Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to the left. He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, And the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant.

God guides us in many ways. He gives the His Holy Spirit to inspire us to holiness. He gives us our consciences to remind us of right and wrong. He gives us models in the faith through, Jesus, Mary, and the saints. He shows us the way to live as good and faithful servants. He gives us guidance through the Scriptures and the traditions and teachings of the Church. He gives us the sacraments to sustain us. He pours out His Love, Mercy, and Grace so our souls might flourish in the faith and we might produce good fruits through our thoughts, words, and works.

Are we accepting of God’s guidance and help? What way does God want us to walk? How can we be more open to the outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

O Lord, show us the way we are called to walk in this life.

Amen.

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his justice, and all peoples see his glory.

Sometimes our hearts can become mountains. They can become piled up with all sorts of doubts, worries, anxieties, and worldly cares. These can become so heavy within us that it is hard to do anything. However, God is willing to melt these things away and free us from our burdens. All we have to do is seek God in prayer and in the sacraments of His Holy Church and ask for the graces and blessings we need to leave behind all our worldly concerns. Then, we can focus on what is truly important, proclaiming God’s Goodness, Mercy, and Love to all the nations. And being charitable and just in our words and actions so all peoples can see God’s Glory through us.

What is weighing on our minds and hearts? How can we let go of these burdens and allow God to lift them away from us? What can we do to help lift other people’s burdens?

O Lord, melt our worries away with your love and mercy.

Amen.

Eleventh Saturday of Ordinary Time

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

God is constantly providing us with the chance to taste and see how good He is. He does this every day through the sacrifice of the Mass where we can share in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He has given us the other sacraments as blessings, too. Baptism gives us the purifying waters that wash clean and nourish our souls. Reconciliation allows us to root out the evils and imperfections inside us so more of God’s Grace can enter into our hearts and feed our spirits. Confirmation renews our baptismal promises and lets the Holy Spirit supply us with all the inspirations and guidance we need to grow as Christians. The Anointing of the Sick helps to heal us, if not physically, at least spiritually, so we can be strong for whatever trials and difficulties come our way during illness or injury. The other sacraments of Marriage and Ordination prepare us to serve others and help them prosper in faith, hope, and love, either as spouse or as priest or deacon. So, let us taste and see the goodness of the Lord through these sacraments and all the ways God reaches into our lives as the caretaker of the vines of our faith.

Do we make good and frequent use of the sacraments? When we do, do we prepare ourselves appropriately? How can we thank God for all the good things He has done for us?

O Lord, help us to taste and see your goodness and to bear good fruits.

Amen.

Eighth Monday of Ordinary Time

Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin.

A good confession can make a world of difference in our lives. It can clear the slate and give us new focus. It offers us an opportunity for true conversion of body, mind, and spirit if we allow the graces of the confessional to flow into us and help us to do penance and amend our lives. God gave us the sacrament of reconciliation because He knows our fallen nature and our desire to strive against it. Confession is a way for us to stand up against our selfish desires and acknowledge and proclaim we want something better.

Are we making use of the sacrament of reconciliation? What are the sins and guilts hold us back? How can we build up the courage to make a thorough examination of conscience and good confession?

O Lord, we acknowledge our sins and seek to amend our ways.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

They will praise you, Lord, who long for you. I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!”

If we aren’t longing for the Lord, then we don’t have our priorities straight in this world. We should be living in constant anticipation of God’s coming into our lives, especially through the sacraments. We should be preparing ourselves for the Second Coming and the Day of Judgment. We should be striving to become holy people full of faith, hope, and love. We should strive to keep the vows of our baptism and to eat our fill of the Blessed Sacrament. We should be seeking God in every way possible from the beginning of each day to the end of each night. We should praise God with every ounce of our being. We should have merry hearts because when we long for God, we can be confident in His longing for us, too.

Do we long for God as we should? How can we cultivate a life of anticipation focused on being with God now and forever? How can we participate in the sacraments more fully and longingly?

O Lord, may our hearts long for you and be ever merry.

Amen.

Twenty-First Friday in Ordinary Time

For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Signs and wisdom alone aren’t enough to lead us to the right path in life. We can’t depend on signs because we are human and often misread the signs in our lives. Much better to depend upon the sacraments, especially Communion and Reconciliation. The graces the sacraments give us are there to lead us where we need to go and help us to do what we need to do. We can’t depend upon our own wisdom because we are flawed and do not know everything as God does. Instead, we need to depend upon the wisdom of God and trust that our faith, hope, and love will guide us along the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ. Depending upon ourselves leads to pride and foolishness, but if we depend upon God, then we shall be wiser and stronger for it.

Are we overly dependent upon signs to lead us? Have we depended too much on our own wisdom and not on God’s? How can we become more dependent upon God in all things?

O Lord, we place our trust in your wisdom and strength, not our own.

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.

First Saturday of Lent

Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised.

When we celebrate the sacraments, from baptism to reconciliation to communion to confirmation to marriage to ordination to the anointing of the sick, we reaffirm our covenant with God. We promise to remain good and faithful servants to our Heavenly Father and in return God promises us a special place in Paradise. He makes us co-heirs with Christ to His Heavenly Kingdom. Both sides have duties and obligations to each other in our Holy Covenant and as we know, God cannot fail in his obligations, but we can. This is exactly why we have the sacrament of reconciliation. It helps repair our relationship with God and gives us the graces we need to resist and avoid temptations and remain holy.

Are we living up to our agreement with God? Are we using the sacraments to strengthen our relationship with God so we do not stumble and fall in sin? Do we appreciate what it means to be part of a Covenant with God?

O Lord, raise us high and make us a people sacred to you.

Amen.

Second Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. For it is testified: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

We are all called to be a priestly people. This means living holy and righteous lives oriented toward God and bringing others to Him through our thoughts, words, and works. This means not only participating in the sacraments, but internalizing them, embodying their significance, and bearing fruits through them. In order to be raised in the order of Melchizedek, we are asked to make our lives a living sacrifice to God and to imitate Christ, who was the perfect High Priest. It is Jesus' example that shows us what it means to be filled with the power of life that cannot be destroyed and to testify to it with our whole being.

How can we answer the call for us to be a priestly people? Is celebrating the sacraments a central action of our faith lives? Are we full of the power of life and willing to testify to its importance?

O Lord, make us a priestly people.

Amen.

Christmas Weekday

This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and Blood.  The Spirit is the one who testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three who testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord.

The Spirit, the water, and the Blood testify to the truth of God’s love for us. The water of our baptism proclaims us to be beloved members of the Body of Christ. The Eucharistic Blood of Christ unites us with Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross so we can share in his resurrection. The Spirit strengthened through our confirmation reminds us God is our advocate and our guide. All three of these point to how much we are loved by God. He wants us to be with Him forever in paradise and so He gave us Himself. He became man as an expression of His desire to be with us forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

How do we express our love for God through our baptismal promises? What can we do to better prepare ourselves for the reception of God’s love through the Eucharist? How can we open our hearts to the truth being given to us through the Spirit?

O Lord, we want to be in accord with you, especially through the celebration of the sacraments.

Amen.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

What a grace God has given us through the Church and its sacraments! He has provided us with everything we need to prevail against evil and to free ourselves from sin. All we have to do is trust in Jesus and be obedient to the teachings and traditions of the Church. There is no feeling of freedom like the one we receive through the sacraments. Through baptism, we are freed from original sin. Through reconciliation, we are freed from our sins of commission and omission. Through the sacrament of communion, we are united together with the Body and Blood of Christ and are freed from our venial sins. Through the sacrament of confirmation, we accept our calling to be witnesses to our faith, by word and deed. Through the anointing of the sick, we unite ourselves to the Passion of Christ. Through the sacrament of marriage, we are given the graces we need to unite as husband and wife. Through the sacrament of ordination, we are configured to Christ and become apostolic ministers.

Are we making every use of the graces God has offered us through the Church and its sacraments? Do we follow the teachings and traditions of the Church? How do we prepare ourselves to receive the sacraments?

O Lord, thank you for the blessing you’ve offered us through your Church and its sacraments.

Amen.

The Sixth Thursday of Easter

“Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

While we are on earth, we can’t see Jesus directly and this can cause us to have questions about our faith in him. However, we can see him indirectly through our interactions with others and through the participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. These glimpses of Christ help to sustain us through each day and if we live in faith, hope, and love, then one day these glimpses will become the full Beatific Vision. We will see Jesus, our Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit together in all their glory and in all their love for each other and us. Then our weeping will turn into laughing. Our mourning will turn into dancing. And our grief will turn to joy.

Are there times when we question God and do not understand what He his telling us in our hearts? Do we trust God enough to let go of our doubts and trust in His Divine Providence? Do we see the presence of Jesus in those around us, in the sacraments we receive, and in the beauty of nature?

O Lord, turn our questions into answers and our grief into joy.

Amen.

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

In this gospel, Jesus gives mankind one of the greatest gifts we have ever received from God. He plants the seeds of the Church and the sacrament of reconciliation. He gave us the former as a foundation for our faith so that we can weather the storms of the world and offered us the latter so that if we get lost upon the seas of temptation and sin we will be able to return to safe harbor once again. His guidance and mercy will always be with us, no matter the trials and tribulations that come our way. He knows we cannot overcome every obstacle on our own and so he left us the Church and its sacraments to protect and strengthen us in our times of need. And through participating in the Church and its sacraments, we also become rocks of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace for others so that they can weather the storms of their lives, too.

Are the Church’s teachings and traditions the foundation of our faith? Do we make regular use of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of reconciliation? How can we become rocks of grace for others in their times of trial?

O Lord, build your Church upon us.

Amen.

Third Wednesday of Ordinary Time

The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.

God constantly scatters the seeds of His Word onto the soil of our souls. How we receive His message is up to us. Some of us allow Satan to take away our belief in God and His Divine Truths. Others of us harden our hearts to God’s calling so the seeds of faith never take root in us. Still more of us are in the midst of the thorns of anxiety, fear, doubt, temptation, and the like and let our worldly worries choke the good we could and should do. A few of us are like rich soil, we hear the word, accept it, and go forth into the world to bear fruit in God’s Holy Name. However, during our lives we are not always the same type of soil. Some days we are fruitful, but other days we let the thorns of the world strangle the good we could have done. When our souls are becoming thorny, rocky, or trodden by sin, we should seek help from our family, friends, and neighbors, but also from the Church and its sacraments, especially Reconciliation and Communion. These two sacraments restore and sustain us. Reconciliation tills the soil of our soil, breaking up its hardness and weeding out those temptations and sins that choke our faith. This prepares us to not only receive the Word of God, but also the Bread of Life and Wine of Salvation. Together, these sacraments replenish our souls and make them ready to bear good fruit again and again.

How do we receive God’s Word into our lives? How can we prepare the soil of our souls to accept God’s Divine Grace so we can bear good fruit? Do we make use of the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and Communion to maintain and sustain our faith?

O Lord, we hear and accept your word and with your help we will bear much fruit.

Amen.

Thirtieth Monday of Ordinary Time

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.

We all have infirmities. Some are physical, others emotional, and still more are spiritual. We are bound by these trials of body, mind, and spirit, but Jesus is always ready and willing to release us. All we have to do is present ourselves before him and he will do the rest. But how do we present ourselves to God? Hopefully, we do so through the sacraments, especially the reception of the Eucharist at Mass and regular acts of reconciliation. We also do so through our prayers and our daily acts of charity and mercy. Every good thought, word, and work we do brings us before Jesus and is an opportunity to allow Jesus to heal us of our imperfections and sins.

What are our infirmities of body, mind, or spirit? Do we make an effort to present ourselves and our problems to God every day? Do we make this a priority in our lives?

O Lord, set us free from our infirmities.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.

As Jesus discusses marriage with his disciples, he makes it clear that marriage is not to be entered into lightly and leaving a marriage can only be done if it was unlawful to begin with. Marriage for Jesus is not a contract that can be broke, but rather a covenant between the husband, his wife, and God who joins them together. The man and woman are made one flesh in the eyes of God and so it cannot be reversed. This covenant places a responsibility upon both husband and wife to live their lives in harmony with each other and with God. In a world that has come to see marriage as a secular contract rather than a spiritual covenant, it can be hard for us to understand the permanency of marriage, but those who enter into a lawful marriage are permanently changed by it and connected to each other in the eyes of God. The standards that God holds us to are high, but they are the ones worth living up to no matter what.

Do we believe in the covenantal nature of marriage? Are we prepared to recognize the permanent responsibilities of being married? Do we fully respect those who are married and give them the support they need to stay together?

O Lord, let us always remember that what you have joined, we should not separate.

Amen.

First Wednesday of Lent

At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

Jonah told the people of Nineveh that in forty day their city would be destroyed and they responded by proclaiming a fast. There was no guarantee that God would relent and forgive them, only a hope that they might not perish. This act of penance and faith convinced God to spare them. When we commit sins, we act like the people of Nineveh before Jonah prophesizes to them. However, unlike them we have Christ as a constant reminder of our need to repent and an endless source of God’s mercy. Nineveh had only one chance to seek forgiveness from God and then only by proclaiming a fast. We, on the other hand, have access to the sacrament of reconciliation and its justifying grace whenever we want to seek it out. As long as we are contrite and accepting of God’s mercy we are forgiven of our sins.

Do we take advantage of the immeasurable gift we have been given in the sacrament of reconciliation? Do we ever call a fast, be it from food or other things, to manifest our contrition before God? When we look upon the cross do we not only see a warning against sin, but also the promise of God’s forgiveness?

O Lord, help us to fast from our sins and see you as the Great Sign of Mercy.

Amen.