One of my favorite places in the Holy Land is Capernaum. The ruins of this town are located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. In Jesus’ time it was a very large city and a major route for travelers. Peter was from Capernaum, and Jesus made his home there. It was an ideal hub from which to spread the gospel message. Jesus spent most of his ministry there and performed one-third of his miracles in Capernaum.
One time we had Mass on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in Capernaum on a very cloudy day. As Fr. John was lifting up the body of Christ, a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated the Eucharist. My wife caught this miraculous site on film.
One thing that strikes me from today’s Gospel is that Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath in Capernaum and nobody raises an eyebrow or complains. If this was in Jerusalem, the Pharisees would have created an uproar because he healed on the Sabbath. This is not the case in Capernaum. These people have a simple faith and are not concerned about the law as in ritualistic orthodoxy. In this place Jesus can heal, he can preach, and he can work freely.
Let us pray that we can follow him today with simple faith. Let us not let our arrogance blind us us to his truth. Let us use our talents to assist in the work of building up the kingdom of God here on earth in our local little Capernaums !!
DeColores, Deacon Doug
Join us in prayer!
We encourage you to join us as we recite the Holy Rosary every night at 8PM! On Wednesdays, we pray the rosary via Zoom with the rector and rectora.
Resources for those not able to attend Mass
Daily Readings in English and Spanish from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Prayers, readings for Mass, and additional spiritual readings are available at:
Magnificat publication, a spiritual guide that includes daily Mass: https://us.magnificat.net/free
“Give Us This Day” a digital file of their periodical, which includes daily Mass texts. Visit GUTD.net and select “Digital” in the upper right of the screen.