God without fear.

My family has played such a huge role in my faith development and is the reason I came to be a Catholic. My parents were obviously the ones who chose to have me baptized as a baby, but my family continued to incorporate religion into my life by going to church. The liturgy today calls my attention to how grateful I am for my family for being Catholic, so that I became Catholic. The first reading mentions how religious worship has traveled from our ancestors. “I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did.” This has passed through generations because our ancestors have “Proclaimed God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations,” spreading his Word so that future kin can take on the role of sharing God’s Word after their time on earth has ended.                       
However, if we do not hear his word, how will we share it with others? How will our future relatives believe in the wonderful works of God if we do not proclaim his Word? In times like today, I feel as though most people are “seeds in thorns”. We hear the Word, “but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things” prohibit us from allowing it to grow and be shared. We cannot “bear fruit” without putting our worldly problems and desires to the side and fully embracing God. If we want our children and grandkids to have the same beliefs and values in God as we do, we have to plant ourselves in rich soil. We need to put ourselves into a place where we will actually listen to God’s word and act it out in daily life.

A perfect place to plant our seeds is in the rich soil of church, where we can listen to the Word of God and proclaim it through song. So even if you are not trying to out sing your family members or friends at church like I did, remember to proclaim God’s Word loudly and without fear so all can hear.