Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

If we are friends to God, then we will make know the glorious splendor of His Kingdom. We will proclaim the Good News and strive to manifest His Love and Mercy in all our thoughts, words, and works. We will be just in all our ways and holy in our actions. We will not be afraid to stand for the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ. We will call upon Him in thanksgiving for all He has done for us and in petition for His help in our times of need. This is what we are all called to do as His beloved children and it should be our goal in life to meet the high standards God has set for us through the example of Jesus, our Lord, Savior, and Heavenly Brother.

How do we make God know in our lives? In what ways do we proclaim the Good News and manifest God’s Goodness to the world? Do we call upon Him with complete trust in His Will?

O Lord, help us to make you known to all the world.

Amen.

Eleventh Thursday of Ordinary Time

Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth. Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD.

God is justice and truth. He is majestic and glorious. He is wondrous in His deeds. He is gracious and merciful. As His children, we are called to be just in our actions and truthful in our speech. We are called to recognize God’s majesty and glorify God through our words and works. We are asked to proclaim His marvelous deeds to all the world. We are inspired to be gracious to all whom we meet and merciful to those who trespass against us. Our vocation in this life is to be the best reflections of God’s Divine Image that we can be so others can see God at work in the world and know we are Christians.

Are we just and truthful in our dealings with others? In what ways do we make known God’s Goodness to the world? How can we become more gracious and merciful?

O Lord, make us into instruments of your justice and truth.

Amen.

Eleventh Monday of Ordinary Time

The Lord has made known his salvation. In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. 

God has made known His Salvation in many ways. He made it known to the Israelites in the Old Testament. He made it know through the coming of Jesus Christ. He made it known through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of His Beloved Son. He made it known through the proclamation of the New Testament and the sacrifices of the early martyrs. He made it known through the institution of the Church and its traditions. He made it known from generation to generation through the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit. He tries to make it known through us and through the way we think, speak, and work. He wants us to reveal His Justice and Mercy to all the nations. He wants us to show His Kindness to the world. So, let us be God-bearers, magnifying the Lord in all we are from the beginning to the end of each of our days.

Do we give God thanks for all He has done to save us from sin and death? In what ways are we making God’s Salvation known to others? How can we become better signs of God’s kindness and faithfulness toward all of mankind?

O Lord, make your salvation known to and through us.

Amen.

Fifth Tuesday of Easter

Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might.

God asks all of us to be His friends. Think about that for a moment. Our Creator, our Redeemer, our Advocate wants to be our friend. He wants to know, love, and serve us as friends do. He wants us to be with Him as much as He is with us. He constantly builds our relationship up through grace and compassion. He does small and great things for us and our good just as a good friend would. It is only right and good that we respond in kind to Him and do what He calls us to do... to love Him and all His children as He loves us.

Are we living up to our calling to be friends of our Lord? How do we make God known to others? What can we do to become better prophets of the Word?

O Lord, make us into good and faithful friends to you and all your children.

Amen.

First Wednesday in Ordinary Time

The Lord remembers his covenant forever. Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.

As members of the Body of Christ, we are supposed to live our lives in such a way as to give glory and thanks to God and to invoke His Name wherever we go. We are supposed to make Him known among the nations, sing His praises, and proclaim His wondrous deeds. We can’t do any of these things if we don’t imitate Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and works. When people meet us, they should know we are Christians by our love, mercy, and caring. Just as God remembers His covenant with us forever, so we must remember our role in that covenant... as good and faithful servants willing to sacrifices ourselves and our goods for the glory of God and the good of others.

Do we remember God’s covenant with us each and every day? How do we make God known in our lives? What do we do to proclaim His wondrous deeds?

O Lord, help us to make you known among all the nations.

Amen.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.”

The world tells us to strive to be on top, to be number one. But that is not the point of life. John realized this. His whole life was devoted to one thing: preparing the way of the Lord. His disciples would have made him into a false Messiah if he’d let them. He could have turned his back on his mission and choose to make himself number one. However, he didn’t because he realized the only way his life would be fulfilled was if he decreased so Jesus could increase. He recognized something greater than himself and placed his own pride aside and welcomed the coming of the Lord. In the same way, we are called to recognize the first place God should hold in our own lives. He should be the source, center, and summit of our lives. We should be willing to give up anything for Him. And like John, our lives should be a constant preparation for the Lord leading others and ourselves closer to God.

Have we given God first place in our lives? If not, then how can we put Him above all else? How do our lives make God known to others?

O Lord, you will always come first.

Amen.