Fourth Friday of Lent

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.

Ultimately, we will be sorted into one of two categories: the just or the evildoers. There is no middle ground with God. We cannot walk the line between good and evil. We cannot pretend indifference. We cannot refuse to make a choice. We will either be good and faithful servants or we shall be evil and rebellious tenants. When the Day of Judgment comes, and it will for us all, we shall stand before God and have to answer for all we have done and not done. If we have chosen wrong over right, then we shall be destroyed. If we have avoided evil and done good, then we shall have eternal life. Those are the only two paths open to us. Hopefully, we shall choose wisely and well.

Do we act justly toward God and His children? Are we willing to uproot the evils that seek to corrupt us? How can we make ourselves more open to being rescued from our distress?

O Lord, we cry out for your help in our times of need.

Amen.

Third Sunday of Lent

Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

The desire for evil things can seep into our lives and ruin the foundations of our faith. It can wear away the solid rock beneath us and cause us to fall. Sin, grumbling, indifference... all of these things tear down our spiritual lives. And we cannot say God did not warn us against these worldly vices. He has shown us again and again how wickedness leads to destruction. None of us should be so prideful as to feel secure in our salvation. It is only by the Grace and Mercy of God that we have any hope of eternal life despite how often we displease Him with acts of selfishness and sin.

How can we rid ourselves of the desire for evil? What can we do to amend our lives so we might avoid sin, grumbling, and other temptations? How can we do a better job of seeking our salvation rather than our self-satisfaction?

O Lord, help us to be more pleasing to you.

Amen.

Seventh Monday of Ordinary Time

The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty. And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD.

Many in this world will tell us that there is no such thing as black and white. Everything is a matter of perspective and opinion. Good and evil don’t exist in their eyes. They have an anything goes kind of attitude and try to convince us to let go of our beliefs and embrace the grayness they live in. It may indeed be tempting to forget what we’ve learned as Christians and simply be part of the world. However, we were not created for the world, but for God and He is Good. He is Light. He is right. We cannot follow Him if we do not believe these things. We cannot be examples of holiness to others if we do not accept there is good and evil in the world. God is our King, there should be no other. He made the earth and everything in it good. It was only through the Devil and the original sin of Adam and Eve that evil entered into the world. God’s throne is planted firmly in the Way, the Truth, and the Life we are all called to live and if we want to be part of His Kingdom, then we must believe this and live it.

How can we do better and avoid evil? What can we do to fight our sinful inclinations? How can we anchor God’s Throne of Wisdom within our hearts so we might be worthy of being part of His Kingdom?

O Lord, plant your throne firmly in our hearts.

Amen.

Sixth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

The Lord will bless his people with peace. The God of glory thunders, and in his temple all say, “Glory!” The LORD is enthroned above the flood; the LORD is enthroned as king forever.

Peace is something most people strive for. We don’t like arguments or confrontations. We want people to live in security and without fear of harm to themselves or their loved ones. When asked about wishes for the world, many people will say they wish for peace. And yet, the world is full of war, conflicts, and arguments. We might wonder why God allows this, but it always comes back to mankind’s free will. We could not love without it, but the flip side is true without free will we couldn’t hate, either. We have to take the good with the bad of free will… and hope one day the good wins out. If not in this world, then in the next.

Are we striving for peace in our own lives? Are we using our free wills to foster love and not hate? How can we bring peace to those around us?

O Lord, help us to use our free will to be people of peace.

Amen.

Thirty-Second Friday in Ordinary Time

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so "progressive" as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

The world is full of good people, but it is also beset by deceivers, tempters, and evil-doers. As such, we must be on guard against these worldly people at all times. These wreckers of souls can be family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, bosses, or complete strangers. They lure good people into bad situations and tempt them to sin. They make false promises. They twist our good intentions. They persecute and mock us. They work toward the destruction of souls, theirs and others. Some know what they are doing and don’t care. Others might not realize that they’ve become stumbling blocks, bringing ruin upon God’s children. It is of the utmost importance that we do not allow these people to lead us astray and try our best to show them the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We cannot do this ourselves, but with the protection of the Father, the teachings of the Son, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit we can be beacons of goodness and light in the world and bring others to the safe harbor that can only be found in God.

Who are those who are trying to deceive us or others and lead us astray? How can we try to convert them without risking our souls? How can we protect others from their evil ways?

O Lord, give us the grace to never lose you or lead others astray.

Amen.

Fifteenth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; Nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be a time of evil.

The evil we do will be repaid. The only question is whether it is repaid through the sacrament of reconciliation and time in Purgatory or in the fires of Hell. These are our only options and, in the end, we will choose one or the other... and if we fail to choose, we will pay for our indifference with eternal torment. Therefore, let us choose what is right and good... to confess our sins with humble and contrite hearts, to do penance, to avoid temptations, and sin no more.

What evils have we plotted and done? How can we repay God and those whom we’ve harmed? Are we ready to amend our lives and be good and faithful servants of God and all His children?

O Lord, uproot our sins and purify our hearts.

Amen.

Thirteenth Wednesday in Ordinary Time

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts, be with you as you claim! Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate; Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.

To be truly free, we must be willing to give up our selfish and sinful pursuits and choose to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. This free choice can be a difficult one and the Devil will do everything he can to convince us that we are enslaving ourselves unnecessarily. He will try to convince us it is better to rule ourselves, then to be ruled by righteousness and goodness. However, his assertion is a lie... as are all his temptations. The choice we are given may be made of our free will, but in the end, we are choosing who will be our master... God or the Devil. Good or Evil. Justice or Injustice.

Are we seeking good and avoiding evil? How can we cultivate a deeper love of the good and a hatred of evil? What can we do to make the right choice and choose God over ourselves?

O Lord, we choose you above all.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother, his ministers, officers, and functionaries, surrendered to the king of Babylon, who, in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive. And he carried off all the treasures of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace, and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel, had provided in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold.

There are consequences to doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. Although He is merciful, He is also just. He can reach His limit and say, “No more.” He will turn us over to our enemies and let them take away all that we have and bring us low. He does this not out of spite, but out of love... in hopes that we might learn from our mistakes and make amends for our sins. It is up to us to humble ourselves and ask for God’s forgiveness and if we are contrite, then He shall grant us His Divine Mercy and restore us to a life.

Do we presume too much on God’s Mercy? What can we do to make amends for our faults and failings? How can we cultivate humble and contrite hearts?

O Lord, we surrender ourselves to you and pray that you might carry off all our evil inclinations and cleanse us of our sins.

Amen.

Twelfth Monday in Ordinary Time

And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, "Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the prophets," they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the LORD, their God. They rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them, till, in his great anger against Israel, the LORD put them away out of his sight.

God calls upon all of us to give up our evil ways and keep His commandments. He has told us this through the prophets of the Old Testament, through His Son in the New Testament, and even through His Church. We have been given ample warning in this life to steer clear of the temptations of the world, the Devil, and indifference. If we fail to remain good and choose instead to do evil, we have no one to blame but ourselves. It is our own stiff necks, hardened by pride, that keep us from living as we should. However, if we are willing to bend our necks to the yoke of Christ and accept the sacrifices God asks of us, then we shall be able to leave behind our old lives of sin and wickedness and take up the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ.

What are the people, places, and things in our lives that God is warning us against? How can we rid ourselves of those influences and place our faith in God alone? What can we do to get rid of our evil ways and keep God's commandments?

O Lord, pour out your grace upon us and help us to keep your commandments.

Amen.

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.

Fourth Thursday of Lent

Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, "I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage." So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.

We are all sinners in one way or another. We all deserve God's Wrath for the evils we've done and the good we've failed to do. It is only by the saving grace of God's Divine Mercy that we have the opportunity to be spared condemnation. However, God doesn't just give us salvation without us work towards it. He wants us to be loving and merciful as He is loving and merciful. He wants us to be good and faithful as He is good and faithful. He wants us to be contrite and penitent as He is forgiving and just. He is willing to let His blazing wrath die down, if we are willing to come to Him in the sacrament of reconciliation and make amends for our sins and failings.

What are our sins? Are we genuinely contrite for the wrongs we've done and the goods we've failed to do? Are we making use of the sacrament of reconciliation as often as we should?

O Lord, we come to you with contrite hearts. Relent and grant us your mercy.

Amen.

Thirty-Third Saturday of Ordinary Time

"Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now! Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule." But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed. I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."

Sometimes we don’t realize the evils we’ve done to others. We are blinded by our sins, our selfishness, our goods, our fame, and all sorts of worldly things. We only see the terrible things we’ve done in hindsight. Our reaction to this revelation of our own misdeeds can either be like Antiochus where we blame all the evils that have befallen us on our sins or we can try to make amends for what we’ve done and failed to do. We can tell those we have wronged, especially God, we are truly sorry for our failures. We can make good confessions with humble and contrite hearts. We can accept absolution from our priests and do penance for our sins. We can firmly promise to avoid those temptations that lead us into evil. Knowing we have done wrong should not paralyze us, but rather it should lead us to renew ourselves through the sacrament of reconciliation.

What evil things have we done to others? Have we sought God’s forgiveness for these sins? Have we made amends for our failings with those we have harmed?

O Lord, help us to make good confessions with humble and contrite hearts.

Amen.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Sometimes we might wonder why there is evil in this world. However, it wasn’t God who brought sin and wickedness into His creation, but the Devil and our own pride. The temptation to believe we know better than God is one we constantly are faced with in great and small ways. Evil exists because God gave us the freedom to choose between right and wrong, but this free will is also a blessing because it also allows us to love and do good. God could have chosen to uproot evil in the human race, but that would have robbed us of our Divine Image and made us into something less than human. Without choice, we cannot love God or His children or do good works because there is no other option and love and goodness cannot be forced upon us. And so God lets evil exist, not because He wants it to, but because He doesn’t want to violate our humanity or rob us of His Divine Image.

What are the weeds in our lives? How can we uproot them and become more faithful servants? What can we do to use our free will for good?

O Lord, burn away our imperfections and sins, leaving us only with the fruits of your divine image within us.

Amen.

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians because some of them have started to doubt and deny the resurrection of the dead. They did not understand the need for a resurrected body. They preferred a purely spiritual afterlife to one that would mix perfect spirit and imperfect flesh. However, as Christians we do not see our bodies as evil. They were created good by God when He made Adam and Eve. Our corruption comes from original sin and the wounding of our ability to control our spiritual faculties, our intellect and our will. This injury opens us to temptation and inclines us to evil. But thankfully, this is not the end of the story. Jesus died not only to redeem us from death, but also grant us the saving grace that can heal the wounds of original and personal sin. He came into this world to sanctify the whole person, body and soul. It is not enough to control our lower passions, but give into our selfish intellectual or willful desires. We have to become like Christ in mind, body, and spirit or we shall discover that we are not wholly Christ’s disciples. This is why his resurrection and the revelation of his glorified body are so important. They remind us that we are called to tame both our body and our soul so that we might share in the glory of the resurrection.

What are we doing to sanctify our bodies’ senses and passions? How can we discipline our intellect and will so that they will be more Christ-like? Do we thank God each and every day for the saving graces He has granted us through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ?

O Lord, through your resurrection you have saved us.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

“Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.”

God forbid the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with the following words: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” Notice how the serpent begins his temptation of Eve. He exaggerates what is forbidden in such a way to make God’s command sound unreasonable. Of course, Eve corrects the serpent, but her reply misstates God’s commandment to include touching the fruit. Lastly, the serpent rejects the commandment completely and then promises that breaking it will make Eve like a god. This is how temptation works, it first makes God’s Will sound unreasonable, and then it leads us to exaggerate the burdens involved with following God’s Will. Finally, temptation asks us to reject God’s Will and replace it with our own opinions and desires. Dialogue with evil always ends in sin. This is why we should ignore our temptations, avoid listening to them, and instead turn away from them and focus our minds and hearts on God’s Will.

Do we exaggerate the burdens our faith places upon us? Do we listen to our temptations and let them convince us that we know better than God? How can we close our ears to the alluring voice of evil and instead follow God’s Will?

O Lord, we want to serve your will and not our own.

Amen.

Christmas Weekday

We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One. 
We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.  And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

We all have the ability to discern good from evil. Our consciences let us know when we are doing right and warn us when we are falling into sin. However, if we do not listen to our consciences and do not practice discernment, then we weaken our ability to know what truth is. If we become lazy in our approach to living out our faith, then we shall slip into a sinful slumber and be unable to wake our consciences. When this happens, we become spiritually dead and can only return to our senses through the reviving sacrament of reconciliation. This is why it is so important to remain in a state of grace and retain our discerning spirits. Without our consciences, we are lost, but with them we know the spiritual direction we are called to travel and what is best for us.

Do we belong to God or the world? Do we exercise our consciences? How can we discern the truth in our lives?

O Lord, give us a spirit of discernment to discover the way to eternal life.
Amen.

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.

Just like the unclean spirit, our sins can return after a good confession and make our lives worse than before. Because of this, it is important for us to be vigilant and to never rest on our laurels. Just because we were able to overcome a temptation doesn't give us a reason to relax where our souls are concerned. Indeed, we must train ourselves to be ever watchful against the sins that always seem to crawl back into our lives. If we do this, we will build up a wall of good habits that will keep our bad ones away. God may be merciful and always willing to forgive us, but it is up to us to keep ourselves spiritually clean and do everything in our power to know, love, and serve God and His children faithfully. We cannot do that if we allow our sins to reenter our lives. But we can succeed with vigilance and dependence upon the aid of the Holy Spirit, who is always ready to provide us the graces we need to overcome any obstacle along our way to heaven.

What are the sins we need to kick out of our lives? What can we do to keep them away? How can we build up our good habits so that the bad ones have no place in our hearts?

O Lord, we want you to dwell within us and nothing else.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Friday of Ordinary Time

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

The stronger man is Jesus, who overcomes the Devil and scatters him and his minions. Jesus lays down the gauntlet to us in this gospel. He tells us plainly that we are either with him or against him. There is no middle ground. We cannot sit upon the fence and let opportunities to gather good fruits with Christ to pass us buy. If we do this, then in the end we will be empty handed. Whenever we have a great or small success in our spiritual lives we must remember it is not enough. We cannot rest on our laurels. We must instead double our guard. So let us welcome Jesus into our hearts so that he might defend us against sin and tepidity and show us how to truly know, love, and serve God and His children.

Have we let Jesus into our hearts? Do we let God help us overcome and scatter our sins? Are we with God or against Him?

O Lord, we are with you and ready to gather in your name.

Amen.

Eighteenth Friday of Ordinary Time

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct.

In the end, we will all be judged by Jesus. We will be repaid for every act of virtue and vice, for those things we did and those we failed to do. When we take our last breath we will receive a revelation about ourselves. Nothing we have done will go uncovered, the goods and evils we’ve forgotten will be remembered. In our heart of hearts, we will know what the just judgment should be for us. In that moment we will know how much God loved us and what we did and didn’t do to repay that love to Him and His children. We may end up in Hell (hopefully not), Purgatory (much more likely), or a few of us may go straight to Heaven (what a grace that would be!). However, no matter where we end up we will know we deserve every moment of torment, purification, or bliss. After all, we are the ones who made the choices that brought us to our place in the afterlife. Hopefully, we’ll make the right ones from here on out.

What virtues and vices do we have? How can we increase the good within us and decrease the evil? In what areas of our lives could we do a better job of being Christ-like?

O Lord, help us to live a good life so that when you come with your angels, you will repay us with the respite of Heaven.

Amen.

Seventeenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.

Jesus sows the good seed in the world. He is the one from which all good things come and if we want a share in his kingdom, then we must be willing to allow him to sow us where he needs us to be. Jesus cannot force us to land on good earth and to grow in faith, hope, and love. We must allow him to bring us to those places where we can flourish in the faith. We do this by praying and discerning God’s Will for us. Most importantly we should make our lives a daily offering to God. Along the way, we will meet the weeds of the world and be challenged, berated, and persecuted for doing what is right. However, we must stand firm in the truth so that we will be able to shine like the sun and share in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Who are the weeds in our lives? Do we show them God’s love no matter what they do to us? Are we willing to let Jesus sow us where he needs us?

O Lord, sow us where you need us most.

Amen.