Twenty-Seventh Wednesday in Ordinary Time

And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

When we see someone else doing something wrong, we have an obligation to correct them. This isn't always easy. Sometimes they are loved ones and we don't want to start a fight and cause strife in our homes and families. Sometimes they are strangers and we fear their reaction to our rebuke. However, wrong is wrong and right is right and we should not be afraid to speak the truth and correct others as long as we do it out of love and not a feeling of superiority... after all we are sinners, too. This is what Paul did when he rebuked Cephas and it is what we must be willing to do when we see others are not on right road.

Are there people in our lives whom we need to talk to in regards to wrongdoing? How can we bring up the subject without antagonizing them or nagging them? Are we willing to suffer in order to spread the Good News, even to those whom might not want to hear it?

O Lord, grant us the grace to speak your truth even when it might cost us dearly to do so.

Amen.

Twelfth Thursday of Ordinary Time

“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.”

We can do the right things, but for the wrong reasons and this is why Jesus warns us today that not everyone who claims to follow him will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ gospel message is about much more than doing the right thing. It is also about doing the loving and good thing. If we have faith and hope without thoughts, words, and works of love, then we have an empty faith and a hollow hope. We must be on guard against feeling holier than others and thinking that our actions alone merit salvation. Only God knows our hearts and sometimes when we honestly reflect on the “good” things we have done, we sometimes will recognize how pride, envy, and other sins have tarnished them. This is not to say that we shouldn’t make the extra effort to do good, but rather that we should not pat ourselves on the back for the good God inspires us to do, especially in light of the good we have failed to do.

Do we do our good works enthusiastically, wholeheartedly, and with humility? Or do we complain, procrastinate, or take excessive pride in what we have done? How can we do both the right and loving thing?

O Lord, help us to love as you want us to so that when we die you might know us and we might know you, too.

Amen.

Tenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One.

We all say things we wish we could take back. We all have made promises we’ve broken. We’ve all said we’d do something and then failed to do it. We’ve even told people we can’t do something, and then went ahead and did it anyway. This is because we speak before we think things through. We should always try to take a step back and weigh our options. We should ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” Deep down we probably know what the right thing is, but sometimes we can convince ourselves that we know better than God. This is why Jesus warns us against swearing oaths. Because sometimes we will agree to do something and then discover that it’s not the right thing to do. But because we have sworn to do it, we do it disregarding our conscience. Jesus isn’t telling us not to change our minds, but rather to think about what we promise to do so that we don’t have to change our minds. It isn’t bad to do the right thing, in spite of your promises, but it is far better thing to promise to do what’s right from the beginning.

When have we said yes to the right thing, and then failed to follow through? When have we said no, and then realized that saying yes was the right thing? Do we speak before we think and pray about our situations?

O Lord, let our “yes” mean “yes” and our “no” mean “no.”

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.

Sometimes we make promises to other people that we should not keep. We let a sense of pride get in the way of doing the right thing and then after we have sinned, we make excuses or claim everything was out of our hands. However, nothing excuses us from doing the wrong thing, even the right reasons. The ends do not justify the means. We have to face the fact that sometimes we make promises that we should not keep because they are bad for others and ourselves. We should not let our likes or dislikes of others keep us from doing the right thing.

When we are faced with the choice between what is right and wrong,  how do we remind ourselves that God is watching? Have we ever let our pride get in the way of saying or doing what we ought to do? Do we allow people to impress and influence us into committing sins?

O Lord, when we are faced with the choice between good and evil give us the strength to choose the former and the wisdom to avoid the latter.

Amen.