Twenty-Ninth Thursday of Ordinary Time

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness. But what profit did you get then from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sin can be alluring in many ways, but it leaves a bad aftertaste. It leaves us weakened, empty, and ashamed. It disfigures us, marring our bodies, minds, and hearts. It hobbles and binds us, restricting our ability to do good and avoid evil. It turns us into slaves of our lesser passions and selfish instincts. Ultimately, sin leads to death. However, God offers us the gift of sanctification, which strengths, fulfills, and encourages us. It restores the image of God that is within each of us and marks us as co-heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. The saving graces He provides us through the sacraments, free us from our slavery to sin and offer us the chance to turn our lives over to God. We are given the choice to take up the yoke of our faith and carry it without complaint. And if we do this with hope and love, then we shall be given the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer.

What sins do we find ourselves drawn to the most? How can we learn to resist the temptations to those sins and become obedient servants to God? Are we willing to accept the cross that leads to eternal life?

O Lord, we are your slaves. Do with us as you will.

Amen.

Sixteenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also.” When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, the LORD added, “Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.”

We all need to prepare ourselves for God’s Presence in our lives. We can do this in many ways from daily prayers to acts of sacrifice, but most effective is through the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation. When we go to God with contrite hearts, admit our sins, and accept His Mercy, we become spiritually clean. We sanctify ourselves through confession and making a firm commitment to God to sin no more. We wash ourselves in the saving grace of Christ and ready our souls to receive God not only in our everyday experiences, but in the Eucharist. Preparing ourselves for God is something we need to do on a daily basis because God is always with us.

In what ways do we prepare ourselves for God’s Presence? How can we cleanse and sanctify ourselves? Are the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist at the core of who we are and how we act?

O Lord, sanctify and wash us with you Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Eleventh Monday of Ordinary Time

We cause no one to stumble in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonor, insult and praise.

Now is an acceptable time for us to live out our baptismal calling. It is an acceptable time to make ourselves into stepping stones to holiness and not into stumbling blocks. It is an acceptable time to commend ourselves to God and the proclamation of the Good News. It is an acceptable time to endure afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils and fasts in the service of God and His children. It is an acceptable time to purify ourselves, increase our knowledge, learn patience, grow in kindness through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is an acceptable time to love God and others with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths. It is an acceptable time to speak truthfully and powerfully of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace. It is an acceptable time to arm ourselves with the weapons of righteousness that come from living out our faith with hope and love in spite of what glory or dishonor, insult or praise comes for doing so.

Are we stumbling blocks to the faith of others or stepping stones to Heaven? Are we willing to endure trials and tribulations in order to follow the teachings of Christ? How can we let the Holy Spirit sanctify us and enkindle the fires of love, mercy, and virtue within us?

O Lord, now is an acceptable hour for us all to become good and faithful servants.

Amen.

Pentecost Sunday

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Although we might understand the role of God the Father as our Creator and Patriarch and Jesus, the Son of God, as our Savior and Teacher... we don’t always appreciated the role of the Holy Spirit. We know we have been given the Holy Spirit by the Father through Christ, but do not fully comprehend what His Divine Mission is. We hear the words Advocate and Sanctifier, but do not quite understand how central the Holy Spirit is to our lives, especially if we wish to answer God’s call for us to become saints. As our Advocate, the Holy Spirit is called to our side, to remind us of all that God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us. He reminds us that God is always with us, will never abandon us, and will uphold us in times of trial. As our Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit inspires our consciences, reminds us of the teachings of Christ, and gives us every gift of grace that we need to fulfill our calling as Christians. In light of this, we should make it a point to not only pray to God our Father and Jesus His Beloved Son, but also to the Holy Spirit... the Spirit of Truth and the Love.

Do we seek the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words, and works? How can we remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is always with us, waiting for us to turn to Him? Are we willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to sanctify us?

O Lord, send us your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Fourth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

Our lives should be a continual sacrifice of praise to God. It is only by emptying ourselves of all we are and have that we can be filled with the love of God. If we want our minds to be holy, then we need to cast aside our earthly thoughts and dwell on heavenly things. If we want our words to be holy, then we need to overthrow our prideful desire to be heard and instead humbly listen to the Holy Spirit and confess Jesus Christ. If we want our works to be fruitful, then we must avoid sins, do good, and share what we have with others. By doing these things, we will please God and learn how to become living sacrifices and co-heirs of the Kingdom.

Are our lives continual sacrifices of praise? Are all our thoughts, words, and works holy? How can we make them more pleasing to God?

O Lord, we want to be living sacrifices of praise.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

The Blood of Christ has been offered up to heaven for us and it is through Jesus’ sacrifice that we are made clean. However, in order to be washed of our sins and come before God with unblemished hearts, we must accept that Jesus has not only died for us, but also given us an example to follow. Just as he made himself into a living sacrifice to God for others, so must we be willing to do the same. If we are unwilling to imitate Christ in this way, then we turn our backs on the Blood of Christ and refuse to drink of the chalice of self-surrender we are all called to drink from. We have a choice to make, either we choose to partake in the Blood of Christ and the sufferings we are asked to endure or we choose to avoid the blood and sweat that are needed to live holy lives and perish.

Do we recognize God as the source, center, and summit of all the good things in our lives? Do we realize how important it is to accept the Blood of Christ and all the sacrifices its reception asks of us? How can we cleans our consciences so that we might accept God’s Will in regards to our sufferings?

O Lord, sanctify us and make us into living tabernacles of your Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Amen.

The Fourth Saturday of Easter

The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.  And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.

By believing in and imitating Jesus, we do the Will of God. The words we speak become God’s and not our own. The works we do become Our Heavenly Father’s and not our own. And these words and works will lead others to believe in God because they will see His Love, Mercy, and Grace made manifest in us. Some of us will be asked to do little things to bring about God’s Kingdom. Other will be asked to do great things. No matter what God’s Plan for us, as long as we do what He asks us to do and say what He asks us to say, then we will glorify God, have our prayers answered, and one day join the Holy Trinity in a never-ending heavenly banquet.

Does our Heavenly Father dwell in us? When others see or hear us, do they see and hear God? Are we doing the works of God?

O Lord, we ask you to sanctify us and make us better children of our Heavenly Father.

Amen.

The Fifth Tuesday of Lent

When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me.  He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.

We are all called to be Christ-like in everything we do. Consequently, we will also be raised up in sacrifice in various ways. Some of us will need to give up our lives just as Jesus did. Others will be asked to forfeit our prosperity, wealth, or well-being. Still more will be required to surrender our time and talents in order to do God’s Will. When these sacrifices come, we would do well to remember that nothing is ours. We have no claim on God’s Love, Mercy, or Grace. He gives them to us out of pure charity. When we realize this, we come to understand God is the one who has sent us into the world and is always with us. He never leaves us alone and gives us every opportunity to do what is pleasing to Him.

Are we willing to be lifted up as a sacrifice for God’s glory and the sanctification of our brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to let God lead us where He needs us to be? How can we do a better job of pleasing God through our words and works?

O Lord, lift us up as examples of your love.

Amen.