Eighth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

To the upright I will show the saving power of God. “Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his justice; for God himself is the judge.

God makes clear that if we want to make a covenant with Him, it must be through sacrifice. We can’t go through our lives without being willing to surrender our time, talents, and treasures to God. We must put God first and foremost in our lives and give Him priority over all else. We have to be willing to give up whatever He asks us to leave behind. We cannot live a Christ-like life if we aren’t willing to make every moment of our days into a sacrifice for His glory and the good of His children. If we want to be faithful and upright, then we must be prepared to suffer and do so joyfully and calmly. We must give of ourselves without complaint or counting the cost because Jesus never hesitated to offer himself up as an oblation to God for the cleansing of our sins and the salvation of our souls.

What sacrifices are we being asked to make? What can we do to make our lives into offerings for the reparation of sins and the salvation of souls? How can we become upright and just in our dealings with God and His children?

O Lord, we are willing to sacrifice everything we are and have to be a part of your new covenant.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church

"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command. Answer me, LORD! Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses." The LORD's fire came down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and it lapped up the water in the trench. Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our daily jobs, sufferings, and struggles that we lose sight of God. We start to give our time, talents, and treasures to things that lead us astray... away from God. We make false idols out of all manner of things from money to TVs to computers to everything else. However, we must resist this temptation with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. We must make our lives into an offering to God and not to evil. We must fall to our knees in prayer and renew our baptismal promises. We must be confident that "The Lord is God!" and will never abandon us... even when we fail to follow Him as we should. We must trust that God will bring us back our senses after we sin and help us to confess, do penance, and sin no more.

Do we need to be brought back to our spiritual senses? What false idols do we need to reject from our lives? How can we prepare ourselves to be a living altar dedicated to our Lord and our God?

O Lord, prepare our hearts with your grace so that they will be completely dedicated to you.

Amen.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"

Sometimes we can see our sacrifices and offerings to God as the end, but they really are only a means to the ultimate end of building up our relationship with God. We do this best when we prepare our bodies to be pure and chaste for Him. When we prepare our minds to be wise and prudent for Him. When we prepare our hearts to be hopeful and wise. When we do God’s Will and allow Him to lead us along His Way to the Truth and the Life He is calling us to live. When we prepare ourselves to become a delight to the Lord in our every thought, word, and work.

Are our bodies prepared for the Lord as they should be? Are we doing God’s Will? How can we become a delight to God?

O Lord, prepare us to be a delight to you, now and forever.

Amen.

Third Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. When he finished making these offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. He then distributed among all the people, to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel, a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake. With this, all the people left for their homes.

As Christians, our lives are full of sacrifices and blessings. We are all asked to offer our thoughts, words, and works to God for his praise and glory. We are all asked to be blessings to those whom we meet each day. We are all asked to share our time, talents, and treasures with those in need of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace. Together, we partake of one, unifying meal made of the Body and Blood of Christ. Through this feast we are united into one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church. Sacrifice and blessing go hand-in-hand in our faith. Jesus died on the cross to bless us and we should be willing to die to ourselves in order to be a blessing for others.

What offerings do we have to give to the Lord? How can we become a blessing to others? In what ways can we unite with others in our faith, hope, and love?

O Lord, we offer you everything.

Amen.

Third Friday of Advent

After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: "Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.  I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD."

When God gives us something, be it a talent, a grace, or any other gift, our first reaction should be to give something to God in return. We can offer up the talents He has given us as a living prayer to Him. We can thank Him for all the graces He has given us from the first moment of our conception to our last breath on earth and the promise of eternal life afterwards. We can make our lives into living sacrifices to the Lord, transforming ourselves into faithful offerings to our God, Most High. We can dedicate ourselves to the Lord and allow Him to do with us what he needs to have done.

What are we giving to God in recognition for all He has done for us? How can we be more faithful in presenting ourselves, our thoughts, words, and works to God? How can we become more dedicated to our Heavenly Father?

O Lord, we turn our lives over to you as dedicated sacrifices.

Amen.

Thirty-Third Wednesday of Ordinary Time

‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.’

We are all given gifts by God and He asks us to use them for His greater glory. However, if we hide our time, talents, and treasures or do not use them as God intended, then we will suffer a similar fate to the fearful servant. We shall have nothing to show for all the gifts God has given us and at the end of our lives, He will take away all that we have and we shall be left with nothing but our regrets. We should know that God wants us to do more with our lives, then merely survive or succeed in our worldly endeavors. He wants us to bear good fruit, to bring in a spiritual profit, and be willing to harvest where we are needed. We cannot do that if we are afraid to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom of God. So let us be faithful stewards of the time, talents, and treasures God has given us, lest we perish at the point of God’s justice.

What are we doing with the time, talents, and treasures God has given us? What do we have to offer Him now? How can we make our lives a living gift to God and His children?

O Lord, help us to use our God-given gifts to bear much fruit.

Amen.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. 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.”

We all belong to God and He wants us to be with Him forever. He won’t reject anyone who comes to Him. As long as we keep the commandments of the Father, the teachings of the Son, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, then we will be raised on the last day. It is the will of the Father that those who believe in Jesus and act in accord with his good news will have eternal life. God wants us to be at His side each and every day and to act in His Divine Name. So let us go to God, offering Him everything in our lives, great and small, as a living sacrifice for His greater glory.

Are we spending our lives coming to God or running away from Him? Do we realize how much He loves us and wants us with Him in heaven? Do we offer God everything in our lives?

O Lord, we believe in you, shelter us with your love.

Amen.

Twenty-Fourth Friday of Ordinary Time

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

Instead of seeking riches and worldly possessions, we should focus our energies on following Jesus and providing for him and his disciples out of our resources. We all have something to offer the Lord. It might be our time, our talents, or our treasures, but we should make a concerted effort to know, love, and serve our God and His children. If we can take a little bit of time out of our busy schedules, then we can make a world of difference to those in need of our presence. If we have gifts and talents, then we should share these with those would benefit from our knowledge and abilities. If we have treasures, then we should offer them up for good causes and to help those less fortunate than us. However, it is not enough to give these things out of a feeling of obligation. Doing these things in such a way might be the right decision, but it isn’t an act of true charity. Instead, we must want to give these things out of love. Only then will we be doing the right and good thing.

Are we following Jesus or the world? Are we preaching and proclaiming the word of God with our time, talents, and treasures? Do we give of ourselves in a spirit of love?

O Lord, you have provided us with everything we have. Let us return it all to you through our acts of love and mercy.

Amen.

Fifth Wednesday of Easter

Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

We cannot bear any good fruits without grounding them in the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we do not unite our every thought, word, and work to God, we will be left empty handed when we are called to give an account of ourselves before the Seat of Judgment. So let us take the time to offer up all of our being to God as a living sacrifice and not forget from whom all good things come. When we do the right thing, let us remember that in order for it to be a good thing, we need to make it a glorious gift to God. Only then will we truly be doing God’s work and not our own.

What do we do to remind ourselves to offer up our thoughts, words, and works to God? How do we keep in mind the need not only to do what is right, but also unite those right actions to God so that they become good, too? How do we remind ourselves to remain in the presence of God at all times and in all places?

O Lord, you are the vine from which comes all good things. Help us to bear good fruit.

Amen.