Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.

Although Paul’s words are addressed to the Romans and the Church, they echo the life of Mary, who we all should take as our model of holiness. For of all the creatures in the world, only Mary, through the grace of God, remained sinless. She endured the afflictions of the Passion and the Cross. She persevered in prayer through these trials, placing her trust in God the Father. This is because her love is sincere, she hates evil, she holds onto what was good. She loves others with compassionate affection and shows them honor and gives them dignity. Her zeal for doing God’s Will never wavers, she is fervent in the Spirit, her Beloved Spouse. She serves the Lord and His children. She rejoices in her Savior and Son, the Prince of Hope. She contributes to the needs of the God’s holy ones past, present, and future. She exercises every hospitality to God’s children, her children, because she loves us all as her own. By imitating Mary, we become more Christ-like. She is our stepping stone, leading to the Holy Trinity, Her Father, Her Son, and Her Holy Spouse.

Is our love of God and neighbor sincere? Are we fervent in the Spirit? How can we imitate Mary and become more like Christ?

O Lord, help us to become more like you, just as Mary did in her most holy life.

Amen.

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me.

With the aid of the Holy Spirit, our faith can move mountains, our hope can overcome all tears and trials, and our love can bear witness to God’s Love and Mercy. If we tried to act like Christians without the support of the Holy Spirit, we would soon be crushed beneath the weight of our fears, doubts, sins, and all the worldly trials that face us. We are too weak to carry our crosses by ourselves, but thankfully, our Heavenly Father gave us the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of His Beloved Son. All we have to do is keep our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God. If we are receptive to these gifts and the graces that come with them, then we will become good and faithful servants to our God and be willing and able to accept the sacrifices He asks of us. And when we go through our own passions and deaths, we shall know in our heart of hearts that we were not alone, but flanked by the Holy Trinity.

Have we served God humbly through good times and bad? Have we bore witness to God’s Goodness, Love, and Mercy with every ounce of life we have? How can we open our hearts to the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

O Lord, we thank you for your gifts and desire only to follow you to where we need to be to put them to their best use.

Amen.

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Altogether there were about twelve men.

In the sacrament of baptism, we receive an indelible mark on our souls that consecrates us as belonging to Christ and grants us the Holy Spirit. Once baptized, we are forever Christians. There is no way to erase the mark, even if we cut ourselves off from the Church, the Body of Christ. We will always retain the seal of our baptism. Hopefully, we do not want to rid ourselves of this holy seal, but rather to live up to it. The best way for us to live with the mark of baptism is to live out our baptismal promises with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. To proclaim our love for our Heavenly Father, His Beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit that makes up the Trinity. It was by the three personal names of our One God that we were joined with Him and His Church. And just as the Holy Spirit is the Love of Father for Son and Son for Father, so too the Church is the love of the Holy Trinity for us and us for the Holy Trinity. Our love for God and each other lives in the Church and her teachings and traditions because God is alive in her.

Are we living up to the responsibilities of being Christians? How do we manifest and magnify the indelible mark that has be left upon our souls through the sacrament of baptism? How can we more perfectly imitate the love of the Holy Trinity in our love of God and others, especially through the institution of the Church?

O Lord, send your Holy Spirit upon us so we might live and love like God.

Amen.

The Ascension of the Lord

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Even after everything Jesus had done for his disciples, they still doubted. We are often tempted to doubt, too. No matter how many times God proves Himself to us in great and small ways, we still doubt. Perhaps we doubt in God Himself or His Goodness, especially after a tragedy in our lives or when we are in the midst of trials. Perhaps we doubt He forgives us for our sins when we are despairing. Perhaps we doubt the teachings and traditions of the Church because they do not align with our own opinions. The temptation to doubt is constantly around us, but it does not and should not define us. Instead, our lives should be defined by faith, hope, and love. Faith in a Good and Merciful Heavenly Father, who loves us and gives us every grace we need to survive our trials and thrive as saints. Hope in a Savior, who sacrificed Himself for us and will always be with us. Love in a Holy Spirit, who guides, inspires, and enlightens us to grow as charitable members of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Are we willing to place our faith in our Heavenly Father? Are we willing to ground our hope in our Savior, Jesus? Are we willing to allow the Holy Spirit to know, love, and serve others through us?

O Lord, you are with us always. May we never forget this simple, but profound truth!

Amen.

Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately.

None of us know the whole truth of the Good News. We may be authorities on the Scriptures as Apollos was. We may have many insights into the Gospels. However, at times we all need to be taken aside and have the Way of God explained more accurately to us. It takes great humility of spirit to allow ourselves to be taught, to open our hearts to new ideas, to keep a receptive mind. Sometimes we will discover that the truth isn’t always in the newest philosophies, but in the oldest traditions. Other times we will find new insights into our faith that will update, but not invalidate the teachings of the Church. The Holy Spirit is alive in our lives in many ways... through other people, through the teachings and traditions of the Church, and through our consciences. If we are welcoming to His inspirations, He will give us His gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord and these graces will lead us to following the Way of God more accurately than if we tried to make our own way.

Are we open to the counsel of others and the Church? Are our hearts receptive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit? How can we make the gifts of the Holy Spirit more central to our lives?

O Lord, help us to live Your Way more accurately.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest

One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, "Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city." He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them.

Although we might not receive such a message directly from God, we should take God's message to Paul into our own hearts. We should not be afraid to go on speaking the Good News to others. We should not be silent when confronted with opposition to our faith because God is with us. None of those who attack us can truly harm us as long as we hold fast to the faith and trust in God. Yes, we might suffer for our faith, but God will never give us more than we can handle and the wounds we receive for his sake are ones we can wear proudly to the Judgement Day.

Have we put fear behind us in regards to proclaiming the Good News? So we truly believe God is with us everywhere we go? Are we willing to teach the word no make the opposition?

O Lord, we are not afraid of going forth and speaking the Good News.

Amen.

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

We all have a responsibility to spread the Good News. However, we should not force our faith on others. Some people will be turned off if we push too hard. We simply have to pray for guidance in these matters and be aware of when we might be pushing our beliefs onto others. Every person’s faith journey is different. Some people need constant support to grow in the faith. Others are better off coming to the faith more independently. Once we have introduced the faith to someone, we should let them take the next step. Only they know if they are ready to receive the Word of God. There may be times in our lives when we come across people who do not want to be evangelized and might be turned off by the way we think, speak, or act as Christians. If this is the case, then we, like Paul, are clear of our responsibility and can move on to more fertile souls. We shouldn’t see such moments as failure either... because we have succeeded in spreading the word and who knows... perhaps one day the seed we planted will grow into faith.

In what ways are we preaching the word? Are we willing to be rejected? How can we spread the Good News without forcing it on others?

O Lord, may our lives be a testimony to the truth that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior.

Amen.