Sixth Thursday of Ordinary Time

This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

God has entered into many covenants with us. Through each one He has given us many graces. With the New Covenant of Jesus, he has offered us a new sign of His promises... the cross. It is in the cross that we see the bridge between the death of sin and the life of love. It is in this symbol that we see the triumph of God through the sacrifice of the cross. But a covenant is a two-way promise and in return for the saving graces of His Beloved Son, God asks us to know, love, and serve Him as Jesus did by following the Way of the Cross. It is only by accepting the sufferings of this life and bearing them with hopeful and compassionate hearts that we will become living signs of God’s New Covenant. It is not enough for us to accept God’s Love and Mercy. We must also imitate Christ in our thoughts, words, and works. When people look upon us they should know we are Christians by our love and how we carry ourselves under the weight of our own crosses.

Are we living our lives according to the New Covenant? How can we make ourselves into living signs of the New Covenant? Do we ever take time to truly contemplate what God did for us through His Son’s passion, death, and resurrection?

O Lord, make us into living signs of the triumph of your cross.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Vincet de Paul, Priest

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

Jesus knew what he had to do and did it. Nothing would keep him from fulfilling His Father's Divine Will and so he resolutely headed to Jerusalem fully aware of the sacrifice he was about to make. We, too, are called to turn toward Jerusalem, not in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense. It is in the spiritual City of God that we shall find our fulfillment and we can only get their by walking a path of worldly rejection and detachment. We cannot let our fears, doubts, and worries keep us from turning toward our heavenly home. We cannot allow persecution to detour us from our goal. Nor should we allow our persecutors to make us angry or vengeful. Jesus understood we would not be accepted by everyone. Some people will not listen to his words or allow him to enter their hearts. But he does not hate them, instead he loves them, pities them, and prays all the more for their conversion. In the same way, we must be willing to put aside our pride and hurt feelings and be able to love even those who harm us along the way to the City of God. By doing so, we not only prepare ourselves for entry into heaven, but more importantly imitate our Lord and Savior.

Are we willing to walk the path to Calvary or are we avoiding it in favor of worldly things? Are we willing to be rejected, persecuted, and mocked for our faith? What can we do to respond to our persecutors with love and forgiveness?

O Lord, we are resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem with you and share in your Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Amen.