Third Sunday of Advent

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.

Rejoice, pray, and give thanks without ceasing... this is the will of God for all of us. God wants us to be filled with joy and happiness. He wants us to be cheerful even in the midst of our daily trials. He wants us to pray to Him constantly and be in dialogue with Him through the Holy Spirit so our relationship with Him can bear much fruit. He wants us to give thanks to Him for all the good He has done for us. He wants us to accept His Love, Mercy, and Grace with adoring, contrite, and humble hearts. He wants us to be on fire with the Holy Spirit and listen to the voice of our consciences. He wants us to be open to His inspirations sent to us through our thoughts and the thoughts, words, and works of others. He wants us to test everything in order to make sure our days are filled with people, places, and things which lead to good and avoid all evil. In short, He wants us to be alive in Jesus Christ so we might live with Him forever in heaven.

Do we have joyful hearts, even in the midst of trials? Do we pray without ceasing and give thanks to God all the days of our lives? Are we letting the Holy Spirit think, speak, and work through us for the good of all?

O Lord, we rejoice in you. We pray to you. We give thanks to you.

Amen.

Twelfth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street.

In times of distress, we should rise up and pray. We should pour out our hearts to the Lord and lift up our hands. We should make ourselves into living prayers, petitioning God for His aid. We should do this when we are in need or suffering and also when we see others who are in difficulties. And ultimately, we should trust in God’s Goodness and remain hopeful. We cannot let our trials or tribulations shake or uproot our faith. We cannot let our fears and doubts crush our spirits. Instead, we should believe in our Heavenly Father, His Beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit... who do not wish us harm and will do all in their powers to guide us through all our troubles.

Do we pray to God when we are in need or suffering? What about when others are undergoing difficulties? How can we grow in our faith and trust in God even during our darkest of nights?

O Lord, we hunger for your heavenly aid.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Tuesday of Ordinary Time

"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water. Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish." When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.

Acts of repentance both cleanse and renew us spiritually. Through fasting, almsgiving, and praying we show God we are serious about changing our lives and making amends. By turning our back on our evil ways and denying temptations, we choose the better life over the easier one. When we sin, we either repent or harden our hearts. The former leads to forgiveness and everlasting life, while the latter leads to death and damnation. It might not be easy to turn from our evil ways, but it is necessary if we want to live and spend eternity with God in the Heavenly Kingdom. Thankfully, God is loving and merciful and more than willing to forgive us as many times as it takes for us to finally convert our hearts and do God’s Will always and in every way.

What do we need to repent for? How can we show God the sincerity of our repentance? Can we convert our hearts to what is right in the face of our temptations?

O Lord, help us to turn away from our evil ways and follow you.

Amen.

Twenty-Second Wednesday of Ordinary Time

We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.

When we witness someone living out the faith, we should not be shy about it. We should let them know they are doing good and we are praying for them. It might not be something we think about, but just as we pray for those in need, so too should we pray for those who are doing God’s Will. Those who minister to people also need spiritual support to sustain them in their good works. Our words of encouragement can make a world of difference in the lives of those who spend themselves in knowing, loving, and serving others because it lets them know they are making a difference and are appreciated for manifesting the faith for all to see.

Do we actively support those who are doing God’s Will? What can we do to encourage them and help them to grow in holiness? How can we help others to know, love, and serve God and His children?

O Lord, thank you for those who live holy and loving lives.

Amen.

The First Tuesday of Lent

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

The Our Father was handed down to us by Jesus and it is one of the central prayers of our faith. However, it also gives us a blueprint of how to live our lives. We should give reverence to God by recognizing Him as our Heavenly Father. We also should ask Him to bring about His Kingdom and to do His Will in our lives. So too, we ought to live in such a way as to bring about His Will on earth. Besides these things, we must hunger for the daily bread of life that God offers us through prayer and especially the sacrament of the Eucharist. We also need to ask for forgiveness for our failings while forgiving the failings of others. Last but not least, we should pray to be protected from the temptations of the world and evils that seek to lure us away from God. If we do these things, we will be able to lead Christ-like lives filled with faith in the Father, hope in His Providence, and love for God and His children.

Do we pray the Our Father every day? Do we take each line and meditate upon its deeper meaning? How can we put its precepts into practice?

O Lord, you are our Father, our Bread, and our Deliverer.

Amen.

First Tuesday of Lent

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the perfect prayer—the Our Father. In this simple prayer we are given a microcosm of our faith. We recognize God as Our Heavenly Father and hallow his name. We remind ourselves that the focus of our faith should be on the second coming and doing God’s Will on earth. We ought to desire the daily bread of the Eucharistic celebration, but also the future bread of the heavenly feast. We ask for the forgiveness of our sins and the grace to forgive others. Finally, we petition God to protect us from temptation and evil. This single prayer encompasses the petitions at the heart of our faith and every time we pray it we unite ourselves to Our Father and all of His beloved children.

Do we meditate on the Our Father when we pray it or do we just say the words? What can we do to take these words into our hearts and live them? What petitions do we have for God today?

O Lord, when we pray the Our Father grant us the grace to ask you for what we really need, and not just what we want.

Amen.

The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

We are all offered the chance to be filled with wisdom and favor of God. However, not all of us accept this offer or recognize it when we are faced with the decision between good and evil. This is why we must fast and pray as Anna did in her life. We are asked to build our spiritual lives upon these two pillars of faith. We also must remember that fasting does not have to be just from food, but it can also be from anything else that keeps us away from God, distracts us from Him, or would be a worthy offering to our Lord. Prayer too is just as important as fasting and is our means of communing with God on a personal level. It helps build up our relationship with him, just as our conversations with family, friends, and neighbors do.

What are we willing to fast from in the coming days, months, and years? How are we preparing ourselves to receive God’s wisdom into our lives? How are we building our relationship with God through our prayers?

O Lord, help us to fast from those things that keep us away from you and to pray that we might be drawn to you so that we might be filled with your Wisdom and Favor.

Amen.