Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.

Each and every day we prove our spiritual metal. We show God if we are made of the gold of goodness or the lead of evil. We reveal whether we are strong as steel in our beliefs or weak as tin. We either polish our interior lives so they shine like silver or ignore and abuse our lives until they rot with rust. We reflect God’s Love or we dull it with selfishness. It is up to each of us to tend the flames of our inner furnaces, to hammer out our imperfections and impurities, and shape our souls into beautiful embodiments of God. Like bronze statues, we must be formed and made into one, seamless piece united to and reflective of our Lord and God.

In what ways do we prove ourselves to God? How can we refine ourselves in the fires of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace? What can we do to help others to be purified in faith, hope, and love?

O Lord, prove us in the furnace of your love.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

Jesus came into the world to make us all into the adopted children of God. He came to show us how to cast off our sinful selves and put on the spirit of the Lamb. He became our scapegoat so we might be washed clean of our sins by His Precious Blood. He become our food so we might be united to God through His Blessed Body. If we do these things, then the world will not recognize us and we will not become lost in its lures, temptations, and vices. By accepting our call to be children of God, we become more and more like Jesus and our eyes are opened so we can see God as He is and our fellow brothers and sisters as they are, too. So, let us make ourselves pure as Jesus is pure so one day we might join him in Heaven forever and ever.

Do we think, speak, and act like children of God? How can we purify ourselves so we are more like Christ in all things? What can we do to follow our calling to become good and faithful children of our Heavenly Father?

O Lord, we are your children now.

Amen.

Fifteenth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance. Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; Nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be a time of evil.

The evil we do will be repaid. The only question is whether it is repaid through the sacrament of reconciliation and time in Purgatory or in the fires of Hell. These are our only options and, in the end, we will choose one or the other... and if we fail to choose, we will pay for our indifference with eternal torment. Therefore, let us choose what is right and good... to confess our sins with humble and contrite hearts, to do penance, to avoid temptations, and sin no more.

What evils have we plotted and done? How can we repay God and those whom we’ve harmed? Are we ready to amend our lives and be good and faithful servants of God and all His children?

O Lord, uproot our sins and purify our hearts.

Amen.

Fifteenth Monday in Ordinary Time

Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.

Our prayers are only as effective as our purity of heart allows them to be. If we are tainted by sin, our prayers are also tainted. If we pray for selfish reasons or out of a sense of entitlement, then our prayers will not be heard. If we pray for help, but do not help others, then we shall receive exactly what we have given... nothing. In order for our prayers to reach God's ear, they need to be freed from our sins, failings, faults, fears, doubts, and worldly desires. Only when they are liberated from these things can they soar up to the heavens and reach our Heavenly Father. However, freeing ourselves from these evils isn't easy. It requires us to put away our misdeeds, to cease doing evil, to learn to do good, to make justice our aim, to redress the wronged, to answer the plea of others, and defend those who have no defenders. Doing all these things mean putting God and others before ourselves and being willing to sacrifice everything we have in order to do God's Will and aid our brothers and sisters in Christ.

How can we purify our hearts? What can we do to right our wrongs and bear good fruits? Are we willing to make the sacrifices necessary for us to become living sacraments of God's Love, Mercy, and Grace?

O Lord, wash us clean so we might know, love, and serve You and all your children.

Amen.

Third Saturday of Advent

For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

These words have been used to describe John the Baptist and Jesus, but they also describe what the sacrament of reconciliation does for all of us. It offers us a chance to be refined and purified. It removes our impurities by burning them away. In a similar way, the sacrament of reconciliation can rid us of our imperfections and sins, granting us the grace to become worthy vessels of God’s Will on earth. By seeking forgiveness with contrite hearts and doing our penances, we are emptied of all our sins and transformed into pleasing and faithful followers.

Do we make ourselves available to the sacrament of reconciliation and the graces it offers us? Are we willing to allow God to burn away our imperfections and refine our souls? How can we becomes living vessels, bearing God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace to all the world?

O Lord, refine and purify us.

Amen.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

Just as John the Baptist was the messenger of the Lord and the preparer of His way into the world, so must we become heralds of God’s Will. Being His messenger means not only listening to the Good News, but proclaiming it through our every word and work. It means preparing ourselves in such a way to make our souls into living temples where God can dwell. It also requires us to perform acts of charity and mercy for others so that their hearts will be open to the coming of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do these things if we don’t refine our faith and let God purge us of our sins and imperfections. It is only through His Grace that we can increase in spiritual richness and attain our highest purpose.

Are we messengers of God or the world? How can we become better prophets of God’s Love and Divine Truth? What can we do to purify our souls?

O Lord, refine us and make us into faithful messengers of your Good News.

Amen.

Fourth Thursday of Advent

For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

God wants to refine and purify us so we are precious and pleasing in His sight. He wants us to be polished and shaped by the virtues of faith, hope, and love so we can more perfectly reflect His Divine Image. We cannot fulfill this purpose if we mar our souls with sins and muddy them with imperfections. Each time we do evil or fail to do good, we need to be refined and purified once again through the fires of contrition and penance. Then, once we are made clean in the eyes of the Lord, we will become an acceptable sacrifice to God.

Are we willing to allow God to refine and purify us through whatever means He decides is best for us? Are we willing to make our lives into living sacrifices to God? How can we be more pleasing to God?

O Lord, refine the metal of our souls and purify us of all our imperfections.

Amen.