Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Joseph said to his brothers: “I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, “When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up with you from this place.”

Joseph’s trust in God’ Providence is something we should all strive for. He believes God keeps His promises, maybe not always in the way or time we expect, but He always fulfills His oaths. Through Jesus, God promised us salvation if we would listen to Jesus’ teachings and follow in his footsteps. It is by doing these things that we align our lives with the Truth, walk the Way of Christ, and live the Life of love and mercy God calls each of us to. He also promised us that one day Jesus Christ would return and we would be judged according to our faith and works. We shall have a place either in Heaven or Hell. Hopefully, we choose to live in accordance with God’s Will and find ourselves counted among the saints.

Do we trust in God’s Providence? Do we believe God will take care of us and lead us to the Promised Land? How can we prepare for His coming as if it was to be today?

O Lord, take care of us and lead us to Paradise with you.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

"What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

When we were born, our parents and other family members probably wondered what we would be. The possibilities were endless and the future unknown, perhaps for some of us this is still the case. However, one thing is for sure, the Lord is with us just as He was with John. If we let Him nourish us on holiness and humility, then we too will grow and become strong in the spirit. God knows what He wants us to be, it is up to us to accept His invitation and fulfill our promise or chose our own way and seek our own ends.

What, then, will we be? How do we let the Lord think, speak, and work through us? What is God’s plan for us and have we accepted it?

O Lord, be with us so that we might grow and be strong in the spirit.

Amen.

Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil

Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 
‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’

Do not be amazed! What an odd thing to say after the Resurrection, and yet, how appropriate for us to hear. These are not earthly words. They are heavenly ones. They are filled with trust in God’s Providence. The angel is not amazed because he knows God always follows through on His Promises. We on the other hand are amazed because we are human and used to being let down or failing to follow through on a promise. This is not how God thinks or works. His Ways are above our ways and we should be very thankful for that. We should also remember that Jesus went before us to prepare the way to eternal life and now it is up to us to follow in his footsteps. This task is bewildering and frightening to us because it forces us to ask ourselves the following questions:

How can we make ourselves into a living sacrifice for our God and His children? How can we transfigure our lives to God’s Ways? How can we trust God’s Divine Plan when it is obscured by darkness?

O Lord, let us be not amazed that you have gone before us to prepare our way to the heavenly Kingdom.

Amen.