Episode 25: Don't be discouraged! | The Word of the Lord with Fr. Rector

Father Rector shares his reflection on the Gospel (Mark 6: 1-6) for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. He mentioned: “The people around Jesus have seen and heard firsthand the teachings being presented by Jesus and yet they were not receptive of Jesus and his message. Because they were sizing him up; they were measuring him; they were putting him in a box…Despite of this sad episode though, the Scripture told us: ‘he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them…Then he went about among the villages teaching.’ This meant that nothing could stop Jesus from doing what needs to be done! That is to continue to proclaim the Kingdom of God, the reign of God, the love, mercy and compassion of God!” Father Rector continued by saying: “Do not be discouraged when in doing the tasks of bringing the Good News to those around us, we experience non-receptivity or rejection. Remember, our Lord Jesus himself had experienced being rejected and yet, he did not allow that to be an obstacle for him to fulfill his mission.”
Mark Macapinlac share what struck him in the Gospel, he said: “…the fact that even when Christ returned to his hometown to preach the Gospel, to work more miracles, that his very own people were the ones that doubted him…”
When asked if he had encountered any difficulties or challenges along the way of fulfilling his prophetic ministry, Mark responded by saying: “…in my own personal life, this particular Gospel teaching is so relevant right now…it saddens me a lot to see that there are a lot of people that I grew up with especially those in my family that no longer practice the faith…we (me and my wife) try to witness to the faith as much as possible and in the moment speak the truth of Christ and so often we find that…the ones we love the most seem to reject all the time. And we know that at the end of the day…our job is to witness to the truth of the Lord, to plant the seed and to let the Holy Spirit work within their lives. Maybe we just need to an example to them. Maybe down the road they are able to see how we live our lives…”
Father Rector responded, “if the people around us see that we are consistent with what we are doing because of our belief; because of our faith; then, eventually with their own accord and of course, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, there will be conversion that will happen. This is really God’s work, that we are called to participate. So, when we are feeling discouraged that the people around us seems to be not receptive or accepting of our message, then, we look at the life’s events of our Lord Jesus. He, himself had experienced rejection…”
Mark also shares his own joy in serving the Lord. He said, “The Lord has call me to serve in the capacity of serving young people. What brings me a lot of joy is seeing young people encounter Christ, most of the time, for the first time. And it allows me to relive the moments early on in my faith journey and it’s a reminder of how God’s love is unceasing and relentless…seeing how some of these kids become the catalyst for their entire family to become more faithful to Christ…”
At the end, Father Rector thanked Mark for his time, his sharing, and his commitment to support the church especially in the aspect of youth ministry. Watch and listen! Be inspired and encouraged from the sharing of Mark Macapinlac.

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Thank you Fr Rector and Mark!