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  From   The Gospel of John , directed by Philip Saville Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 1:35-42 ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,   and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”   The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.   Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,  “What are you seeking?”  And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”   He said to them,  “Come and you will see.”  So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.   One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.   He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ)

  I was listening to the news today and heard that lottery sales are up and that the winning jackpot is huge.   While I do not tend to buy lottery tickets, I paused for a moment and wondered if I should. I would definitely be a philanthropist.   If I had that much money, which would be so much more than I would ever need, I would definitely think of ways to responsibly give it away. But, my next thought put an end to all my dreaming. If I were to win a lottery like that, all my days would be centered around managing that money and I would never be able to have peace of mind or focus on the things and people that really matter to me. The thought of philanthropy had brought a smile to my face, but I quickly realized that we can be generous and share with others even if we are not billionaires. Of course, I suspect for most, the idea of philanthropy when you are rich is that it will not tap into your reserves and endanger your lifestyle. I am reminded of the poor widow in th

  In today’s reading (Mark 1:21-28) we see an exchange between Jesus and an evil spirit that has found a home in a man in the synagogue.   Clearly, the emphasis is on the power of Jesus over evil as he calls the evil spirit out of the man.   It is a violent exorcism as the man convulses when the spirit is removed. I think it is safe to say that most of us have never encountered an event where an evil spirit is excised out of someone, but that does not mean that we have never encountered the presence of evil. Evil comes in many forms, and it is more likely that we have suffered much less dramatic encounters such as when we have given in to dangerous temptations, unhealthy worldly desires or embraced sin.   There are so many ways that we cooperate with evil. Because the presence of evil can be very subtle, if we are not paying attention, we may be seduced by it without even realizing it. The best remedy we have for resisting and recognizing evil is staying close to God.   It we