The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Just like Peter, we can sometimes feel so unworthy of God’s Love and Mercy we can close ourselves off to Him. We can become afraid that we are too sinful for God to forgive, but His Divine Mercy is endless and nothing we think, say, or do is unforgivable if we seek God’s forgiveness with truly contrite hearts. And when we do seek God’s Mercy, we have nothing to be afraid of because God loves us all. He proved that by sending His Beloved Son to us as our Savior and our exemplar. The net of Jesus’ grace is always ready to catch us. We have only to allow ourselves to be caught by him. Then, just as Jesus fished us out of our sinful lives, so we can become fishers of men with him and allow him to use us as a net to save other souls.

What can we do to welcome Jesus into our lives? How can we cast off our feelings of sinfulness and fear and follow Jesus’ example of virtue and courage? Are we willing to leave everything behind and become fishers of men?

O Lord, make us good and faithful fishers of men.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

We all need rest. We cannot work all the time. This is why God gave us the Sabbath as a feast day. We need it in order to reflect on our thoughts, words, and works each week. We also need time each day to do the same. Without rest and reflection, we can become overworked and lose sight of why we are here on earth. We forget that everything we think, say, and do should have its source, center, and summit in God. We cannot reflect on these things if we don’t set aside time to pray to God for guidance, meditate upon our actions, and evaluate the direction of our lives. We can become lost in our work, even good works, and become burned out if we do not take a break from time to time to recharge our spiritual batteries so that we can go back into the world as lights for all God’s children.

Do we rest and relax in the Lord when we are wary? Does our leisure time bring us closer to God or further away from Him? What can we do to keep holy the Sabbath day?

O Lord, let us rest in you.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, 
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

Sometimes we are like Herod. We recognize what we are doing is wrong, but don’t stop ourselves. We hear our conscience telling us to stop, but we don’t heed the warning. We know we are called to be righteous and holy, but we allow ourselves to be wicked and sinful. We listen to the world and all its temptations and they lead us further and further astray. Yet, there is a part of us that knows the truth of the gospels and wants to give ourselves over to it. And if we open our hearts, souls, and minds to God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace, then He will give us everything we need to live a more Christ-like life and show us the way we are meant to walk towards heaven.

What are the failings, imperfections, and sins that hold us back from doing good? How can we cleanse ourselves of all those things that keep us from being more Christ-like? Are we willing to let God into our hearts, souls, and minds so that He can make them clean?

O Lord, let us not only listen to your words, but also put them into action in our lives.

Amen.

Fourth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick–no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.

Although Jesus sends his disciples out into the world without food, sack, or money, he makes sure they are not alone. He gives them someone else to lean on, talk to, and share the experience with. God does the same for us in our lives. He never leaves us without help. He might ask us to make great and small sacrifices, but He always gives us someone to help us through our trials. Sometimes it is a family member or friend. Other times it is a neighbor or stranger. We have only to look around us to see who our companions are. But most of all, God is always with us. He is with us in the Eucharist and in our prayers. He is with us in our moments of self sacrifice. He is with us when we need the strength to carry our crosses. He is with us in the people whom we know, love, and serve. We might not see Him, but He is always there at our side.

Are we willing to go into the world and proclaim the Good News? Are we willing to trust in God’s Providence and give up those things that are keeping our hearts away from God? Do we remember that God is always with us, even in the midst of our greatest trials?

O Lord, send us forth to proclaim your message to all the nations.

Amen.

Fourth Wednesday of 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 Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Yet again, the gospel gives us another account of Jesus being rejected by the people who know him best. They do this in spite of recognizing his wisdom and the might of his deeds. They simply cannot get past their own opinion of Jesus. Sometimes we do the same thing in regards to others in our lives. We make a judgment about them based off our first impressions or a long-lasting relationship with them. However, we must always be open to changing our opinions of others as we learn more about them, especially those people we find most difficult to like. Our perception of their motives, personality, etc. can be colored by a variety of things and often we do not have the whole picture about why a person acts a certain way towards us or others. The people in Jesus’ native place probably saw him as overstepping his authority and puffing himself up with false claims. Perhaps someone in our lives appears to be something they are not. It is up to us to be open to seeing them with new eyes so that we can come to know the real person behind our opinions of them.

Who are the people we don’t like in our lives? Have we made an honest attempt to get to know them? Would we be willing to change our opinions of them if we found out who they truly are?

O Lord, let us be open to changing our hearts towards others, especially those whom we find most difficult to love.

Amen.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God…

Just like Simeon, we are called by God to be righteous, devout, filled with the Holy Spirit, and willing to wait for consolation. In order to be righteous, we need to reorder our lives so that knowing, loving, and serving God and His children come first. We also are asked to be devout in our faith, not letting anything discourage us from doing God’s Will. Additionally, we are challenged to invite the Holy Spirit into our every thought, word, and work so that we can better manifest Christ in the world. Last but not least, we need to cultivate a spirit of patient perseverance in our lives. Not everything will turn out how we imagined or hoped for, but if we remain faithful to God, then He will console us when we need it most and throughout eternity.

Are we righteous and devout like Simeon? Have we emptied ourselves of worldly things so that the Holy Spirit can fill us with grace? Are we willing to wait for our consolations no matter how much we might suffer along the way to Heaven?

O Lord, give us the graces we need to be righteous, devout, holy, and patient.

Amen.

Fourth Monday of Ordinary Time

As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

After Jesus drives the demons out of the possessed man, we are told of two very different reactions. First, the swineherds and people in the area are struck with fear at the sight of what happens. Although they could have focused on the miraculous cure of the demoniac, they instead focus on the drowning swine and beg Jesus to leave. These people miss out on an opportunity to welcome Christ into their lives because they are frightened by what he might do next. Similarly, some of us are afraid of what Jesus will do in our hearts if we truly let him in. He might drive out all the distractions, imperfections, and sin we have grown accustom to over the years. However, this is exactly what all of us are called to do. If we do not let Jesus into our hearts, then we allow ourselves to be possessed by worldly things and acts of sin. Instead, we should be like the man who has been freed from the demons. We should ask to follow Christ and then do what he tells us to do, proclaiming his gospel all along the way.

How do we react to God when he enters our lives through inspiration or the counsel of others? Are we willing to make our lives a proclamation of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace? Are we willing to go and do what God is asking us even if it isn’t what we expected or asked for?

O Lord, give me the grace to proclaim all you have done for us.

Amen.