Ascension of the Lord

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

It is important to wash clean our consciences on a regular basis. We all need healing from sins. We all need to come to God with humble and contrite hearts. We all need to make good confessions to free ourselves from the wickedness and snares of the Devil. The sacrament of reconciliation is a great source of hope for all of us. There should be no fear of such a wonderfully freeing experience. Instead, we should go confidently into the confessional and speak to God from the depths of our souls and allow Him to wash away our sins and cleanse us of our iniquities. It was for this purpose that Jesus Christ came into the world and we would do well to make use of God’s Divine Mercy.

Do we seek God’s cleansing sacrament as frequently as we should? Do we allow God to work His Divine Mercy within us? How can we lead others to the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, thank you for the cleansing waters that flowed from your wounds.

Amen.

Second Tuesday of Lent

Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

We all need to learn to wash clean our hearts, to put away our misdeeds, and learn to do good. We can’t do that if we are unrepentant or allow ourselves to be distracted by the world around us and all the pleasures it offers us. If we want to set things right with the Lord, then we have to know, love, and serve God and His children with all that we are. We have to put justice, penance, and charity ahead of our own desires and passions. We have to seek out God’s forgiveness with contrite hearts and strive to obey Him in all things. Only then can our sins be washed away and our souls be prepared for the heavenly feast.

How can we lead spiritually clean lives? What misdeeds and sins do we need to put away? How can we put right our wrongs?

O Lord, wash us clean.

Amen.

First Sunday of Lent

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

The Noah’s ark prefigured the sacrament of baptism, which saves all Christians, who accept its cleansing and live out its spirit with a clean conscience. Jesus offered all of us this blessing and grace through his life and death. He died for us so that we might live. He took our sins upon his sinless self in order to give us hope in a new life. He accepted the abuses of his passion and death so we might be freed from the chains of sin. He has built for us a bridge to heaven through his cross. He has gone to heaven before us to prepare a place for us... if we are willing to allow him to do so and live our lives in accordance with God’s Will.

How often do we thank God for the saving grace of our baptism? How can we live out our baptismal promises more faithfully? In what ways can our lives embody the sacrament of baptism and its graces?

O Lord, grant us the grace of a clear conscience and a baptismal life.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest

"My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you, O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads and our guilt reaches up to heaven. From the time of our fathers even to this day great has been our guilt, and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up, we and our kings and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace, as is the case today. And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place; thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude.

We all go through periods of feeling unworthy or shame because of what we do or fail to do. When we sin, our consciences prick us with a sense of guilt which prods us toward confession of our sins and reconciliation with God. Our guilt is not meant to drive us away from God, but rather to drive us to Him. He wants us to cleanse ourselves of sin and return to Him. He wants to brighten our eyes and give us relief from sin’s chains.

Are we in a state of sin? If so, are we making every effort to confess our sins, do penance, resist temptations, and avoid the evil inclinations that can sometimes plague us? How can we keep ourselves clean in conscience?

O Lord, remove the scales of sin from our eyes and brighten them with the light of your love.

Amen.

Twenty-Fourth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything. Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well. Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

The word deacon means “servant” in Greek and indicates a special type of vocation to ministry. However, this list of qualifications for becoming a deacon also applies to our own lives because we are all called to be servants of God and each other. In light of this, we should all strive to be dignified, truthful, prudent, charitable, and ever faithful. We should expect to be tested in our faith by God, by others, and even by ourselves. We should be temperate and chaste, and manage our lives and the lives of our families wisely and well. If we do these things, then we will fulfill our purpose on this earth and find ourselves in good standing with God and confident in our faith because we will have chosen to live our lives as good and faithful servants.

Are we living our lives as servants of God and His children? What vocation is God calling us to embrace? How can we model ourselves upon the virtues of those who are called to the diaconate?

O Lord, help us to hold fast to the mystery of our faith with a clear conscience.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

The Blood of Christ has been offered up to heaven for us and it is through Jesus’ sacrifice that we are made clean. However, in order to be washed of our sins and come before God with unblemished hearts, we must accept that Jesus has not only died for us, but also given us an example to follow. Just as he made himself into a living sacrifice to God for others, so must we be willing to do the same. If we are unwilling to imitate Christ in this way, then we turn our backs on the Blood of Christ and refuse to drink of the chalice of self-surrender we are all called to drink from. We have a choice to make, either we choose to partake in the Blood of Christ and the sufferings we are asked to endure or we choose to avoid the blood and sweat that are needed to live holy lives and perish.

Do we recognize God as the source, center, and summit of all the good things in our lives? Do we realize how important it is to accept the Blood of Christ and all the sacrifices its reception asks of us? How can we cleans our consciences so that we might accept God’s Will in regards to our sufferings?

O Lord, sanctify us and make us into living tabernacles of your Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Amen.

Twenty-First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

God calls us to be clean of conscience and heart. We cannot do that if we do not regularly examine our consciences and honestly evaluate our lives as Christians. If we are not reflective on our thoughts, words, and works, we can lose sight of what God is calling us to do. We can become hypocrites, just going through the motions of faith, but without any deeper meaning or motivation. Our outward acts of faith can become mere self-indulgence and self-glorification. This is why it is so important to cleanse ourselves of our selfishness and truly strive to do God's Will without thinking of how it can help us get ahead in life. Our faith and charity is not meant to make us look better in front of others, but rather it is meant to express our choice to follow God without counting the cost.

Are we hypocritical in our faith? Have we cleansed our insides so we can become better vessels of God's Love and Mercy? What can we do to ensure our thoughts, words, and works are done for God's glory and the good of others and not out of selfishness?

O Lord, cleanse us of our self-indulgence so we can be better bearers of your will?

Amen.

Tenth Friday of Ordinary Time

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.

God is always looking at our deeper intents. He alone knows our inner struggles. He sees what is truly going on within us. This is why Jesus makes clear that thoughts can be sinful, too. This isn't to say that stray thoughts, unasked for and unintended are sinful. Everyone has those, but rather sinful thoughts are those that we dwell upon and let live in our hearts. They are the ones we don't push away or try to rid ourselves of. Jesus is warning us not to let our minds become consumed with sinful desires. We should seek to rid ourselves of them at the first sign of temptation. It isn't easy to keep our minds clean, but it is one of the best defenses against sin. Rejecting sinful thoughts from the very outset uproots the evils within us before they can take hold.

What sinful thoughts do we have? How can we rid ourselves of them? If we are having trouble with certain sins, do we ask God for the strength to tear out the causes of our temptations and throw them away?

O Lord, let us not commit evils in our hearts or minds.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.

Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that we need to be willing to settle our differences with others. This can only be done by seeking forgiveness for our own transgressions and forgiving others their transgressions against us. If we go to the Final Judgment with sins on our hands or without any acts of mercy to show God, then we should expect to reap what we've sown. If all we sow is blame or condemnation, then that is what we will deserve when the end comes. So let us make peace with our enemies and show mercy to those who transgress against us. Only then will we be able to come to God with a clean conscience and be rewarded with the consoling gift of Heaven.

Who are the people we are holding grudges against? Who do we complain about? How can we settle accounts with them in a forgiving and merciful way?

O Lord, let us come before you with clean consciences and merciful hearts.

Amen.