Tin Mừng Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu thấy một cây vả và tìm mãi không thấy một trái nào mà chỉ có lá mà thôi: và Ngài đã nguyền rủa nó. Các đã Tông Đồ, ngạc nhiên khi thấy cây vả đã chết khô rồi”(Mc 11:21). Chúa Giêsu dạy cho họ bài học về đức tin và lời cầu nguyện: “"Hãy có lòng tin vào Thiên Chúa” (Mc 11:22).
Trong cuộc sống hiện tại, có người cho rằng họ rất it khi cầu nguyện, và khi họ cầu nguyện, thì họ cầu nguyện với hy vọng là Thiên Chúa sẽ giải quyết mọi vấn đề của họ. Và họ biện minh bằng những lời của Chúa Giêsu mà chúng ta vừa nghe: “Bởi thế Ta, bảo các ngươi, mọi điều các ngươi cầu nguyện kêu xin, các ngươi hãy tin là được, và các ngươi sẽ thấy thành sự".(Mc 11:24). Lời biện hộ của họ rất đúng theo bản năng con người. Khi đứng trước một vấn đề quá khó khăn đối với chúng ta, chúng ta cần tin tưởng vào Thiên Chúa. Nhưng chúng ta cũng phải hiểu thêm rằng những lời cầu nguyện "vô dụng" “vì Cha các ngươi biết rõ các ngươi cần gì, trước khi các ngươi xin Người.”(Mt 6: 8). Có những lúc chúng ta đã không nhận được những điều mà chúng ta đã cầu xin, bởi vì những gì chúng ta nhận được từ nơi Thiên Chúa đều là những ơn sũng và hồng ân của Thiên Chúa ban.
Bời vì thế mà chúng ta không cần cầu nguyện? Tất nhiên, chúng ta cần nên cầu nguyện: bởi vì chúng ta biết rằng vì lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta mà chúng ta có được ân sủng, lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta đã trở nên xứng đáng và có giá trị hơn. Hơn nữa, có những lợi ích mà chúng ta nhận được từ những lời cầu nguyện như tìm được sự bình an trong tâm hồn; biết suy nghĩ chính chắn, hiểu rỗ vấn đề để giải quyết, cầu nguyện giúp chúng ta phân biệt giữa những gì là tốt và những gì có thể là sở thích cá nhân, hay là những ý định thực sự của lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta. Và từ đó, chúng ta sẽ hiểu được bằng con mắt đức tin với những gì Chúa Giêsu nói: “Điều gì các ngươi xin nhân danh Ta, Ta sẽ làm, ngõ hầu Cha được tôn vinh nơi Con,” (Ga 14:13).
Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it
Today, fruit and prayer are the key words to this Gospel. The Lord notices a fig tree and finds nothing but leaves: and He reacts by cursing it. According to St. Isidore of Seville, “fig” and “fruit” have the same root. Early next morning the Apostles, surprised, tell him: «Master, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered» (Mk 11:21). In reply, Jesus Christ speaks to them of faith and prayer: «Have faith in God» (Mk 11:22).
There are people that almost never pray and, when they do it, it is with the hope God will solve problems they do not know how to handle themselves. And they justify it with the words from Jesus we have just heard: «Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be done for you» (Mk 11:24). They are right, and it is quite human, understandable and legitimate that, in front of a problem too difficult for us, we trust in God, in a much higher force.
But we must also add that prayers are “useless” («for your Father knows what you need before you ask him»: Mt 6:8), as long as they do not have a practical and direct utility, as —for instance— switch on a light. We do not receive anything for our prayer, because what we receive from God is grace upon grace.
Should we, therefore, not pray...? Of course, we should: now that we know that by prayer we obtain the grace, our prayer has become more worthy and valuable: because it is “useless” and it is “costless”. Furthermore, there are three benefits we do receive from the petition prayer: interior peace (to find our friend Jesus and to trust God is relaxing); to mull over a problem, rationalize it, and knowing how to raise it, is to solve half of it; and, in the third place, praying helps us to discern between what is good and what, maybe out of some personal whim, are the actual intentions of our prayers. Then, later on, we shall understand with the eyes of the faith what Jesus says: «Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son» (Jn 14:13)
Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Mark 11:20–21
The prophets often used the image of a barren fig tree to symbolize Israel’s fruitless spirituality (cf. Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 8:13). Though they were God’s chosen people, with whom God established His Covenant, time and moral decay led to a fruitless spirituality. Despite their outward observance of the Law, their hearts were far from God.
We are the temples Jesus wants to cleanse today. Just as Jesus cast out corruption from the temple, so must we allow Him to cast out the sin and spiritual barriers within us that hinder true worship. Forgiveness is an essential part of this cleansing, as it removes the obstacles that block our prayers and relationships with God. True prayer flows from faith that trusts completely in God’s power and from hearts that forgive without reservation. When our focus shifts from self-interest to the love of God and service of others, our lives become fruitful for the Kingdom.
Reflect today on your soul as the new temple Jesus wants to cleanse. There is incredible potential for each one of us to bear an abundance of good fruit for His Kingdom. Begin by forgiving everyone from your heart. Then, approach prayer with faith that trusts God’s providence and seeks His will. Let your worship be sincere—not for appearances or routine, but out of love for God and a desire for His Kingdom to grow. Fidelity to prayer and forgiveness will transform your life into one of fruitfulness and grace, leading you to the abundant life of His Kingdom.
My Lord, the source of all abundant good fruit, You desire to cleanse my soul of every sin and obstacle that hinders true worship. You call me to a life of deep prayer, grounded in faith and forgiveness. Purify me, and use me to bear an abundance of good fruit for Your Kingdom. Make me a pure and holy child of true worship. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, cleanse the temple of my heart of all that is fruitless and unworthy of Your holiness. Grant me steadfast faith that I may bear good fruit, trust in your power, and forgive others from my heart.
1. The Fulfillment of Malachi’s Prophecy: Mark began his Gospel speaking about “the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:2-3). And, in today’s Gospel, we see where the “way of Jesus” leads: to Jerusalem and its Temple. The fulfillment of God’s plan awaits Jesus in Jerusalem. The fulfillment of a prophecy from Malachi is also in the background: “Now I am sending my messenger – he will prepare the way before me; And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple” (Malachi 3:1). Jesus entered suddenly into the Temple and looked around, and judged what he saw. Malachi asks, “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand firm when he appears? … He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the Levites, refining them like gold or silver, that they may bring offerings to the Lord in righteousness” (Malachi 3:2-3).
This is a very unique and interesting story. The first thing this tells us is that Jesus was fully human. As a man, He was hungry. But this story tells us much more than the simple fact that Jesus was hungry. He would have known that it was not the season for figs to grow, but He decided to look for a fig anyway. And when He found none, He cursed the fig tree and, as we read later in this chapter, the tree withered and died. This was a symbolic action for the sake of His disciples, in that His disciples heard Him curse the tree and later saw that the tree had withered.
Saint Bede, an early Church Father, tells us that this action of Jesus had an allegorical purpose. The tree is symbolic of the many people Jesus encountered, and continues to encounter today, who failed to bear good fruit in their lives. They were the Pharisees and others who practiced their faith only in an external way. The leaves, Saint Bede tells us, were symbolic of the externals of the faith, and the lack of fruit was a symbol of the missing interior fruit of holiness and good works. This lesson tells us that Jesus is very demanding. He is determined to discover good fruit in our lives. He wants us to become authentically holy. And when He finds only the externals, He will rebuke us in love, taking even the externals away.
What good fruit does our Lord want to find in your life? How does He want you to manifestly grow in holiness? Do you go through the motions, attend Mass, say some prayers, but fail to produce an abundance of virtue, compassion, mercy and goodness? Do you say you believe in our Lord but then fail to preach the holy Gospel with both your words and your actions? If our Lord were to come to you, as He came to this fig tree, what would He find?
Being a Christian is not something that is exclusively between you and God. Being a Christian requires that you be so given over to the service of God and others that God is able to do incredible things through you. The Christian faith must produce good fruit in your life and through you in the lives of others. And it must do so in an abundant way.
Reflect, today, upon the holy image of Jesus walking over to this fig tree, inspecting it for a fig. See this tree as an image of your soul and see the hunger in the heart of our Lord. As He looks at you and your life, will He be satiated? Will He find holiness and manifest good works? Or will He find little to nothing other than external claims that you are a Christian? Commit yourself to an abundance of authentic and manifest holiness and our Lord’s hunger will be satiated.
My demanding Lord, You call all Your followers to a holiness that is lived, transforming, manifest and fruitful for Your Kingdom. Help me to be a Christian not only in name but especially in action. May my life truly bear the good fruit of holiness and may that holiness become a means by which You feed the spiritual hunger of Your people. Jesus, I trust in You.
A Temple for Prayer: In this Gospel, we read that Jesus journeyed to the city of Jerusalem and entered the temple there. He was not happy with what he saw. The temple was a sacred space but the people had turned it into a “den of thieves.” By their behavior, they disgraced themselves and offended God. We are also temples of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord has given us the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes so that we can worship God in purity and holiness through our bodies, minds, and souls. If we disgrace ourselves, Jesus has given us the sacrament of reconciliation to restore our temple so that we can once again worship him worthily.
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for all the mighty and wondrous things you have done for me as well as for every answered and unanswered prayer. Out of your love for me, you continue to help me to grow in my relationship with you. Give me the wisdom to know what to ask of you and the courage to yield to your will because I know that your will is the best for me.
A Temple for Prayer: In this Gospel, we read that Jesus journeyed to the city of Jerusalem and entered the temple there. He was not happy with what he saw. The temple was a sacred space but the people had turned it into a “den of thieves.” By their behavior, they disgraced themselves and offended God. We are also temples of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord has given us the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes so that we can worship God in purity and holiness through our bodies, minds, and souls. If we disgrace ourselves, Jesus has given us the sacrament of reconciliation to restore our temple so that we can once again worship him worthily.
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