The Ascension of the Lord

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

It is important to wash clean our consciences on a regular basis. We all need healing from sins. We all need to come to God with humble and contrite hearts. We all need to make good confessions to free ourselves from the wickedness and snares of the Devil. The sacrament of reconciliation is a great source of hope for all of us. There should be no fear of such a wonderfully freeing experience. Instead, we should go confidently into the confessional and speak to God from the depths of our souls and allow Him to wash away our sins and cleanse us of our iniquities. It was for this purpose that Jesus Christ came into the world and we would do well to make use of God’s Divine Mercy.

Do we seek God’s cleansing sacrament as frequently as we should? Do we allow God to work His Divine Mercy within us? How can we lead others to the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, thank you for the cleansing waters that flowed from your wounds.

Amen.

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”

Repentance is a freeing act, not a punishment. True contrition releases us from the bonds of sin, transforms our minds and hearts, and leads us to holy and good lives. Whenever we repent, we renew our baptismal vows. We reject Satan, his works, and his vanities. We proclaim our belief in the Holy Trinity... God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We profess our faith in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We express our intention to live in accordance with the doctrines of Christ and his Church. We promise to avoid sin and to love God and neighbor with all our hearts. This we do with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is ever at our side and ready to give us every support in living out our baptismal promises and helping us to make amends whenever we fail to do so.

Are we truly repentant of our sins? How can we live out our baptismal promises more faithfully? Do we seek the aid, inspiration, and guidance of the Holy Spirit whenever we are faced with a choice between good and evil?

O Lord, we repent and turn our hearts to you.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

On that day You need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against me; For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, And you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD: the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.

As long as we are willing to admit our mistakes, ask God for forgiveness with contrite hearts, and do penance, then we shall have nothing to be ashamed of when we stand before God. All our rebellious actions will be washed away in God’s Mercy. The key to doing all these things is humility. We must be willing to prostrate ourselves before God and cast aside our prideful impulses. It is only then that we shall be able to live our lives based on the Eternal Truth and not our own opinions.

Have we sought God’s Mercy for our sins, great and small? Are we willing to humble ourselves before God so He can raise us up on the Last Day? Do we live our lives according to the Truth or our own desires?

O Lord, wash away our misdeeds and rebellious actions with your never-ending mercy.

Amen.

Twelfth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

Our faith isn't superficial. Sure, we can fool others and fake being good and faithful people, but the truth is seen by God. He knows when our seemingly good acts have evil or impure intentions. He knows when we are being truly faithful and when we are just going through the motions. He knows when we are doing good things, not for His sake, but for the praise of others. Nothing we do is secret from Him. This is why it is so important to be truly faithful in our souls and do the God's Will in everything. Yes, this requires a great deal of sacrifice from us. We have to give up our selfishness, our impure passions, and all those things that may tempt us to sin. However, this is a path that will lead us to life everlasting and graces beyond counting.

Are we being truly faithful or just faking it out of a sense of obligation or desire to be admired by others? Are we truly repentant of our sins and genuinely seeking to amend our ways? How can we become more faithful to God so that He will know us as His own?

O Lord, help us to be truly faithful to you in all things.

Amen.