Third Tuesday of Advent

A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed.  I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me, “You will be with child and will bear a son. So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb, until the day of his death.”

God calls us all to be consecrated to Him from the womb. He wants us to be His with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. He wants us to listen to Him and obey His commandments and teachings. He wants us to be God-bearing people filled with the Holy Spirit and not with worldly worries and concerns. He wants us to be holy people, willing to live prudently and in full self-control. He wants us to be saints, not sinners... to do good and not evil. He wants to share Himself with each of us so we might share in His Kingdom after our deaths.

Are we living our lives as if they are consecrated to God? How can we live more prudently? In what ways are we keeping ourselves spiritually clean?

O Lord, we consecrate ourselves to you.

Amen.

Fifteenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Holy ground is something we don’t always think about when going to Mass, but when we enter a church and its grounds we find ourselves on it and should act accordingly. We should treat the church and its grounds with respect and do our best to be holy. We should strive to be loving, merciful, patient and mild while there in our reverence for God, our treatment of others, and our attention to the Mass, the sacraments, and any other programs or events going on within the church or its properties. We should be prayerful and united in Christ while in these holy places. We should dress properly, speak appropriately, and act in accordance with God’s Will. If we cannot contain our vices, imperfections, and passions within these sacred grounds, then how can we ever hope to be worthy of heaven? So let us be respectful of the holy places we enter and treat them wisely and well.

Do we treat holy grounds with reverence? How can we allow the holiness of these sacred sites infuse and upraise our spirits? What can we do to make our hearts into sacred grounds consecrated to God?

O Lord, give us a healthy respect for your holy grounds, the sacraments we celebrate there, and those we meet within your sacred places.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.

It doesn’t matter how much we sacrifice or offer to God in reparation for our sins if we are not truly contrite, do penance, and intend to sin no more. There is nothing we can do to make up for the weight of our sins and failings. All we can do is make up for what is lacking in Christ’s sacrifice, namely our contrition and acceptance of God’s Divine Mercy. When we sin against God we sin infinitely so and it is only through the infinite sin offering of Christ on the cross that we can be saved from the punishment that is rightfully ours. This is why Jesus had to die for us once and for all. By doing so, he offered each of us a means by which we could be consecrated to himself, filled with the Holy Spirit, and cleansed in the eyes of the Father. The difficult part for many of us is admitting we are wrong, doing penance, and amending our lives.

How can we cultivate contrite hearts? What can we do to recognize our sins and failings so that we can amend our lives? How can we give thanks to Jesus for his sacrifice for us?

O Lord, we want to be consecrated to you and do your will in all things.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year. Otherwise, would not the sacrifices have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, once cleansed, would no longer have had any consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is only a yearly remembrance of sins, for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins.

Merely following the commandments or making sacrifices isn't enough to take away our sins. We have to want to do God's Will above our own and then express that desire through the frequent reception of the sacrament of reconciliation. It is only by seeking to make ourselves right with the Lord that we can truly consecrate ourselves to God in body, mind, and spirit. In order to follow Christ to Heaven, we need to recognize our weaknesses and sins and seek to reform ourselves and make amends for our selfish ways.

What are the sins that we need to cleanse ourselves of? Are we taking every opportunity to express our contrition to God through the sacrament of reconciliation? Are we following through on our confessions and truly trying to amend our lives?

O Lord, help us to make good confessions.

Amen.

First Tuesday of 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.

Just as Jesus was made perfect through suffering, so are we made better by it. We might not want to suffer, but without the possibility of failure or rejection then we wouldn’t appreciate our successes or learn how to love unconditionally. If there was no choice to be made between following the easy path of worldliness and the harder one of holiness, then we would be left wandering without direction. It is by choosing good over evil that we prove ourselves to God and are consecrated to Him. Uniting our sufferings with Christ’s is one way we can give glory to God and proclaim our allegiance to the Holy Trinity.

How can we live lives that give glory to God? How can we transform our sufferings into expressions of our love for God and His children? What can we do to consecrate our minds, hearts, souls, and strengths to God?

O Lord, make us better followers of your will through the consecration of our suffering to your glory.

Amen.

Fourth Friday of Advent

The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.

By becoming flesh, Jesus consecrated all of mankind to His Father and made us the adopted children of God and heirs to His kingdom. Nothing can take this away from us. God loves us as Himself, He loves us in a way that completes us. We cannot find a greater love than this. We can try to substitute people and things, but no matter how much we love someone or something it is a mere atom compared to the universal love God has for us. The Incarnation is just one of the ways God expressed His boundless love for us and as we celebrate this Christmas Eve, anticipating the Birth of Christ, we should also keep in mind what that birth means: God is with us because He loves us as Himself.

How do we give thanks to our Heavenly Father? How do we make Jesus a central part of not only Christmas, but every day of the year? What does the gift of the Incarnation mean for us?

O Lord, we give our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strengths to you in praise of the gift of your beloved Son.

Amen.

Fourth Wednesday of Advent

“Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” She left Samuel there.

Just as Hannah consecrated Samuel to the Lord, so does Mary consecrate us. Everything we are and have is God’s and it is in Him that we find our fulfillment. Both Mary and Hannah were willing to offer up their beloved sons to God and likewise we need to be willing to give up whatever is most beloved to us. We are all called to dedicate ourselves to God and let Him think, speak, and work through us. If we do this, then we shall become good and faithful servants living sacramental and prophetic lives.

Have we dedicated our lives to God? Are we willing to sacrifice our most beloved people, places, and things to know, love, and serve God? How can we repay God for all He has done for us?

O Lord, we give ourselves to you through the hands of your Holy Mother, Mary.

Amen.

The Seventh Wednesday of Easter

I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth.  Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

We do not belong to the world and so it hates us. Instead, we belong to Jesus and through him we belong to the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father. Part of belonging to Christ is choosing good over evil and being protected from the Evil One. Another part is being detached from the world and instead being consecrated to God and His Divine Truth. We also are sent into the world to bear witness to our faith through our thoughts, words, and works, to bring hope to all we meet, and to know, love, and serve God and all His children. To help us with these things, Jesus consecrated himself for us on the cross and through the reception of Christ’s Body and Blood, we are sanctified and made into a Holy People, bearing the Good News to all the nations.

Do we belong to the world or to God? Do we give thanks and praise to God for all the times He has kept us from the Evil One? Are we consecrated in the Truth of the Gospels?

O Lord, your word is truth. Consecrate us in it.

Amen.

Seventh Wednesday of Easter

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

May we all be consecrated in the truth of the gospels and accept our mission to evangelize the world around us. Jesus consecrated us through his thoughts, words, and deeds, especially through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He shows us how to go into the world not as part of it, but as part of His Mystical Body. We are not alone when we speak the truth and do good. Jesus and all of the communion of saints—past, present, and future—are there with us. As long as we keep the commandments in spirit and truth (and not just by the letter), then we will be manifestations of God’s love to the world. We will be true bearers of not only God’s image, but of the cross and suffering that comes with following in the footsteps of Christ.

How do we embody the truth of the gospels, not just in our private lives, but our public ones? What is God sending us into the world to do? Do we witness to and share our faith, hope, and love with others?

O Lord, consecrate us in the truth and send us out into the world.

Amen.