Saint Blaise was a bishop of Sebastea in Armenia who was martyred under the reign of Licinius in the early fourth century. From being a healer of bodily ailments, he became a physician of souls. He is the patron of wild animals because of his care for them and of those with throat maladies.

Reflection: In the gospel of today, we find the disciples returning to Jesus to report about their work, acknowledging His Lordship over them and letting them be His disciples again. Let us just turn to our life situations. Jesus is never against us when we take pride in our activities.Butwhat we forget is acknowledgingHis ownership over us. Today many claim the fruit as the outcome of their sole endeavour and strain. This attitude is harmful to our growth in intimacy with God and one another.

After the work, Jesus and the disciples desired to spend a little while by them­selves. In the same way, Jesus calls us to take some time to be with Him. By calling us to the ‘lonely place’ of our heart, He reminds us that work alone would not suffice in life.When we acceptHim as the initiator of all our works and as our resting place,the people would come in search of us, seeking our love and service once again.