In today's Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus' mother and brothers can't get near Him because of the crowds. When informed about this, Jesus replies, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
We know that having a relationship with Jesus is important. But what does that relationship look like? Is it active or passive? Let me give you an example. I have dozens of cousins. While I consider them family, I rarely if ever talk to them. Most of my cousins I wouldn't know if I met them face to face. Our relationship is not an active one, but passive.
For Catholics, that passive relationship may take the form of being Catholic In Name Only. These folks consider themselves Catholic, yet they rarely if ever go to Mass. Their faith is passive, not active. We must never fall into that trap. We must act on God's word, and encourage others to do so as well.
Father, forgive us for those times when our faith becomes passive. May we always put our faith into action. Amen.
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