Possessed and suffering

The liturgical year returns today to Ordinary Time. The weeks of the the liturgical calendar are "counted" using ordinal numbers. There is nothing "ordinary" about Ordinary Time. The texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary indicate that in the course of our lives we all experience suffering and trials. The first letter of Peter, which Friar Jude Winkler comments may have been dictated by Peter to his secretary because it is written in very good Greek, acknowledges that we can find ourselves in times of tribulation where we are being tested in fire. Peter proclaims the promise of life which we know in our relationship with Jesus as imperishable, undefiled and unfading. Many spiritual authors, including Richard Rohr, have reflected on the deepening of the love of God which is experienced through suffering. The Gospel of Mark  illustrates in the encounter of Jesus with the rich young man searching for more to complete his salvation how the message even if it is lovingly presented may be rejected by our person if we are enslaved by our possessions, attitudes or addictions. The suffering of holding ourselves back from the invitation to grow may be difficult to address. Jesus declares that the very relationship with God is the power to make our growth possible. Persevere.