Twelfth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Who can tell the mighty deeds of the LORD, or proclaim all his praises?

There are many ways we can give thanks to God. We can give Him thanks through our prayers. We can give Him thanks through our acts of almsgiving. We can give Him thanks through our moments of mercy. We can give Him thanks through our mortifications and sacrifices. We can give Him thanks through our daily chores. We can give Him thanks with a glance toward Heaven. We can give Him thanks through our work for and with others. We can give Him thanks by proclaiming the Good News through our every word and work.

How do we give God thanks? How can we tell of God’s mighty deeds and proclaim and praise Him to others? How can we be good as God is good to us?

O Lord, we give thanks for you are good.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. Show forth, O God, your power, the power, O God, with which you took our part; For your temple in Jerusalem let the kings bring you gifts.

We all have gifts we should bring to God. Some of us have gifts of the body. Others gifts of the mind. Many of us have gifts of the spirit. No matter what these gifts are, we, like the Three Wise Kings, are called to bear them to God. We are to offer the gold of our good works to Him. We are asked to pay homage to Him through the frankincense of our prayers. We are meant to give him the myrrh of our acts of mercy. The wondrous thing about giving all our goods and gifts to God is He always returns them to us... magnified and glorified. He makes our poor offerings rich. So, we should be not afraid to offer up our little things to Him because He sees not that they are small, but that they are given to Him with great love.

What gifts and goods do we have that we can offer to God? How can we bring God into our daily actions both great and small? What can we do to prepare our gifts so they are given in the most humble and loving way?

O Lord, we bring you our gifts.

Amen.

The Resurrection of the Lord the Mass of Easter Sunday

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.”

Let us give thanks for the present of Easter, the gift of salvation, and the reward of eternal life. The Lord made the Sabbath for us. He prepared for it from the beginning of time and carried through on the promises He made to our ancestors. He gave His Beloved Son to the cross in order to cleanse our sins through His Body and Blood. He showed us mercy in spite of our sins, our failings, our faults, our doubts, our anxieties, our fears, and our indifferences. Imagine sacrificing ourselves for people who give us nothing but apathy, mockery, and evil. Could we give up our lives for such as these? God tells us, “Yes!” and so, we should make ourselves into living sacrifices... no matter the cost.

How will we celebrate this Easter season? How can we give thanks to God for all the good He has done for us? How can we show mercy to others?

O Lord, your mercy endures forever.

Amen.

Fourth Saturday of Lent

O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge. O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, Lest I become like the lion’s prey, to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.

God is our refuge, protecting from evil and sheltering us from the storms of life. Through His compassion, He shows us how to be a refuge for others. He shows us how to love all His children, even those who are most difficult to love. He shows us how to provide for the needy. He shows us how to comfort the suffering. He shows us how to be good as He is Good. He shows us how to rescue those in danger. He shows us how to be holy in all things. He does all of this because He wants us all to grow into living tabernacles, bearing Him into the world through our thoughts, words, and words... through our almsgiving, prayers, and mortifications.

Do we turn to God when we are in need of shelter? Are we a refuge for others? How can we follow God’s example and become living tabernacles of God’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?

O Lord, help us to become living refuges for all those in need.

Amen.

Fourth Thursday in Ordinary Time

O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple. Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth.

If we know, love, and serve God, then our souls become temples to God. He dwells within us and pours His Love and Mercy out upon us. It isn't always easy to upkeep our inner temples, but they need constant tending through prayer, charity, mortification, and acts of mercy. Without these actions, our temples would fall into disrepair and collapse. However, God gives us all the building blocks we need to build Him a great temple within our hearts. So, let us make use of all those graces, goods, and blessings He has given us and make a place of refuge for ourselves and all those whom we meet each day.

Do we treat ourselves, body, minds, and spirits, as living temples of the Lord? How can we build up our inner temples? What can we do to keep them from being weakened and destroyed?

O Lord, we ponder your mercy and hope to build up a temple for you within our hearts.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.

There are many ways we can sing God's praises. We can do so through prayerful thoughts and calm meditation. We can do so through contemplation of the Life of Christ and the Mysteries of our faith. We can do so through proclaiming the Good News. We can do so by speaking kindly to others or offering them words of encouragement in difficult times. We can do so through acts of charity poured out for God's children. We can do so through acts of forgiveness and mercy. Every good fruit we bear in this world is a song sung in praise of God and all He has done for us.

How can we sing God's praises through our thoughts? What about our words? What good works can we do to express our joy in being the children of God?

O Lord, we desire to sing your praises in everything we think, say, and do.

Amen.

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, " but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Being a Christian is more than just thinking good thoughts and proclaiming the good news. Our faith is more than just our beliefs, it is also our actions. Our good deeds say much more about what we truly believe than any thought we can have or word we can say. Without good works, we have a hollow faith. When faced with an opportunity to be charitable or merciful to another person, we cannot pass up the chance to help. If we do pass it up, then we fail to live up to the name of Christian. However, if we do everything we can to help those in need, then we shall be alive in our faith and be found worthy of spending eternal life with God in Heaven.

Do we express our faith in works as well as thoughts and words? How can we become more charitable and merciful to others? Are our eyes open to the opportunities to do good deeds for those in need?

O Lord, give us the grace to live out our faith through our good works.

Amen.

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep? You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts.

Woe to us all if we do not do our part in shepherding people. Like Jesus, we are all called to be shepherds to our fellow man. We are asked to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. We are tasked with caring for the sick and injured, bringing back the lost, and treating others with compassion. These are all things Jesus did during his most holy life and we would do well to imitate him from the moment we rise in the morning to the moment we fall asleep at night.

What are we doing to help shepherd the people in our lives? How are we bringing them closer to God? In what ways are we being charitable and merciful to those we meet each day?

O Lord, make us good shepherds.

Amen.

Sixth Monday of Easter

One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.

Listening and paying attention to God naturally leads into acting like a Christian. Once we hear the Word of God and truly appreciate its meaning, we cannot help but put its commandments and precepts into action. Lydia does this through her hospitality. We do this through our works of charity and mercy. The love and goodness we show others reflects the teachings of Christ and live out our baptismal promises. We say to God, “Come and stay in the home of our souls.” And He comes and makes us into His Dwelling Place.

Are we listening and paying attention to the Lord? How can we put His commandments and teachings into practice? Have we done everything we can to make our hearts into dwelling places for Him?

O Lord, come and stay with us.

Amen.

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

We preach the Good News in many ways. Through our thoughtful prayers, through our righteous words, and through our charitable and merciful works. We preach the same Gospel the first Christians preached... we are modern day apostles, great and small. If we hold fast to our faith in God, hope in His Plan, and love of Him and His children, then our belief will not be in vain. Jesus died for us, once and for all, and this is a message we are called to give witness to throughout our lives in whatever way we can with the gifts God has given us.

In what ways are we preaching the Good News? Are our lives a witness to the Way, the Truth, and the Life Jesus has handed onto us? How can we use our gifts and talents to spread the Word of God to all we meet?

O Lord, help us to preach what we have received from you and your Holy Church.

Amen.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."

We should be more welcoming to God and others. We should welcome God into our minds, hearts, and spirits. We should welcome others into our homes and lives. We would all be better off if the world with a more hospitable place where everyone loved each other to the best of their abilities. We can love others best by knowing, loving, and serving God and His children with humble and caring attitudes. Preaching, praying, acting righteously, and being compassionate and merciful are all ways we can receive God and others into our lives and bear good fruit in our relationships with them.

Are we receptive to having God in our lives? Are we welcoming of others? How can we show our hospitality to everyone so they can in turn see how welcoming God is to all peoples?

O Lord, let us receive you into our hearts so we can better give you to others through our preaching, praying, and acts of charity and mercy.

Amen.

Thirty-First Thursday of Ordinary Time

What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

We should all strive to find sinners and lead them back to God. We should never give up on them, even if they make it painful and difficult to bring them back. Nor should we be discouraged if they refuse to return with us and continue to run away from their Lord and Savior. We are to be satisfied with seeking out, finding, and offering help to those in most need of God's Love and Mercy. We cannot save everyone, but we can search for them and let them know there is a way back. And sometimes we shall have to carry a person back upon our shoulders, weighed down with their burdens, but if we are faithful and trust in God, He shall give us the strength to carry our living crosses just as Jesus did so long ago. Then, when we reach the finish line, we shall be able to see all those whom we helped along the way and they shall bear us on their shoulders and proclaim that we were good and faithful servants to them and to God.

Are we willing to set aside our own plans, needs, and wants to help others to return to God? How can we help others to find God and a place in paradise? Are we willing to carry others back to God when they are too lost or weak to do it on their own?

O Lord, we rejoice in every lost sheep you send our way.

Amen.

Thirty-First Monday of Ordinary Time

When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

We should make it a point to do everything we can for those who are in need. For the poor, we should enrich their lives with acts of mercy and love. For the crippled and lame, we should do what we can to help them succeed. We should give a hand to those who need it and go the extra mile for those who need someone to walk with them on their journeys. Our family and friends are important, but we should also remember that Jesus made others the focus of his life's mission and we are called to do the same.

In what ways are we enriching the lives of the poor and helping those in need? What can we do to invite others into our lives and help them? How can we make others the focus of our lives?

O Lord, may we always imitate you in how we treat others.

Amen.

Thirtieth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Little acts of love and mercy can have great effects on our lives and the lives of those around us. We might be tempted to believe that we cannot make a difference in this world. We might be tempted to disbelieve that what little we can do has the potential to raise people up to heavenly heights. However, God gives us gifts, talents, and graces for the very purpose of expanding His Kingdom on earth. We cannot do that if we are afraid, doubtful, or hesitant in regards to our faith. This is why Jesus constantly reminds his disciples to "Be not afraid." The Holy Spirit speaks these same words to us through our consciences and it is up to us to set aside our insecurities and trust in God's Plan. If we do this, then we can leaven the world, raise it up, and nourish the souls of those around us.

What little things can we do to know, love, and serve God and His children? What gifts, talents, and graces has God given us in order to do His Will? How have we used them in the past and how can we use them better in the days ahead?

O Lord, make us into leaven for the world and raise it up to heavenly heights.

Amen.

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

We should never pass up an opportunity to act in charity and mercy. Our faith is founded upon the corporeal and spiritual acts of mercy. These acts should be at the heart of our faith. There should be no questions, no doubts, nor hesitation to provide aid to those in need. When we die, we shall be judged by what we have done to the least of God's children and if we are found wanting we shall suffer torment for our trespasses. However, if we choose to act virtuously, then we will feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick, shelter the homeless, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. In addition, we will instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive wrongs willingly, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead. These actions might seem imposing, but they are equally rewarding to those who are willing to undertake them and make their lives a service to God and His children. It is our choice whether we choose love and mercy or selfishness and indifference. Hopefully, we shall choose the former and then when we die, we shall be carried away to paradise and know the joy of Lazarus.

In what areas of our lives are we selfish and indifferent? How can we overcome these temptations and become more loving and merciful? What can we do to avoid the fate of the rich man and enjoy the rewards of the poor man?

O Lord, help us to act more and more like you and less and less like the selfish rich man.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

God is constantly moved with pity for us. Whenever we are suffering or in trouble, his heart goes out to us. He wants us to stop weeping or suffering and through the Holy Spirit he offers us the graces we need to overcome our trials. He gives us consolation and compassion in our times of need. In return he asks us to do the same when we see others weeping or suffering. Like the crowd around the widow of Nain, we should be with those who are weeping or sorrowful. We should comfort them to the best of our abilities and make God present to others through our acts of love and mercy.

Do we show pity to others like Jesus? Are we compassionate and merciful? How do we make God present to those who are in need?

O Lord, move us to pity others and act mercifully toward them.

Amen.

Twenty-Third Monday of Ordinary Time

Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

It is always lawful to do good and avoid evil, no matter what day of the week it might be. We might not be called to cure people on the Sabbath, but we are often called to act with charity and mercy in the midst of our busy lives. Instead of looking for excuses to avoid the sacrifice being asked of us in terms of time, talents, and treasure, we should embrace the opportunities we are given to do God's Will. Sometimes that means being late to Mass, putting away the rosary, or skipping a devotion so we can help someone in need. God understands that sometimes good works interfere with our prayer lives. However, we should remember that in God's eyes our acts of charity and mercy are better, living prayers than any we could ever pray by ourselves.

Are we willing to stretch out our hand and seize our opportunities to do good? What can we do to prepare ourselves to lead sacrificial lives? How can we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to sensing when God is calling us to acts of charity and mercy?

O Lord, we stretch our hands out to you in hopes that you will restore us and show us how to do good without counting the cost.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

"Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

We are all called to do God’s Will, no matter the time or place. Sometimes we can convince ourselves that we shouldn’t do the right thing because we’re too busy practicing our religious routines. However, we should not let ourselves be blinded to the needs of others by our personal spirituality. Sometimes we may need to stop in the middle of a prayer to give someone else a hand. We might even need to miss Mass in order to take care of someone in need. God knows that if we could have finished the prayer or gone to Mass we would have done so. He sees the inner actions of our hearts and He will not punish us for being Christ-like and knowing, loving, and serving our neighbors in their times of need. We should never allow an opportunity to show mercy to pass by because of a sense of religious obligation.

Have we let chances to do God’s Will pass us by out of a false sense of religiousness? What can we do to open our hearts to those moments when we can offer God acts of love and mercy outside our normal religious routines? How can we prepare ourselves for those moments when we might be called to be not just religious, but merciful servants as well?

O Lord, make us into fonts of your mercy.

Amen.

Twelfth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

Jesus sees Peter’s mother-in-law is ill and heals her, then goes on to heal many others who are brought to him. We can learn a lot about what it means to love by reading the scriptures and then imitating Jesus’ actions. When we see someone in need, we should have the same response as Jesus does. We should seek to comfort the afflicted and do everything we can to help them heal. So too, we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves to help them as best we can. Jesus did not turn people away because he was too busy, too tired, or needed a break. He did everything he could to help those in need and so should we.

Who are the people in our lives who are most in need? How can we know, love, and serve them? What are we willing to sacrifice for their benefit?

O Lord, you have taken away our infirmities. Help us to do the same for others.

Amen.

The First Monday of Lent

“He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Eventually, we will either be sheep or goats. We will either fall on the right or left. There will be no middle ground for us to waffle on. In the end, we will either be wholly God's and bound to Heaven or wholly ourselves and doomed to destruction. And it all depends not only on how faithful we are to God, but also how loving and forgiving we are to others. Our acts of charity and mercy (or lack thereof) will define what we are and where we belong. Hopefully, they define us as loving Christians and faithful servants to God and His children.

Do we feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty? Do we welcome strangers and clothe the naked? Do we care for the sick and visit those who are in prison?

O Lord, grant us the grace to be part of your faithful flock so that one day we might enjoy eternity with you in the pastures of paradise.

Amen.