Ninth Wednesday in Ordinary Time

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God. He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design.

Our faith requires us to be brave. We cannot be cowards if we want to be like Jesus Christ. We cannot be cowards if we want to be saved from our sins. We cannot be cowards if we want to have a place in heaven. Instead, we must put on a spirit of power, love, and self-control. We might be called upon to suffer much for God's Glory and the good of others. And if this is the case, then we must bear our share of hardships for the Gospel without hesitation or complaint. We must trust God will grant us the strength we need to overcome all our trials and lead holy lives guided by His Divine Will.

Are we brave in our faith? How can we resist the temptation to cowardice in our spiritual lives? What can we do to bear the hardships of our faith with complete trust that God will see us through all our sufferings to a life without end?

O Lord, give us your spirit of power, love, and self-control.

Amen.

Fourteenth Monday of Ordinary Time

When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping. "And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.

Sometimes when we try to help others or to do the right thing, others ridicule us and make us feel like we are doing something wrong. However, when we are faced with the opportunity to act out of love or mercy, we should not let the chance pass by because of what others think. All we can do in this life is to try to think, speak, and act like Jesus. We are called to be God-bearers just as Mary was in her life. When faced with ridicule, we must put the crowd out of our minds and do the right thing. In this way, we can raise the spirits of those whom we help and gain even more glory for God by doing it in spite of what others might think, say, or do to us because of it.

Who are the people who ridicule our faith? Do we let them keep us from doing the right thing? How can we be more Christ-like even in the face of opposition?

O Lord, help us to ignore the ridicule of others and act in accord with your will.

Amen.

Second Wednesday of Lent

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.

The bravery in these words is astounding. Jesus knows what will happen to him when he goes to Jerusalem and yet he still goes. What makes this statement even more poignant is the fact that the disciples are bickering about who will sit at his left and right hand in the coming kingdom. They have no idea of the sacrifice Jesus is about to make for them and all God’s children. They cannot fathom the suffering he will have to endure. They are unappreciative of what it truly means to be a suffering servant. They are still thinking in worldly terms and looking for worldly rewards. However, Jesus does not offer us a seat at his left or right, he only offers us the chalice of salvation, which is bitter-sweet just as his Passion was so long ago.

Are we willing to be handed over to our persecutors? Are we willing to be condemned for our beliefs? Are we willing to suffer mockery for our faith?

O Lord, let us go to Jerusalem with you so that we too might one day be raised to Heaven.

Amen.