Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

Lord, in your strength the king is glad. O LORD, in your strength the king is glad; in your victory how greatly he rejoices! You have granted him his heart’s desire; you refused not the wish of his lips.

We are reminded in today’s psalm that we should rejoice in God’s victories on this earth. Sure, we are more likely to recognize and celebrate our own triumphs, but it is even more important to rejoice in those victories that God wins in the world. These successes can be great or small. They can be simple or complex. They can be a single kind word or an elaborate act of charity. We can see these victories of faith, hope, and love all around us in our families, friends, neighbors, and even strangers. We can also participate in the triumph of good over evil by choosing to live holy and loving lives and fulfilling God’s Will.

Do we keep our eyes and ears open to God’s victories in this world? In what ways can we help God triumph? How can we help others to succeed in their good deeds?

O Lord, we rejoice in every victory that is won for and by you.

Amen.

Seventeenth Friday of Ordinary Time

Sing with joy to God our help. Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel, the pleasant harp and the lyre. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast.

Feast days like Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and Corpus Christi are celebrated in memory of important events in the Life of Christ and our Church’s History. They are meant to remind us of our spiritual roots and give us a foretaste of the endless joy that is promised to all of God’s good and faithful servants. Of course, there are many more feast days than we probably realize. There are feasts for the Blessed Virgin, Mary, for various Saints and Martyrs, and even all the angels in Heaven. We would do well to remember these days as we go through our daily lives and join in the feasts that make up or faith. After all, we are part of a Church that exists beyond just the earth, but stretches through Purgatory and into Heaven. So, let us join in the songs of the saints and sing in thanksgiving for Our Heavenly Father, who wants us to feast with Him forever and ever.

Do we keep aware of the feast days of the Church? Do we celebrate them as we should? What can we do to be more in tune with the choir of saints, who has gone before us?

O Lord, we sing with joy to you, our help.

Amen.

The Resurrection of the Lord the Mass of Easter Sunday

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.”

Let us give thanks for the present of Easter, the gift of salvation, and the reward of eternal life. The Lord made the Sabbath for us. He prepared for it from the beginning of time and carried through on the promises He made to our ancestors. He gave His Beloved Son to the cross in order to cleanse our sins through His Body and Blood. He showed us mercy in spite of our sins, our failings, our faults, our doubts, our anxieties, our fears, and our indifferences. Imagine sacrificing ourselves for people who give us nothing but apathy, mockery, and evil. Could we give up our lives for such as these? God tells us, “Yes!” and so, we should make ourselves into living sacrifices... no matter the cost.

How will we celebrate this Easter season? How can we give thanks to God for all the good He has done for us? How can we show mercy to others?

O Lord, your mercy endures forever.

Amen.

Holy Thursday

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

“Do this in remembrance of me.” These words are repeated for both the Body and Blood of Christ and are a commandment we keep as dearly as the ten commandments of Moses and the golden commandments to love God and neighbor. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is foreshadowed by the Lord’s Supper. Through the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we fully participate in the Passion and Death of Christ. We make present Jesus’ sacrifice for us through the sacrifice on the altar. We proclaim the death of the Lord each time we partake in the Blessed Sacrament, but we also anticipate the Resurrection and the Second Coming in the same act. Jesus died for our sins and through his death we have been granted the saving grace we need to heal our souls.

Do we keep holy the Sabbath day? In what ways can we prepare ourselves to fully participate in the Lord’s Supper each week? How can we make the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross more meaningful to us so we might receive it more respectfully and worthily?

O Lord, we celebrate your sacrifice on the cross with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Amen.

Second Friday of Advent

Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

Wisdom is an important virtue to build up in our lives. When we have it, we know when to fast and when to feast. We do not mourn the loss of those things that keep us from doing God’s Will, nor do we feast upon those things which weigh us down with sin. Instead, we fast in order to purify ourselves of our attachments to worldly things and we feast to celebrate the graces God has given us to overcome our trials. Fasting is something that many do not understand the need for, but it is imperative that we cultivate the ability to fast and offer up all our sacrifices to God for the reparation of sins, the conversion of sinners, and the salvation of souls. Feasting is also important because we should be thankful for all the goods we have been given by God. And in the spirit of graciousness, we should be willing to share all our gifts with our fellow children of God.

Do we know when to fast? Do we know when to feast? Are we cultivating the wisdom we need to live gracious and fruitful lives?

O Lord, grant us the wisdom to know when to fast and when to feast.

Amen.

Second Tuesday of Ordinary Time

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for us. It is a day we should keep holy, but it is also a day for feasting and doing good works. Just as in the Mass we celebrate and feast with God, so too should we carry the sense of thanksgiving into our daily lives. We should spend time with family and friends, help those in need, and do all we can to proclaim the Gospel through our words and works.

How do we spend our Sabbath? In what ways can we celebrate it in a meaningful and spiritually rewarding way? How do we thank God for giving us the example of a day of rest?

O Lord, grant us the wisdom to enjoy the Sabbath with you.

Amen.

Second Monday of Ordinary Time

As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

As Christians we are called to bring a balance of celebration and sacrifice into our lives. We celebrate the Mass, the Eucharist, and the other sacraments, but we also sacrifice ourselves as well. We give up our time, talents, and treasures to our faith. We sacrifice time to go to Mass. We offer up our talents on the same altar as the Eucharist. We also abstain and fast during Lent as we await the joy of Easter. We are both a celebratory and sacrificial people.

How do we celebrate our faith in a meaningful way during the week? In what ways do we sacrifice for it? Do we have a balance between the two or are we all one and none of the other?

O Lord, grant us balanced hearts full of joy and willing to sacrifice.

Amen.