Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

God wants us to be one with Him and all His children. He wants us to be united in our one faith through one baptism, living in a manner worthy of the call to be Christ-like. He wants us to be united in our humility before Him and gentleness with each other. He wants us to be united in patience and love and strive to live in peace with one another. It is through the One Body of Christ and the One Holy Spirit that we are united with our One Heavenly Father and our spiritual brothers and sisters. It is through our confession of one faith, our experience of one baptism, and our shared communion with God and each other that we are united in one Holy Family. And it is in this unity we find our fulfillment not only as unique individuals, but as one living Body of Christ.

Are we united to God and others in our faith lives? How can we become more unified with our faith community? What can we do in our lives to bring people together in the one Body and Spirit of our God?

O Lord, unite us.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in, let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

As Christians, we frequently pray for our daily bread through the Our Father. In this prayer we express our need for God’s Presence in our lives each and every day. We cannot sustain ourselves on worldly things. Only the Body and Blood of Christ given to us through the sacrament of the Eucharist can truly nourish us. Sometimes we can become so busy worrying about tomorrow we forget to provide for our daily spiritual needs. We might make time for breakfast, lunch, and diner... and maybe a few snack times, but what about partaking in the Presence of God? Shouldn’t we spend as much, if not more, time feeding our spirits through prayer, meditation, contemplation, good works, acts of mercy, and all the other things that nurture holy souls? It is so much easier to feed our bodies, and yet we do ourselves and others a disservice by forgetting to provide for our spiritual well-being. We all need a steady diet of our Daily Bread, our Jesus, through whatever forms we can get him whether through the sacrament of the Eucharist, or prayer, or imitation of him through our acts of faith, hope, and love.

Do we set aside time each day for our daily bread, even if only through spiritual communion? In what ways do we feed our spirits? How can we become a more Eucharistic people?

O Lord, rain down your presence upon us, especially through the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Amen.

Twenty-Seventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time

When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.

We can learn a lot from this simple prayer. It teaches us to call God, Father, and hallow His Name. It also reminds us that the purpose of our prayers should be to call forth the Kingdom. At the center of the prayer is the appeal for our Father to give us our daily bread, the Bread of Life, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus. It also makes clear that the forgiveness of our sins is tied to our own ability to forgive others. Finally, it asks our Heavenly Father to spare us from the final test. This prayer is a summation of our faith and a perfect expression of our trust in God and our willingness to participate in His Divine Plan for our salvation.

Do we recognize God as our Heavenly Father and give him the respect He is due? Do we make a prayer of spiritual communion with God whenever we cannot receive the Eucharist? Are we as forgiving of others as we ask God to be forgiving of us?

O Lord, you are our Heavenly Father. May your kingdom be made manifest on earth through our every thought, word and work.

Amen.