the number hearing the rest of the narrative.  As such, the critical context for interpreting the rest of the narrative is frequently unheard by Catholics.  Further exacerbating this difficulty in Canada is the note contained within the weekday lectionary when Mark 3:20-21 occurs: "Some may prefer to read the gospel in no. 255 [John 10:31-42 -- the rejection of Jesus by religious authorities] or 325 [Mark 6:1-6 -- the rejection of Jesus by residents of Nazareth]."  While the general theme of rejection is continued, Jesus' family is absent! Just as we see happening in the weekday lectionary, both through occurrence on infrequently celebrated Saturday liturgies and/or through intentional avoidance, controversial treatment of Jesus' family is minimized in the other two Synoptic Gospels.  The authors of the Gospel according to Matthew and according to Luke simply excluded Mark 3:20-21 from their accounts, and treated the two following portions of Mark's text as separable units (see chart below).  Matthew retained the order of Mark, but inserted 16 verses of teaching material between the episodes.  Luke, on the other hand, rearranged these two portions and separated them by 3 chapters.  And while Mark 3:20-21 serves to introduce Jesus' family, in Matthew and Luke readers encounter Jesus' family in far more favorable and well-known circumstances.  Both Joseph (Matt 1:20-24) and Mary (Luke 1:26-38) choose to trust in God rather than in social convention, agreeing to God's invitation to become parents to Jesus.  As a result, Jesus' questions about who should be considered to be