Twenty-Fourth Wednesday in Ordinary Time

How great are the works of the Lord! He has given food to those who fear him; he will forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations.

God does great and small works in our lives. Each and every day, He grants us the miracle of life and gives us the grace to live them fruitfully. He provides us with spiritual food that nourishes our souls and feeds our faith. He offers us the light of hope to warm and guide us. He loves us and makes known to us His Truth and His Will. He has adopted us as His own children and wants nothing but the best for us. He made a New Covenant with us to save our souls and give us a chance at eternal life. How great indeed are His works!

Are we mindful of the New Covenant? Do we live lives in accordance with God’s Will? What can we do to become worthy recipients of the inheritance God has laid before us?

O Lord, how great are your works!

Amen.

Fifteenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

The Lord remembers his covenant forever. He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations—Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. 

God’s covenant is not only with Abraham or Isaac. It is not only with the Apostles. It is with all his followers. It is with all who are willing to pick up the light burden of the cross and carry it where God wills us to go. It is with all those who choose to rest in God through prayer. It is with us if we keep His commandments to know, love, and serve Him and treat our neighbors as He treats them... with charity and mercy. If we do good and avoid evil and live lives that proclaim the Good News, then when we pass from this earth, we will have a place in Heaven and a share in salvation.

Do we remember the covenant God has with us? Do we keep it in mind when we are tempted to sin? How can we be faithful to the covenant like our Heavenly Father is faithful to us?

O Lord, we are bound to the New Covenant, remind us of this as often as we forget it.

Amen.

Twelfth Wednesday in Ordinary Time

He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.

We are all part of the New Covenant. We all know what our responsibilities are. We are asked by God to know, love, and serve Him with our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. We are called to know, love, and serve our neighbors as He loves them. Every day of our lives we either choose to renew our baptismal promises or reject them. We either follow God and His teachings or we turn our backs on them and worship false gods.  There is no middle ground. We either choose to live for God or for ourselves. If we choose ourselves, then we shouldn’t be surprised if we are unhappy and empty of consolations. If we choose God, then we shall have an inner happiness and peace that cannot be upset by any suffering.

Have we taken the time to read Scriptures? What can we do to make the scriptures into a daily part of our faith lives? How can we renew our baptismal promises to know, love, and serve God and all His children?

O Lord, we will follow you and all your teachings.

Amen.

Fifth Thursday of Lent

“I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.” God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.”

We are all part of a covenant with the Heavenly Father. He is our God and we called to be His good and faithful servants. Some of us might rebel against this through sin and indifference, but it is true nonetheless. God wants to be ours and wants us to be His. Wholly. Completely. He wants us to live out His commandments, follow His teachings, and enact His inspirations. He gives us everything and all He wants in return is our faith, hope, and love. It isn’t always easy to live in accordance with the New Covenant, but it is the only way we will be saved from the fires of Hell and enter fully into eternal life with God in Heaven.

Are we living out our covenantal calling to be good and faithful servants to God and all His children? Do we make clear that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is at the heart of our lives? What can we do to live out the New Covenant more faithfully?

O Lord, help us to keep your covenant, now and forever.

Amen.

Sixteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.” Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his.”

God has given us everything we need to fulfill our end of the New Covenant, just as He gave the Israelites what they needed to fulfill the Old Covenant. He has given us the Scriptures to guide us and the Church to shepherd us. He has given us His Beloved Son as a sacrifice and sign of His Covenant with us. In return, He asks for our faith in His commandments and teachings. He asks us to place our trust in Him and not the world or ourselves. He asks us to love Him and others as He loves us. The Passion and Death of Jesus sealed the New Covenant with the Body and Blood of Christ and we in turn seal our end by following the Scriptures and traditions of the Church, especially when we make present Jesus’ sacrifice when we partake in the Blessed Sacrament.

Are we thankful for all God has given us through the New Covenant? Are we living up to our end of the bargain? How can we live more covenantal lives?

O Lord, everything you have said we will heed and do.

Amen.

Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: "I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless." God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised."

Our covenant with God asks us to do a lot for God. We have to walk in His Divine Presence wherever we go. We must be blameless. We must circumcise our hearts, minds, and spirits. We need to follow His commandments and do everything for His sake so we can glorify Him and not ourselves. The covenant appears to be very demanding, but the thing we must keep in mind is that the covenant is a two-way street. It also makes a great demand on God. It asks Him to forgive us our trespasses and sins. It asks Him to remain with us forever. It asks Him to take us into His Heavenly Home and prepare a place for us. It asks Him to share eternal life with us. The promises we make to God seem a small price to pay for such amazing gifts.

Are we following the New Covenant as faithfully as we should? Do we realize how much more we gain through our relationship with God, then we lose through our sacrifices for His sake? How can we walk in God’s presence always and be blameless in His sight?

O Lord, help us to keep our covenant as faithfully as possible.

Amen.

Sixth Thursday of Ordinary Time

This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

God has entered into many covenants with us. Through each one He has given us many graces. With the New Covenant of Jesus, he has offered us a new sign of His promises... the cross. It is in the cross that we see the bridge between the death of sin and the life of love. It is in this symbol that we see the triumph of God through the sacrifice of the cross. But a covenant is a two-way promise and in return for the saving graces of His Beloved Son, God asks us to know, love, and serve Him as Jesus did by following the Way of the Cross. It is only by accepting the sufferings of this life and bearing them with hopeful and compassionate hearts that we will become living signs of God’s New Covenant. It is not enough for us to accept God’s Love and Mercy. We must also imitate Christ in our thoughts, words, and works. When people look upon us they should know we are Christians by our love and how we carry ourselves under the weight of our own crosses.

Are we living our lives according to the New Covenant? How can we make ourselves into living signs of the New Covenant? Do we ever take time to truly contemplate what God did for us through His Son’s passion, death, and resurrection?

O Lord, make us into living signs of the triumph of your cross.

Amen.

Third Thursday of Advent

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.  Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

Why is Matthew so interested in the lineage of Christ? It is to show that Jesus is the culmination of God’s covenant with Abraham and the fulfillment of the royal line of David. Jesus is the New Covenant and the New King and with him comes all the graces and authority of both. His covenant will be a binding one upon all people through every generation. His message of loving God with our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and our neighbors as He loves us is at the core of His Good News. We are all called to live our lives in accord with these new commandments and if we do not, then we shall not have a share in the Heavenly Kingdom. However, if we do listen and put into action God’s Will for us, then we shall grow in faith, hope, and charity and one day we shall be able to stand before God and he will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servants.”

Do we live our lives in accord with the gospel message of the New Covenant? Do we accept Jesus’ claim to be the rightful king of our hearts? Do we strive to be good and faithful servants every day of our lives?

O Lord, may we be counted among your faithful children when the time of judgment comes.

Amen.