Twenty-Third Monday of Ordinary Time

Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

It is always lawful to do good and avoid evil, no matter what day of the week it might be. We might not be called to cure people on the Sabbath, but we are often called to act with charity and mercy in the midst of our busy lives. Instead of looking for excuses to avoid the sacrifice being asked of us in terms of time, talents, and treasure, we should embrace the opportunities we are given to do God's Will. Sometimes that means being late to Mass, putting away the rosary, or skipping a devotion so we can help someone in need. God understands that sometimes good works interfere with our prayer lives. However, we should remember that in God's eyes our acts of charity and mercy are better, living prayers than any we could ever pray by ourselves.

Are we willing to stretch out our hand and seize our opportunities to do good? What can we do to prepare ourselves to lead sacrificial lives? How can we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to sensing when God is calling us to acts of charity and mercy?

O Lord, we stretch our hands out to you in hopes that you will restore us and show us how to do good without counting the cost.

Amen.

Third Wednesday of Easter

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Sometimes we forget that our faith lives lead us inevitably to the Resurrection on the last day. What we do today will help determine where we will spend all of eternity. It’s hard to wrap our minds around the concept of eternal life. Our present lives are consuming enough without worrying about what will happen after we pass on to the next life. However, if we want to truly appreciate our faith and live it to the fullest, we need to have a healthy remembrance of what our goal is on earth, namely to prepare ourselves to live eternally with God in heaven. So the next time we get so busy that we think we don’t have time to pray or do some good deed, perhaps we should remember that we don’t know the hour of our death and we should do everything in our power to make time for God and seize those opportunities He gives us to prove that we believe in His Son.

Have we forgotten to pray, do good, or offer up our lives today for God’s glory? What are the worldly things in our lives which keep us from focusing on the heavenly ones? How can we focus even our mundane tasks on God so that we make our lives a living prayer to Him?

O Lord, we believe in your Son and hope you shall raise us up on the last day.

Amen.