Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Death has no victory over true believers. If we keep the commandments, do good, avoid evil, and love God and our neighbors to the best of our abilities, then death will have no sting. Death comes from sin and selfishness, but it cannot enter into the refuge of our hearts if we protect them with selfless love. Our corruptible flesh might wither and die and turn to dust, but our incorruptible spirit will live on and one day take on an immortal body in Heaven. We should do everything we can to remain in God’s Grace because we want to enjoy everlasting life with Him in Heaven.

What are the things in our lives that attempting to corrupt us? Where have we left ourselves open to death? How can we clothe ourselves with incorruptibility and immortality?

O Lord, give us victory over death.

Amen.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.

We believe in the resurrection of the dead. There is an afterlife and we will live it out according to how we lived this life on earth. We will go to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell. There isn’t an end when we die. It is a beginning of eternity. Whether we suffer for that eternity or enjoy it is up to our actions and inactions while here on earth. This is a part of our faith that isn’t up for debate. It is both a comforting and uncomforting idea because it speaks to ramification for everything we think, say, and do.

Do we believe in the resurrection? If we do, then why to we forget this truth so often when we sin? How can we bring this truth to mind more faithfully so it can affect our decisions in this life?

O Lord, we believe you will raise us from the dead and lead us to life everlasting.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

God is our Shepherd and Guide. He calls out to us for our own protection and to lead us to greener pastures. He wants us to grow in faith, hope, and love so we might become good and faithful children and produce good for all. When we are weak, He will carry us. When we are confused, He will call out to us. When we are lost, He will seek us out. He will never abandon us, He will always do everything in His power to lead us safely home to Him and Heaven. So, the least we can do is to listen for His voice in our hearts and do whatever He tells us.

Are our hearts hardened by the world or open to the inspirations of our Heavenly Father? Do we bow down and worship God as He deserves? Do we thank Him for shepherding us and guiding us to life everlasting?

O Lord, keep our hearts from being hardened by the world and our own weaknesses.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

The Lord is my light and my salvation. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid?

With the Lord as our light and our salvation, we have nothing to fear. He illuminates our lives, leading us out of darkness and sin. He guides our way like a lighthouse, protecting us from the hazards that can sometimes beset us. He is our refuge, too, providing each of us with a safe haven within His Sacred Heart. When we are wary, He gives us rest. When we are needy, He sustains us. When we are lost, He finds us and leads us back home to Him. This is why we should place our complete trust in Him. He will never abandon us. He will always do everything within His Power to bring us to the Promised Land and life everlasting.

Are our eyes open to the light of Christ? Are we willing to leave the temptations of the darkness and follow where God is calling us? How can we rid ourselves of the fears that keep us from seeking the light?

O Lord, you are our light and our salvation.

Amen.

Twentieth Thursday in Ordinary Time

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Each of us need to be cleanse of our sins from time to time. We have to be purged of our impurities and stripped of our false idols. We often need to approach our lives with a new or renewed spirit of holiness. It is through the sacrament of reconciliation that we can be purified and our hearts of stone softened. The confession of our sins and humble penance also grants us the graces we need to live by God's commandments, teachings, and inspirations. Taking these steps goes a long way toward bringing us closer to the Heavenly Kingdom and life everlasting with our Lord and God.

What sins and imperfections do we need to be cleansed of? How can we be more receptive of the Spirit of God in our lives? Do we make regular and meaningful use of the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, cleanse us from our sins and soften our hearts.

Amen.

Nineteenth Monday in Ordinary Time

Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man. Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor. Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

The goal of our lives as Christians is not to be successful in the world, but rather to do good and avoid evil so that when we die, we might be worthy of eternal life with God. We must remember it is the throne of God we must pay homage to first and foremost in our lives. Our hope is to come before God on the Day of Judgment and be called His good and faithful servants. This is what we strive and suffer for... to be found worthy to stand in God's Divine Presence and be filled with love for Him forever and ever.

Are we striving toward the true ends of our lives? Or are we letting the world and its temptations and worries keep us apart from God? What can we do to prepare our bodies, minds, and hearts to worthily stand before the splendor of God for all eternity?

O Lord, may our every thought, word, and work glorify you and lead us closer and closer to life everlasting with you.

Amen.

Seventh Thursday of Easter

"My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.

We all hope in the resurrection of the dead, it is one of our core beliefs. After all, if we do not believe in the resurrection, then our faith is dead. Our faith in the resurrection is a founding principle of our Christian traditions and the source of our hope in an everlasting life. We believe if we are good as our Heavenly Father is good, if we are merciful as Jesus is merciful, and if we are holy as the Holy Spirit is holy, then we shall one day join them in Heaven for all eternity. Not just as spirits, but in our resurrected and perfected bodies. This is the promise Jesus made to us through his life, death, and resurrection and if we follow in his footsteps, then we too will join him in Paradise.

What role has the belief in the resurrection played in our lives? How can we make it more meaningful to us? What are we doing to prepare ourselves for it?

O Lord, you are our hope in the resurrection of the dead.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame.

As Christians, we are called to profess our faith through our words and works. The people who hear and see us should know without a doubt we are Christians by our expressions and acts of love and mercy. And if we do these things, we will never be put to shame. No persecution, mocking, failure, disrespect, or other suffering will be able to touch us because our hearts will be protected as long as they remain true to God and believe in the promise of eternal life. It is this belief in the resurrection that sparks us to action and to sacrifice for God and for others.

Do we confess Jesus is Lord through word and deed? Do we believe in our hearts God raised him from the dead? Do we trust no matter what might happen to us God will never allow us to be put to shame?

O Lord, we believe in you with our whole hearts.

Amen.

Twenty-Second Monday of Ordinary Time

For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.

All of us experience death in our lives, whether it is someone we are close to (such as a family member, friend, or co-worker) or someone we only know in passing. No matter who it is, or how their death happened, it reminds us that there are no guarantees about how long our lives will be. Some of us will live to a ripe old age, others will pass in our youth. Some of us will be prepared for death’s coming, knowing our time here on earth is drawing to a close. More than a few of us will be taken at a time and place we never expected. Part of life as a human being is dying. Even Jesus died and we can learn a lot about both how to live and die from watching how Jesus did both. Jesus loved life and lived every moment to its fullest, but he wasn’t afraid to risk his life when the time came for him to take up his ministry. He was willing to die to himself so others might live and we see this most clearly in his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He did not have to die, but he chose to die because he wanted to show us passing from this life isn’t to be feared. Rather, for his good and faithful followers, it is simply a doorway to an everlasting life with God Our Father, Our Teacher, and Our Advocate.

Who in our lives has died? How have we dealt with their deaths or consoled others who have lost loved ones? What can we do to ready ourselves for our own deaths?

O Lord, we want only to die with you so we might rise with you on the last day.

Amen.

Thirty-Third Saturday of Ordinary Time

“That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

The Lord is the God of the living and He wants all of His children to live with Him forever. However, we cannot do this if we turn our backs on Him and choose to die in sin. To live with God means choosing virtue over vice, selflessness over selfishness, and good over evil. If we cannot do this, then we shall die and have no one to blame but ourselves. However, if we recognize Jesus as our teacher and live in accordance with his commandments to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and our neighbor as Jesus loves them, then we shall have eternal life.

Are we choosing life in the Lord or death in sin? Do we give thanks to God for not only giving us life, but sustaining our lives? Do we recognize Jesus as our teacher?

O Lord, you are our life.

Amen.

The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

We are all sons and daughters of the resurrection. Besides the cross, the resurrection is the foundational symbol of our faith. We believe that we suffer and die in this life so that we might rise and celebrate in the next. Our lives can seem barren and unfruitful in terms of money, fame, pleasure, and other worldly things, but if we have faith, act in hope, and love God and His children to the best of our ability, then our lives have been a success. God has not put us on this earth to exult ourselves and prosper materially. These things might happen to us, but they are not the goal of our lives. Instead, we are called by God to live sacrificial lives in imitation of Christ and accept our role as children of God. When we do this, our hearts are made happy, our minds are given clarity, and our wills choose what is right because our entire being is pointed not toward this life, but toward the resurrection and life everlasting.

Is the way we are living worthy of attaining the resurrection? If not, then what can we do to make the resurrection a central part of our lives? How can we embody the spirit of the resurrection in our thoughts, words, and works?

O Lord, we want to be worthy of the resurrection.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Martha

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

How far Martha has come! We first met her when she is burdened with worldly cares and unable to understand her sister’s desire to sit at the foot of Jesus. However, she has grown as a disciple since then and now expresses a faith we should all seek to imitate. It can be difficult for us to accept sufferings, especially the deaths of our loved ones. But rather than focus on our loss, we should focus on trusting in the mercy of God and the promise of eternal life. Jesus might not raise our loved ones from the dead in the same way as he did Lazarus, but he can and will raise them up to heaven to be with him as long as they have led a good life. We can take comfort in this truth and in the knowledge that all of God’s faithful children will be resurrected. No one who believes in God will ever truly die. Jesus died once, for all. He died to cleanse us of our sins and to bathe us in his mercy so that we could partake in his heavenly feast forever and ever.

Do we trust that whatever goods we ask God for will be given to us in His own way and time? Do we believe that our loved ones (and we) will rise again in the resurrection on the last day? Do we believe in Jesus and his Gospel message?

O Lord, we have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who brings everlasting life to your disciples.

Amen.

Seventeenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."

 Before a treasure can be found it must be placed where someone can find it and someone must search for it. God is the one who places the Kingdom of Heaven within our reach. He did this through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. All we need to do is seek it out. Then, once we find it, we must be willing to sacrifice everything we have. Once we are divested and detached ourselves from the world, we will be given the treasure beyond any price. It is the treasure of saving grace that leads to our salvation and life everlasting with God.

What are we searching for in our lives? What are we willing to sell everything for? Do we treasure the Kingdom of Heaven above worldly riches?

O Lord, we would sell everything for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Amen.

Thirteenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

After Jesus drives out the demons and the swine drown, the whole town comes out to meet Jesus. And do they thank him for helping the two people who were possessed? No, they beg Jesus to leave. Why do they do this? One thing that may not be clear at first is that the townspeople are Gentiles, not Jews, since they are tending “unclean” swine. Also those swine would have been a source of money and food for the people of the town. So why does Jesus cast the demons into the swine? Doesn’t he know that doing so would ruin their livelihoods? Perhaps this is exactly the reason he does this. He wants to remind us that the things of this world are passing away. He is the only true livelihood. He is the food of everlasting life. We should be more concerned with him than we are with earthly things, which are there one day and gone the next.

When we lose something we care about, what is our reaction? Do we blame others or God? Or do we try to learn from our loss and ground our reaction to it in faith, hope, and love?

O Lord, let us put our trust in you and the everlasting life you promise us.

Amen.