Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest

“Quiet!  Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

Sometimes we will be faced by trials and tribulations beyond our ability to control and we will feel helpless like the disciples. It is during these moments that we must draw upon our faith in God and trust that he will calm and still the storms around us. When we do this our souls will be calmed and we will be saved.

What are the storms in our lives at this moment and on the horizon? Do we trust God enough to lead us out of our troubles? How can we overcome our fears and quite our souls in the midst of trials?

O Lord, give our souls the faith we need in order to be calm during the storms of our lives.

Amen.

Third Friday of Ordinary Time

This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

God sowed the seeds of His Kingdom at the beginning of time and we grow without a need for understanding why or how we do so. Some of us will die before producing a yield, others of us will go a long time without a grain of produce and then near the end of our lives we will bear fruits, and then there are the faithful few who will yield a hundred fold. We do not know God’s plan for us, but we seeds of life have one purpose to fulfill and that is to grow in faith, hope, and love. When we do this we ripen as Disciples of Christ and God will harvest us into His Kingdom.

What have we done in our lives to grow in the gospel? Do we trust in God’s plan for us? Are we willing to do His Will without hesitation?

O Lord, help me grow and yield much fruit.

Amen.

Third Thursday of Ordinary Time

Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World and it is he who lends us his flame of love. He ignites our hearts and makes us into lamps of his goodwill toward all. When we accept His Light into our lives, we are tasked with lifting it up for our family, friends, and neighbors to see. By doing so we reveal the hearts and minds of those around us and give God’s children a chance to participate in the revelation of what it means to be a servant of the Light. Of course, being a disciple of Jesus also means opening up ourselves and revealing the hidden recesses of our hearts in order to allow His Love to fill us up. Once we are full of his charity, the shadow of sin has no way to enter because all is light within us.

Do we hide the light of the gospel in our daily lives out of fear of what others might think about us? What are our secret sins, the ones which keep us from being a light for others? What can we do to lift up the Light of the Lord and make ourselves into sacramental signs of God’s love for all?

O Lord, make us lights unto your people.

Amen.

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.

We all want to be rich soil. However, as Jesus’ parable points out there are a lot of things which stand in the way of our fruitful reception of the Word of God. First we must survive the Devil and his temptations, which lead us into sin. Secondly, we have to face our fears of being persecuted for living out our faith in a meaningful way. Thirdly, we must conquer our worldly anxieties, desires, and cravings. These things are not from God and ultimately lead us away from Him. Yet, if we are faithful and live out our lives as a fulfillment of God’s Word, then we, like Christ, will bear abundant fruit.

What are the temptations in our lives and what can we do to overcome them? Are we willing to be persecuted by our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers in order to live a more perfect Christian life? What can we do to put heavenly things first in our lives and worldly things second?

O Lord, sow the seed of your Word within us so that we might bear good fruit.

Amen.

Third Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

We are called to do God’s Will through our baptism when we are made into spiritual brothers, sisters, and mothers of Christ. Some read this gospel and think it is a rebuke of Jesus’ family, especially his mother, however, if we look closely at what Christ says we see he is using this moment to teach his disciples about their spiritual family. He makes this statement not to belittle his physical family, but to expand the concept of family to the spiritual realm. Those who see this as a rebuke of Mary forget she embodies the perfect model of doing the will of God and therefore she too is a spiritual brother and sister and mother of Christ. In light of this, we should remember to reflect on Mary’s life when considering how we should live ours in accord with what God wants us to do.

How do we fulfill the will of God in our everyday routines? In what ways do we express our baptismal calling to be a brother and sister and mother to Christ and our fellow siblings in the faith? What are the virtues in Mary’s life which we can model our lives on today?

O Lord, help us to do the will of God and become worthy of being called your brothers and sisters and mothers.

Amen.

Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops

Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.

The unforgivable sin in this gospel is the scribes’ attribution of the good works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Jesus points out to them that if they cannot tell the difference between good and evil then they are doomed to be divided and destroyed. If they cannot see that driving out demons is a good act, then how can they claim to even know what good is? Sometimes we can become so sure of ourselves that we act like the scribes in this gospel and judge other people when we should be seeking to reconcile with them. We should always remember that we condemn the sin, and not the sinner. It is God’s job to determine whether someone is evil or not.

Who are the people in our lives whom we have judged? Have we ever tried to see our relationship or their actions from their point of view? If something is wrong, then how do we condemn the sin, while loving the sinner?

O Lord, let my heart be united with yours and grant me the grace to love even those whom I find most difficult to love.

Amen.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

God calls on us to repent and believe in His gospel message. This requires us to convert our hearts from the selfishness of worldly things to self-sacrifice of heavenly ones. We are being asked to put aside our childish things and put on Christ. When we do this we become the fulfillment of God's Will on earth. Like the disciples, we are called to set aside our worldly works and follow Christ where he needs us to go.

How do we embody and emanate the belief that the kingdom of God is at hand? What are the worldly things we need to repent of so that we can better believe and live out the gospel? Are we truly willing to sacrifice ourselves for our Heavenly Father's Will?

O Lord, we come to you with repentant hearts. Grant us the faith we need to believe in the gospel and live out its message of love.

Amen.