Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A Spirit of counsel and of strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

The Holy Spirit has many gifts to offer us and He does so with generosity and compassion. He desires for us to be wise, understanding, full of good counsel, strong in faith, knowledgeable, and fearful of letting the Lord down. He offers us eyes to see the Way, ears to hear the Truth, and hearts to live the Life of Christ. He gives us the guidance of our consciences to help us lead just lives and choose right over wrong. He wants us to be sealed to Him through righteousness and faithfulness and never leave His side. He wants only the best for us, but He will not force His Will on us. Instead, He lets us make our own choices to accept or deny His gifts of our own free will.

How can we strengthen the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us? How can we conform our lives to justice toward all and fidelity to God? Are we willing to bind ourselves to God, giving up earthly goods, in order to become good and faithful servants?

O Lord, send down your Holy Spirit and His gifts.

Amen.

Nineteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

But the people answered Joshua, "We will still serve the LORD." Joshua therefore said to the people, "You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the LORD." They replied, "We are, indeed!" Joshua continued: "Now, therefore, put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." Then the people promised Joshua, "We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice."

As his last act as leader of the Israelites, Joshua exhorted them to continue to serve God and the people answer that they will. In the same way, we must constantly answer that we will spend the rest of our lives knowing, loving, and serving God. We are our own witnesses and must keep ourselves accountable. We must keep the commandments of God and grow in virtues. We must admonish ourselves when we do wrong, correct our behavior, and do penance for our sins. We must put away those things that keep us from being totally devoted to God. We must turn our hearts to Him without reservation or hesitation. We must open our ears, minds, and hearts to listen to God’s Voice, understand His Will, and put the Word of God into action.

Do we renew our commitment to serving God on a daily basis? Are we willing to leave behind everything and follow God where He wants us to go? How can we learn to listen to and be faithful to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit?

O Lord, we will serve you and obey your voice.

Amen.

The Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Jesus does not want us to hate our fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, sisters, or even our own lives at least not in the way we might think of hating. Rather he is asking us to whom are we loyal to? Are we loyal to God first and foremost or are we loyal to family, friends, and those who give us what we want in this life. If we choose God, then we will be better able to know, love, and serve God and others. This may seem counter-intuitive to some, but when we do God's Will we serve others more than when we serve them directly because our actions bring God's grace into their lives. In addition, Jesus challenges us to take up our crosses and follow Him. God does not want us to suffer, but our sins cause suffering for others and ourselves. He could stop suffering by taking away our free will, but He doesn't do that because love depends upon the ability to freely choose another over ourselves. Because of God's respect for our freedom, we have to accept our cross in order to be Jesus' disciple. He does not force it on us. And if we do accept it, then although we might suffer, we suffer joyfully and secure in the knowledge that God will never abandon us.

Are we loyal to God, to others, or to ourselves? How can we foster a fidelity to God that will allow us to not only choose to be loyal to Him, but also to accept the crosses that come to us because of this choice? Are we willing to suffer in order to know, love, and serve God and others?

O Lord, help us to be loyal to you and to carry our crosses as faithful disciples.

Amen.

Twentieth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.

We can't save ourselves, but thankfully God has chosen to give us every opportunity to accept the salvation He offers it to us through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. All we have to do is to give up everything and follow Jesus. If we do these things, then we shall grow in faith, hope, and charity. We shall receive rewards more bountiful than any that the world can offer. Last but not least, we shall inherit eternal life. It is not easy to sacrifice everything. We will be tempted to doubt, fear, and run away from Christ, but as long as we stand firmly by his side, even in the midst of trial and tribulation, then we shall be rewarded for our fortitude and persistence.

Do we truly believe that all things are possible with God? Are we willing to give up everything and follow Christ? How can we cultivate a fidelity to God that can withstand the temptations of the world?

O Lord, we are willing to give up everything for your sake.

Amen.

Seventh Friday of Ordinary Time

“Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

We can harden our hearts in many different ways. We can do so by becoming cynical. We can do it through pride. We can even do it out of what we believe is right. Adam and Eve hardened their hearts when they ate of the apple. They decided for themselves what was right and wrong, denying God His place as Eternal Judge. There may be things we don't understand about our faith, but that is why we should constantly pray, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." Today's gospel is a hard teaching for many people. This is understandable. We all know there are good reasons to leave a marriage: abuse, infidelity, etc. However, the Church follows the words of Christ in this and makes clear that civil divorce does not break the bonds of marriage. There is a permanence to the vows of marriage that not even the Church can break. Yes, there is annulment, but it requires proof that the marriage was never valid because the bride or groom did not enter the marriage with full consent, maturity, faithfulness, or intent of having children. These aren't easy to prove in many cases, which is why the Church encourages people to go through marriage preparation before saying their vows. This is to drive home the fact that both parties need to take their vows seriously and not enter the union lightly.

Have we hardened our hearts to any truths of the gospels? Are we tempted to decide what is right and wrong rather than letting God be the Divine Judge? Do we respect the fact that we will not always understand the teachings of Christ, but that it is okay to believe in spite of our doubts?

O Lord, soften our hearts and help us believe in your good news.

Amen.

Third Friday of Ordinary Time

This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.

God provides each of us the graces we need to grow in our faith and one day we will all be harvested and the fruit of our lives will be weighed out. Some of us will bear much fruit and some will have very little to show for their lives. As we go throughout our days, we should constantly be on the watch for opportunities to nourish our faith and grow as followers of Christ. These chances to do God’s work will come in various ways and in different places and times. Some will require small sacrifices of our time, talents, and treasures. Others will ask us to risk or change our lives for the good of others. Whatever God is calling us to do, we must prepare ourselves and be ready to go where God is leading us and do what He wants us to do. This fidelity to our Heavenly Father is the only way for us to flourish as Christians and yield good fruit.

What are we doing to grow in our faith? What opportunities for spiritual growth are present in our lives? What are we willing to sacrifice in order to bear good fruit?

O Lord, give us the graces to grow and yield good fruit throughout our lives.

Amen.