Twenty-Second Friday in Ordinary Time

The one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.

We are all called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God and it is by these two vocations that we will be judged. God will judge whether we have been good and faithful servants in these regards. He will shine the light of truth on all our thoughts, words, and works and we will see what is hidden within us. We shall know every motive, good or bad, and see every virtue and vice. We will truly know ourselves and whether we have lived Christ-like lives or if we have lived foolishly and falsely. We shall know if we have been charitable or selfish, hopefully or despairing, faithful or indifferent Hopefully, God will find something praise-worthy within all of us. But if we doubt He will find good works in our hearts, then we should amend our lives so we might do something worthy of being called Christians.

Are we being good and faithful servants of Christ? Have we been loyal and trust-worthy stewards of the mysteries of God? How can we align our motives and actions more perfectly with God's Will?

O Lord, you are my Judge, be merciful.

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.