Tuesday of Holy Week

Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Sometimes in life we feel like we aren’t making any progress. We feel like we are treading water or worse sinking. We wonder if we have toiled in vain, for nothing, spending our time, talents, and treasures on things that aren’t bearing fruit. However, God doesn’t judge us on the outcome of our endeavors. He judges us by the intentions and reasons behind our thoughts, words, and works. We might not experience worldly success in any of our endeavors and yet still be successful in the eyes of the Lord because we did the right thing or made God the center of our lives. We are all called to be lights to the nations and if we do God’s Will to the best of our abilities, then we shall succeed in the greatest task before us... being good and faithful servants to our Heavenly Father.

Are all our thoughts, words, and works grounded in our love of God? How can we make Him the source, center, and summit of our whole lives? What can we do to remain faithful and trusting in God even when our dreams, plans, and actions don’t come to fruition as we imagined?

O Lord, our recompense is with you and not in worldly success.

Amen.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?"

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Many times in our lives we say one thing and do another. Our Yeses and No’s mean maybes. Our promises are broken. Our actions fall short. We let distractions, doubts, and other things derail us from our intended path. We begin fully intending to do right, but end up doing wrong. Other times we complain or resist doing good, but rethink our objections and do God’s Will. We push aside our personal desires or plans and find a way to make things work. We go out to the vineyard because we know it’s what God is calling us to do. Of course, it would be even better for us if we did God’s Will without complaint from the very beginning and that is where we want to be as Christians. We want to follow through on the good and avoid the bad. We want our Yeses and No’s to mean something.

Are we more like the first son, denying God’s Will at first, but then doing what is right? Or are we more like the second son with good intentions, but no follow through? How can we make our lives into living Yeses to God’s Will?

O Lord, help us to do your will without hesitation or complaint.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church

As God is faithful, our word to you is not "yes" and "no." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not "yes" and "no," but "yes" has been in him. For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.

Sometimes our plans change. Our honest “Yes!” to someone else’s request, might suddenly become an unintended “No.” The course of our lives is not always set by ourselves. There are times when God, outside forces, and even enemies pull us down a different path. This might cause others to be disappointed in us. We can even become disappointed in ourselves for not being able to fulfill a promise. However, no matter what happens in our lives, expected or unexpected, we need to recognize each situation as an opportunity to grow in the faith and become better servants to God and all His children. God will forgive us if our good-intentioned promises fall through as long as we tried our best to follow through on our word.

Do we try to follow through on our good promises? Do we realize how even the obstacles that pop up in life are opportunities to grow in faith, hope, and love? Are we trying our best in every good thing we do?

O Lord, let all our promises be founded upon bearing you into the world for all to see.

Amen.