Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious

If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

We will not have peace in our lives until we recognize that God is with us. We can try to fill the void in our hearts with every kind of worldly thing, but none of it will fulfill us as the love and mercy of God can. And if we let the world surround us and keep our spirits hemmed in, then we like Jerusalem shall fall and all we have built shall be torn down. However, if we accept God’s call to sally forth and proclaim the Good News through our thoughts, words, and works, then we shall overcome our enemies and free ourselves from the chains of sin and selfishness that keep us from seeking the peace that only comes from doing God’s Will.

Are we seeking our peace in the empty promises of the world or in doing God’s Will? What are those things in our lives that are keeping us hemmed in spiritually? Are we willing to break out of our bad habits, sins, and frailties so that we can come to know, love, and serve God more perfectly?

O Lord, we recognize your call and want to answer it wholeheartedly.

Amen.

The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."

If only we were all a little more like Zacchaeus and willing to go out of the way to place ourselves in Jesus' path. If only we would respond quickly to Jesus' call. If only we would be willing to give up everything for Jesus and repay him four times over for all our trespasses against him. This is what it takes to become a disciple of Christ and be saved. It is in seeking that we find. It is in answering the call that we become who we are meant to be. It is in sacrificing that we are enriched in love, mercy, and grace.

What can we do to place ourselves in the path of Jesus? What can we do to respond to the call of Christ? Are we willing to make amends for our sins and live charitable lives?

O Lord, let us come quickly when you call.

Amen.

Twenty-Fifth Saturday of Ordinary Time

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men."  But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Sometimes we don't understand why God seems to be calling us to do something. Sometimes we are afraid of the answer we might get. However, the only way for us to grown in our faith is by seeking understanding in spite of our doubts and asking for the answers we might not want to hear. We will not understand everything in life, but we can make a firm resolution to put our trust in God no matter what sorrows and sufferings come our way. So too, we can make the resolution to seek the truth about God, others, and ourselves. We will not gain perfect knowledge in this life, but we can get a clearer picture of God as our Father, our Brother, and our Advocate. We might not understand everyone we meet, but we will be able to recognize the Christ in everyone, even those whom we find most difficult to love. Last but not least, we will come to a better, though still imperfect knowledge of ourselves and hopefully we will use it to become good and faithful servants, humble and contrite of heart.

Do we trust in God's Divine Plan? Are our spiritual lives filled with moments of faith seeking understanding? Are we afraid of what God wants from us or are we willing to give Him everything for the reparation of sins, conversion of sinners, and the salvation of souls?

O Lord, we do not always understand, but we shall always believe in your Divine Providence.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

Jesus is constantly calling us to follow him. No matter what we are doing in life, we should never be too busy to do God's Will. There is nothing in this world that should make us hesitate to drop what we are doing when an opportunity to do good presents itself. Not money, not fame, not any person or thing should keep us from hearing the Divine Truth, responding to it, and walking with Jesus to where we need to be. This is what it means to walk the Way of Jesus and live the Christ-like Life. It demands sacrifices from us, but in the end although we might be ridiculed, persecuted, and misunderstood, if we stand up for what we believe and practice what we preach, then we shall be healed of our iniquities and cleansed of our sins.

Are we listening for God's call? Are we willing to give up everything and follow Christ? Are we as welcoming of sinners as Jesus is of us?

O Lord, we shall come at your calling.

Amen.

Second Saturday of Ordinary Time

Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Sometimes when we answer one of God’s calls, people think we are out of our minds. They see us praying, almsgiving, fasting, volunteering, or giving up something else for God and they think we’re crazy. Why would we want to give up our time, talents, and treasures to pursue something intangible? But just like Jesus, we need to be willing to stand up for what we believe in and be willing to put up with the ridicule and bewilderment of those who do not believe as we do. We are meant to be signs of contradiction to the world and sometimes that means that certain people will misunderstand and even oppose us. However, we must not be afraid to suffer the persecution of others. Instead, we should focus on doing God’s Will to the best of our abilities.

What is God calling us to do? What will we need to sacrifice in order to do it? Are we willing to be persecuted in order to accomplish God’s Will?

O Lord, grant us the strength to persevere in the midst of our trials.

Amen.

Thirty-First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master.

God is constantly inviting us to come to His heavenly banquet. However, it is a constant temptation to decline His invitation because we are too busy or have other priorities in life. But we should never be too busy to come to God when He calls us. No material possessions or person is more important than our Heavenly Lord. We should never choose a lesser good over the greater good of God. We are all called to do God’s Will and accomplish some part of His Divine Plan. We cannot do this if we are consumed by the problems, pleasures, and distractions of the world. We need to make time for God, to go where He needs us to go, and do what He needs us to do. This is why we are here and if we come when He calls us, we will be rewarded with eternal life and a never-ending heavenly banquet.

What is God calling us to accomplish? What temptations in our lives keep us from doing God’s Will? Do we make time for Him or do we make time for the world?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to accept your invitation and make time for you.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

When Jesus calls Matthew, the tax collector leaves his custom post behind and follows without question. This call and answer is a model of how we should respond to God’s invitations in our own lives. God constantly gives us opportunities to follow Him and it is up to us to listen for His call and to respond to it when it comes time to do so. What a humbling experience it is to be called by Jesus and know within our hearts that God wants us to be at His side in this life as well as the next.

Are we listening for God’s call? Are we willing to leave everything behind to know, love, and serve God and His children? Do we realize the things of this world will pass away, but the love of God for us will never waiver?

O Lord, may we listen for your call and follow.

Amen.