Thirty-Fourth Friday of Ordinary Time

As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Everything in this world will pass away. Countries, families, friends, possessions, wealth, fame, influence, and all other earthly things. However, there is one thing which will remain: God’s dominion over all. He existed before creation and formed the universe out of nothing. He is the beginning and end of all that was, is, and ever will be. He may have delegated his dominion over the world to us through Adam, but in the end, we are but tenants who work the fields of this life, but must return the harvest to God when He sends for His share. Everything we have is wholly His and we would do well to remember the gifts, talents, and goods we have are borrowed. This is why we give Him glory, honor, and praise for all He has done for us. His gracious gifts are a cause for constant thanksgiving and humble reverence before our Lord and King.

Are our lives pledged to worldly things or to heavenly ones? Are we willing to give God dominion over our thoughts, words, and works? How can we do a better job of giving all glory, honor, and praise to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all they have done for us?

O Lord, we are your humble servants.

Amen.

Seventh Saturday of Ordinary Time

An everlasting covenant he has made with them, his justice and his judgments he has revealed to them. His majestic glory their eyes beheld, his glorious voice their ears heard. He says to them, “Avoid all evil”; each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men. Their ways are ever known to him, they cannot be hidden from his eyes.

God has given us many things. He created us in His Divine Image. He gave us dominion over the earth. He has offered us knowledge and wisdom. He has shown us what is good and evil. He has made covenants with us and revealed His Justice and Mercy to us. He has warned us against sin and provided us with the grace to know, love, and serve Him and His children. He watches over us every day lending us the aid we need to become good and faithful servants. And it is up to us to see all these good things and to repay Him for all He has done for us. We do this best when we keep His Divine Image clean within our hearts. When we treat creation with the same respect and love He does. When we use the truth He has taught us to make prudent decisions. When we imitate His Justice and Mercy with our own words and works. When we warn others away from temptation and sin and help them to be holier. When we lend others our help without expectation of return. In this way, we avoid all evil and live up to our end of the new covenant.

Do we not only accept God’s justice and judgment, but seek to reveal it through our words and works? Are we avoiding all evil? How can we make God’s precepts of love, mercy, and grace into the foundation stones of our lives?

O Lord, make us into living covenants.

Amen.

Twelfth Saturday of Ordinary Time

“For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go.’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

The centurion recognizes Jesus’ authority over all of God’s children and in this series of examples he illustrates for all of us what it means to have dominion over all creation. We, like the centurion, should trust that when we ask something of God that He can use His authority to help us. Perhaps it might not be in such a dramatic way as the healing of the servant, but God listens to our prayers and answers us in His own way and at the time of His own choosing. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God the Father have authority over our lives, we should respect that power as the centurion does. We should recognize how unworthy we are of God's help, while at the same time being bold enough to ask Him to aid us in spite of our failure to love Him and His children as we ought to do.

Do we recognize God’s authority in our lives? Do we give thanks for all the great and small things God does for us? Are we like little children, willing to ask our Heavenly Father for His graces even though we haven’t been the best of heirs to His Kingdom?

O Lord, let us be subject to your authority.

Amen.