Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Lord, in your great love, answer me. But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me. I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.

Despite what we might suffer in this life, we should never lose hope. We should trust in God’s Goodness and Mercy and believe with all our hearts, minds, and strengths that He will save us. He loves us and will answer us at a time and in a way that has the greatest chance of guiding us to Heaven. When we are afflicted and in pain, He is there offering us healing. He wants to protect us, but will not force His protection upon us. He wants us to welcome Him into our lives and sing His praises. So, let us offer Him thanksgiving for all He has done, is doing, and will do for us, now and forever.

Do we seek consolation from God when we are afflicted or in pain? Do we ask for God’s protection from all evil? How can we sing His praises to others, especially those who are suffering themselves?

O Lord, let you saving help protect us.

Amen.

First Friday of Lent

If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.

Sometimes we experience sorrow and misery in this life. We lose something that is precious to us. A loved one. Our health. Our wealth. Our occupation. Or any of a myriad of things. In these dark nights we can lose our way and feel completely helpless. In times such as these, we should not be afraid to call out from the depths and ask God to hear us. He will listen and in His Infinite Mercy, He will come to us in a way, a place, and a time that will be best for us and lead us closer to our salvation. We just have to trust in Him and allow Him to work His wonders in our lives.

When we are sorrowful or despairing, do we turn to God for consolation, comfort, and help? Do we mimic God’s Compassion in our own lives? If not, then how can we become as merciful to others as God is to us?

O Lord, we cry to you from the depths, hear our voices!

Amen.

Fifteenth Thursday in Ordinary Time

The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD, we look to you; Your name and your title are the desire of our souls. My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; When your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world's inhabitants learn justice. O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.

God gives those who follow Him a peace that cannot be shaken by temptations, worries, and other worldly fears. It isn't a peace that promises no harm will come to us or we won't suffer, but rather if we choose to do God's Will, He will give us a sense of calm even in the midst of our sometimes-stormy lives. He will smooth out our path to Him with consolations, inspirations, and other graces that will help us through our dark nights. All we must do is keep His commandments, love Him, and love His children. This is the vigil He wants us to keep and one we can all succeed at if we prepare our souls for the trials of the night and trust in His Goodness.

Do we pray for God's peace to sustain us throughout our days and our lives? Are we willing to suffer patiently in order to do God's Will? How can we stand vigil and do everything God wants us to do with our time, talents, and treasures?

O Lord, smooth our ways and grant us your peace so we might accomplish your Will in all things.

Amen.

Twenty-Second Monday of Ordinary Time

For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.

All of us experience death in our lives, whether it is someone we are close to (such as a family member, friend, or co-worker) or someone we only know in passing. No matter who it is, or how their death happened, it reminds us that there are no guarantees about how long our lives will be. Some of us will live to a ripe old age, others will pass in our youth. Some of us will be prepared for death’s coming, knowing our time here on earth is drawing to a close. More than a few of us will be taken at a time and place we never expected. Part of life as a human being is dying. Even Jesus died and we can learn a lot about both how to live and die from watching how Jesus did both. Jesus loved life and lived every moment to its fullest, but he wasn’t afraid to risk his life when the time came for him to take up his ministry. He was willing to die to himself so others might live and we see this most clearly in his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He did not have to die, but he chose to die because he wanted to show us passing from this life isn’t to be feared. Rather, for his good and faithful followers, it is simply a doorway to an everlasting life with God Our Father, Our Teacher, and Our Advocate.

Who in our lives has died? How have we dealt with their deaths or consoled others who have lost loved ones? What can we do to ready ourselves for our own deaths?

O Lord, we want only to die with you so we might rise with you on the last day.

Amen.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God. For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!

Sometimes we can feel frustrated with our lives. We can feel like nothing is going our way or that all our work is for nothing. We can feel exhausted with the effort to keep up with everything we are juggling. Family, friends, work, faith. All demanding our attention, our energy, our time. However, if we are good and faithful servants and place our trust in the Lord, then He will repay us for our toils. He will reward us for our sacrifices and console us in our sorrows. He will gather us to Himself and lift us up to heaven where we will be made glorious in the sight of the Lord.

What are we frustrated about? How can we turn our frustrations into moments of faith, hope, and love? How can we learn to trust that God will provide us with the graces we need to overcome every obstacle in our lives?

O Lord, our recompense is with you and no worldly thing.

Amen.

Second Thursday of Lent

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit. 

If we want to have peace in our lives, even in the midst of trial and tribulation, then we need to place our trust and hope in God. It is from His Divine Love that we can draw our courage and strength. He gives the graces we need to be not afraid to do His Will. He is the root of our every consolation and virtue. He is the stream of living water which nourishes and sustains our spirits through good times and bad. He makes it possible for us to do what is right and bear good fruits even when we are suffering or being persecuted. With God’s Life within us, we grow in faith, hope, and love. He makes it possible for us to do His Will and do it wisely and well.

Do we truly trust in God or do we place our trust in ourselves? In what ways can we show to God that our hopes are in Him and not worldly things? How can we foster a spirit of trust within our faith lives?

O Lord, you are the root of all our faith and the seed of all our good works.

Amen.

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Just like James and John, we too should desire to drink the cup of Christ and be baptized by sharing in his sufferings. When we accept the cup God is offering, we accept God’s Will for us and choose to be baptized by the trials and tribulations that come when we choose to be good and faithful servants. It is not always easy to accept the troubles that come from doing good works. It seems counter-intuitive, shouldn’t we be rewarded for doing the right thing? But God does not promise us worldly consolations and He cannot give us the understanding of others and so sometimes we are persecuted for being faithful to God. However, we should not let these sufferings keep us from doing good. Consolations will come, just not always in the manner and time we want them to. So let us be willing to accept whatever comes our way, confident that in the end God will provide us the strength to suffer for His glory and overcome all obstacles to doing His Will.

Are we willing to drink the cup God has prepared for us? Are we willingly to suffer without complaint? Do we trust God enough to love Him no matter what trials come our way?

O Lord, grant us the strength to drink the cup you have prepared for us.

Amen.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Sometimes we encounter people who complain when we do something good. They criticize our actions or our motives. They grumble about how we do something. We might even be in the middle of helping them when they start complaining about how we are helping them. This attitude of ingratitude can turn us off to helping others, especially those who are criticizing us. However, we are not doing the right and good thing to be praised by those whom we help. Our consolation should not be in the response of those whom we are helping or those who are around to witness our acts of charity, but rather our consolation should be found in the knowledge that we are doing God’s Will. We might want to be recognized and thanked, but we should not expect or demand it and if persecution comes our way because of a good deed, then we should embrace the suffering that comes from it and unite it with the cross of Christ, which was carried for ungracious sinners. We should view such trials as an opportunity to imitate Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Have we ever complained about or misinterpreted someone’s good actions? Have others done the same to us? Are we willing to perform our good deeds even if it means others might persecute us?

O Lord, give us the grace to perform mighty deeds in your name.

Amen.

Twenty-Fifth Friday of Ordinary Time

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus’ life leads him to make the ultimate sacrifice for all of mankind. He suffers, dies, and is buried, but in the end he is resurrected, ascends into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father. The trials and tribulations of our own lives can also be redemptive when we unite them with Jesus’ sacrifices. We must be willing to suffer, to be rejected, to die to ourselves so we can be raised by God. Our consolation is not of this world, it is of the next and in the knowledge that our acts of faith, hope, and love imitate Jesus.

Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do God’s Will? When we suffer trials and tribulations, are we willing to accept them and unite them with Jesus’ sacrifice? Can we accept the rejection and persecution that comes with being a God-bearing person?

O Lord, we offer you all of our sacrifices to make into your own.

Amen.