Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time - The Power of the Messiah

As Jesus was teaching in the Temple area, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, ´The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."´ David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?" And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me your servant. I want to be yours, Lord; reveal yourself to me in my prayer so that I can love you personally and intimately. Let me come to realize that you are living and active in my soul today, and help me to respond to your inspirations.

Petition: Lord Jesus Christ, come be my Savior with your power and might. Reign over my sinfulness that I might learn to praise you alone.

1. Greater than David. Jesus speaks and the crowds listen intently. His knowledge of scripture is extraordinary, and he knows how to use it in its proper context, in reference to himself. David was universally recognized as the one who wrote this psalm (110) in which he addresses the Messiah as his Lord, as being superior to him. Thus by bringing up this question, Christ is claiming that he is greater than David. His authority comes not only from his descent from David’s house, but much more from his transcendent origin – his Father in heaven. When we look at Christ, we ought to see one who is greater than anyone our society praises or holds up for us to admire. David was a prophet honored by the Jews. “To be greater than David” was a help for them to understand who Christ was. To look at Christ and see someone irrelevant for today’s day and age is to misunderstand what the Messiah came for. He saves all: then, now and until the end of the world.

2. At the Right Hand of God. After Christ’s Resurrection, St Peter speaks out boldly and with great confidence that Christ Jesus is the Messiah. In the second chapter of Acts he refers to this passage of Scripture as proof that Jesus truly rose from the dead. Since David is trustworthy, and David said that the Messiah would not undergo corruption, but would sit at God’s right hand, therefore he truly did rise and is in heaven. St Peter wishes to show Christ’s Resurrection as foolproof so the Jews will accept him as their savior and follow his teaching. We will never be able to live out Christ’s teaching if he remains an historical figure for us, in other words, if we believe –– maybe –– that he died and rose, but for all practical purposes, his life is dead to ours. To experience the true peace of Christ, we must develop an intimate relationship with a real person who is living and active in our lives. Christ must be alive for me!

3. Enemies under His Feet. Those who live by faith know that the final outcome will be that the faithful are the victors. This phrase about “enemies under one’s feet” depicts the practice in ancient times of the victor placing his foot on the back of the conquered foe who lies prostrate on the ground in an act of submission. That Christ will return at the end of the world is known. We who live by faith pray that we will be his friends on that great and terrible day. Our world can convince us at times that we are losing, that since we cannot join in their sinful pleasures, we will never be happy. O let the world enjoy its pastimes, while we the faithful hold fast to our victor who is to come in triumph. Let us renew our faith in him and in his ways by living as he asks of us. The faithful will be victors with Christ!

Dialogue with Christ: O Jesus, I want no glory unless united to your glory. Help me to shun the world and its ways and to embrace wholeheartedly your will, your ways and your love.

Resolution: Today I will repeat frequently, especially when I am tempted to put him aside, “Lord, you alone are my joy!”

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time - Self - Donation

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come before you humbly. As one who has frequently fallen into sin, I am aware of my weakness. Your great love, though, assures me that your grace can keep me on the path to holiness.

Petition: Lord, help me live according to the New Testament. 

1. Getting Beyond Myself: A scribe asks Jesus a pointed question and assumes that there is only a one-step answer. In fact, Jesus goes beyond a one-step response and links love of God with love of neighbor. "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness" (2 John 1:9). Christianity is not strictly a me-and-Jesus affair; such a faith can fall into self-centeredness and disdain for the world. We are called to be leaven in the world, to bring light to the darkness. Jesus wants us to be his arms and legs and voice in the world. Am I content to say prayers and make weekly Mass ― but to do little else? Might God be asking me to get more involved in the parish? In the school? In some kind of charity work?

2. The Gift of Self Is the Greatest Gift: The scribe senses that burnt offerings are not enough. Burnt offerings are something external to us. We let go of things (money, used clothes, old furniture) much faster than we let go of our time, our way of thinking. We give things but not ourselves. Am I loathe to give more of my time to help the Church? Why?

3. Fear of God’s Demands: The scribes understood that Jesus was raising the bar on religious observance. Sacrificing a sheep or a goat wasn´t enough anymore. Christ wanted them to give of themselves ― and that left them uneasy. The Old Testament sacrifices were giving way to the New Testament sacrifice ― the very sacrifice of self. That´s what Jesus wanted; that´s what Jesus himself gave. He gave himself up to a cross to confound our self-love. Does it scare me to die to myself? To my whims? What is Jesus asking of me that makes me uneasy?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know it´s costly for me to let go of my own way of thinking, to give of my time. Help me realize that this may be the more perfect offering that you seek from me.

Resolution: I will offer to do a favor that is costly in personal terms.

Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time - Reason Rescued by Faith

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone´s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants. So the second married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for bringing me to you in prayer. Open and raise up my mind on the wings of faith. I believe that I can grasp you working in my life, even when my reason fails to comprehend. I trust your gifts of light and inspiration. Help me to savor your contemplation more with my love than with my reason. 

Petition: Raise up my faith, Oh Lord!

1. Clever Rationalism When it comes to arguments, reason alone is capable of convincing and very clever “proofs”. The Sadducees’ powers of reason were fully employed in making their case, just as so many Christians reason their way into one more of a thousand new Scripture interpretations and churches each day. But something is missing. If man were God, his intellect would be sufficient. But since man is NOT God, his intellect is limited. The things of God go far beyond the powers of reason. Reason must proceed carefully, under the tutelage of faith. Reason, working from the premises of faith and within the boundaries of faith, can be of great service in the things of God. Do I separate reason from faith in questions of truth and morals? Is reason an excuse for me to reject or “protest”, dissent and justify what goes against the teaching of the Church and faith? In what ways do I foster a spirit of rationalism in my life?

2. The Logic of Faith How does Jesus respond to this objection of reason? He wastes no time in piercing through to its faulty source: “You do not know the scriptures or the power of God.” Without faith, we will always misunderstand Scripture and the power of God, reducing them to our own poor dimensions. Anyone who bases himself on reason alone to understand God and his affairs cannot help but end up creating for himself a god to the measure of his poor mind. Faith allows us to distinguish between the order of this life and that of the next, where we will find, like angels, a perfect union with God, of which union marriage is only a distant shadow and symbol. (see Ephesians 5:21-33) How do I apply faith to what makes little sense in my life: sufferings, difficulties and challenges? Or do I crucify God’s truth on the cross of my ideas?

3. God of the Living Once reason is rescued by faith, we can, like Jesus, make valid arguments from Scripture itself. We break out of the poverty of the human condition. As long as he is our God, and we belong to him, we are alive in him. Thus not only does resurrection make sense, but so does God’s presence in my life despite my struggles, confusions and even falls. Forgiveness becomes more real, for it brings me back to full life in him who continues to be my God, the faithful friend who never abandons me. Is this the God in whom I believe? What areas of my life have not yet been surrendered to my faith?

Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, increase my faith; make it penetrate every dimension of my life. Free me from the tyranny of my proud reason. Heal it with the light of faith so that I will know and experience your presence in my life. Help me seek your will in all things just as Mary did, embracing the cross with trust.

Resolution: I will take my next frustration or suffering to prayer and apply a generous dose of faith.

Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time - A Taxing Question

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone´s opinion. You do not regard a person´s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar´s." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come before you humbly. As one who has frequently fallen into sin, I am aware of my weakness. Your great love, though, assures me that your grace can keep me on the path to holiness.

Petition: Give me guidance, Lord, on a big decision that I have to make.

1. Setting the Trap: The Pharisees and Herodians use an old ploy ― flattery ― to try to trap Jesus. It is a ploy that enjoys a long shelf-life. Flattery can cause us to lower our guard. "You´re an intelligent person, why don´t you …?" Or: "You´re a good parent, you already have two kids. You don´t really believe the Church on …?" Being Christian in the world often means living among devious people. Hence, Jesus warned us to "be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves" (Matthew 10:16). To maintain a balance, we have to live only for God. Is it Christ who shapes my day?

2. Lying in Wait: They pose a false dilemma to Jesus. It´s "either/or." Either Jesus must accept Caesar totally, or rebel against Rome. Such is how the world sees it. It´s still either/or. Either we embrace Darwinism (no questions asked), or we cling to Creationism. Either we are tolerant of alternate lifestyles, or we are insufferable bigots. But things are more complicated than that. Moreover, the Catholic faith is often "both/and." Hence, we give to Caesar and to God what belongs to each. And how do we decide what belongs to whom? That´s where things get tricky. And that is precisely why we are called as Christians to develop our gifts, our intelligence, our prayer life ― so as to make the right choices. Catholicism is not a religion for robots. It demands that we use our freedom and gifts responsibly to do God´s will. Am I using my gifts well? Do I develop my skills and intellect so as to better serve God?

3. The Trap is Sprung, the Game is Over: Jesus´ response floors his critics. Why? Partly because he throws the question back to them. Now they have to decide what belongs to Caesar — and what belongs to God. "You must decide," was Karol Wojtyla´s signature phrase as a confessor. Nothing can so frighten us as freedom. It frightened Jesus´ audience. How am I using my own freedom? How am I using the time God gives me?

Conversation with Christ: Help me realize, Lord, that you are calling me in freedom. You respect the freedom you gave me, even if I misuse it. But I don´t want to misuse it. I want to render a good account of my life at Judgment Day.

Resolution: I will read some Scripture or a few paragraphs from the Catechism or a papal document today, to try to form myself better in the faith.

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr - Payback Time

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ´They will respect my son.´ But those tenants said to one another, ´This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.´ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?" They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come before you humbly. As one who has frequently fallen into sin, I am aware of my weakness. Your great love, though, assures me that your grace can keep me on the path to holiness.

 

Petition: Lord, let me be open to you and your messages.

1. Stand Corrected: Being corrected hurts. Being corrected in public hurts even more. And having one´s whole way of life corrected — well, that really stings. And so it must have been for the group of leaders who approached Jesus. Our Lord, in a not-so-subtle way, tells them that they are wrong. Wrong about their self-righteousness, wrong about their narrow reading of Scripture, and wrong about how they think God works in the world. This blinded them to the Son of God when he came among them. We like to think we would have been different ― we would not have rejected Jesus, we tell ourselves. Are we so sure? Aren´t we really like the leaders of Jesus´ time when we fail to listen to his agents ― a bishop, a parish priest, a legitimate superior? Have I said no to Christ lately?

2. "Another Servant" God doesn´t give up on us after one try. He often sends a number of messengers into our lives, to draw us closer to him. Such is the illogic of a Father´s love. Where do we miss the clues that God sends us? It could be in something a child says; a line from a homily; an e-mail from a friend in crisis ― these are the ordinary means God uses to reach out to us. Old Testament prophets faced rejection by the people of God. Have things changed much? Could I be turning a deaf ear to a prophet?

3. "This Is the Heir" The tenant farmers don´t seem very bright. They murder the son in order to get his inheritance. What father would give an inheritance to someone who killed his son? It doesn´t make sense. Then again, sin doesn´t make sense either. Many times we reject Christ in our life and then wonder why our prayers to God the Father go (seemingly) unanswered. What could we be thinking? How often do I offer up a sacrifice or an act of charity for a prayer intention?

Conversation with Christ: Let me live up to the demands of my faith, Lord. Let me realize that my dignity as a Christian demands that I try to live a life worthy of my baptism ― that I not be satisfied living like everyone else.

Resolution: I will offer up a decade of a rosary for a family member who is far from the faith.

Pentecost Sunday - The Power of the Spirit

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Introductory Prayer: Today, Lord, we celebrate the gift of your Holy Spirit to the Church, which you won for us through your patient suffering on the cross. I believe and trust in his power to make me a better apostle of your Kingdom, to bring fervor where I have grown tepid, to instill detachment where I have become too indulgent, and to perfect the innocence of my baptism, which leaves my soul more pure and worthy to serve and honor you each day. 

Petition: Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your grace and enkindle in me the fire of your love.

1. The Doors Were Locked: What is it that makes a disciple of Christ stop cold in the path of conversion and commitment? Cloaked underneath our spiritual inertia and lack of zeal are not so much our personal defects or our lack of human virtue as blindness to the dynamic power of the Crucified and Risen Lord. We can leave our self-made prisons only by opening our hearts to a faith in Christ that is total: total trust (in spite of the confusion of the present and uncertainty of the future), total hope (by breaking away from having to see the ideal in ourselves before we will act), and total divine confidence (in setting aside the sins of others and our personal failures that keep us stuck in myopic visions of life). Christ comes through bolted doors again today to ask us to unlock them with a real experience of the Risen Lord in the power of the Spirit. 

2. Peace Be With You: It is vital to examine our “peace” and see if it truly speaks of the peace of the Upper Room. Substitute “satisfaction” for the word “peace,” and see where our hearts have tried to find consolation this past week. Then substitute the word “fulfillment.” This is the peace that Christ brings through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some passing satisfactions are part of life, and we can be grateful for them. When we seek them for their own sake, however, we can easily drown out the life of the Spirit, who comes to bring us deep peace and fulfillment in life. Pentecost must convince us above all about prayer and the order of life that permit us to have constant contact with sources of grace and divine inspiration. 

3. Receive the Holy Spirit: In the sacrament of penance, we are forgiven our sins through the action of the Holy Spirit, who makes the actions of Christ present through the priest. We believe that mercy founds hope and change in our soul. Why, then, do we not believe that this same grace from the Holy Spirit can make us heroic saints, victorious in trial, patient in difficult relationships and more effective as apostles? Christ assures us that his power will never leave us, so we have no reason to “slip into neutral” after a few bad incidents in our life. Rather, the Holy Spirit’s goal moves us from mercy to transformation into Christ, permitting us spiritually to carry and reveal his wounds to an unbelieving world. 

Conversation with Christ: Oh, Jesus, I will trust more in the power of your Holy Spirit to change me than in my own efforts. I will depend on you in that face-to-face encounter I need to have with you every day. Let the sources of divine grace become my true food, and may I move away from feeding my soul on passing pleasures and vain ambitions. 

Resolution: This week, I will write down daily all the lights and inspirations of the Holy Spirit I receive, and I will try to act on them with promptness, confidence and generosity.

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter - The One and Only

Many of Jesus´ disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Introductory Prayer: I believe in you my God. You called me into existence from nothingness and carefully watch over me. You have even numbered the hairs of my head. I trust in your infinite goodness and I abandon my fears, my hopes, my needs, my desires, everything into your loving hands. I love you Lord, and wish to love you with all my mind, heart, soul and strength.

Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to make you the center of my life.

1. “Does This Shock You?” Jesus never painted the picture of a rosy, comfortable life for his disciples – one that fit into their scheme of things. Rather he challenged them to new heights that demanded a paradigm shift. We don’t have to search hard or look far to find groups that demand that the Church change its teaching, which they characterize as “too hard” or “old fashioned.” But Christ’s Mystical Body remains faithful in fearlessly proclaiming truth. Christ also asks me today, “Does this shock you? Do you also want to leave?” He asks me to humbly submit to the Church’s teachings. He challenges me to heroically give witness to my faith in my state in life, even if it will result in ridicule or rejection from my colleagues or friends. He lovingly exhorts me not to return to a life of sin. He invites me to carry my cross daily by denying my pride and self-love to follow him.

2. “No One Can Come to Me…” Using the words of St Peter we ask, “Then who can be saved?” (Luke 18:26). Jesus tells us that God the Father has prepared the hearts of men to receive his Son. God has set a time and place for everyone. When and how he calls is as mysterious as his infinite love for us. Yet, for better or for worse, through good times or bad, in sickness and in health, our acceptance of the Son of God must be constant, persevering and faithful. If God the Father enables me to believe in and proclaim Jesus Christ as the Messiah, to believe in his presence in the Eucharist, to trust in his forgiveness in confession, then what more do I need?

3. “Master, to Whom Shall We Go?” Only truth is able to quench the thirst of our intellect. Only the Source of Life and Goodness is able to satisfy the continuous desire of our will. Only the sacrificial Lamb of God, who shed his blood to save us, is able to liberate me from the chains of sin. Only love is able to conquer my heart and fill it with unending joy. To whom could we possibly turn? To what creature, idea, or worldly treasure could we long for in the face of eternal life? Peter’s question is really an affirmation in disguise: You are the “One and Only;” there is no other, no equal. It is not a mindless remark or a default logical conclusion. Rather it emerges from positively recognizing Christ as the bearer of eternal life.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to accept and to embrace the Gospel and the faith with love and humility, especially when it is humanly tough to accept. Let me join in the response: “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:69).

Resolution: Through my words and deeds, I will resonate my faith to all those I come in contact with today.