Tenth Thursday in Ordinary Time

"Climb up and look out to sea," he directed his servant, who went up and looked, but reported, "There is nothing." Seven times he said, "Go, look again!" And the seventh time the youth reported, "There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea." Elijah said, "Go and say to Ahab, 'Harness up and leave the mountain before the rain stops you.'" In a trice the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell.

We can only have one God. We either choose to follow our Heavenly Father and trust in His Will or we choose the Evil One and follow him to our destruction. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t straddle the fence. We must love our Lord and Him alone and live forever or we will love the world and die in sin. We must have faith that God will pour out the graces we need to grow in faith or we will have faith in nothing and wither in wickedness. There is no middle ground between Good and Evil, Right and Wrong. We either choose to be good and faithful servants of Jesus Christ or we become the vile tenants who kill him for our own selfish reasons.

Does our love of God come first and foremost in our lives? Are we willing to turn away from all those things that lead us away from God and into temptation and sin? Do we pray every day that God will pour His Love, Mercy, and Grace into our hearts and renew our spirits?

O Lord, make us persistent in pursuing your life-giving graces.

Amen.

Twenty-Ninth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

If by that one person's transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. For if, by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.

One person can make a huge difference in this world. We can lead others to destruction or salvation. We all have the ability to influence others for good or evil. It is up to us to make the choices that lead to grace and goodness. We do this best when we imitate Christ in our thoughts, words, and works. Our lives should overflow with righteousness and good works. We should make God present in the world by being God-bearers in all we do.

Do we appreciate how much God has done for us through His Beloved Son, Jesus? How can we imitate Christ in our daily lives? What can we do to make a difference in the world for the better?

O Lord, help us to lead others to your Way, Truth, and Life.

Amen.

Twelfth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

If we want to find life, then we will need to find the constricted road and enter into Heaven through the narrow gate. This is the image Jesus leaves us with in today’s gospel and it is one we should always keep in mind. It is easy to be lukewarm, to sin, and to be apathetic. It is much harder to be consistently good and stay on the path of love that Jesus trod before us. He gives us the golden rules to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and to love our neighbors as He loves us. And it is between these two spiritual guideposts that we find the narrow path. If we stray but a little from either commandment we get lost and find ourselves on the wide road to destruction. Thankfully, if we do stray, we can always return to the path through the sacrament of reconciliation.

If the narrow road is to be found between our love of God and neighbor, then how are we fairing? Do we love God as we ought to? What about our neighbors?

O Lord, lead us along your constricted road and through your narrow gate to heaven.

 Amen.