Sixth Friday of Easter

One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city." He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them.

We all have fears and doubts. We wonder if what we are doing is the right thing. We wonder if the path we are taking will lead us to a better life. We wonder if our virtues and faith can overcome our vices and indifference. However, as long as we seek to do God's Will and go on following the Way, speaking the Truth, and living the Life, then we have nothing to fear. Nothing can truly harm us. Yes, the world can bruise us, mock us, and cast us aside, but God will be there through it all granting us His peace and protection. Our minds, our spirits, and our souls will remain untouched by the trials of the world and we shall know the tranquility that comes from knowing, loving, and serving God.

What fears, doubts, and sins do we have to overcome in order to be at peace? How can we trust in God's Love, Mercy, and Grace enough to speak the Good News? In what ways can we put God the Father, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit over our weaknesses and insecurities and let Him protect us from harm?

O Lord, help us to go on speaking the Good News and doing good works no matter the difficulties.

Amen.

Twenty-Ninth Monday of Ordinary Time

Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do. That is why it was credited to him as righteousness. But it was not for him alone that it was written that it was credited to him; it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.

We should never doubt God’s promises, nor His Love for us. He will give us everything we need and empower us by faith so we can do good and avoid evil. Every day, He offers us the materials to build up our confidence in Him and make ourselves into temples of righteousness. God handed His Beloved Son over to death for our transgressions not to condemn us, but to raise us from the death of sin to the eternal life of justification through Christ. We might not always understand what God is asking of us, nor how we might accomplish His Will, but our Heavenly Father will never abandon us. And hopefully, we shall not abandon Him, but rather give glory to Him and trust He will provide all we need.

Do we truly believe in what God has promised us through baptism, namely salvation? How can we use what God has given us to build up our confidence in Him? In what ways can we give thanks to God for the justification He has offered us through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of His Son?

O Lord, empower us by faith.

Amen.

The Ascension of the Lord

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Even after everything Jesus had done for his disciples, they still doubted. We are often tempted to doubt, too. No matter how many times God proves Himself to us in great and small ways, we still doubt. Perhaps we doubt in God Himself or His Goodness, especially after a tragedy in our lives or when we are in the midst of trials. Perhaps we doubt He forgives us for our sins when we are despairing. Perhaps we doubt the teachings and traditions of the Church because they do not align with our own opinions. The temptation to doubt is constantly around us, but it does not and should not define us. Instead, our lives should be defined by faith, hope, and love. Faith in a Good and Merciful Heavenly Father, who loves us and gives us every grace we need to survive our trials and thrive as saints. Hope in a Savior, who sacrificed Himself for us and will always be with us. Love in a Holy Spirit, who guides, inspires, and enlightens us to grow as charitable members of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Are we willing to place our faith in our Heavenly Father? Are we willing to ground our hope in our Savior, Jesus? Are we willing to allow the Holy Spirit to know, love, and serve others through us?

O Lord, you are with us always. May we never forget this simple, but profound truth!

Amen.

Eighteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” 

After Jesus tells Peter to come to him, the disciple walks upon the water, but soon he becomes frightened and loses faith. In the same way, many of us call out to Jesus, but when he answers us and asks us to come to him, we hesitate. We let all our worldly worries weigh us down until we sink into a sea of anxiety and sin. However, just like Peter, Jesus always stretches his arm out to us to catch us when we fall. All we have to do is accept his help and let him help us up again. Then, we can begin to rebuild our faith and reaffirm our belief in Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior. If we do this, then we will be given the graces we need to proclaim Jesus to the world, to help the sick, and be healed in body, mind, and spirit.

Do we trust Jesus enough to come to him when he calls? How do we respond to Jesus’ offer of help when our faith fails us? How can we express our belief that Jesus is the Son of God in such a way to bring others to belief in him and to strengthen our own calling?

O Lord, heal us of our indecision, worries, and all those things that keep us from following you.

Amen.

Eighth Friday of Ordinary Time

Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.

We all have the potential to move mountains with our faith. However, we are constantly tempted by our doubts, fears, and anxieties to trust in the world and not in God. We are especially tested when things don’t go our way or when we suffer a trial we do not think we can bear. But if we put our trust in God and do not doubt in our hearts that our prayers will be answered, then we shall receive the answer we need. Jesus goes on to tell us that when we pray, we need to forgive those who have trespassed against us so that our Heavenly Father will know our hearts are filled with love and mercy, not hatred and vengeance. The act of forgiveness Jesus asks us to offer others may not be easy for us to give, but in the end we will be measured by how we treat the least of God’s children and those whom we found most difficult to love.

Do we have faith in God? Do we believe God would move mountains for us? Have we forgiven those who trespass against us?

O Lord, we do not doubt you will do great things for us.

Amen.

Seventh Monday of Ordinary Time

“How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”

Directly after his Transfiguration, Jesus is confronted with three things: arguing, the failure of his disciples, and doubt. These are common even now among those who follow Jesus. We continue to argue with those who doubt Jesus. We continue to fail him in many ways just as the disciples did. We sometimes doubt him ourselves. But this is why Jesus rebukes the mute boy's father when he says, "if you can." There is no "if" for Jesus. There is or isn't. He does not live his life in half-measures. He gives everything he has without holding back. Sometimes "if" slips into our faith lives. We pray to God with "if you'll do this, I'll do that." We convince ourselves, "if God loves us, then why is this happening to us?" If should not be in our vocabulary with God because it is a word full of doubts. Instead, we should echo the boy's father and say, "I do believe, help my unbelief!"

Do we believe God can do anything? Or have we let "ifs" slip into our faith? How can we be as faithful as we should be?

O Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Amen.

The Sixth Thursday of Easter

“Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

While we are on earth, we can’t see Jesus directly and this can cause us to have questions about our faith in him. However, we can see him indirectly through our interactions with others and through the participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. These glimpses of Christ help to sustain us through each day and if we live in faith, hope, and love, then one day these glimpses will become the full Beatific Vision. We will see Jesus, our Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit together in all their glory and in all their love for each other and us. Then our weeping will turn into laughing. Our mourning will turn into dancing. And our grief will turn to joy.

Are there times when we question God and do not understand what He his telling us in our hearts? Do we trust God enough to let go of our doubts and trust in His Divine Providence? Do we see the presence of Jesus in those around us, in the sacraments we receive, and in the beauty of nature?

O Lord, turn our questions into answers and our grief into joy.

Amen.

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

When we are undergoing persecution or suffering, we are faced with a choice. We can either be like the first criminal or the second one. We can either question God, demanding that He prove Himself to us before we’ll believe in Him or we can respect God’s Will and ask Him to remember us. All of us will have times in our lives when we will have to bear our crosses and be crucified in one regard or another. Some of us will suffer in our minds, others in our spirits, and still more in our bodies. However, no matter what we suffer, we should put our trust in God and hope that at the end of the dark nights of our souls there will be a glorious dawn.

In what ways are we tempted to question and doubt God’s Will? How can we become more trusting of God’s Divine Plan, even in the midst of our sufferings? How can we transform our sufferings into stepping stones to Paradise?

O Lord, remember us and bear us into your kingdom at the ends of our lives.

Amen.

Third Saturday of Ordinary Time

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet!  Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

Sometimes when we are undergoing a trial, we become afraid, doubtful, and even feel abandoned. We might be tempted to wonder if God cares for us or why He would let us suffer. However, God never deserts us. He is always with us waiting for us to trust in him. And if we do trust in Him, we will be rewarded with peaceful hearts that can weather any storm. So the next time we feel anxious or forsaken by God, we should have faith that He will see us through our trials and safely to where we need to be. He will not let us perish so let our hearts be at peace in the knowledge that if we have faith in God, we have nothing to fear.

What are we afraid of and doubtful about? What can we do to remind ourselves of God’s Presence even in the midst of our trials? How can we build up our faith so that it can weather the storms of life?

O Lord, quiet our hearts and give us the faith to be good and faithful servants.

Amen.

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

Sometimes people tell us things and we just don’t understand what they are trying to say. However, if we don’t seek to clarify, then we remain in the dark. We should never be afraid to question and to seek to understand our faith. This is not to say that we should not believe something because we do not understand, far from it! Rather we should choose to believe while we seek to understand. We need this fidelity to Christ’s message even more when we are faced with trials and tribulations that tempt us to doubt our faith. We will never have a full and faultless knowledge of the Gospels, but what we can do is try to live out the spirit of the good news God has given us through the Scriptures and His Holy Church. There are times when the truth requires us to make a leap of faith in the face of our personal doubts.

Do we constantly seek to understand our faith? What questions do we have about our faith? Have we done everything possible to reconcile our doubts with the Scriptures and the traditions of the Church?

O Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.

Amen.

Twenty-Fourth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.”

The knowledge of the mysteries of God is something we all struggle with. We believe, but don’t always understand why we believe. However, that’s what faith is, choosing to believe in something in spite of our doubts and lack of knowledge. Jesus revealed many of God’s mysteries to his disciples and they have passed this understanding onto us through the Scriptures and the traditions of the Church. The parables of Christ still challenge people today, just as much as they did when Jesus first spoke them. His explanation reminds us of the deeper meaning of all of Jesus’ words and works. We can learn a lot about ourselves through his words. Perhaps we know people who are like the seeds taken away by the birds or those who land on rocky ground. Perhaps we realize that for most of our lives we have been like the seeds among the thorns, too busy with worldly things to bear mature fruit. Some of us may be seeds living in the good soil of God’s gospel and bearing much fruit. No matter where we are at the moment, God is always within reach and willing to transplant us into His good soil. Hopefully, we have the wisdom to accept God’s offer and bear good fruit in faith, hope, and charity.

Where have we landed in this parable? If we aren’t in the good soil, then how can we get there? What are the fruits of our faith?

O Lord, plant us in your good soil.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest

“Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

Although his disciples fail to free the lunatic from the demon, Jesus rebukes it and sends it away. When his disciples ask him why they couldn’t drive out the demon, Jesus tells them that their lack of faith is the reason. This is a humbling moment for the disciples and also for us. After all, if the disciples of Jesus, who saw his miracles and performed cures of their own in his name, lacked faith, then how does our faith compare? However, perhaps we are more like the father in this account. The father shows more than enough faith in Jesus and because of this his son is cured. He trusts Jesus will succeed where his disciples failed. He realizes the surer source of healing comes from Jesus and so should we.

When our acts of love or mercy falter or fail, what is our response? Do we try to understand why we failed and seek God’s help in overcoming our shortcomings? Do we trust God will help us in our time of need?

O Lord, our faith sometimes falls short of where it should be. Help us to grow in faith with you.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

God can only help us if we are willing to believe in Him and allow ourselves to be helped. Without the assent of faith, He will not perform mighty deeds for us. It is not that He does not want to help or heal us, but rather that we will not allow him to do so. God will not force us to know, love, or serve Him. We must choose to do these things ourselves and if we don’t, then we like the people of Nazareth will not have any share in His love, mercy, or grace.

Do we believe that God will help us physically, spiritually, or emotionally? Do we allow God to work His mighty deeds in our lives or do we try to fix everything ourselves? When we have trouble understanding God’s Will, do we pray for the humility to accept His Plan for us?

O Lord, if our faith is lacking, then help us build it up through trusting in you no matter our anxieties or doubts.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Sometimes we can be as doubting as Thomas. We want to see God in action in our lives, otherwise we start to wonder if He’s really here with us. Our prayers become more demanding as things get worse for us. Can we imagine how bad things were for Thomas at the moment he utters these words? Jesus has just been crucified and all hope is lost. Then, the other disciples of Christ tell him they’ve seen Jesus and received the Holy Spirit from him. This is too much for Thomas to take in and he doesn’t believe them. Perhaps he wondered why Jesus would show himself to them and not to him. Whatever the reason, we sometimes act like Thomas. We don’t believe others, we don’t think God is still with us, and so we doubt. But we, like Thomas, need to remember the promises of Christ and realize he will never leave us alone. The nailmarks in his hands and the wound in his side show us this truth. Through them, he poured out his love, mercy, and grace upon all his brothers and sisters. We do not need to see signs or miracles to believe, we have only to believe so that we might see the signs and miracles that are already present in our lives.

What doubts do we have about God’s love for us? Why do we have them? How can we do a better job of opening our eyes to the God-instances (not coincidences) around us?

O Lord, help us to believe so we might better see your presence in our lives.

Amen.

Thirteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"

When our souls are beset by storms of doubt, Jesus is always at the ready to remind us of our need to have faith in him and to trust that he will calm the winds and seas of worry. No matter how hopeless things appear, we cannot let our anxieties overcome our faith. No matter how bruised and battered we are by life, we cannot let the winds of uncertainty terrify us. God is with us and that should be enough for us to withstand all our sufferings. The next time we are afraid of something, we ought to remember what sort of God-man Jesus is and we should obey him and let our hearts be calmed.

What anxieties, worries, and doubts are currently on our minds? How can we offer these up to the Lord in the spirit of trust? How do we remind ourselves that God is with us?

O Lord, calm the stormy winds and seas of our hearts.

Amen.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet!  Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm.

Sometimes when we are in the midst of a trial of our faith, we ask God why he doesn’t care for us anymore. We get so caught up in anxiety, worry, or doubt that we forget God is with us in the storm. The only difference is He recognizes the storm is temporary, while we think it will be our end. So we cry out to God and He answers us in His own way and at the time of His own choosing. As long as we don’t lose faith in Him, then eventually He says to our troubles, “Quiet! Be Still!” and they cease. Unfortunately, doubts creep in and sometimes we become impatient or fearful and jump ship. Or we think we can ride out the storm ourselves, but we can’t. Only God can save us from the storms of anxiety, worry, and doubt. We just have to learn how to be patient and mild, so that we can wait for Jesus to calm the storms within our hearts and lives.

How often do we wonder why God has forsaken us? Are we impatient with God when we are suffering trials? How can we learn the patience and mildness we need in order to let God work in our lives in His time and not ours?

O Lord, quiet the storms within our hearts.

Amen.

Fourth Friday of Easter

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.

When we are going through times of trouble we should try to keep these words in mind. We might have doubts, fears, and anxieties, but as long as we keep the Living Word of God in our hearts, there is nothing that can trouble us. So let us have faith in God and love Him and his children with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Are our hearts troubled? If so, then how can we calm them and remember God is always with us? If they are not troubled yet, then how can we prepare ourselves for those future trials that lay ahead?

O Lord, calm our troubled hearts.

Amen.

Third Saturday of Easter

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?”

The way of our salvation can be hard and difficult for us to accept at times. We might be overcome with fears, doubts, and anxieties in regards to what Jesus is asking us to do on a daily basis. However, we should not be shocked by this. Christ gives us the perfect model for what it means to follow him when he makes his life a living sacrifice for our sins through his Passion and Death. What should be shocking to us is how we react to this sacrifice. It’s not always at the forefront of our minds. Sometimes we go long periods of time without giving it a thought, and yet his unblemished sacrifice is ever present to us through the outpouring of his love, mercy, and grace. Yes, the way of the cross is hard and difficult to accept, but Jesus accepted it for us, so why can’t we accept his offer to share his easy yoke?

What are the difficulties we expect to face while doing God’s Will? What hardships have come into our lives as the result of doing the right and good thing? What graces have we received because we decided to do the right and hard things in our lives?

O Lord, your way is hard to accept, but we want to walk with you now and forevermore.

Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter

"Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?”

Sometimes we are troubled by and doubtful of God's Divine Plan for us. We only get a glimpse of what He intends for us and it frightens us. We wonder how we could ever do this thing or that thing He is asking of us. However, this is where trust in the Lord is necessary. We have to cultivate our faith in the Lord, so that when He does ask us to follow Him where we do not want to go we will have the fidelity to say, “Yes.” God does not promise an easy road for His followers. His path is a narrow one with many trials and tribulations along the way. If we stray, even if only by a little, we can get lost. Thankfully, when we do get lost God sends us the graces we need to return to Him just like He sent his Resurrected Son to the disciples when they were lost after his Passion and Death. We are given a new opportunity to live Christ-like lives and we ought to do everything we can to accept these graces and allow God to bring us back into His fold.

What troubles us in our lives? What questions frequently arise in our hearts? How can we address these troubles and questions in such a way as to build up our relationship with God?

O Lord, we are troubled. Help us to become more trusting in you.

Amen.

Second Monday of Easter

“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus tells Nicodemus—who comes to him at night—that he needs to be born from above in order to see the Kingdom of God. We, too, come to Jesus in the darkness of our own sins and doubts and question God. We ask him, “How can we be reborn again?” And he answers that the Spirit is the one who will give us new life and we don’t need to know where it comes from or where it is going. The only thing we need to do is listen to the Holy Spirit and follow God's inspirations. If we do these things, then we will be reborn into Christ and our thoughts, words, and works will have him as their source, center, and summit.

How can we be renewed in our faith? What steps do we need to take to become true children of God? What is the Holy Spirit calling us to do?

O Lord, we want to be born again in you.

Amen.