First Sunday of Advent

I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has bestowed on us many graces throughout our lives. We might not notice them. We may take them for granted. Or we may even turn our backs on them, but they are always within our reach. All we have to do is accept them, use them wisely and well, and give God thanks for all His help. If we welcome God’s Grace into our hearts, then He will enrich us in every way with virtues, holiness, works of charity and mercy, and spiritual rewards. He will make us into saints fashioned in the likeness of Jesus, our Lord and King.

What graces has God given us? Do we give Him glory, praise, and thanksgiving for all He has done for us? How can we more perfectly put to use the physical, mental, and spiritual graces God has provided us?

O Lord, keep us firm in our faith to the end.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

We are all called to be saints. We are all made in the image of God and He loves us as Himself. He calls us His children and like any Father, He wants what is best for us. He wants to protect us from harm, show us the way to live holy and good lives, and offer us a seat at His Heavenly banquet table. No wonder the world does not know us! No wonder the world mocks and persecutes us! We are beloved by God and that love shines through us and stands in stark contrast to the dark places the world’s adherents cling to. We are made for loftier things than fame or fortune or pleasures or selfishness. We are made to go out from ourselves, to share our faith, hope, and love with all whom we meet so we will be revealed to be like our God. Caring compassionate, and welcoming of all who wish to be united with Christ and see the face of God as saints.

Do we accept our place as children of God and all the responsibilities that entails? Are we willing to be mocked and persecuted in order to spread the Good News that our heavenly Father has given us? How can we become more like Him in all we think, say, and do?

O Lord, we are your children now and forever.

Amen.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.  Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

We are not alone in our struggle against sin. There is a cloud of witnesses from the Patriarchs of the Old Testament to the saints of our times, who are all praying for us. They also provide us with an example of how to resist evil and do good no matter what. In their lives they rid themselves of every burden and sin that clung to them and persevered till the end of their earthly race. They kept their eyes fixed on Jesus and endured their crosses. We would do well to imitate them just as they imitated Jesus and His Mother. So, let us take our inspiration from these witnesses, be willing to suffer for the sake of holiness, and one day join God in Heaven. 

Do we call upon the saints for help when we need it? How can we live in imitation of the Jesus as the saints did in their lives? Are we willing to resist sin to the point of shedding our blood for the glory of God and the good of others?

O Lord, thank you for the example of your holy and selfless life and the lives of your saints.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. In this way, the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

As children of God, we are called to be saints, not sinners. We are asked to be righteous and not evil. We are asked to give up the easy and wide path of sin and choose the difficult and narrow one to holiness. We may fall and falter, but if we are children of God we recognize our faults and do something to rectify them. We confess our sins with humble and contrite hearts, do penance, and strive to avoid temptation and sin. If we find ourselves falling into the same sins again and again, then we need to change something about ourselves and the way we live so we can steer clear of our weaknesses and protect ourselves from our flaws. We should always put our best foot forward in resisting temptation and growing in righteousness so we might be worthy heirs to the Kingdom.

Are we righteous? How can we cultivate our sense of good and evil so we can act in accord with our Heavenly Father’s Will in all things? What can we do to avoid sin, especially those sins we are most tempted by?

O Lord, we want to belong to you... body, mind, and heart.

Amen.

First Monday of Advent

“Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.

Once we recognize God is our Lord and King, we shall be like the nations mentioned here... we shall find peace. The conflicts in our lives, both great and small, come from rebellions against God. From Adam and Eve to our own sinfulness, we wage a war with ourselves. We do what we know is wrong and avoid the good because being a sinner is easier than being a saint. However, if we want to have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, then we must climb the mountain of holiness, follow its narrow path, and exert every effort to live good and faithful lives. We might stumble and fall along the way, but as long as we dust ourselves off, return to the right path, and trust in God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace, then we shall eventually find the Gates of Heaven and be found worthy to join in the never-ending Beatific Feast.

Are we climbing the mountain of holiness or sliding into the valley of sin? How can we amend our lives so we can more easily follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life that leads to Heaven? What can we do to become living saints?

O Lord, lead us up the mountain to eternal life with you.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."

We are all called to be saints. Growing up, many of us may have seen the saints as otherworldly people. We might have said to ourselves, those people were special. We might even have believed we could never be like them. However, that’s not the right way to think of sainthood. Everyone who ends up in heaven is a part of the community of saints. Some people may get there faster than others or be recognized as being in heaven by the Church, but that doesn’t lessen the fact that all Christians have a vocation to sainthood. And even more important to remember is the fact that all of the saints were normal people, who by choice lived good and faithful lives. Some of them were missionaries, others cloistered. Some were ordained, others were lay faithful. Some were single, others married. Some were mothers and fathers, others had no children except those they chose to help. The important thing to remember is that each of us have been given the gifts and talents we need to become saints, but it is up to us to choose the path of holiness. And hopefully we do.

How can we live out our calling to be saints? What gifts and talents has God given us? How can we put them to use for God and for the good of others?

O Lord, from you comes salvation and holiness.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it.

Sometimes we can forget the saints lived regular lives, just like us. They had friends and enemies and weren’t saints from the start, but rather became saints by how they dealt with their trials in this life and treated others. They experienced abandonment, betrayal, and harm. They also received support and help. The way they got through the ups and downs of their lives is the same way we do. They put their trust in the Lord and allowed Him to lend them strength. They proclaimed the Gospels through thoughts, words, and works so all could hear and witness the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ through them. It was not easy and required many sacrifices, but in the end they understood it was only by walking in the footsteps of Jesus that they could arrive at the Promised Land.

Who are our friends and enemies? Do we treat them as Jesus would? Do we trust God to give us the strength we need to overcome all our trials?

O Lord, give me the strength to proclaim your Good News through my every thought, word, and work.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

As Christians, we are all part of a community of saints. We are members of God’s household and as such we have certain responsibilities to God and to others. We are asked to think, speak, and act in accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ as given to us through the Scriptures. We are also called to follow the traditions of the Church as handed down to us through the Apostles. The Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus stand at the heart of what it means to be part of the community of saints. It is Christ who holds us together and supports us as we build ourselves and each other into living temples to God’s Glory. It is when we imitate this Beloved Son, our Lord, that we become the holiest of holies and make our hearts into homes for the Holy Spirit.

How are we living out our calling to be a part of the community of saints? Are we fulfilling our responsibilities to God and to others? What can we do to build up the temple of God both in the Church and others?

O Lord, build us into dwelling places for your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.

We are not alone. As Christians, we have the Church and its witnesses to help us to celebrate our faith and support us. We have the saints, especially Mary, to watch over us and intercede for us with God. Most importantly, we have a leader: Jesus. With the Church and the saints cheering us on and Jesus leading the way, we can run the race that lies before us. We can cast aside our sins, overcome every obstacle, endure any cross, and reach the finishing line that leads to eternal life. All we need to do is train our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies to follow in the footsteps of Christ and to be humble enough to let him lead us along the right path to Heaven.

Do we seek support from the Church and its members? Do we pray to the saints for help in running the race toward heaven? Have we accepted the need for us to follow Jesus and let him perfect our faith?

O Lord, give us the endurance we need to finish the race to eternal life with you.

Amen.