Fourteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus takes pity on all of us. He is moved by our every suffering, illness, setback, and trial. He becomes our shepherd through his proclamation of the gospel and his sacrifice on the cross. He cures us of our sins so we can walk his Way, he preaches the Truth to us, and he teaches us how to live our lives as children and heirs of God. We may feel troubled and abandoned at times, but we are never alone. Jesus is always at our side wanting us to turn to him and ask for his aid. When we do this, he gives it abundantly and without reservation. His compassion and forgiveness are unfathomable and we are blessed to have him with us on this earth. Let us hope we will be good and faithful servants so that we can spend the rest of eternity in his good graces.

What are we troubled about? Do we feel abandoned by God? How can we remind ourselves that Jesus is with us?

O Lord, show pity on us and lead your poor sheep through the heavenly gate.

Amen.

Fourteenth Monday of Ordinary Time

When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping. "And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose.

Sometimes when we try to help others or to do the right thing, others ridicule us and make us feel like we are doing something wrong. However, when we are faced with the opportunity to act out of love or mercy, we should not let the chance pass by because of what others think. All we can do in this life is to try to think, speak, and act like Jesus. We are called to be God-bearers just as Mary was in her life. When faced with ridicule, we must put the crowd out of our minds and do the right thing. In this way, we can raise the spirits of those whom we help and gain even more glory for God by doing it in spite of what others might think, say, or do to us because of it.

Who are the people who ridicule our faith? Do we let them keep us from doing the right thing? How can we be more Christ-like even in the face of opposition?

O Lord, help us to ignore the ridicule of others and act in accord with your will.

Amen.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" 
And they took offense at him.

The people of Nazareth speak these words when Jesus returns to his native place. Here they recognize his wisdom and mighty deeds, and yet they take offense at him. Why would they do this? Sometimes when we think we know someone and they do something unexpected, something that challenges our preconceptions about them, we can rebel against it. We are much more comfortable in a world where we can put people in a box and label them. This is what the people of Nazareth do to Jesus. They label him to be a carpenter, the son of Mary. Anything that challenges this opinion upsets the status quo. As Christians, we must not be afraid to change our opinions of people if they prove us wrong. We should not claim to know the hearts of others as the people of Nazareth do. Instead we should be open to having our opinions changed in light of the actions, good or bad, that others take.

Who are the people in our lives whom we might be misjudging? How can we be more open to them and less judgmental? What can we do to rebuild the faith of others, especially those whom we have let down?

O Lord, help us to be open to your wisdom and mighty deeds.

Amen.

Thirteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time

People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.

Jesus’ gospel message is new. It cannot be contained by the laws of Old Testament. It demands a new way of thinking and living. Jesus tells us that we must make ourselves into wineskins in order to preserve ourselves. His love, mercy, and grace demand it. He will not let himself be contained in the legalistic code of the Law. Instead he writes his commandments in his own flesh and blood and calls upon us to make ourselves into an acceptable sacrifice to God and for our fellow children of God.

Do we see the commandments of Christ as legal obligations or as spiritual fulfillment? How do we receive and preserve the word of God? How do we receive and preserve the Body and Blood of Christ?

O Lord, make us into fresh wineskins so that we might preserve your gospel and be preserved by it.

Amen.

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Sometimes we can be as doubting as Thomas. We want to see God in action in our lives, otherwise we start to wonder if He’s really here with us. Our prayers become more demanding as things get worse for us. Can we imagine how bad things were for Thomas at the moment he utters these words? Jesus has just been crucified and all hope is lost. Then, the other disciples of Christ tell him they’ve seen Jesus and received the Holy Spirit from him. This is too much for Thomas to take in and he doesn’t believe them. Perhaps he wondered why Jesus would show himself to them and not to him. Whatever the reason, we sometimes act like Thomas. We don’t believe others, we don’t think God is still with us, and so we doubt. But we, like Thomas, need to remember the promises of Christ and realize he will never leave us alone. The nailmarks in his hands and the wound in his side show us this truth. Through them, he poured out his love, mercy, and grace upon all his brothers and sisters. We do not need to see signs or miracles to believe, we have only to believe so that we might see the signs and miracles that are already present in our lives.

What doubts do we have about God’s love for us? Why do we have them? How can we do a better job of opening our eyes to the God-instances (not coincidences) around us?

O Lord, help us to believe so we might better see your presence in our lives.

Amen.

Thirteenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

Sometimes when we are in a state of sin, we need others to help us be healed. We, like the paralytic man, cannot do it ourselves. This is why we have the sacraments of reconciliation and the anointing of the sick. Through the priest, we are brought to Jesus and by own shared faith, we are healed by him. Sometimes we need others to point out our flaws, our blind spots, so that we can recognize where we are ill spiritually. These too, are like the people who brought the paralytic to Jesus. We might not always appreciate it when people point out our failings, but if they do it out of love, then we should be thankful for it. We should face our frailties with courage, knowing that Jesus will forgive us as long as we make our way to him through the help of family, friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

What are our physical and spiritual ailments? Who are the people who help us overcome them? Do we seek out the healing sacraments of confession and the anointing of the sick?

O Lord, give us courage to face our frailties and overcome our sins.

Amen.

Thirteenth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

After Jesus drives out the demons and the swine drown, the whole town comes out to meet Jesus. And do they thank him for helping the two people who were possessed? No, they beg Jesus to leave. Why do they do this? One thing that may not be clear at first is that the townspeople are Gentiles, not Jews, since they are tending “unclean” swine. Also those swine would have been a source of money and food for the people of the town. So why does Jesus cast the demons into the swine? Doesn’t he know that doing so would ruin their livelihoods? Perhaps this is exactly the reason he does this. He wants to remind us that the things of this world are passing away. He is the only true livelihood. He is the food of everlasting life. We should be more concerned with him than we are with earthly things, which are there one day and gone the next.

When we lose something we care about, what is our reaction? Do we blame others or God? Or do we try to learn from our loss and ground our reaction to it in faith, hope, and love?

O Lord, let us put our trust in you and the everlasting life you promise us.

Amen.