Most of us remember the rules and curfews that our parents set for us in our adolescence. In the Buckley household, we had to be home before dusk, otherwise mom would be waiting at the apartment door with a pretty serious look on her face. 

          Today's scripture (Mk 2; 23-28) presents us with Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees. They challenge Jesus concerning His disciples "breaking" the sabbath. Jesus states: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." 

          He essentially tells them that they (Pharisees) should not be living by the strict "Letter" of the Law, rather by the "Spirit" of the Law. Jesus tells them not to break the Law, but to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them in their practice of the Law. This simply means embracing the Ten Commandments, The Torah, and the Mosaic Law with love.

         Over the years, there seems to have developed a trend to view the Church, Her Teachings, and the Ten Commandments, etc. as laws that are enforced upon us. If we would just embrace the love of God in our hearts, then we would slowly come to understand that all of the above are a roadmap given to us by God to help us on our journey to heaven. 

          I did not initially understand why my parents gave us all those rules and regulations. It was only later that I came to understand that they did it because they loved me. For that reason alone I am grateful to God and them for caring about me!

God bless.....Fr. Pat