Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 12 February 2024
Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
James 1:1-11. Mark 8:11-13
A sign from heaven
To a person who is not able to recognise a sign that is under heaven, no sign from above will be given.
In the narrative of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the two persons who appear in white say, ‘Why do you keep looking up to heaven?’ (cf. Acts 1).
The gospel reading begins with the phrase, ‘the Pharisees came and began to argue with him.’ The context and the content of the argument are not given in the text. They ask for a sign from heaven. Jesus, without yielding to their demand, makes his way to the other side.
The Pharisees fail at two levels: (a) They fail to recognise Jesus as the sign from heaven; and (b) They fail to discern from Jesus’ words and deeds the seeds of the kingdom.
Without minding the signs that were under their nose, they wanted a sign from above.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel often test the Lord God by asking for signs. They seek signs to verify if God is there with them, if God fights for them, and if God takes their side.
Saint Thomas Aquinas says, ‘One who seeks a sign does not believe, and to the one who believes, no sign is required.’
Today, let us reflect on our understanding of the seven sacraments. The sacraments are the signs that make the presence of God visible and tangible.
The Vatican Dicastery for Doctrine of Faith, in its recent document, ‘Gestis Verbisque’ (‘Deeds and Words’), warns, ‘a priest who uses his creativity to alter the matter and form of the sacraments presents not Christ to the people, but himself. Besides, it invites us to understand sacraments as signs of God’s presence amidst us. (cf. Jubilee A. D. 2025, bite 29)
In the first reading, the Apostle James, exhorting his community on temptation, testing, suffering, faith, perseverance, and wisdom, writes that we must get rid of double-mindedness in prayer. The double-minded people fail to recognise the signs.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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