Seventh Tuesday of Ordinary Time

You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Our passions are not necessarily evil, but they can lead us to evil if they are bound to worldly things. Instead, our passions should be based upon knowing, loving, and serving God and His children. However, if we don’t ask for what is good for us or ask for the wrong things, we can be led astray. We can confuse a worldly want for a need and misalign our lives with things that can led to temptation, sin, and vice. If we love worldly things more than God, then we turn our backs on the one who loves us most and make ourselves into His enemies. Thankfully, we can avoid this fate by asking for spiritual goods to fulfill our spiritual passions. As long as we choose to be a lover of God, then we shall receive the grace we need to overcome all the obstacles the world puts in our way.

Are our passions leading us astray or toward God? How can we place our spiritual passions above our worldly ones? How can we become more faithful lovers of God at all times and in all ways?

O Lord, we ask for you to make us faithful lovers of you above all.

Amen.