Twenty-Second Thursday in Ordinary Time

The Lord has made known his salvation. Sing praise to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and melodious song. With trumpets and the sound of the horn sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.

God makes known His salvation in various ways. Sometimes He does so through great signs. Other times He does so in a whisper. He brings salvation to us through people, places, and things. He leads us to holiness through the guidance and inspirations of the Holy Spirit. He gives us perfect examples to base our lives on in Jesus and His Mother, Mary. He protects us from evil and calls us to good in numerous ways that we are free to accept or ignore. However, one thing cannot be ignored, His Love for us, because it is clear, constant, and never waivers, even when we take it for granted or deny it. So, let us be thankful for the Lord, for He is merciful, kind, and always offering to save us.

In what ways do we sing the praise of the Lord? How often do we raise our hearts up to Him in joy? How can we make our lives into a living song of glory and praise?

O Lord, we praise you with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Amen.

Twenty-First Friday in Ordinary Time

For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Signs and wisdom alone aren’t enough to lead us to the right path in life. We can’t depend on signs because we are human and often misread the signs in our lives. Much better to depend upon the sacraments, especially Communion and Reconciliation. The graces the sacraments give us are there to lead us where we need to go and help us to do what we need to do. We can’t depend upon our own wisdom because we are flawed and do not know everything as God does. Instead, we need to depend upon the wisdom of God and trust that our faith, hope, and love will guide us along the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ. Depending upon ourselves leads to pride and foolishness, but if we depend upon God, then we shall be wiser and stronger for it.

Are we overly dependent upon signs to lead us? Have we depended too much on our own wisdom and not on God’s? How can we become more dependent upon God in all things?

O Lord, we place our trust in your wisdom and strength, not our own.

Amen.

Third Wednesday of Advent

The LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"

We shouldn’t tempt the Lord nor should we look for signs, which can lead us astray. Instead, we should pray about each decision we make and discern God’s Will through our conscience. We cannot depend upon God to lead us to the right choices through outward signs, but we can depend upon the Holy Spirit giving us the grace to know right from wrong. Yes, from time to time God will send us a sign, but we shouldn’t put our faith in the sign, but rather in God. If a sign comes from God, then good will come from it, but if it comes from our imaginations, misconceptions, or even from the Devil, then we could be lead astray. This is why we should rely on our God-given sense of right and wrong and make every effort to live holy lives founded upon the Scriptures and the teachings of the Church.

Do we pray before making important decisions? Do we allow God into our daily choices? How can we foster a well-formed conscience?

O Lord, grant us a sense of right and wrong and the will to choose good over the evil.

Amen.

Fourth Monday of Advent

Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

 At first glance Ahaz’s words might sound like a good idea. We shouldn’t test or tempt God. Instead, we should trust in Him. However, God was the one who wanted to perform a sign for Ahaz in order to reinforce his faith. Ahaz turned Him down because as long as no sign was given Ahaz was free to do as he wished, to trust in himself. But if he asked for a sign and received it, he would have given God power over his decisions. He would have had to live according to God’s Will and not his own. Sometimes we act like Ahaz. We trust in ourselves over God. We choose our own way. We close our eyes to the signs around us that are pointing us to a better way of living. Our only hope is to humbly put aside our self-reliance and accept that we need God’s help. Then, and only then, will we empty ourselves enough to be filled with the grace we need to live holy lives.

Are we open to God’s influence in our lives? Do we trust God more than ourselves? Can we learn to humble ourselves before God?

O Lord, we trust in you and the greatest sign you ever sent us, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Sixteenth Monday of Ordinary Time

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights."

We have been given our sign. It is the sign of the cross, a sign of God’s Compassion, Forgiveness, and Love. No other sign is necessary for our salvation than Christ hanging on the cross, not in defeat, but in triumph. It is on the cross that he forgave us for our sins. It is on the cross that he promised us eternal life. It is on the cross that he gave us our spiritual mother. It is on the cross that he offered us the hope that overcomes all despair. It is on the cross that he showed us what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. It is on the cross that he reminded us of the sacrifices we will have to make in order to accomplish God’s Will. It is on the cross that he revealed to us the importance of placing ourselves into the hands of our Heavenly Father. And when we take these together, we cannot help but see that behind every cross is the Risen Lord, Our Savior.

Are we looking for signs like the scribes and Pharisees? Or is our attention focused on the cross and its promise of resurrection? How can we make the sign of the cross the heart of our faith lives?

O Lord, your cross is the only sign we need.

Amen.

The Fourth Monday of Lent

Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.

Sometimes God answers our prayers of petition, but He only does so when what we request is both good for us and in alignment with His Divine Plan. He will never give us something that will harm us or lead us away from Him. This is why when we pray we should not just ask for something from God, but also be open to listening to Him so that we can know what He is asking us to do with our lives. Prayer is meant to be a two way street. If all we do is flood God with requests, but never listen to His inspirations, then we lose out on opportunities to grow in our relationship with Him. If we open our ears to Him, He will speak to us through our conscience and our thoughts. He will give us the wisdom to live our lives in accordance with His Will without having to seek signs and wonders. The only sign we need is the cross. The only wonder we need is to know Jesus died for us and by his death he has given us all the opportunity to live with the Heavenly Father forever and forever. All we have to do is believe and follow the Way Jesus laid out before us.

How do we pray? Do we listen to God during and after our prayers so He can speak to us through our thoughts? Are our hearts, minds, and ears open to God’s inspirations?

O Lord, you are the only sign we need.

Amen.

Twenty-Ninth Friday of Ordinary Time

“When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

The world is so familiar to us, so much easier to read and understand than God, but what does our knowledge of it gain us? It might help us to survive, to know how to get ahead in the world, but it does not complete us in the same way that God can. The things of this world might be enjoyable for a moment, but when they are over the pleasure they give dissipates and we are left with an emptiness that cannot be filled by anything other than God. Our Lord is not only the source of our life, but also its sustenance and purpose. We are incomplete when we deny God and instead focus our lives on worldly things. So let us open our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies to God’s Good News so that we might live life more abundantly.

Do we spend more time living according to the signs of the world or walking the path God has prepared for us? Are we focused on passing pleasures or the everlasting love of God? Are we open to the opportunities for grace that God constantly offers us?

O Lord, help us to know your will and lead lives focused on knowing, loving, and serving you and all your children.

Amen.

Twenty-Eighth Monday of Ordinary Time

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

The life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus are all the signs we need to repent. When we look at how Jesus lived his life and was willing to die for us in spite of our sins, we should have only one response: gratitude. We should not be looking for signs beyond the ones presented to us in the gospel. The miracles presented to us in the gospel should be enough for us to believe with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. When we hear the word of God spoken to us during mass or when we read it in the Bible, we should rejoice at the saving graces God has given us through Jesus.

What lessons about repentance can we learn from the Jesus’ life, passion, death, and resurrection? Do we turn to God and the wisdom of the Scriptures for guidance or to worldly signs that can lead us astray? Do we listen to the Word of God when it is shared with us in the Mass?

O Lord, you are the only sign we need.

Amen.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?”

It is ironic that the crowds following Jesus ask him to give them a sign so that they will believe. They had just witnessed a miracle that feed them and here they are asking for another one, just to be sure. Isn’t that the temptation we all have in life? We want certainty. We want everything handed to us on a silver platter. We avoid risks and leaps of faith. We avoid those things which might require us to sacrifice or suffer. We are blind to the Will of God and timid in carrying it out when we are faced with it. No matter how many signs God sends us we always have the final choice about whether we will follow Him or not. We can always come up with excuses as to why we can’t accomplish His Will. In the end, these excuses lead us nowhere just as the excuses and complaints of the Jews resulted in their wandering in the desert for forty years. We are faced with the same choice as the Jews and if we are obstinate and only seek certainty and comfort, then we will never reach the Promised Land because to know, love, and serve God and His children is to risk everything for them without excuse or complaint.

What signs are we asking for from God? Do we really need them or do we already know in our hearts what He is asking of us? How can we open our eyes and ears to the daily miracles that surround us and show us how to live Christ-like lives?

O Lord, we believe in you and want only to accomplish your will.

Amen.

Fourth Monday of Lent

Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe… You may go; your son will live.

Persistence pays off when it comes to swaying God to help us. The royal official could have heard the first words of Jesus and become timid or frightened to ask him for help. However, his love for his son and his faith in Jesus prompts him to ask again and he is rewarded with his heart’s desire. Sometimes when we ask for things they don’t come to us right away and we start wondering if God is listening to us. We work and pray in worldly time, while God works in his own. He knows when, where, and how to answer our prayers so that we have the best chance at the salvation of our soul. We can learn a lot about how to be a faithful follower of God by looking at the reaction of the royal official. When Jesus says your son will live, he believes him and immediately starts back home. He is persistent, but he also knows how to trust the Word of God. Other people might have insisted Jesus come with them, not trusting him. We should make sure that in our persistence we do not become so set on what we think God should do for us that we forget to trust Him and let Him do it His Way.

Do we really need signs and wonders to believe in God? What are the simple everyday things in our lives which remind us that God is always listening to us? Do we have the trusting persistence we need to ask God for what we need and then let Him provide it to us according to His Providence?

O Lord, help us to believe your word and live.

Amen.

Third Thursday of Lent

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

There are some people in this world who always look for the dark lining in the clouds or are never satisfied. We can perform all manner of good deeds and they will find some fault with us. We can speak the truth and they will ask for some sign that we are right. This is what Jesus faced in his opponents. They would always find some reason to complain or to ask for more. They are not satisfied with what Jesus is offering them and so they belittle and misuse him. We should always be on guard against falling into the traps of finding fault with others or asking God to prove Himself to us through signs. Instead, we should be thankful for the good works we see others do and accept that God has a plan that will see us to heaven if we are willing to follow the only sign we will ever need… Jesus on the Cross!

Are we like the people who celebrate and are amazed at Jesus' good works? Or are we like those who complain or seek more signs? How can we resist these temptations and fully trust in God?

Amen.

Sixth Monday of Ordinary Time

Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.

Sometimes in our lives we ask God for signs to show us what to do, to bargain with him, or worst yet to test Him. However, signs are not what God wants us to be asking for in our lives. Even if He did answer us we would still have to interpret what a particular sign meant and might misunderstand it. Instead, we should focus on doing the right thing at all times and loving others as best as we can. If we do this then it should not matter whether we receive signs or not, we will know we are doing God’s Will and that is enough.

Do we look for signs in our lives or try to bargain with God through those signs? Are we willing to make blind leaps of faith without depending upon some false sign which might point us in the wrong direction? Can we set aside our prideful desire to interpret signs and simply love and do what God wills?

O Lord, give us no sign except for the cross.

Amen.