Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 

Sometimes we are like John. We hear some news and run off. We race ahead. When we arrive at where we are going, we can be tempted to jump right in, but John takes a moment to look before he leaps. Why does he do this? We do not know. Perhaps he is afraid of what he sees. Or maybe he knows Peter should be the first disciple to cross the threshold. Fear or humility... or both... or neither. It is hard to say because we cannot ask him. Perhaps John wonders if his eyes are tricking him... as if all he sees is just wishful thinking and he needs confirmation from Peter before he can fully embrace what his heart is telling him. Sometimes we are like that. We need some sort of confirmation that what we believe is true, where we are going is the right way, what we are doing is for the best. This confirmation can come from many people, places, or things, but all of them have one source... God. It is He who reaffirms our beliefs and helps us take the next step in our lives... to cross the threshold to holiness.

Are we running toward God or away from Him? How can we reaffirm the faith of others as well as our own? Are we willing to cross the threshold to holiness?

O Lord, we believe.

Amen.

Thirty-Second Friday in Ordinary Time

Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so "progressive" as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

The world is full of good people, but it is also beset by deceivers, tempters, and evil-doers. As such, we must be on guard against these worldly people at all times. These wreckers of souls can be family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, bosses, or complete strangers. They lure good people into bad situations and tempt them to sin. They make false promises. They twist our good intentions. They persecute and mock us. They work toward the destruction of souls, theirs and others. Some know what they are doing and don’t care. Others might not realize that they’ve become stumbling blocks, bringing ruin upon God’s children. It is of the utmost importance that we do not allow these people to lead us astray and try our best to show them the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We cannot do this ourselves, but with the protection of the Father, the teachings of the Son, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit we can be beacons of goodness and light in the world and bring others to the safe harbor that can only be found in God.

Who are those who are trying to deceive us or others and lead us astray? How can we try to convert them without risking our souls? How can we protect others from their evil ways?

O Lord, give us the grace to never lose you or lead others astray.

Amen.

Saint Alphonsus Liguouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them; And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD. I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.

In life we will be beset upon by all manner of trials, difficulties, and obstacles. We shall be tempted to sin. We shall be mocked and persecuted for being Christians. We will be misunderstood, ignored, and abandoned. We will suffer. However, if we repent of our sins, seek to do good, and try to be a mouthpiece for God, then He will protect and strengthen us. He shall make us His dwelling place and we shall bear Him to all people.

Are we bringing forth the precious Word of God without tainting it with worldliness and sin? How can we strengthen our faith so we might become strongholds for God? What can we do to fulfill our calling to be mouthpieces of God's Love, Mercy, and Grace?

O Lord, free us from the hands of the wicked and rescue us.

Amen.

Sixteenth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place, in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.

We all need to reform our lives in some way. We all have weaknesses we need to strengthen, failings we need to fix, and bad habits we need to break. We have temptations we need to resist, false idols we need to destroy, and sins we need to atone for. We also have opportunities for good we need to take advantage of when they present themselves. Only when we do all these things can we hope to make our hearts a worthy place for the Lord.

In what ways do we need to reform our lives? What can we do to strengthen ourselves in faith, hope, and love? How can we place God more firmly into the center of our lives?

O Lord, help us to reform our ways and our deeds.

Amen.

Eleventh Saturday in Ordinary Time

Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD, the people would not listen to their warnings. Then the Spirit of God possessed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest.
He took his stand above the people and said to them: "God says, 'Why are you transgressing the LORD's commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.'

There are many ways in which we might transgress against God. We might let worldly distractions keep us from doing good. We might allow temptations to lead us into evil. We might become indifferent to the needs of others or lukewarm in our faith. Thankfully, God gives us every opportunity to make amends for our failings and sins. He sends us warnings through our own consciences, through the counsel of others, and in many other ways. He does not want us to abandon Him, but He will not force us to know, love, and serve Him and His children. It is up to us to choose to humble ourselves, ask for forgiveness, and do our penance.

In what ways do we transgress against God? How can we overcome these weaknesses and lean upon the strength of God? How can we amend our lives to become better Christians?

O Lord, convert my heart so that I might prosper.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen.

Our opponent is the Devil. These are words we probably don’t always take as seriously as we should. It can be easy to lose sight of who is against us as we deal with worldly and spiritual difficulties. We can be so caught up in putting out each momentary fire that we fail to see the Devil through the haze of smoke around us. However, it is important to not forgot who the antagonist is in our lives. He is cunning, persistent, and always on the lookout for an opening into our minds and hearts. He doesn’t pull any punches. He tricks us with sweet, but false words of encouragement towards sinful acts. Thankfully, we are not alone in these temptations. We have God, the angels, the saints, the Church, family, friends, and even at times strangers, who help us resist the evil we are tempted by. God’s grace is always around us. We only have to reach out for it, hold on, and let it restore, confirm, and strengthen us.

Do we recognize the Devil as our opponent? Do we take the threat of the Devil seriously in our lives? How can we be more aware of God’s grace around us?

O Lord, although we might suffer a little in this world, never let us forget that one day you will call us to your dominion forever.

Amen.

Fifth Tuesday of Lent

Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The people ask Moses to pray for the Lord to take the serpents away from them, but God doesn’t take away the serpents. Instead, He tells Moses to erect a saraph for the people to look on after they are bitten. This is how it is with temptation and sin. We might want to avoid the temptation to begin with, but sometimes we are bitten and give into our sins. This is when we need God’s Forgiveness and He is more than willing to heal us if we look upon the sacrifice Jesus made for us, make a good confession, do penance, and strive to sin no more. God doesn’t take away our temptations, He gives us the grace to resist them in the first place and a remedy to heal us if we do fall.

How can we better resist the temptations in our lives? When we do fall do we turn to God and seek His Forgiveness? Do we thank God for all the healing grace He has given us through the cross of Christ?

O Lord, we look on you and ask to be healed.

Amen.

Third Thursday of Lent

This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.

There are many ways we turn our backs on God. We give into temptations and sin. We let an opportunity to do good pass us by. We let the world distract us from what is really important. We let how others treat us harden our hearts and make us less charitable and merciful. We fail to know, love, and serve God and His children with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. However, if we open our ears and listen to God’s Voice through our consciences, then we shall come face-to-face with God and be His people. We shall walk in His Ways and prosper spiritually. If we obey Our Heavenly Father’s commandments, Jesus’s teachings, and the Holy Spirit’s inspirations, then we shall grow in faith, hope, and love. We shall be good and holy servants.

Do we set aside time each day to listen to God? How can we walk more perfectly in the way of Christ? How can we avoid turning our backs on God?

O Lord, we are listening.

Amen.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.

The choice before us is clear: life with God or death with sin. We can either give our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths to God or to the world. There is no middle ground... no sitting on the fence. If we are lukewarm in our faith, give into our temptations, or allow ourselves to be lead astray, then we have chosen the world and will have to face the consequences. If, however, we obey the commandments of the Lord and follow the teachings of His Good News, we will be blessed by Him. We shall go forth, grow in the faith, and live in peace and prosperity. Perhaps not as the world sees success, but rather a spiritual success that leads us to know, love, a serve God and others more perfectly and fruitfully.

Are we choosing life or death? How can we live more faithfully the Good News? How can we love God, walk in His ways, and keep His commandments, statutes, and decrees?

O Lord, we choose life and prosperity with you.

Amen.

Sixth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

When temptations come, it can be difficult to resist them, especially ones we are addicted to. However, God does not send us temptations. They are of our own making. Our own misguided desires lead us into temptation and if we are not strong enough to resist... we fall into sin, and may even cut ourselves off from God through mortal sin. Thankfully, God gives us the love, mercy, and grace we need to persevere against our temptation. All we need to do is remember to call on Him in our trials and use our moments of temptation as jumping off points for prayer. If we succeed in resisting our temptations, then we shall grow in our faith and be crowned with lives of holiness.

What are the temptations we are facing? How can we persevere against these temptations? Do we pray to God for the strength we need to resist our own weaknesses?

O Lord, help us to persevere against all temptations.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people: "You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan. This led to sin, because the people frequented those calves in Bethel and in Dan.

The temptations and distractions in our lives can become idols that take the place of God in our hearts. This is why we must be vigilant against sin and be willing to walk away from those things that divert our attention from knowing, loving, and serving God and His children. This isn’t to say that leisure activities should be completely cut out of our lives, but that they should always come in second place and be done in moderation. If we ever have to choose between what is right and what is wrong, then we should always do what is right. But in the same vein, we should always choose what is right over what is enjoyable and fun. Sometimes being a follower of Christ requires us to give up something we like for the greater good of being charitable and merciful. If we discover that we have a difficult time giving up a certain activity, even a good one, in order to do what is right, then we must find a way to reign in that activity and exercise our self-control.

What temptations and distractions are leading us away from our responsibilities to God and others? How can we align our lives more perfectly with knowing, loving, and serving our Heavenly Father and all His children? In what ways can we prepare ourselves to always choose what is good and right over those things we find enjoyable and fun?

O Lord, cast out from our hearts all those sins and worldly things that keep us from being completely yours.

Amen.

Fifth Friday of Ordinary Time

Take ten pieces for yourself; the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's grasp and will give you ten of the tribes. One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant, and of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

God always keeps his promises. Even when those whom he has made the promises turn away from Him. He knows we are not perfect, but He gives us every chance to live the lives He wants for us. He gives us the gifts, talents, and graces to do His Will in all things and at all times. If we fail to do as He asks, then He eventually will give our task to someone else, but He always leaves a part of His promise there for us to take and do good things with. Hopefully, we will not have to lose most everything like Solomon before we return to God, but if we do, then we should remember God remains with us even in the midst of our greatest failures. For our sake, He leaves us a chance to do better, to make amends for our sins, and keep at least a part of what He had planned for us.

What is God calling us to do? What is holding us back or distracting us from that vocation? How can we avoid the temptations that lead us astray and instead choose to follow God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths?

O Lord, remain with us and lead us out of our sins to a better life.

Amen.

Fifth Thursday of Ordinary Time

The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice (for though the LORD had forbidden him this very act of following strange gods, Solomon had not obeyed him).

The Scriptures are full of examples of good people being lured into sin by others. Eve was lured into sin by the serpent, Adam by Eve, David by his lust for another’s wife, Solomon by his wives, and Judas by the Devil. All of them may have started with good intentions and doing good deeds, but eventually all of them fell into sin. In the same way, we all fall, too. We let the world lure us into wickedness or allow our selfishness to lead us into sin. No one is immune to temptation, but we all must do our best to resist it. A good life can be ruined by our inability to convert our hearts away from earthly things and to heavenly ones. The strange gods in our lives can be pride, envy, anger, greed, gluttony, lust, and wrath.

What sins are we constantly lured toward and into? How can we keep God in our hearts? What can we do to avoid all the worldly things that try to usurp God in our lives?

O Lord, give us the strength to never turn away from you again.

Amen.

Second Monday of Ordinary Time

"Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he, too, has rejected you as ruler."

Sometimes it is difficult to obey God’s commandments. Our will comes into conflict with His Will when we are tempted by something. We come up with all sorts of excuses to sin or turn our backs on an opportunity to do good. Just like Saul, our excuses do not forgive us for our failures. Our good intentions do not forgive us for doing wrong. God delights in obedience to His commandments. He wants obedience from us even more than fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. He wants submission to His Will more than any sacrifice. We should not presume to know what is best for us, but rather trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who will lead us to lives of holiness and fidelity.

What are the commandments or good works we find most to do? How can we learn to obey God’s Will even when we have excuses not to obey? Are we willing to submit ourselves to God and let Him lead us where we need to be?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to be obedient to you and accept you as the ruler of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast.

In moments of crisis, we can be tempted to despair of or run away from our problems. We flee from suffering and disappointment just as the disciples did. We become blind to God’s presence in our lives and believe He has abandoned us. However, God will never abandon us. He is always with us, ready to open the Scriptures and reveal the wondrous graces of the Eucharistic Feast. He offers us comfort, wisdom, and love in order to give us everything we need to follow in Jesus Christ’s footsteps and travel the narrow path to Paradise. By remembering these things we will discover the Way to God to be able to point our feet in the right direction.

What can we do to gain the courage we need to stand with God during times of trial? Are we open to receiving the truths of the Scriptures and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist? Are we willing to let God lead us where we need to be and not necessarily where I want to be?

O Lord, place our feet on the path to salvation.

Amen.

Monday of the Second Week of Easter

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians because some of them have started to doubt and deny the resurrection of the dead. They did not understand the need for a resurrected body. They preferred a purely spiritual afterlife to one that would mix perfect spirit and imperfect flesh. However, as Christians we do not see our bodies as evil. They were created good by God when He made Adam and Eve. Our corruption comes from original sin and the wounding of our ability to control our spiritual faculties, our intellect and our will. This injury opens us to temptation and inclines us to evil. But thankfully, this is not the end of the story. Jesus died not only to redeem us from death, but also grant us the saving grace that can heal the wounds of original and personal sin. He came into this world to sanctify the whole person, body and soul. It is not enough to control our lower passions, but give into our selfish intellectual or willful desires. We have to become like Christ in mind, body, and spirit or we shall discover that we are not wholly Christ’s disciples. This is why his resurrection and the revelation of his glorified body are so important. They remind us that we are called to tame both our body and our soul so that we might share in the glory of the resurrection.

What are we doing to sanctify our bodies’ senses and passions? How can we discipline our intellect and will so that they will be more Christ-like? Do we thank God each and every day for the saving graces He has granted us through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ?

O Lord, through your resurrection you have saved us.

Amen.

Monday in the Octave of Easter

Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

We have all contributed to the death of Jesus in one way or another. No one, except Mary is blameless for Christ’s Passion and Death. We have all sinned in great and small ways and each of those failings have added to the burden of the cross. We know of Jesus’ mighty deeds, wonders, and signs through the scriptures and the traditions of the Church, and yet we still fall into temptation and sin. We might wonder how others could’ve put Jesus to death, but we do so ourselves when we choose what is wrong over what is right. However, like the children of Israel, we are given a chance to recognize our sins, confess them, and repent. When Jesus rose from the dead, he brought us the Holy Spirit and a new opportunity to do God’s Will over our own. It is up to us to accept this chance at a new life and then live it to the best of our abilities.

In what ways have we contributed to the death of Jesus? How can we make amends for our failings? What can we do to both celebrate and live out the promise of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead?

O Lord, raise us up from the death of sin into the new life of the risen Christ.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop

When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved. So the LORD said: “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.” But Noah found favor with the LORD. Then the LORD said to Noah: “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just.”

Sadly, we all have sinful inclinations. We let God down far more often than He wants or we would like. We have weaknesses in our lives. Blind spots where we simply fail to see where we are going wrong. All of these failings give God every reason to destroy us. We are not worthy of His Mercy and cannot make up for our sins on our own, but thankfully God has given us an ark. He has given us the Church and it is within her confines that we find salvation from the storms of sin. It is within the Church that we find the food for body, mind, and spirit that keeps us alive in the faith. The sacraments, instituted by Christ, preserve our lives and keep us safe from the drowning doubts, fears, and anxieties of the world. It is upon the cross that we find the ramp that leads us out of wickedness and into holiness. It is Jesus’ sacrifice that keeps us afloat in a sea of sin and leads us safely to the Promised Land. Without Jesus Christ and His Church we would be lost at sea, doomed to die, but with them we are given a chance to reach the heights of heaven and dwell there with God forever and ever.

How can we overcome our sinful inclinations? How can we become truly just people? Do we thank God for giving us His Beloved Son’s Church as our ark to the afterlife?

O Lord, lead us to the ark of your Church and to truly just lives.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin

“Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.”

God forbid the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with the following words: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” Notice how the serpent begins his temptation of Eve. He exaggerates what is forbidden in such a way to make God’s command sound unreasonable. Of course, Eve corrects the serpent, but her reply misstates God’s commandment to include touching the fruit. Lastly, the serpent rejects the commandment completely and then promises that breaking it will make Eve like a god. This is how temptation works, it first makes God’s Will sound unreasonable, and then it leads us to exaggerate the burdens involved with following God’s Will. Finally, temptation asks us to reject God’s Will and replace it with our own opinions and desires. Dialogue with evil always ends in sin. This is why we should ignore our temptations, avoid listening to them, and instead turn away from them and focus our minds and hearts on God’s Will.

Do we exaggerate the burdens our faith places upon us? Do we listen to our temptations and let them convince us that we know better than God? How can we close our ears to the alluring voice of evil and instead follow God’s Will?

O Lord, we want to serve your will and not our own.

Amen.

First Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Jesus was tested just like we are each day. He understands what it means to be human because he became human himself. The Incarnation gave him a unique perspective built upon the shared experience of what it means to toil and suffer in body and spirit on the earth. As the Son of God, his response to our condition was to love us and show mercy to us in spite of our sins. He wanted to help us and gave his life as an example of what it means to be a good and faithful servant. The cross is a sign of his sacrifice and triumph over sin and death. We might be tested by trials and tribulations and be tempted to sin, but Christ always stands before us as proof that with God’s grace we can overcome every obstacle and lead holy lives that imitate Jesus. All we have to do is follow Christ, becoming more like him as he once became more like us.

How do our own trials and temptations help us to be merciful toward others and more faithful to God? Do we turn to Jesus when we are being tested and seek his help through prayer? In what ways can we imitate Christ in our daily lives?

O Lord, help us who are being tested.

Amen.