Second Monday of Ordinary Time

"Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he, too, has rejected you as ruler."

Sometimes it is difficult to obey God’s commandments. Our will comes into conflict with His Will when we are tempted by something. We come up with all sorts of excuses to sin or turn our backs on an opportunity to do good. Just like Saul, our excuses do not forgive us for our failures. Our good intentions do not forgive us for doing wrong. God delights in obedience to His commandments. He wants obedience from us even more than fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. He wants submission to His Will more than any sacrifice. We should not presume to know what is best for us, but rather trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will lead us to lives of holiness and fidelity.

What are the commandments or good works we find most to do? How can we learn to obey God’s Will even when we have excuses not to obey? Are we willing to submit ourselves to God and let Him lead us where we need to be?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to be obedient to you and accept you as the ruler of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Amen.

Eighteenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

How long will this wicked assembly grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the children of Israel against me. Tell them: By my life, says the LORD, I will do to you just what I have heard you say. Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall. Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me. I, the LORD, have sworn to do this to all this wicked assembly that conspired against me: here in the desert they shall die to the last man.

After everything God had done for the Israelites, from freeing them from Egypt to dwelling with them in the ark, they still did not trust God. This lack of faith spurred by fears and doubts overcame their confidence in God. How easily we can fall into the same pattern in our own lives. We are faithful followers of Christ while things are easy, but the moment He asks us to risk something for our spiritual growth, we grumble and complain. He offers use a life overflowing with graces and good fruits, but we recoil from it because we are afraid of the obstacles in our way. We come up with excuses not to take the leap of faith and deny God our trust. And then, we wonder why our lives seem to be wondering aimlessly through the desert from suffering to suffering with no relief. It is because we turned our backs on the way forward and have chosen to oppose God’s Will. The only remedy for this is to purge ourselves of our doubts and fears and put our faith in God’s Providence.

What are the things we grumble about in our lives? Are our doubts and fears holding us back from where God is calling us? How can we learn to take the leap of faith when God provides us with an opportunity to follow Him into the Promised Land?

O Lord, we are sorry for our grumbling and ask you to lead us where we need to be.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

When we do something wrong, we have a tendency to look for excuses or blame others. This is exactly what Adam and Eve do. Adam blames Eve. Eve blames the serpent. This temptation to fault everything and everyone but ourselves is one we have to struggle with throughout our lives, especially when we feel unfairly treated by people or wonder why things aren’t going our way. Instead, we should accept responsibility for the consequences of our sins, confess them with contrite hearts, and do penance with the joy that should come from being freed from our burdens.

Who do we blame for our problems? What are our excuses for sinning? How can we train ourselves to own up to our failings and strive to be better?

O Lord, we are naked before you. Clothe us in your mercy and grace.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Monday in Ordinary Time

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’

Being a disciple of Christ means not only loving God with all our hearts, beings, strengths, and minds, but also loving our neighbors as God loves them. It is not always easy to do this, but if we want to be Christ-like, then we must be compassionate toward others. The priest and the Levite passed by the robbed man for unknown reasons, but no matter their reasoning, they ignored their higher duty. They might have been busy. They might have wanted to avoid becoming ritually unclean. They might have decided to not get involved out of fear. No matter why they didn't help, they failed to be neighborly toward the robbed man. However, the Samaritan goes above and beyond what many others would have done. He not only aids the victim, but also carries him to an inn, cares for him, and then provides money to the innkeeper to take care of the victim. He shows us how to respond to the opportunities God gives us to do His Will. And just like the Good Samaritan, we should be willing to set aside our excuses and love God through loving our neighbor to the best of our abilities.

Are we compassionate toward those in need? Are we willing to put aside our worries, excuses, and fears in order to love God and our neighbors? How can we prepare ourselves to act like Christ even when we are at our busiest?

O Lord, make us instruments of your compassion.

Amen.

Twenty-Sixth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

There are always going to be excuses on hand for why we can't follow Jesus. We don't have the time. We don't have the financial stability. We don't feel worthy of our callings. We have friends or family to hang out with. We have jobs or other obligations. We would rather be doing something we enjoy like watch TV or play games. We have too many chores to do. There is never enough time in the day to get everything done and so we put off our relationship with God in favor of other things. However, it is important to make time for God. Every relationship in our lives needs to be cultivated if we want it to grow. Our relationship with God is no different. If we don't tend to it, it will wither and die, but if we make time for God each day and spend it in fruitful prayer and works, then our relationship with God will grow by leaps and bounds and make us into better followers of Christ and lovers of God.

What are our excuses for not following God the way we should? How can we rid ourselves of the things that most interfere with our relationship with God? Are we really willing to make the necessary sacrifices to become better lovers of God?

O Lord, help us to follow you no matter what might stand in our way.

Amen.

Nineteenth Friday of Ordinary Time

"Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."

We are constantly tempted to make excuses for our sins. This extends not only to sins like choosing to divorce a spouse (without an annulment) and then remarrying, but also other sins such as lying, acting uncharitably toward someone in need, etc. Our minds can construct excuses out of thin air, but these pretexts are empty in the eyes of God. He is not primarily concerned with our thoughts, but rather with our actions: good and evil. If we do evil, then He shall remember it until we seek His Divine Mercy. If we do good from our hearts, then He shall reward us with the graces we need to bear any burden and to one day join Him in His never-ending heavenly feast.

Are we in the habit of making excuses? How can we overcome this temptation and instead do God's Will without hesitation? In what areas of our life are our hearts hardened and what can we do to soften them?

O Lord, make us open to doing your will without delay or excuse.

Amen.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.

Sometimes it’s difficult for us to put aside our worries and rest. Think of how anxious the disciples felt as the crowd gathered round and Jesus asked them, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Phillip and Andrew express their worries by pointing out they don’t have enough money to purchase what they need to feed so many and what little they have is no good for so many. How many times in our lives do we make excuses when it comes to helping others? Perhaps we do not have enough money, time, or resources. Or maybe we don’t think we have enough to offer to make a real difference. However, when faced with the disciples’ lack of money or resources Jesus does not send the crowd home. Instead, he has them recline, blesses the bread and fish, and distributed what little he had. Jesus does not ask us to give out of our excess, nor does he ask us to give out of our lack. He wants us to give everything we can to him and to his children confident that it is in the giving that we do his will and not necessarily in the outcome. In this gospel, the people are all feed and there is much left over, but without the sacrifice of the little boy with the bread and fish, the miracle could not have occurred. Jesus asks us to follow the boy’s example and give whatever we can to him so that he can bless and multiply it a thousand fold.

What worries keep us from giving ourselves to God and his children? When faced with our own lacks, do we worry or do we recline with God and trust in His Providence? What sacrifices can we make—great or small—for the glory of God and help of his children?

O Lord, inspire us to give you all that we have so that you can multiply it according to your own Divine Will.

Amen.