Nineteenth Monday in Ordinary Time

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word!

Our hearts are like Jerusalem. They are cities made of virtues and vices. We have places of holiness and openness to God’s Will and we have our dark corners where it isn’t safe for us to go. But no matter what, we can be sure that like Jerusalem God will grant us peace in our borders if we have faith in Him, hope in His Goodness, and love as He loves us. He will wash away our iniquities and cleanse the places in our hearts that have grown dark from abuse and indifference. He will fill us up with His Grace and Mercy if we allow Him through our gates and welcome Him into our lives. He will bring great riches into us if we let Him. And He will dwell within us if we make ourselves into His living temples.

Are we willing to let God bring peace into our hearts? What dark places do we need to cleanse from our lives? How can we be more open to the spiritual food God offers us?

O Lord, grant us your peace and fill us with good fruits.

Amen.

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.

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.

Second Thursday of Lent

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.

If we want to prosper spiritually, then we have to prepare our souls to be good soil for the Word of God. We have to clear away the debris that doesn’t belong. We have to till the dirt so that it welcomes the seeds of faith. We must plant our fields near the running water of hope. We have to tend the vineyards and orchards of our souls with love. We have to protect ourselves from the wickedness and snares of the Devil. We have to uproot the weeds of weakness, imperfection, indifference, and worldliness that try to choke off our growth. If we do all these things, then when the time of harvest comes, our souls will produce good and abundant fruits.

How can we place our hope more firmly in the Lord? What are we doing to prepare the vineyards and orchards of our souls to bear much fruit? How can we protect ourselves for those things that would destroy our faith?

O Lord, work within our souls so they might prosper.

Amen.

First Wednesday of Advent

I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

The house of the Lord can reside in our hearts as well as the Church. Our hearts, which may be unworthy mangers, can be made worthy to receive Jesus through the sacrament of reconciliation. We can clean out all our old ways and give Christ a place to lay his head when he comes to us in the sacrament of communion. By making our hearts into his home, we open ourselves to all the graces God has prepared for us. He grants us his protection. He gives us repose and inner peace. He leads us to the life-giving waters of love and mercy. He refreshes our souls through His Divine Presence. He makes us into living temples, shining His Light upon the world around us and leading others to rest in Him.

Are we willing to clean out all those things that prevent God from living within us? How can we cleanse ourselves, like Joseph and Mary cleansed and made ready the manger before Christ's birth? What can we do to prepare ourselves to be dwelling places of our Savior and our God?

O Lord, dwell within us and make us holy.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin

For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

The grace of God has done many things for us. It has brought us to life through the love of God the Father. It has given us every aid to be holy through the teachings and examples of Jesus. It has provided us with spiritual support through the inspirations and protection of the Holy Spirit. It has saved us and trained us to reject godless ways and worldly desires. It has encouraged us to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in an age that encourages us to live immoderately, greedily, and faithlessly. It gives us every opportunity to be cleansed of our sins, reform our lives, and become a people eager to do what is right. There is no excuse for us if we fail to live up to our calling as Christians because God's Grace provides us all we need to be good and faithful servants to God and His children.

Do we welcome God's Grace into our lives or shut it out through sin and pride? How can we be more open to the graces He is trying to pour out into our lives? What can we do to become more grace-full people, eager to do God's Will in all things?

O Lord, save us and train us to reject the godless and worldly ways that seek to lead us astray.

Amen.

Twenty-Third Monday in Ordinary Time

Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Pride can corrupt us from the inside out. It can spoil our good works and lead us deeper and deeper into sin. It can convince us we are better than others when in fact we are sinners just as much as anyone. This is why it’s so important to examine our consciences, make a good confession, and cleanse ourselves of our sins. The only way to be pure and holy is to rid ourselves of all our bad habits and imperfections and make ourselves more and more Christ-like. Then and only then, will we be ready to share in the Eucharistic feast in truth and sincerity.

Has pride wormed its way into our hearts? If so, then how can we rid ourselves of it? What do we need to do to cleanse ourselves of malice and wickedness and become sincerer and more truthful in our spiritual lives?

O Lord, clear our hearts of all that is evil and refresh our spirits.

Amen.

Twentieth Saturday in Ordinary Time

I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple by way of the gate which faces the east, but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court. And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD. Then I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man stood beside me. The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever.

If we want to spend eternity with God, then we have to do everything within our power to transform our hearts into temples for the Lord. We need to place the foundations of our lives upon his commandments, build the walls of our faith around the teachings of Jesus, and shelter ourselves beneath the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. We have to cleanse and keep clean our consciences and keep watch against those things that would defile the sacred space we’ve created for God. We cannot let temptation or indifference ruin our spiritual temples. We must give glory to God for all He has done for us and thank Him for providing all we need to build our hearts into living temples to Him. We must welcome God’s Presence in our lives through constant prayer, frequent communion, and acts of charity and mercy toward others.

How can we make our hearts into temples to the Lord? What can we do to give glory to God with our every thought, word, and work? In what ways have we made our hearts into shelters for those who are in need or suffering?

O Lord, dwell without our hearts.

Amen.

Twentieth Thursday in Ordinary Time

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Each of us need to be cleanse of our sins from time to time. We have to be purged of our impurities and stripped of our false idols. We often need to approach our lives with a new or renewed spirit of holiness. It is through the sacrament of reconciliation that we can be purified and our hearts of stone softened. The confession of our sins and humble penance also grants us the graces we need to live by God's commandments, teachings, and inspirations. Taking these steps goes a long way toward bringing us closer to the Heavenly Kingdom and life everlasting with our Lord and God.

What sins and imperfections do we need to be cleansed of? How can we be more receptive of the Spirit of God in our lives? Do we make regular and meaningful use of the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, cleanse us from our sins and soften our hearts.

Amen.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

The road to Heaven isn’t always easy to follow, but God is very clear as to what He expects from us as we travel towards His Kingdom. He wants us to get rid of all the things that distract us from our goal or that might push others away from Him. That means removing bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, reviling, and all malice from our lives. In their stead, we are called to be kind to one another, even our enemies. We are asked to be compassionate and as forgiving as God is with us. We are given Jesus as our guide in all things. If we follow him and imitate his Way of Love, then we shall become God’s beloved children. This may require many sacrifices on our part, just as it did for Christ, but if we face our crosses with trust and carry them without complaint or anger, then we shall find ourselves well on our way to the Kingdom of God.

In what ways have we grieved the Holy Spirit? How can we rid ourselves of all those things that keep us from being Christ-like? What can we do to become faithful imitators of Jesus?

O Lord, rid us of our evil inclinations and make us more and more like you.

Amen.

Sixteenth Tuesday in Ordinary Time

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

God is a forgiving Father, willing to always take us back into His good graces. He is a merciful Son, willing to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is a compassionate Spirit, willing to inspire and guide us along the path to holiness. If we turn to Him and ask His forgiveness, He will remove our guilt, pardon us, and cleanse us of our sins. He will always be faithful to us, if we are willing to be faithful to Him.

Do we seek God's Forgiveness for our failings, faults, and sins? Are we as forgiving of others as God is of us? How can we model our lives upon the compassion of God?

O Lord, help us to reflect your compassion to the whole world.

Amen.

Fourteenth Friday in Ordinary Time

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls. Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."

We commit many crimes against God and others throughout our lives. Some are great, many are small. However, all need to be forgiven. And so, we, like the Israelites, are asked to come before God through the sacrament of reconciliation and ask for forgiveness for all our sins. Only after being freed from our sins through a good confession and penance, can we offer to God all our good works to full effect. It is the difference between offering our Lord and King a treasure covered with filth or one polished and clean. The former He will reject, while the latter He will accept. It also means remembering all of our good thoughts, words, and works are not ours. They are God's and we should be ever thankful for the gifts and talents He has given us and be more than willing to give them all back to Him whenever He desires them.

Have we sought forgiveness for all our sins great and small? Did we make a good confession and penance? Are we willing to turn over all our good works to God to do with as He wills?

O Lord, forgive us our iniquities and cleanse us of our sins.

Amen.

Easter Sunday

Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Easter is the perfect time of year to reevaluate our priorities and renew our spiritual lives. It is a time for cleansing ourselves of our sins, indifference, and distractions and starting over with a clean slate. Over the course of each year, we can find ourselves falling into bad habits and today is a good day to put an end to them and begin a new life of good habits. Easter is a day of resurrection, of breaking free from the chains of sin and death and choosing to seek out the risen Lord. It is a time to cast off our worldly worries and weaknesses and put on the white garment of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace. It is a day to rid ourselves of malice and wickedness and celebrate the Way, Truth, and Life of the Risen Lord with sincerity.

Are we living our lives in accordance with the Father’s commandments, Jesus’ teachings, and the Holy Spirit’s inspirations? What sins, weaknesses, and imperfections do we need to clear out of our hearts and minds? How can we renew ourselves in faith, hope, and love?

O Lord, we celebrate your Resurrection with the bread of sincerity and truth.

Amen.

Fifth Saturday of Lent

I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.

God’s sanctuary is within all of us. He wants to dwell within our hearts and as long as we keep them clean from sin... He is with us. However, if we do fall into sin, then we need to take the time and effort to cleanse ourselves and rededicate our whole being to doing God’s Will. We do this through the sacrament of reconciliation. In a way, each time we are reconciled with God, we re-proclaim our relationship as members of the Body of Christ. When we make a good act of contrition and do penance, then we are freed from our sins and given a new opportunity to make ourselves into worthy dwelling places of the Lord.

What are we doing to keep ourselves clean of the stains of sin and indifference? How can we make our hearts into pristine temples to the Lord? Are we making the best effort we can to seek God’s Forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, dwell within us and help us keep ourselves clean of sin.

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 John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.

Everyone has parts of us that are earthly and that need to be put to death in order for us to live more fully as Christians. Some of us have immoralities and impurities, which have crept into and darkened our lives. Others have passions, evil desires, and greedy inclinations that lead us away from God’s Way, Truth, and Life. We have sins such as anger, fury, malice, slander, obscenity, and lying which harm ourselves and others in body, mind, and spirit. If we do not root out these evils from our souls, they will grow, choking our virtues and strangling our faith. This is why we must be constantly vigilant against the temptations of this world and instead focus our energies upon putting to death our sins so that we might put on our new selves. It is only when we do this that we are renewed and become more faithful images of our Creator.

What parts of us need to be put to death so that we might live in Christ? How can we cleanse ourselves of all those things that keep us from being remade in the image of God? How can we become more obedient to our Heavenly Father?

O Lord, help us to take off our old selves and put on you.

Amen.

Seventeenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward.

Our bodies, minds, and hearts should be like the Dwelling Moses built for the Ark of the Covenant. They should be places where God is made present through our thoughts, words, and works. God should be able to settle within us and His Glory shine through us. His Holy Spirit should lead us on our faith journey, inspiring us to do good and avoid evil. We cannot make ourselves into a Dwelling of the Lord without being faithful, hopeful, and loving. We also must be humble enough to allow Him to fill us with His Will so that we might go forth into the world and bear Him to those in most need of His Love and Mercy. We cannot be resting places for the Lord, if we do not do our best to cleanse ourselves of imperfections, weaknesses, and sins. God understands we are not perfect, he does not expect us to be so, but He does expect us to be welcoming of Him and to desire to make our hearts into places worthy of Him just as Mary and Joseph did their best to prepare the humble manger for the arrival of this son and Savior.

In what ways do we prepare ourselves to be Dwellings for God? What can we do to cleanse ourselves of those things that keep us from being worthy resting places for our Heavenly Father? Are we willing to let God determine how we proceed in our lives?

O Lord, settle upon our hearts and fill them with your glory.

Amen.

Sixteenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also.” When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, the LORD added, “Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.”

We all need to prepare ourselves for God’s Presence in our lives. We can do this in many ways from daily prayers to acts of sacrifice, but most effective is through the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation. When we go to God with contrite hearts, admit our sins, and accept His Mercy, we become spiritually clean. We sanctify ourselves through confession and making a firm commitment to God to sin no more. We wash ourselves in the saving grace of Christ and ready our souls to receive God not only in our everyday experiences, but in the Eucharist. Preparing ourselves for God is something we need to do on a daily basis because God is always with us.

In what ways do we prepare ourselves for God’s Presence? How can we cleanse and sanctify ourselves? Are the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist at the core of who we are and how we act?

O Lord, sanctify and wash us with you Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Fifth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

To feel no shame. What a grace God gave humanity when He first created Adam and Eve! If only we could live like that again... without guilt or a sense of unworthiness. Of course, we can have glimpses and tastes of what our ancestors had before their fall, especially when we celebrate the sacraments. This is particularly the case when we seek God’s forgiveness in reconciliation. We go into the confessional full of doubts, fears, and sinfulness, but we come out of it cleansed, hopeful, and joyous. When we have given a good confession of our sins with humble and contrite hearts, we can feel no shame because we are as God wished us to be... holy. We should do all we can to retain this purity for as long as we can in the face of temptation. And if we do fall again, then we should seek out the sacrament of reconciliation and be renewed once again.

What do we have to be ashamed of? Have we confessed these sins? How can we overcome them and live holier lives?

O Lord, cleanse us of our sins and shame and make us into good and blameless servants.

Amen.