Second Monday of Advent

Our God will come to save us! I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD --for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.

Our God has come to save us. He came in the form of a little baby named Jesus Christ. He came into this world in a lowly manger. He came to a mother, who gave herself completely to God’s Will when she said, “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” He came to an adoptive father who did not question God’s Will when told to flee to Egypt. He came to be lost and then found in the temple. He came to be a minister of the truth, showing others the way to live their lives. He came to cure the sick, feed the hungry, cast out demons. He came to give hope to the hopeless and free the imprisoned. He came to save us from sin and death. He came to die for us from the moment he cried out as a babe to the moment he offered up his spirit on the cross. He came to rise for us and show us a new path to Heaven and eternal life. He came to give us the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate and Guide. He came to mend our relationship with our Heavenly Father and transform us into worthy co-heirs to the Kingdom of God.

How often do we thank God for coming into our lives and saving us? Are we even aware of His coming? How can we become more aware of His Presence with us and His saving graces?

O Lord, come to save us.

Amen.

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

St. Paul gives us an evocative comparison between the relationship of Christ and the Church and a husband and wife. It is an image we all would do well to keep in mind. We are all members of the Body of Christ, of the Church, with Jesus as our Head. He gives us direction and purpose, while we do God’s Will through our thoughts, words, and works. We are Jesus’ hands and feet… his way to interact with the world. This is why we are called to be submissive to him. Not because he wants to rob us of our free will, but because he wants to show us how to fulfill our free will through acts of goodness. He is devoted to us and wants what is best for us and this is why he asks for us to listen to him and follow his lead. He only asks us to do what is right and avoid what is wrong because he loves us and doesn’t want us to distance ourselves from him via sin and selfishness. He wants to be one flesh with us all... united forever.

Are we acting like the spouses of Christ? Are we living up to our responsibilities as members of Christ’s Body? How can we become better followers of Jesus?

O Lord, we wish only to be one flesh, one heart, and one spirit with you.

Amen.

The Nativity of the Lord

When the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Christmas is a time to remember the kindness, love, and mercy God has shown to us through the act of His Incarnation. The Word becoming flesh is a testament to God’s generosity. His willingness to become a man for us and experience the world through our eyes in all ways but sin speaks volumes about how much He loves us. God the Father not only sends His Beloved Son into the world to teach us the Truth and guide us along the Way, but He also poured His Holy Spirit upon us in order to inspire us to live saintly lives. The birth of Jesus Christ heralds the moment God became man so He might make us into heirs to the Kingdom and grant us the hope of eternal life with Him.

What are we doing to make Christmas a special day dedicated to God and all He has done for us? How can we become incarnations of God’s Will, pouring ourselves out in faith, hope, and love? Are we living up to our calling to be heirs to the Kingdom of God?

O Lord, you are kind, loving, and merciful. Help us to be the same.

Amen.

Sixth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Noah built an altar to the LORD, and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man since the desires of man’s heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Noah burns his offerings in thanksgiving for God giving him and his family a chance to continue the race of man and rebuild man’s relationship with God. Although things didn’t turn out perfectly, for our race still had evil desires, God promises to never destroy us like that again. Instead, He prepares a new flood, a spiritual flood of His Love and Mercy in the form of His Beloved Son. Unlike the flood in Noah’s time, the Living Water of Christ will destroy sin and death rather than mankind's bodies. It will be an endless stream of life-giving and cleansing love poured out for us so we might become filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Saving Grace.

Have we given God praise and thanksgiving for all the wonderful things He has done for us? Are we prepared to let Him flood us with His Love and Mercy? How can we in turn become living fonts of His Grace?

O Lord, make us into living floods of your compassion.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved. So the LORD said: “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.” But Noah found favor with the LORD. Then the LORD said to Noah: “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just.”

Sadly, we all have sinful inclinations. We let God down far more often than He wants or we would like. We have weaknesses in our lives. Blind spots where we simply fail to see where we are going wrong. All of these failings give God every reason to destroy us. We are not worthy of His Mercy and cannot make up for our sins on our own, but thankfully God has given us an ark. He has given us the Church and it is within her confines that we find salvation from the storms of sin. It is within the Church that we find the food for body, mind, and spirit that keeps us alive in the faith. The sacraments, instituted by Christ, preserve our lives and keep us safe from the drowning doubts, fears, and anxieties of the world. It is upon the cross that we find the ramp that leads us out of wickedness and into holiness. It is Jesus’ sacrifice that keeps us afloat in a sea of sin and leads us safely to the Promised Land. Without Jesus Christ and His Church we would be lost at sea, doomed to die, but with them we are given a chance to reach the heights of heaven and dwell there with God forever and ever.

How can we overcome our sinful inclinations? How can we become truly just people? Do we thank God for giving us His Beloved Son’s Church as our ark to the afterlife?

O Lord, lead us to the ark of your Church and to truly just lives.

Amen.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The words that Peter proclaimed in today’s gospel need to be constantly on our lips, too. It is important that we recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the Christ, our savior and redeemer, the one who offers to wash away our sins and cleanse us of our iniquities. He is also the Son of the living God, who offers us life everlasting with himself in the Heavenly Kingdom. He is the cornerstone of the Church, which we are called to be part of as living stones. We can only be shaped to fit into the structure of the Church if we are humble enough to allow God to work us into the shape He needs. So let us be willingly hammered and chiseled until we are truly formed in the image of God.

Do we constantly recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God? Do we appreciate the sacrifice he made for us as Christ and the life he offers us as the Son of God? Are we willing to allow God to shape us into His Divine Image?

O Lord, make us into living rocks of your Church.

Amen.