Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time "The New Joy of the Bridegroom"

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, what a joy and what a gift to have this time to be alone with you! I want to know you more deeply. I want to hope in you more firmly. I want to love you with greater constancy in my daily life. Only you can give me these gifts. Only you can make me a bold and joyful apostle of your Kingdom.

Petition: Lord, help me to experience the new joy that comes from carrying the cross alongside you.

1. The Joy of the Bridegroom: The Old Testament prophets, especially Hosea and Isaiah, describe the relationship between Israel and Yahweh as a marriage covenant. Israel is the bride, often an unfaithful one, and Yahweh is the bridegroom. When Christ refers to himself as the bridegroom, he is appropriating a title that had been reserved to God alone. Clearly, Jesus is much more than an ordinary rabbi. What experience do we most associate with a bridegroom and the wedding feast? Joy! “Although it is true that the cross is never absent from an authentically Christian life, it is equally true that the God who meets us on that cross is the same God who created the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the mountains, laughter, sunlight, and every earthly delight” (John Bartunek, LC, The Better Part, p. 365). Christ came to bring us joy, a joy that would last into eternity.

2. Should Christians Fast? Christ says that when the bridegroom is taken away, then his disciples will fast. This is his first reference in the Gospel of Mark to his coming passion. Fasting is a way of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. Fasting, sacrifices, and acts of self-denial are also means to detach ourselves from earthly goods in order to cling more firmly to Christ himself. They make us aware of how much we need God. But these ways of sharing Christ’s cross should not make us glum followers. “Some Christians give the impression that following Christ is a somber affair, or that the Christian life consists above all of dour sacrifices and boring obligations. Joyless, dreary, dull. No wonder their friends want to stay as far away from Christianity as possible!... If our friendship with Christ does not fill us with contagious enthusiasm, we’re probably being a half-hearted friend” (John Bartunek, LC, The Better Part, p. 365).

3. “Behold, I Make All Things New”: The movie The Passion of the Christ puts this phrase from Revelation on Christ’s lips when he meets his mother Mary as he carries the cross to Calvary. Christ’s “narrow gate” of the cross leads to a radically new way of life. It brings an abundance of joy, a new vigor, interior peace. The new wine of the life of grace that Christ pours out on his followers must change not only their way of life, but even their internal attitudes and consciousness. As St. Teresa of Avila once put it,  “A sad saint is a bad saint.” What obstacles in my life do I need to overcome in order to follow Christ with greater joy and to radiate that joy to others?

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for the new life you came to bring — your own divine life of grace inside me and each of your followers who is faithful to you. Help me to share that joy with others. I long to be a true apostle of your joy.

Resolution: Today I will forget about myself and seek only to help make those around me joyful.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time “Do Whatever He Tells You” - A good Mother"

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. 

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that before you left this earth you gave me the Eucharist for my food and Mary for my mother. I believe in your Real Presence and choose to receive you reverently and often. I trust that Mary will be there for me and accompany me in whatever I need. I love you, Lord, for giving me a mother who is so concerned about me that she is willing to do whatever is necessary to help me in my mission and vocation.

Petition: Help me, Lord, to foster a tender and personal devotion to your Mother.

1. “They Have No Wine”: A good mother is always on the watch to make sure that all is well, and Mary is no exception. Before anyone can react, she recognizes that the newlyweds are out of wine. They are talking among themselves, and they are in a panic. She can’t do anything about it but she knows someone who can, so she acts. She believes in the power of her son. Since he is the Son of God, he can solve the problem. Mary does not let the fact that she is a guest keep her from working. She acts on faith. She does not wait for someone to tell her to do something. She intervenes. We need to believe like Mary and be willing to take that bold step into the unknown, confident in a God we do not see.

2. “My Hour Has Not Yet Come”: Christ knows his mission. He is called to go to the cross and suffer for our sins. Yet he has not begun his public life. To perform a miracle now would be to anticipate his hour – to accelerate his mission to suffer for our sins. The time for him to accept the cross has not yet come. But Mary knows that something must be done. If she does not intercede, it could be a “disaster.” At the time of Our Lord, wedding feasts lasted for a week. What would become of the wedding feast if there was no more wine? Mary knows this. She hears the newlyweds’ cries and worries, and she brings them to her son, knowing that he can do something. She is certain that he will calm the fears of the newlyweds and remedy the situation. Do we have a deep conviction that Mary watches over us and constantly intercedes with Our Lord for our sake?

3. A Son Will Never Say No to His Mother: “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and difficulties, until they are led into their blessed home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix. This, however, is so understood that it neither takes away anything from nor adds anything to the dignity and efficacy of Christ the one Mediator” (Lumen Gentium, 62). Mary understood her mission and vocation. She intercedes for us constantly, is willing to help us, and wants to bring our petitions to her Son so that he can help us with whatever we need of him. Do I have a filial relationship with Mary, my Mother, and do I turn to her confidently with my concerns and needs?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I trust that you will give me the grace to imitate Mary. You are willing and ready to help me. You want the best for me, and you desire very much to assist me. Help me to learn from Mary’s example of acting in faith so that I, too, may be a person of faith like her. Help me to turn to her often so that she can bring me closer to you.

Resolution: I will make a special visit our Blessed Mother asking for greater faith and confiding myself and loved ones to her tender care.

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "Discipleship"

Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this and said to them that, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Introductory Prayer: God our Father, in your eyes I am like a little child whom you tenderly watch over. God the Son, in your eyes I am like a poor, helpless sheep whom you gently pick up and carry when I’m worn out from my sins. God the Holy Spirit, in your eyes I am like a dry piece of wood that you wish to set ablaze with the fire of your love. Thank you, Holy Trinity, for wanting to bring me into your holy friendship. I am completely unworthy of your love but so grateful to find rest and a true home in you.

Petition: Lord, grant me a generous heart.

1. He Got Up and Followed Him: “‘He rose and followed him.’ The conciseness of the phrase clearly underlines Matthew’s promptness in response to the call…. In this ‘rising’ one can see the detachment from a situation of sin and, at the same time, the conscious adherence to a new life, upright, in communion with Jesus” (Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI, General Audience, August 30, 2006). Holiness of life is not simply separation from what is sinful, but a participation in the love and holiness of God. It is not just separation from something, but transformation into the someone God has created us to be. When he calls, Jesus never gives us a map, only a compass. We do not see the full picture, we simply know the direction. Each day he invites us to follow him, to deepen the communion of love with him, and to keep our eyes fixed on him as on a “lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). Matthew really had no clue where his life would end up. But he did know that it had to change and where that change needed to begin. Matthew was so utterly convinced that Jesus was worthy of his trust that he surrendered his life to him. We must daily choose to follow Matthew’s example of how to follow Jesus.

2. While He Was at Table in His House: “Behold! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me” (Revelation 3:20). They are celebrating Matthew’s vocation to follow Jesus. Matthew could have said “no” or “not yet” or “not now.” But consider the effects if such a refusal had taken place. For starters there would have been no dinner feast, and consequently many of Matthew’s friends would have missed an intimate encounter with Jesus that night – an encounter that forever changed some of their lives. Jesus knocked at the door of Matthew’s life, and Matthew opened it wide to Jesus. Then, like the Samaritan woman, he ran to get others so that they too might meet Jesus. By way of Matthew’s “yes,” Jesus started touching the lives of others. Whenever we say “yes” to Jesus, he will work not only in us, but also through us. Once again, today he will invite us to say “yes” to his will and thereby be his instrument of grace for others. “I am standing at the door, knocking.…”

3. Why Does Your Teacher Eat with Tax Collectors and Sinners? He does so that we might learn two lessons: the depth of his love for every soul, and how we must love others unconditionally. “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Loving a person unconditionally does not mean that we blithely accept their sin. We love them despite their sin and in the hope that one day they will leave it aside. Mercy is the one form of love that we can never directly exercise toward God, yet it is his greatest expression of love for each one of us. Through Jesus’ dying on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins, God has revealed the pinnacle of love. Thus, when we practice mercy, forgiveness, patience, etc. towards those around us, we are imitating the highest form of love. Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners for the same reason he called Matthew to follow him: because he loves us and wants to share his life with us.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, the call to follow you is a call to conversion of heart. Touch my heart with your grace in such a way that my thoughts and actions may always reflect my desire to imitate your example of love. Make me patient in each situation and capable of forgiving those who may cause me harm or create difficulties.

Resolution: Today I will speak to someone – whether a family member, friend, coworker, acquaintance or stranger – about my gratitude to Jesus Christ.

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "A Man and His Friends"

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”—he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Introductory Prayer: Jesus, thank you for this time to be with you. I humbly offer you my intention to set all my distractions aside so that I can encounter you, my Lord and my God. I hope in you and know that you could never let me down. I love you and long to love you with all of my strength. Aware of my misery and weakness, I trust in your mercy and love.

Petition: Lord, increase my zeal for souls.

1. The Paralytic: One day, four men carried a friend to Jesus. It made all the difference in the world to the friend, for he was paralyzed and was unable to approach Jesus on his own. He had heard of the miracles Jesus had performed, but had never seen them. His own healing was out of the question: he couldn’t go to Jesus on his own. Had his four friends not stepped in and brought him to Jesus, he would never have been cured. Their faith and love made his healing possible. Who does Jesus want me to bring to him? Do I invite people to prayer and adoration? Do I invite people to Mass and confession?

2. The Four Friends: These four men were not stopped by the obstacles in their way. How long they traveled isn’t mentioned, but even a short distance is tiring when carrying a man on a mat. When they arrived at the house, it was full of people who had traveled to hear and see Jesus and to be cured by him. It was impossible for the men to get inside the house through the door, but they didn’t give up. They didn’t quit. They carried their friend up to the rooftop and lowered him down into the house. By persevering we can achieve anything. Love knows no boundaries or limits.

3. Jesus: God wants to save so many people. He wants to bring real healing into their lives, but he wants to heal them through us. Jesus could have found the paralyzed man. He chose, rather, to let the others bring the man to him. Jesus wanted to heal him, but without the charity in the hearts of the four men, the healing might never have been accomplished. Who does Jesus wish to encounter through me? How can I be a better instrument of his love?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to realize more deeply that you want me involved in salvation history. I’m on the front lines. You entrust souls to me, and you want to bless their lives through my prayers, my sacrifices and my work. Increase my love for these souls. They need my help and my fidelity. I don’t want to let them down. Help me to be faithful.

Resolution: I will make a sacrifice today for the person most in need of God’s grace.

Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "To Be Free to Love"

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for this time together. I need you in my life and the life of my family. It is easy to let activities overwhelm me so that I lose track of you. You fade into the distance, and sometimes sin grows closer. But I know you are always there for me with your unconditional love. Thank you. I love you and long to put you first in my life.

Petition: Lord, wash me from my sins and help me to be detached from them.

1. If You Choose: A leper approaches and falls before Jesus. “If you choose, you can make me clean.” This leper couldn’t free himself from his disease any more than we can free ourselves from our sin. Leprosy was a fatal disease. It separated a man from his family and drove him outside his village to lonely places. Leprosy is a symbol for sin. Sin separates us from God and from others. We need to approach Jesus with that same humility and trust we see in the leper. This story is for us, to show us Christ’s heart. It reveals his love and his desire to free us from sin. Am I convinced of the ugliness of all sin and how it defaces our souls?

2. I Do Choose: Jesus chose to heal the leper. Not only did he heal him, he touched him. He reached out to the loneliness of that man, and he touched his life to cure him of the disease. This reveals Christ’s heart so beautifully. Our sin never drives him away from us. He is always ready and willing to come to our aid if only we would cry out for his help. Am I capable of opening all of the inner wounds of my sins to Our Lord so that he can heal me, wash me clean and make me whole again?

3. Jesus Wants Us Free: Sin keeps us from being who we were meant to be. “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Jesus was free from sin and so was free to love and serve others. He wasn’t compelled by greed or anger. He wasn’t moved by pride or impeded by laziness. He was free to love, and he loved to the extent of dying on a cross. Sin closes us in on ourselves. We get absorbed in ourselves and others take the back seat – or no seat at all. How often do we say “no” to others and turn a blind eye to their needs? Isn’t it sin that blinds us and selfishness that impedes us from loving others as Christ loves us? Christ can free us from sin so that we are empowered to love as he loves.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to be free, but I need your help. Without you, I can do nothing. Help me to trust you and to turn to you. Don’t let me go off on my own as if I could keep fighting without you. Free me to love you. Free me to love others.

Resolution: I will pray Psalm 51 for myself and my loved ones.

Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "Jesus at Prayer"

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon´s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed and Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for this time we will spend together. I wish to step away from the world and all its activities to be alone with you now.  You are my beginning and my end: you created me, and you are leading me home to you in heaven. Thank you for your love. I know I deserve nothing from you and that my sins compound my unworthiness, yet you would still enfold me in your unfathomable love. P etition: Lord, increase my love for prayer and the interior life. A Man for Others: Here is Jesus in action. He works tirelessly from morning to night. He never thinks of himself. He never says he’s too tired or too busy to serve someone or to give others part of his time. He is there for everyone, and he keeps pushing himself to do more and more. He loves, and his love compels him to give himself to everyone around him without counting the cost. The whole city gathers to see him, and he opens his heart to all. He teaches. He heals the sick. He casts out demons. He is a man for others. A Man of Prayer: After a full day of work, Jesus rested for just a little while, and then he rose early for prayer. There was a balance between his apostolic work and his life of prayer. Jesus wasn’t too busy to seek the solitude necessary to speak heart-to-heart with his Father. He found strength in prayer. He strengthened his resolve to follow his Father’s plan in prayer. He was absorbed in prayer for so long that the others began to go in search of him. Prayer wasn’t just a one-time activity: it was part of his daily routine. Everyone Is Searching for Him: “Everyone is searching for you,” they said when they found Christ. They expressed the desire of every person. We all need God. He is the deepest desire of the human heart. God is searching for us, too. Jesus gets up from his prayer and heads out to the next town. We are searching for Christ, and he is searching for us. Where do we meet him? In prayer. In prayer we speak heart-to-heart with the one whom we know loves us. In prayer we can speak about the things that are important to us and about those things that are most important to him. This vital encounter gives light and strength to every other encounter we will have during the rest of the day. Through prayer, our love for others is enkindled so that we can spend ourselves tirelessly for others as Jesus did. Through prayer, we can be a men and women for others. Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to put you first in my life by giving you the best of my time. Help me not to give into laziness, but to rise early in the morning so that I can be with you. I need you in my life. Help me to experience your love so that I can share it with others. Help me to give myself to your plan of salvation and to reach out to those who are searching for you. Help me to hunger for you alone so that you will satisfy my hunger. Resolution: I will invoke Our Lord in short and simple prayers throughout today, telling him I love him and asking for the grace of a greater intimacy with him through prayer.

Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "A Humble and Contrite Heart"

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I thank you for this time to be with you. I don’t deserve your close friendship, and yet you offer me the intimacy of your heart. I trust in your goodness and hope in your infinite mercy. I love you and wish to give up anything that would keep me from you.

Petition: Lord, give me compunction of heart and the grace of a true conversion. 

1. Prerequisite of the Kingdom: “The kingdom of God is at hand,” “The kingdom of God is within you,” and “You are not far from the kingdom,” are all expressions of Our Lord. He came to establish a kingdom, one that would begin here on earth and continue on into eternity. We build the kingdom within ourselves by practicing virtue; we allow God’s grace to purify us from selfishness and vice and to build us up in faith, hope and charity. There is, however, a pre-requisite for grace to begin and continue to work its ongoing miracle: acknowledgement of our failings and belief in Christ. We must “repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). Am I aware of my constant need to turn to God and turn from my daily sins? Can I truly say that I’m striving to overcome my sins and faults so that I can be more like Christ and closer to him?

2. Interior Sackcloth and Ashes: The type of penance that Jesus seeks must begin in our interior. When Peter becomes aware of who Christ is, he falls on his knees and exclaims, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). “Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, ‘sackcloth and ashes,’ fasting and mortification, but at conversion of heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1420). The best “expression in visible signs” of conversion and penance is our imitation of Christ. The apostles “abandoned their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18).

3. Venues of Conversion: In Number 1434 of the Catechism we learn that conversion and penance are not things we embrace only once or only after serious sin, by going to confession and then leaving them aside. “The interior penance of a Christian,” rather, “can be expressed in many and various ways.” Fasting, prayer and almsgiving are mentioned as venues for expressing our ongoing conversion. Other more specific ways are “efforts at reconciliation with one’s neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one’s neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity ‘which covers a multitude of sins.’” Does my heart resonate with these ways, and if not, why not? What could be more important than an intimate friendship with my Lord and God, with whom I hope to spend all eternity?

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, my days are booked up with so much activity and noise that it’s extremely hard for me even to reflect about my need for conversion of heart. Please help me to turn away from my sins and bad habits by turning to you and imitating you. Wash me of my sins, and draw me close to you.

Resolution: I will meekly apologize for having offended someone without touching on anything negative about that person.