Thirty-First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master.

God is constantly inviting us to come to His heavenly banquet. However, it is a constant temptation to decline His invitation because we are too busy or have other priorities in life. But we should never be too busy to come to God when He calls us. No material possessions or person is more important than our Heavenly Lord. We should never choose a lesser good over the greater good of God. We are all called to do God’s Will and accomplish some part of His Divine Plan. We cannot do this if we are consumed by the problems, pleasures, and distractions of the world. We need to make time for God, to go where He needs us to go, and do what He needs us to do. This is why we are here and if we come when He calls us, we will be rewarded with eternal life and a never-ending heavenly banquet.

What is God calling us to accomplish? What temptations in our lives keep us from doing God’s Will? Do we make time for Him or do we make time for the world?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to accept your invitation and make time for you.

Amen.

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

We all belong to God and He wants us to be with Him forever. He won’t reject anyone who comes to Him. As long as we keep the commandments of the Father, the teachings of the Son, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, then we will be raised on the last day. It is the will of the Father that those who believe in Jesus and act in accord with his good news will have eternal life. God wants us to be at His side each and every day and to act in His Divine Name. So let us go to God, offering Him everything in our lives, great and small, as a living sacrifice for His greater glory.

Are we spending our lives coming to God or running away from Him? Do we realize how much He loves us and wants us with Him in heaven? Do we offer God everything in our lives?

O Lord, we believe in you, shelter us with your love.

Amen.

Solemnity of All Saints

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

The Beatitudes are guideposts along the narrow path to Heaven. They point us in the right direction by reminding us of the important qualities we are supposed to cultivate within ourselves as Christians. These are not the attributes that the world honors, but rather they are the ones the world does not understand. Being poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry for righteousness, clean of heart, peaceful, and willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness… these are the things God asks of us. The world on the other hand wants us to be rich in materials things, uncaring, prideful, hungry for sin, impure of heart, wrathful, and judgmental of others. Every moment of the day, we make a choice between Jesus’ Beatitudes and worldly attitudes. It is up to us to make the right choice and to constantly incarnate the Beatitudes in everything we think, say, and do.

Are our thoughts, words, and works rooted in the Beatitudes? Which Beatitudes do we have the most trouble cultivating in our lives? How can we prune away our worldly attitudes so the Beatitudes will find fertile ground within us?

O Lord, bless us with the grace to become incarnations of your Beatitudes.

Amen.

Thirtieth Saturday of Ordinary Time

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’”

Humility is an important virtue for all of us to cultivate throughout our lives. We are constantly tempted to commit acts of pride, such as seeking to be recognized for the good we’ve done, bragging about our successes, etc. However, this is not what we are called to do. Jesus gives us a better way: the little way of humility. When we act out of meekness, rather than boasting, we imitate Christ’s model of spiritual modesty. This may be difficult for most of us to do, but it is necessary if we want to share in Jesus’ life. So the next time we are tempted to seek honor, let us remember that the honor of this world is nothing but chaff before God.

Do we continually cultivate a spirit of humbleness? What are we prideful about? How can we teach ourselves to be meek when confronted with these temptations?

O Lord, may we learn to be meek and mild, especially when confronted with the temptation to be prideful.

Amen.

Thirtieth Friday of Ordinary Time

On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question.

Jesus knew that healing the man with dropsy would be frowned on by the Pharisees, but did it anyway because he does not care about the opinions of men. The only one he sought approval from was God the Father. He chose to do the right and good thing rather than the popular one. We, too, should be willing to do the right, but unpopular thing. It is tempting for us to sin by taking the easy way out or choosing to do nothing when presented with an opportunity to do a good, but unpopular thing. However, this is not what Jesus modeled for us in his life and so we should do everything within our power to know, love, or serve God and our neighbors.

Do we seek approval from the world or from God? When presented with an opportunity to be charitable and merciful toward others do we take it? Are we willing to do the right, but unpopular thing?

O Lord, give us the strength to do your will even in the midst of opposition.

Amen.

Thirtieth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’”

We all have a natural inclination to preserve our lives. We want to survive, to thrive, and to be successful. However, Jesus gives us another model to live by: a model of self-sacrifice. He isn’t afraid of being persecuted, tormented, and put to death. He is willing to suffer all of these things in order to cast out demons, perform healings, and accomplish his purpose. By worldly standards, he is heading towards ruin, but by heavenly ones he is heading towards glorification. So too, we must be willing to sacrifice ourselves to bear God into the world and to give witness to His Word. We must be willing to die for Christ, if we wish to live as good and faithful servants.

Have we asked God to give us the courage to do His Will? Are we willing to suffer in order to love God and bear Him into the lives of others? Are we willing to sacrifice our lives for God?

O Lord, let us accomplish your heavenly purpose.

Amen.

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus is constantly praying in the gospels, especially before major events in his ministry. In this way, he gives us an example of how we should pray to him before making big decisions in our lives or when facing great tasks. He goes off by himself and prays on a mountain. We might not have a mountain nearby, but we too should make a point to retreat from the world from time to time in order to focus on God and pray to Him without distractions. He also spends the entire night praying to God. How many of us have done the same? Have we even prayed one hour to God? Perhaps we should find time each day to spend with God. It could be early in the morning before work, during a break in the afternoon, or even right before we go to bed. All we have to do is make the time for God and keep it holy and without distractions. Once we do this, we will be refreshed in the spirit and be able to make better decisions about our lives and become more like the Twelve Apostles.

Do we make time to pray to God, especially in the midst of our daily decisions? When we do pray, do we try to go to a deserted place so that we are not distracted? How much time do we spend with God each day?

O Lord, teach us how to pray.

Amen.