Fourth Friday of Easter

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. “I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.”

We are the children of God. This means we are unconditionally loved by our Heavenly Father. He cares for us better than any earthly parent ever could and will do everything in His power to help us to grow in faith, hope, and love. He wants us to succeed in life, but like a good father, He will not force us to become what He wants us to be. He wants us to choose to know, love, and serve Him on our own because He knows He can’t force us to be good and faithful. We must want to follow in His footsteps before we can walk with Him into Paradise.

Are we living up to the responsibilities of being a child of God? How can we become better sons and daughters of our Good Father? What can we do to help others to be better children, too?

O Lord, you begot us and love us, help us to be holy children.

Amen.

Sixth Monday of Ordinary Time

Offer to God a sacrifice of praise. God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

God wants us to make sacrifices to and for Him, but He does not want us to make sacrifices in the mistaken belief that if we do this for Him, He will do whatever we want. That’s not how sacrifices are made. Just because we give up something for God doesn’t entitle us to anything. God’s Grace, Mercy, and Love are given to us freely without strings attached and so our sacrifices must be made freely without expectation of consolation or reward. This isn’t to say God won’t give us these things, but rather that when He does, we should consider it a bonus beyond what we deserve. God wants our obedience and sacrifices generously given. He wants our praise, honor, glory, and love above all.

Are our sacrifices done without hesitation or expectation? How can we put aside our pride and accept whatever comes in this life without complaint? What can we do to thank God when He does offer us a grace or consolation?

O Lord, we offer you an unconditional sacrifice of praise.

Amen.

Fifth Tuesday in Ordinary Time

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?

It is an amazing and humble thought to realize God cares for us. In all the universe, He has chosen to create us in His Divine Image and made us co-heirs to His Kingdom. He loves us unconditionally and gives us every grace to help us to grow in faith, hope, and love. He wants us to succeed in our spiritual lives and lead us to holiness and life everlasting with Him. All of creation, He made for us. How wonderful for us that God wants to spend forever with us and is willing to help us along the narrow way.

Are we open to God’s help as He leads us toward salvation? How can we care for others like God cares for us? What can we do to be worthy co-heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom?

O Lord, thank you for caring so much for us.

Amen.

Thirty-First Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

We owe everyone we meet unconditional and selfless love. Whether they are family, friends, neighbors, strangers, or even enemies… we must always love others as we love ourselves. Everything in our faith revolves around the virtue of love. This is why it is important for us to not only say we believe in God, but actually put that belief into action. Faith and works. It is by loving others as ourselves that we can fulfill the commandments most faithfully in spirit and truth.

Are we giving others our love without reservation? Are we allowing the Spirit of Love to inspire and guide us in our thoughts, words, and works? Have we made love the foundation upon which we build our public and private lives?

O Lord, help us to love others as ourselves.

Amen.

First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin.

Just as Jesus was made perfect through suffering, so are we made better by it. We might not want to suffer, but without the possibility of failure or rejection then we wouldn’t appreciate our successes or learn how to love unconditionally. If there was no choice to be made between following the easy path of worldliness and the harder one of holiness, then we would be left wandering without direction. It is by choosing good over evil that we prove ourselves to God and are consecrated to Him. Uniting our sufferings with Christ’s is one way we can give glory to God and proclaim our allegiance to the Holy Trinity.

How can we live lives that give glory to God? How can we transform our sufferings into expressions of our love for God and His children? What can we do to consecrate our minds, hearts, souls, and strengths to God?

O Lord, make us better followers of your will through the consecration of our suffering to your glory.

Amen.

The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

When we give, we should do so without thought of return. Instead we should do it because of a love of God and all His children. It is much easier to give our time, talents, and treasures to people who we know will pay us back in some way. It is much more difficult to do the same things with those whom might not return our favors or even completely reject them. However, true love is sacrificial. Jesus gave his life for all, even though he knew not everyone would accept him as their Savior and might even mistreat him and his followers. When we love people who cannot repay us in any way, then we act more like Christ. In a world that often asks, "What can you do for me?" It is a grace and virtue to constantly have upon our lips the question, "What can I do for you?" If we live our lives in such a way, then we will be blessed and our reward will come when God tells us that we are good and faithful servants and worthy of remaining with Him for all eternity.

Do we help others without thought of return? Do we treat those who might not be able to repay us in the same way as we would treat those who are always helping us? How can we be more generous with our time, talents, and treasures, especially for those whom we have difficulty loving?

O Lord, give us the grace to invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind into our lives so that we can pour out your love for them.

Amen.

Nineteenth Saturday in Ordinary Time

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

Children are great teachers about what it means to love unconditionally. They do this in both their way of loving and annoying. They have the potential to love their parents, grandparents, and other family members without reserve. In addition, they can push all our buttons and try our patience to the breaking point. However, this stress test also helps us to understand what it means to love without expectation of return just as Jesus loves us. He died for all of us on the cross because he loved us, but he would never force us to return his love. Instead, he lets us make our choice to love others as he did or to selfishly pick ourselves over others. When a child throws a tantrum or refuses to give us a hug or kiss, then we have a small taste of what Jesus goes through when we deny him through our words and works and instead choose evil over good. So the next time we are tempted to sin, perhaps we should imagine ourselves as a child before Christ and remember that our choice is between love and selfishness. Hopefully, we shall choose wisely and well.

Are we childlike in our unconditional love of God and others? How can we be more Christ-like when we are faced with people who refuse to return our love? How can we encourage children to grow in their love of God and others?

O Lord, give us hearts filled with childlike love.

Amen.

First Saturday of Advent

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.  Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

Jesus reminds us that without cost we have received his love, mercy, and grace and in order to be his disciples, we are to give these to others without cost. God’s love for us is unconditional. His mercy is inexhaustible. His grace is ever present. In the same way, we should be loving, merciful, and full of grace toward all whom we meet. We are all called to be laborers for the harvest of souls and although we might not have miraculous powers, we can be instruments of God’s Will in everything we do. We can go into the world and proclaim the kingdom through our humble words and self-sacrificing works. God has given each of us the powers we need to be Godbearers in this world. We have only to accept the mantle and do everything within our power to be good and faithful servants to God and all His children.

Are we willing to labor for the kingdom of God? Do our thoughts, words, and works proclaim the Good News? Do we give ourselves to others without counting the cost?

O Lord, you have given us everything. Let us give everything to others in the same spirit of generosity.

Amen.