Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

We are all God’s children and He wants the best for us. He wants us to live good lives and to grow in faith, hope, and love. He wants us to become the best versions of ourselves and choose right over wrong. He gives us every grace to succeed as His children. And if we do fail, He is there to pick us up again, dust us off, and bandage our wounds. He may be disappointed in us, but He will never abandon us. Instead, He will treat us with mercy and compassion and continue to teach us what is good and evil, hoping that we will not repeat our mistakes or fall again. And if we do? He is there again, willing to forgive and forget, if we will but admit our sins, do penance, and try to amend our lives.

Do we act like children of God? Are our lives reflective of our Heavenly Father’s Divine Love and Mercy? How can we amend our lives and become worthy heirs to God’s Kingdom?

O Lord, grant us the grace to choose goodness over sin.

Amen.

Third Thursday of Advent

My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory! For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. 

From the moment of our conception, God has loved us as His Own children. He blessed us in the womb with gifts, graces, and strengths that would help us throughout our lives. From birth, we have been dependent upon Him for all good things and this reliance will continue till the day we die and beyond. God has watched over us since out youth, granting us everything we need to become good and faithful servants to Him and to our brothers and sisters. He has been a Father to us, protecting, guiding, and encouraging us in our good words. He has also reprimanded us when we have gone astray and tried to lead us back to the right path as gently, but firmly as possible. For all these reasons, we find hope in Him and trust in His Ways. We praise Him for His Works and sing of His Glory because He has been the best Father, we could ever ask for... patient, kind, and compassionate.

Do we thank God for all the blessings He has given us? Do we allow Him to be our Father and act like His children, obedient and loving? What can we do to imitate Him in our lives?

O Lord, you are our Father, in you we trust and hope.

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Mary is the Mother of God and all His children. She loves us unconditionally, as a perfect parent. She is an advocate for us before the Heavenly Father just like many mothers are advocates for their children. She is a role model for us, showing us how to know, love, and serve God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. She is a servant of God and of us, who works tirelessly and patiently to lead us to a closer relationship with Jesus, her son and our brother. She is a mold, who can shape us into good and faithful servants. She is filled with grace and the Holy Spirit and through her role as His Holy Spouse, she asks for us every spiritual blessing we need in order to thrive as her children. She comforts us when we are sorrowful and will never leave our side, just as she never left Jesus.

Do we give thanks to God for giving us Mary as our spiritual Mother? What can we learn from her life of service and humility? How can we become better children of God, our Father, and Mary, our Mother?

O Lord, we thank you for our Blessed Mother, Mary.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.  In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.

We are all adopted children of God through Jesus Christ, who made us his brothers and sisters through his life, passion, death, and resurrection. He broke his body and poured out his blood for us in order to secure us our adoption... to make us co-heirs to the Kingdom of God. He shows us how to be good and faithful children to our Heavenly Father. He shared his own Holy Mother with us while on the cross and asked us to take her into our homes and hearts. He gave us his Holy Spirit to be our advocate and constant guide. He has offered his love, his mercy, his saving and sanctifying grace to fill us with good things so we might grow in favor with God and give praise and glory to Him for all He has done for us.

How are we living out our calling to be co-heirs to the kingdom of God? What can we do to become more faithful children of our Lord? Do we give thanks for all the blessings God has given us, especially the Holy Spirit and our Holy Queen, Mary?

O Lord, bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

We praise your glorious name, O mighty God. “Blessed may you be, O LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity.”

What a wonderful blessing it is to have God as our Father. His Divine Love created us in His Divine Image. His blessings and graces are poured out for us constantly. Every gift, talent, and good we possess He has passed onto us through His Hands. He will never abandon or forsake us. He is always with us. He knows what is best for us, even when we don’t. He is our most perfect Father and will protect us from every evil as long as we let Him. So, let us praise His Glorious Name and thank our Mighty God for all He has done, is doing, and will ever do for us.

Do we accept and acknowledge God as out Heavenly Father? What do we do to be good and faithful children to Him? How can we show our appreciation for everything He has given us?

O Lord, our Father, blessed may you be.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

We are all called to be saints. We are all made in the image of God and He loves us as Himself. He calls us His children and like any Father, He wants what is best for us. He wants to protect us from harm, show us the way to live holy and good lives, and offer us a seat at His Heavenly banquet table. No wonder the world does not know us! No wonder the world mocks and persecutes us! We are beloved by God and that love shines through us and stands in stark contrast to the dark places the world’s adherents cling to. We are made for loftier things than fame or fortune or pleasures or selfishness. We are made to go out from ourselves, to share our faith, hope, and love with all whom we meet so we will be revealed to be like our God. Caring compassionate, and welcoming of all who wish to be united with Christ and see the face of God as saints.

Do we accept our place as children of God and all the responsibilities that entails? Are we willing to be mocked and persecuted in order to spread the Good News that our heavenly Father has given us? How can we become more like Him in all we think, say, and do?

O Lord, we are your children now and forever.

Amen.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

God cannot deny the image of Himself that resides in each person. This is why He is so willing to forgive and bring us back into His good graces even after we have turned our backs on Him through sin or apathy. He wants us to be united to Him in body, mind, and spirit. He wants us to magnify Him through our thoughts, words, and works. However, He will not force us to be good and faithful children. He wants us to choose to know, love, and serve Him and the image of Him that exists in each person. If we deny Him, He will attempt to change our minds and give us every opportunity to atone for our transgressions, but in the end, He will deny us salvation if we refuse the offers of His Divine Mercy. But, if we persevere and die with Him, then we shall live forever with Him as co-heirs to His Heavenly Kingdom.

In what ways have we denied God’s Divine Image within us? How can we rid ourselves of these things that mar us so we can accept God more fully into our hearts, minds, and spirits? What can we do to persevere in our faith?

O Lord, we are willing to die for you.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer. Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you, lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.

Our prayers do not go unheard or unanswered. God is always listening to us, in our thoughts and in our words. When we petition Him, He knows the truth behind our prayers. He knows what is good for us and what would be bad. He gives us what we need to flourish as His children. He answers us in ways that will help us to become better Christians. He denies us when what we ask for isn’t what would be best for us, but He softens the rejection by giving us something better. He knows us and what we truly need just as a good father knows his children and gives them what is good even though his children might not understand and complain. God is confident that what He gives us will eventually be accepted and cherished. And for that we should all be thankful.

What petitions are we making to the Lord? Can we honestly say they are all for our good or the good of others or are some selfish? How can we make better prayers and petitions to God?

O Lord, you hear the sound of our pleading and answer us beyond anything we could hope for.

Amen.

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

You are my inheritance, O Lord. Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot.

God is our inheritance. He is both the promise and the gift. It is in Him that we will find the rewards of everlasting life and it is through Him that we will find our true callings in life. He is our refuge and our rest. He is our Lord and Savior. It is Him who allots our portion and fills our cups to overflowing. He holds nothing back from us and gives us exactly what we need to grow in faith, hope, and love. He is life giving, granting us the graces and blessings that will help us to live life abundantly. It is to Him and Him alone that we should hold onto in our times of need for He will give us all He can to help us to get to a place of plenty.

Do we take our role as heirs to God’s Kingdom seriously? How can we fulfill our callings to be His holy and good children? What can we do to help others to find their inheritance, too?

O Lord, be our inheritance and the cup of our salvation.

Amen.

Fourteenth Monday of Ordinary Time

In you, my God, I place my trust. You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, Say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Our relationships with others are founded on trust and it is no different when it comes to God. The only difference is we either trust Him completely or we don’t trust in Him at all. We either depend on Him or on ourselves. We follow His Way, Truth, and Life or we make our own. We shelter in His Good Graces or we seek worldly security. We rest in His Arms or we take comfort in earthly pleasures. We have a deep and loving relationship with God or we have a shallow and selfish one (or no relationships at all).

What is our relationship with God like? Is it important to us and central to the way we live? How can we root ourselves more firmly as a child of God and heir to His Kingdom?

O Lord, we place our trust in you.

Amen.

Thirteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Praise the Lord for the Lord is good! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise, you servants of the LORD Who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.

God has chosen us to be His children. He has given us life through the Heavenly Father. He has given us His Love and Mercy through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He has given us inspiration and guidance through the Holy Spirit. The promises He has made to us through the Word Made Flesh and the Good News cannot be taken back. The gifts He has given cannot be withdrawn. We can reject them through our own choice, but God is always with us offering us the best way to live fruitful, good, and eternal lives. All we have to do is accept the light yoke of becoming servants to Him and take up our place in His Heavenly Home.

What work is God calling us to do? Are we willing to put aside our own wants and dreams and become servants of the Lord? How can we let go of our desire to be masters of our own destinies and instead let God guide us?

O Lord, we praise you for you are good.

Amen.

Eleventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Blessed the man who fears the Lord. Wealth and riches shall be in his house; his generosity shall endure forever. Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just.

Fear is often seen as something bad in the world around us. However, there are times when fear is helpful and good. One such example is fearing the Lord. This is not the scary fear we often think of, but rather a fear based in awe and reverence. It is the fear a child feels when they worry about disappointing their parents. It is the fear that comes out of a concern for someone or something else in our lives. This good type of fear isn’t paralyzing, but rather freeing. It enriches us and helps us to endure all things for God. It is a fear that sparks the fire of devotion within us that shines through the darkness and helps guide us to become gracious, merciful, and just.

Do we fear the Lord? How can we show our love and respect for Him? What can we do to become lights of God’s Love to the world?

O Lord, we fear disappointing you. Grant us the grace to never do so.

Amen.

Fourth Friday of Easter

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. “I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”

We are the children of God. This means we are unconditionally loved by our Heavenly Father. He cares for us better than any earthly parent ever could and will do everything in His power to help us to grow in faith, hope, and love. He wants us to succeed in life, but like a good father, He will not force us to become what He wants us to be. He wants us to choose to know, love, and serve Him on our own because He knows He can’t force us to be good and faithful. We must want to follow in His footsteps before we can walk with Him into Paradise.

Are we living up to the responsibilities of being a child of God? How can we become better sons and daughters of our Good Father? What can we do to help others to be better children, too?

O Lord, you begot us and love us, help us to be holy children.

Amen.

Third Wednesday of Lent

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.

Each and every day we need to find time to praise God. It can be in little ways or great ways. It can be through how we treat others or how we treat ourselves. It can be through prayer, mortification, or almsgiving. It can be through acts of charity, mercy, or penance. Praising God can be done in many ways and at any time. A simple glance toward heaven in thanksgiving is sometimes all that is necessary to show our faith. A quick prayer of petition is all that we need to show our hope. A humble act of self-sacrifice can express our great love.

How often do we praise the Lord? What little or great ways can we show God that we are His loving children? What can we do to spread a love of God to others?

O Lord, we praise you for all you’ve done for us.

Amen.

Fifth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy! You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night.

God constantly pours His love upon us because He wants us to be filled with love. He wants us to be overflowing with holiness, goodness, truth, mercy, and all that He is. He wants us to magnify Him in and through our every thought, word, and work. He only wants what is best for us and does everything in His power to provide us with the graces and blessings we need to become good and faithful servants to Him and His children.  He wants to make us heirs to His Heavenly Kingdom because He wants to spend the rest of eternity with us. Our Father wants us to be his sons and daughters forever and ever, for a thousand years and beyond... till time ends and beyond. It should humble us to imagine that God loves us so much although we are less than dust compared to Him. What a marvelous thing it is to be loved by an infinite God.

Are we allowing ourselves to be filled to the brim with God’s Love? Do we sing for joy at the thought of how much we are loved by our Heavenly Father? How can we help others feel loved, too?

O Lord, fill us with your love.

Amen.

Monday After Epiphany

I will give you all the nations for an inheritance. The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.”

God has given us all a great inheritance. He has provided us life for a reason. He has not given us the gifts and goods we have to squander them on worldly things. He wants us to use them to proclaim His Good News in great and small ways. Not all of us are called to be prophets, priests, or kings, but we all have duties that reflect these roles. We are asked to speak the Truth like the Prophet of Prophets. We are called to make our lives into sacrifices like the Priest of Priests. We are called to know, love, and serve God and others like the King of Kings. We can't do these things if we prefer the lies of the world, allow our possessions to possess us, avoid suffering at all costs, or choose to be selfish. No, the only way to be found worthy of our spiritual inheritance is to accept it and then live our lives in accordance with God's Will.

Are we using our inheritance wisely and well? How can we become better stewards of God's gifts and blessings? How can we avoid the temptations and traps of the world?

O Lord, we are your children and accept your will.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

Jesus came into the world to make us all into the adopted children of God. He came to show us how to cast off our sinful selves and put on the spirit of the Lamb. He became our scapegoat so we might be washed clean of our sins by His Precious Blood. He become our food so we might be united to God through His Blessed Body. If we do these things, then the world will not recognize us and we will not become lost in its lures, temptations, and vices. By accepting our call to be children of God, we become more and more like Jesus and our eyes are opened so we can see God as He is and our fellow brothers and sisters as they are, too. So, let us make ourselves pure as Jesus is pure so one day we might join him in Heaven forever and ever.

Do we think, speak, and act like children of God? How can we purify ourselves so we are more like Christ in all things? What can we do to follow our calling to become good and faithful children of our Heavenly Father?

O Lord, we are your children now.

Amen.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son: this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Although we might not all be called to be priests or religious or missionaries, we are all called to be Christ. In that way, we are all called to be the sons and daughters of God and to proclaim the Good News and participate in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Our every thought, word, and work should have the Gospels behind them so we might be living reflections of Jesus Christ, our high priest and savior. So too, we should place ourselves in the right mind before, during, and after Mass by offering ourselves as sacrifices upon the altar and giving God all our good works. In this way, we live up to our calling to be a priestly people and true sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

What honors has God given us? How can we make them holy? In what ways can we live out our calling to be a priestly people?

O Lord, thank you for making us your sons and daughters through Christ.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers.'

God sent us His Beloved Son so we might become brothers and sisters in Christ. God did not have to lower Himself and become flesh and blood. He did not need to be born of the Virgin Mary. He could have come to earth in any form and yet he choose to come as one of us. He choose to lower himself for a little while and become a helpless baby born of a young mother. He choose to grow up under obedience to his earthly parents. He remained hidden for thirty years of his life. As one of us, he must have suffered in a thousand little ways before He took up the mantle of Messiah. Bumps and bruises, lost loved ones, and other unrecorded troubles. And after he began proclaiming the Good News, he suffered even more... disappointments, rejections, mockery, and persecution. All culminating in his Passion and Death so he might rise again and bring with him the promise of the Resurrection. We would do well to remember this as we go through our lives. When we feel that God has abandoned us, we should look to the cross and remember Jesus bore great burdens for us and will never ask of us to carry more than we can bear.

Do we act like brothers and sisters in Christ? Have we mediated on what it means that God sent His Beloved Son into the world to live and die as one of us? How can we live more faithfully as the adopted children of God?

O Lord, we are not ashamed to call you our brother and our Savior.

Amen.

Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, bishop & doctor of the Church

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist. But not all have this knowledge.

Our lives should be founded upon our relationship with God. It is because of Him that we exist and it is in Him and through Him that we find our fulfillment. This is why it is so important to understand our connections to God and to strive to live in accordance with God’s Will. He is our Heavenly Father and we are His children. As such we should constantly seek God’s protection, do all we can to follow His commandments, and fear disappointing Him in any way. We should also recognize God as our Spiritual Brother, who teaches us how to know, love, and serve Him and our siblings in Christ. Last but not least, we must allow the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide us as an Advocate who wants only the best for us. By doing these things, we become more perfectly united to the Holy Trinity and are prepared more fully for a life everlasting with Him.

How can we become better children to Our Heavenly Father? In what ways can we better follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life of our Heavenly Brother, Jesus Christ? Are we willing to let the Holy Spirit enkindle us with the fires of true love and mercy?

O Lord, it is for you that we all exist and we shall only rest peacefully when we have made ourselves right with you.

Amen.