Thirteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"

When our souls are beset by storms of doubt, Jesus is always at the ready to remind us of our need to have faith in him and to trust that he will calm the winds and seas of worry. No matter how hopeless things appear, we cannot let our anxieties overcome our faith. No matter how bruised and battered we are by life, we cannot let the winds of uncertainty terrify us. God is with us and that should be enough for us to withstand all our sufferings. The next time we are afraid of something, we ought to remember what sort of God-man Jesus is and we should obey him and let our hearts be calmed.

What anxieties, worries, and doubts are currently on our minds? How can we offer these up to the Lord in the spirit of trust? How do we remind ourselves that God is with us?

O Lord, calm the stormy winds and seas of our hearts.

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.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”

The synagogue official comes to Jesus asking for Christ to heal his daughter. Along the way Jesus’ cloak is touched by a woman in need of healing. When Jesus senses the power go out from him he stops and asks, “Who has touched my clothes?” The woman tells him the whole truth. All the while, the synagogue official keeps silent. He could have complained to Jesus for stopping and “forgetting” his daughter for something as silly as someone touching Jesus in the crowd. When the news arrives that his daughter is dead, the official could have blamed the woman for making a scene and delaying Jesus. He could have let his loss cause him to cry out to Jesus, “Why couldn’t you have come without delay to my daughter?” However, he doesn’t do any of these things and instead when Jesus tells him to be not afraid and to have faith that is exactly what he does and he is rewarded for his patience and trust. His daughter is raised from the dead and his suffering has turned into joy.

Do we get upset at God when He seems to delay His answers to our prayers? Do we ask Him why He has forgotten us or delayed His help? How can we cultivate a spirit of patience and trust in God’s Providence?

O Lord, help us to be not afraid and to have faith in you.

Amen.

Twelfth Saturday of Ordinary Time

“For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go.’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

The centurion recognizes Jesus’ authority over all of God’s children and in this series of examples he illustrates for all of us what it means to have dominion over all creation. We, like the centurion, should trust that when we ask something of God that He can use His authority to help us. Perhaps it might not be in such a dramatic way as the healing of the servant, but God listens to our prayers and answers us in His own way and at the time of His own choosing. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God the Father have authority over our lives, we should respect that power as the centurion does. We should recognize how unworthy we are of God's help, while at the same time being bold enough to ask Him to aid us in spite of our failure to love Him and His children as we ought to do.

Do we recognize God’s authority in our lives? Do we give thanks for all the great and small things God does for us? Are we like little children, willing to ask our Heavenly Father for His graces even though we haven’t been the best of heirs to His Kingdom?

O Lord, let us be subject to your authority.

Amen.

Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time

“See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

After Jesus heals the leper, he asks him to tell no one and then offer a gift as Moses prescribed. We can only assume he does what Christ tells him to do because unlike other healing stories there isn’t a follow up story about the leper telling everyone that Jesus has healed him. Instead, he simply does what he is told and there is nothing else to the story. He doesn't complicate things like so many of us do when God does something for us. We often cannot contain ourselves when something good happens and although there is nothing wrong with celebrating good news, we should always do so in a way that is respectful to God and does not make ourselves into a center of attention.  In addition, we should show our thanks to God for all of His help whenever anything good happens to us.

Do we do what God tells us to do in the gospels? Do we offer God all our gifts in thanksgiving for His help? What do we do to express our gratitude?

O Lord, help us to do what you tell us to do.

Amen.

Twelfth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?” Then I will declare to them solemnly, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.”

We can do the right things, but for the wrong reasons and this is why Jesus warns us today that not everyone who claims to follow him will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ gospel message is about much more than doing the right thing. It is also about doing the loving and good thing. If we have faith and hope without thoughts, words, and works of love, then we have an empty faith and a hollow hope. We must be on guard against feeling holier than others and thinking that our actions alone merit salvation. Only God knows our hearts and sometimes when we honestly reflect on the “good” things we have done, we sometimes will recognize how pride, envy, and other sins have tarnished them. This is not to say that we shouldn’t make the extra effort to do good, but rather that we should not pat ourselves on the back for the good God inspires us to do, especially in light of the good we have failed to do.

Do we do our good works enthusiastically, wholeheartedly, and with humility? Or do we complain, procrastinate, or take excessive pride in what we have done? How can we do both the right and loving thing?

O Lord, help us to love as you want us to so that when we die you might know us and we might know you, too.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

"What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

When we were born, our parents and other family members probably wondered what we would be. The possibilities were endless and the future unknown, perhaps for some of us this is still the case. However, one thing is for sure, the Lord is with us just as He was with John. If we let Him nourish us on holiness and humility, then we too will grow and become strong in the spirit. God knows what He wants us to be, it is up to us to accept His invitation and fulfill our promise or chose our own way and seek our own ends.

What, then, will we be? How do we let the Lord think, speak, and work through us? What is God’s plan for us and have we accepted it?

O Lord, be with us so that we might grow and be strong in the spirit.

Amen.