Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

“I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.”

We are constantly given opportunities to acknowledge or deny Jesus before others. Every word we speak and work we perform reflects our hearts and whether they are with God or against Him. Hopefully, our speech echoes the message of the gospel and our actions mirror those Jesus undertook in his life. Of course we are not always perfect manifestations of God’s Love and Mercy, but even when we fall under the weight of our own crosses, we should imitate our Lord by standing up and continuing our journey towards Cavalry.

Do we acknowledge God before others? In what ways do we deny Him? How can we accept Him more faithfully and become better reflections of His Love, Mercy, and Grace?

O Lord, give us the strength and courage to acknowledge you now and forever.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Friday of Ordinary Time

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

The stronger man is Jesus, who overcomes the Devil and scatters him and his minions. Jesus lays down the gauntlet to us in this gospel. He tells us plainly that we are either with him or against him. There is no middle ground. We cannot sit upon the fence and let opportunities to gather good fruits with Christ to pass us buy. If we do this, then in the end we will be empty handed. Whenever we have a great or small success in our spiritual lives we must remember it is not enough. We cannot rest on our laurels. We must instead double our guard. So let us welcome Jesus into our hearts so that he might defend us against sin and tepidity and show us how to truly know, love, and serve God and His children.

Have we let Jesus into our hearts? Do we let God help us overcome and scatter our sins? Are we with God or against Him?

O Lord, we are with you and ready to gather in your name.

Amen.