31 May 2018 - the Visitation

Today's Readings (Audio)

Mary is the model of sincere love. She comes to us to teach us how to love. 

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.

Mary is not too busy too help. She is not too self-involved to be attentive to the needs of others. Even though she certainly has enough going on in her own life that doesn't prevent her from going to help Elizabeth in her own need. We can be so inward in our spirituality that we forget how we can be a blessing to others. Mary, on the other hand, brings the blessings she has been given to bless others.

And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Mary is not so selfless that she doesn't remember the unique ways God has blessed her specifically. Because she remembers she is able to share them with Elizabeth. She proclaims them in a song of praise which the Church sings to this day.

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

Together Mary and Elizabeth love sincerely with mutual affection and cling to the good blessings from the LORD. They try to anticipate one another in showing honor. The are fervent in spirit, serving the LORD, and rejoicing in hope. This love has its source in God. Because they know who they are in him they can endure even in affliction. We can be so haughty and think ourselves so wise that we forget to trust God. We forget to help others when they need us. Mary and Elizabeth remember to trust God by persevering in prayer. They rejoice together in a way that only the LORD can make possible, a way that selfish people cannot experience.

The Visitation is about the difference Jesus makes. It calls us both to bring him to situations in which we find ourselves and to welcome him when we see him being brought to us. This keeps us humble. This enables us to truly rejoice.

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.

30 May 2018 - a living hope

Today's Readings (Audio)

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

Our attitude is supposed to be different now. We have been born anew to a living hope. This doesn't come about because we have enough silver or gold or any other ways of earning it. Perishable things like those can't help us here. Only the precious Blood of the spotless unblemished Lamb can save us from futility and make us new.

The risk is that we forget this treasure we have and slide back into trying to get ahead. We hear about the cross and we are all too ready to start comparing ourselves to others so at least we can take some satisfaction in being better than them.

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"

Yet the cross is good at revealing our self-delusions to us. We can't cling to the lies of pride and the cross at once. We will drink the chalice Jesus drinks.  But we don't really understand what that means until it happens. Our pride says we are strong enough for anything. But to follow Jesus we need to remember who we are in him. Then we know that the perishable things which the cross may prune from us are not our core identity. Our core identity is in Jesus.

You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:

"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

The abiding word of God is where we must find our root and our strength. Any other basis is built on sand. Only in the word of God do we find the peace and safety for which we long.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.

29 May 2018 - when morning dawns

Today's Readings (Audio)

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,
and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Good News is so good that it can motivate everything else we do. It is often difficult to be obedient children in moments of temptation. We all experience the desires of our former ignorance. The struggle to overcome unconverted self is challenging. But if we realize what the glories to follow actually are we have hope. We wait meet challenges with endurance until those glories are revealed.

Our hope is the reason we can sacrifice earthly goods for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus himself tells Peter about these blessings when Peter is only reflecting on the negative.

there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

Jesus does not neglect to mention that persecutions come along with the good that comes from following him. He is the ultimate realist. It is just that nothing can compare to the goodness of knowing Jesus now and spending eternity with him. 

"In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel." - Saint Teresa of Ávila

These are mysteries in which angels longed to look. They are mysteries in which we begin to partake even now and will soon share in fullness. 

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

28 May 2018 - upward mobility

Today's Readings (Audio)

"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

These possessions don't become a problem until they keep this man bound and unable to follow Jesus. The man is able to observe the law in these conditions under which he still has consolations at his disposal. When he is still the one in control he can make some progress. But he does not have the freedom he needs to follow Jesus.

The call to follow Jesus often means that "for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials". We need Jesus to give us the freedom that comes when we  long for our inheritance, a prize that is "imperishable, defiled, and unfading" more than we need the comforts of this life.

When we really stop to consider how tethered to normak life we are it may seem hopeless. We're not breaking any big commandments but neither are we the most dynamic of disciples in the world.

"For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."

Jesus isn't calling most of us to actually give away all that we have. But he wants us to be willing to step outside of our comfort zones. He gives us small opportunities to choose him over our own comfort and building his Kingdom instead of building our own.

Our pride wants to do the thing and embrace the pain. It wants to just give away everything so that it can say that it was up to the challenge. And of course, another part of us doesn't want that. But neither of these are the call of Jesus. We are not called to embrace the sadness of the loss of the goods we have so much as we are called to embrace the ever greater good of the Kingdom. This good should be the one which dictates our actions and priorities.

Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls.

The enemy wants us to interpret the call of Jesus to the rich man as one that means that God doesn't really love him. If he really loved him, we believe, he'd let him keep his stuff. But no. It is precisely because of the love Jesus has for this rich man that he is willing to call him further on and higher up. So too with his call to us.

He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.

The secret is to discover the goodness of Jesus, who because is is God, is truly good. May we learn to long for him.

27 May 2018 - this is not a test

Today's Readings (Audio)

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

The Trinity is an experience before it is a doctrine for the Church. We may think of complex formulas and the many heresies that got the doctrine wrong. The Church does indeed value correctness here! But the reason she does is so that we might have an experience of the Trinity. God desires that we "may become partakers of the divine nature" (see Second Peter 1:4). He wants us to dwell in him and he in us.

just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us (see John 17:21)

Jesus comes and reveals the face of the Father to a world who couldn't sin him clearly through our own brokenness and sin.

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (see John 14:9).

We see not a face of wrath to be placated, but the Father of prodigals who longs for all of his lost children to return home.

Jesus gives us his own Spirit so we can more perfectly know the Father.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"

This is our identity. It is something we can lean and rely on in any trial. We are sons in the Son. This fact sends the devil running. It casts the fear from our hearts.

This is why it is so important to fix in our hearts who God is and all he has done to bring us salvation.

This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.

It is not so we can pass a test in a Trinitarian Theology class, at least not mainly. It is so we can know more fully who God is and who we are in him. To the degree that we experience God as some monolithic abstraction we not only get it wrong but we don't avail ourselves of all of the opportunities we have to relate to him. He is indeed the first principle of all things. But he is true Father. Jesus shows us how to be sons. He unites us to himself and fills us with his own Spirit so that we can truly be so.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,

26 May 2018 - like a child

Today's Readings (Audio)

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them,

If we come to Jesus as children he will embrace us. He will touch us with his healing power. Children don't earn their place before Jesus. They have nothing to offer him. They can't prove they deserve his love. Yet he lavishes his love upon them. It is to such as these that the Kingdom belongs. We can become like them. We can embrace the Kingdom of God like a child. Indeed, we must.

Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.

We find Jesus's loving touch in the sacraments of his Church. He wants to embrace us in each communion. He wants to anoint us when we are sick. He wants to forgive our sins when we confess them to the presbyters.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another
and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

We must approach Jesus in these sacraments. If we only approach the men through whom God administers them we may not receive all the grace he has for us. Like children, let our gaze not stop at the men around him but continue on to Jesus. Like children, let us trust that Jesus loves us and wants us near. 


The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

The Church must pray fervently. In her prayers she brings the little children to Jesus. We must join in this fervent prayer. It can be fervent because we ourselves are small enough to trust in Jesus. We join this prayer to bring all the world close to him.

Then he embraced the children and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

To be small is not a trick that requires a complex methodology. It means simply abandoning our pretense and coming before God as we are. 

For toward you, O God, my LORD, my eyes are turned;
in you I take refuge; strip me not of life.

25 May 2018 - do not complain

Today's Readings (Audio)

Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.

We are called to relinquish all pretext of being God ourselves. We are not in a position to critique anyone or anything. But when that idea is put in these words of Scripture we realize just how challenging that can be. How long can we go without complaining about someone? Yet when we complain we do not give God due thanks. When we complain we usurp his prerogative as judge. Judging may seem like a separate and more serious thing from complaining. Yet complaining about others is definitely a form of judgment. Even when we complain about things it is a problem because when we are complaining we aren't giving thanks. There is so much about which to give thanks that we ought never to have time to complain if we were good about thanksgiving.

We can't do this on our own strength. Our yes can only be a yes. It can't have supernatural power to make us give thanks. Our no is only a no, and cannot miraculously prevent complaints. No clever oaths or habit forming programs will solve this. We need grace to address the root cause: the hardness of our hearts.

Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.

Complaining seems normal to us. In many ways so does divorce. But that is because normal is defined in a world of people with hard hearts like ours. If we let God take our hearts of stone and give us new living hearts we can experience the way things are truly meant to be.

But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.

The stuff about which we complain is still around. But somehow, through grace, we are now living in a new Eden, and notice less and less. We give thanks more and more.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.

24 May 2018 - perseverance preservatives

Today's Readings (Audio)

Jesus tells us to avoid sin. He tells us to avoid being examples that lead others into sin. Yet, before this he reminds us that we are good and that he wants us to be loved.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

He says that other people should help us because of who we are in him. We should be willing to accept that help so that those that help can reap their heavenly reward. Only after this does he start warning us. It becomes all the more significant now because we are in Christ. We represent God. Our behavior can lead others into Gehenna in addition to ourselves. We are supposed to represent Christ!

Just as it is our dignity in Christ that makes sin even more grave for us than for others...

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (see Second Corinthians 6:16).

...so to our strength to live that dignity is a gift he gives us.

"Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another."

He gives us the salt that preserves our flavor. All we have to do is to receive and keep it. There are temptations to find other food or to change the flavor of the food we have. But this salt is an essential element. It isn't long without it before the whole dish is spoiled.

We don't need to fatten our hearts for the day of slaughter. We have enough. Greed is an attitude that doesn't trust in God's power to uphold us. The greedy seek to establish their own security apart from God. This is not a behavior disciples of Jesus can indulge. But in others, it is not a behavior that can harm us. Our salt is not something the world can take from us. In Jesus we always have enough for every good work (see Second Timothy 3:17).

But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world by receiving me.

23 May 2018 - non-smoking policies

Today's Readings (Audio)

You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.

The point is not that we should be afraid or anxious. What James is saying is that we need to stop boasting in our arrogance. We need to stop this pretense of self-confidence. We are not nearly as in control as we often imagine. Circumstances lull us into trusting in ourselves but at any time circumstances can change. Instead of self-confidence we need God-confidence, called faith. With self-confidence we need to be in control. This tends to make us controlling.

Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."

Those with God-confidence don't get upset when things don't go exactly their way or when they aren't done exactly to their specifications.

Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us."

Our trust should be in God. Our goal should be the good he sets immediately before us.

So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin.

There are no contingencies here. No prideful plans can distract us for the urgency of conscience here in the moment. So this is always where we begin. We can't do it apart from Jesus. Apart from him we can do nothing. But he gives us grace for every trial.

Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?

22 May 2018 - trust anchor

Today's Readings (Audio)

"What were you arguing about on the way?" 
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.

We too sometimes try to be the greatest. We try to find value in ourselves apart from God. In pop psychology self-worth and self-confidence are laudable. But for Christians, our worth and our confidence should come from God. The problem starts in subtle ways, in all the little places we forget to give God the glory and thanksgiving that is his due. A sign that this is an issue for us is when we notice ourselves judging others for their behavior or their choices. For example, noticing how few people are in the confession line can be a risk of pride for we who are there. We don't realize how utterly dependent we are on grace to be there. We don't give God due thanks that he drew us there in spite of ourselves and not because of any worth intrinsic to ourselves. It is all as with the prayer of Thomas Aquinas for after communion: "Not because of my worth, but in the kindness of your mercy".

Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep.
Let your laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will exalt you.

God is not telling us to hate our lives. He is telling us to find our joy and our worth in him. He is telling us that any attempt to find value or joy that does not acknowledge him is ultimately doomed because "whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God." How do we actually avoid this? We know we should acknowledge God but if we become anxious about thinking the thoughts consciously to that end this itself can become a work of the flesh. It isn't about anything as artificially programmatically imposed on our lives. It is rather an attitude of trust. 

"If anyone wishes to be first, 
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." 

We must become like little children ourselves, receiving everything we receive as gifts from our Father who loves us. We use them for his glory and offer them back to him in thanksgiving. It is not that each activity has a corresponding thought, though when possible that is good too. It is rather that our relationship with the Father is our true anchor and source of strength and direction. Then, even when a particular thing is not done consciously for God our life is still pointed toward him. It is still an acceptable offering.

When we become little we become able to value what God values rather than the things that make us seem strong and worthwhile. We are able to welcome even the least of these as a greater joy than any we could have on our own.

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, 
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me."

When we depend on the LORD the benefit is that we don't need to depend on ourselves anymore. We can finally experience peace.

Cast your care upon the LORD,
and he will support you;
never will he permit the just man to be disturbed. 

21 May 2018 - behold your Mother

Today's Readings (Audio)

The man called his wife Eve,
because she became the mother of all the living.

She also became the mother of all of the dying. Her sin and the sin of Adam prevented God from doing everything he desired to do through them. They turned their backs on him and he was unable to bless the human race through them in the way he desired. However, fixing this was the plan from the very beginning.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (see Genesis 3:15).

We never had the mother we were meant to have in Eve until the fullness of time came.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the disciple,
"Behold, your mother."

God never planned to let sin have the last word. Therefore Mary was no accident or afterthought. God wrote her history exactly to address and undo the sin of Eve.

As Eve was seduced by the word of an angel and so fled from God after disobeying his word, Mary in her turn was given the good news by the word of an angel, and bore God in obedience to his word. As Eve was seduced into disobedience to God, so Mary was persuaded into obedience to God; thus the Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve. (Saint Irenaeus)

Mary is given as mother, not just to John for a short time, but to the Church forever. 

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (see Revelation 12:17)

This means that the Church is less than she is meant to be when she does not embrace Mary as her mother. Mary wants to show us how to say yes as she did. She wants to she us how to welcome the Spirit as she did.

All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer,
together with some women,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Let us devote ourselves to prayer with one accord together with Mary. She will teach us to drink the streams of living water that flow from the side of Christ. We need the obedience she wants to teach in order to remain near enough to the cross to drink from this life-giving stream.

Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
And of Zion they shall say:
"One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD."

20 May 2018 - don't fight this fire

Today's Readings (Audio)

Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

We need renewal. No matter how things seem to us, we can agree that in our souls and in the world they could be better. Trying to fix these problems on our own leads to frustration and failure. We need more of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit hovered over the waters at the creation of the world. He brought forth new life after the flood. He descended again like that same dove from the ark of Noah. But this time the Spirit himself came upon Jesus, giving us new life after the flood of Baptism. No creation, no renewal, no beginning of any kind, is meant to be without the Holy Spirit.

We can't speak without him.

No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

We can't stand without him or walk without him.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

We can't learn without him. We can't bear the truth without him guiding us into it.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

Part of our trouble is it seems like we can do these things on our own. It's just that when we do they are not anointed. Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit we may experience some transient success but we ultimately feel a lack of purpose. We were trying to fix things on our own. But the things just won't stay fixed.

Without the Holy Spirit we end up in works of the flesh that Paul describes. We end up selfishly doing our own thing rather than functioning as a part of the body. We don't experience a victorious life. We remain chained by our sins.

The solution is simple enough. Invite the Holy Spirit to be more present in our lives. Invite him to come, believe he will, and welcome him when he does. Don't place any conditions on his coming. Give him a blank check.

And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Filled with the Spirit we can stand and follow Jesus. We can proclaim that Jesus is LORD with anointing and people are changed and cut to the heart. We use our gifts to build up the body of Christ. We enjoy and share all of the fruits of the Spirit, especially love, joy, and peace.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

19 May 2018 - to each some measure

Today's Readings (Audio)

Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours? 
You follow me."

Let us follow Jesus without competing or comparing ourselves with others. Let us consider if we are going where Jesus leads and not if we are doing the same thing as others.

If Paul was inclined toward comparing his situation with others he would probably become frustrated very quickly. But instead he is only interested in following anywhere Jesus leads him.

This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you
and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel
that I wear these chains.

Because Paul and Peter choose to follow Jesus in the particular ways he leads them Jesus is able to make them into pillars on which his whole Church is built.

He remained for two full years in his lodgings.
He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance
and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

We might find ourselves trapped in a circumstance and see others around us with freedom. But what if Jesus wants us to be right where we are right now? Or in any case, what if he is calling us somewhere different? What if he has special plans for each one of us? He prepares a place for each of us individually. It is no good trying to fit into someone else's place. We are all called to deeper unity with Jesus. The ways we go are as manifold as there are people who make the journey.

His eyes behold,
his searching glance is on mankind.

Tonight as we welcome the Holy Spirit let us not limit our expectations. Let us not assume that the Holy Spirit only wants to do in us what he does in our neighbors. Scripture assures us that we each receive gifts. But the expression is different in each so we can be one body made up of many parts. Let us ask the Holy Spirit just what he wants to give to us.

Here are some of the many things the Holy Spirit may choose to give or increase on us:
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (from Isaiah)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit (from First Corinthians)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit (from Romans)
The fruits of the Holy Spirit (from Galatians)

These lists in no way exhaust everything that the LORD gives his Church through the Holy Spirit. The only way to be sure we receive what God is to ask him and then follow that word.

The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.

18 May 2018 - feed my lambs

Today's Readings (Audio)

Peter is called in a special way to tend the sheep of Jesus's flock. He is called to show his love for Jesus by how well he feeds these sheep. He is called to put his own self-will and even his own life second to the love of Jesus and his sheep.

"Do you love me?" and he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go."
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.

Paul is also called to be fearless in feeding the sheep of Jesus. He is called to feed them the truth of the word no matter what the risk to himself.

And when Paul appealed that he be held in custody
for the Emperor's decision,
I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.

We can grateful that we live in a Church with this heritage. Our leaders are called to be the servants of all. But we, members of the flock, are also called to show our love for Jesus by the way we love and serve one another. We too are called to be fearless about what it might cost. We are called to be very clear about the core of our message.

Instead they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died
but who Paul claimed was alive.

Jesus is alive! All that we have to feed our fellow sheep is born from that truth. Let us not hold back from it because of fear or desire to comfort. Let us look for opportunities to feed the sheep of Jesus. Let us say with our actions "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

17 May 2018 - come together

Today's Readings (Audio)

so that they may all be one

Jesus wants us all to be united. He wants us to share in the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace. We may be jaded about togetherness but this unity is important to Jesus. It is a gift given at Pentecost when the separation that began at the Tower of Babel is undone.

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.

The unity that Jesus wants for his people makes us believable witnesses. It reveals something about the relationship of Jesus to the Father when his people dwell in harmony. It is only when our relationships with one another begin to manifest that very unity and love that Jesus and the Father share that we are truly beginning to reach our potential. So let us not dismiss love of the brethren as optional. Let us not dismiss it as simple kumbaya nonsense. This is how we show the world that Jesus is sent by the Father. They will know we are Christians by our love.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.

Paul exploits the weakness of disunity and partisan politics in setting the Sadducees and Pharisees against one another before the Sanhedrin. We can imagine this sort of thing happening all too easily in the very Church of God. But this just shows us that we have a way to go in realizing the promise of unity that Jesus offers. That promise allows us to put first things first and to be his witnesses no matter what.

The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome."

16 May 2018 - word of truth

Today's Readings (Audio)

Jesus wants us to share in his complete joy. But in order to do so we must not give ourselves to the world or to the Evil One. We must be united with one another and with Jesus our head.

Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.

We need to be firmly fixed in the truth of the saving work of Jesus. We need to be consecrated in that truth.

Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God
that he acquired with his own Blood.

Only in the truth of what Jesus does for us do we find the power to be in the world but not of it. Only Jesus is us is stronger than the devil in the world. And so the devil uses every lie at his disposal to lead us away from the truth that can resist him.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.

The world may well hate this word because it can see that the word does not just roll over when confronted with the works of the evil one. It remains pure. It remains holy. And to the world this can be a censure of its thoughts. In this sense we can never conform so as to please the world. We must remain in the word of truth, consecrated in truth, shining as lights to the world, sharing the joy and the victory that come from Jesus alone.

Show forth, O God, your power,
the power, O God, with which you took our part;
For your temple in Jerusalem
let the kings bring you gifts.

15 May 2018 - toward his glory

Today's Readings (Audio)

Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

Let us ask to see the glory of Jesus. This is not an optional revelation for the contemplative mystical saints of the Church. We need to see the glory of Jesus so we can understand the one thing that really matters.

Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

We need to know Jesus, not just know about him. We need to see him well enough that we come to understand the Father as well. And it is perhaps here that we should be cautious about our own expectations. The way the world shows its glory is not the way God shows us his. It is in the self-giving love and obedience of Jesus that he is glorified. It is in the cross and resurrection that he shows forth both his own glory and the heart of the Father. How different this is from the glory of a military victory of some earthly king!

Looking at the glory of Jesus revealed in his saving death and resurrection shows us the heart that the Father has for him and for us. We see that even though the Father wants Jesus to love us all the way to the cross he does not abandon him to death. This is glorious beyond the glory of any earthly king or military triumph. The worldly sort of glory revolves around self-directed initiative and victory. The glory of God is revealed through obedience and what is at first apparently failure. Through this glory Jesus becomes the source of eternal life for all who believe in him.

We need to care more about God's glory than worldly glory. When we do we gain the freedom of Paul.

Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.

To care more about God's glory than worldly glory we can't be indifferent to it. We have to desire it. Let us ask to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to see it fully.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (see Ephesians 1:17-18)

LORD, show us your glory!

Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death. 

14 May 2018 - love like that

Today's Readings (Audio)

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Jesus calls us to love one another with love like that with which he loves us. He lays down his life for us. In turn, we are called to give our lives in the service of one another. This love is revolutionary. It has the power to completely change the world. Imagine a world of people focused more on what they can do for others than what they can get for themselves. The Church is meant to be this community in miniature, showing the world just what is possible.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

The love to which we are called is the key to true friendship with God. Only by receiving and living this love do we understand everything the Father tells Jesus. Only this love can bear fruit that will truly last. Other fruit quickly goes rotten. Only love is sustainable because it allows us to be rooted in something more real than selfish pride.

The love Jesus shows us calls us to be witnesses.

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men 
who accompanied us the whole time 
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection.

The resurrection is proof that the fruit of this sort of love remains forever. In rising from the dead Jesus gives new life to all who will accept it. Let us accept his invitation to be his friends and to embrace this selfless love he shows us. The apparent limits of this love prove not to be limits for him. They will not be limits for his friends either.

He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.

13 May 2018 - on high

Today's Readings (Audio)

Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

Jesus ascends in glory and yet his presence on earth is not lessened. He is with us always until the end of time. This is because he Spirit unites us with him as one body.

striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,

This outpouring of the Spirit means that Jesus can say that it is better that he goes. This new way of being present on the earth is able to reach more broadly than the Jesus could reach as a lone individual. For this new mode of presence to really measure up, though, we need to be filled with the Spirit.

he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for "the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit who unites the body. He is the one who gives us the gifts we have and allows those gifts to work together in harmony to build the kingdom.

And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ

The Ascension means Jesus can be more present to the world than ever. But this only comes to pass to the degree that we as individuals wait for the power from on high, receive the gifts the LORD has for us, and use those gifts to build up the unity of the body.

We tend to underestimate what is the hope that belongs to the call of Jesus, the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe. A good place to start is to receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation which Paul asks from God for the Ephesians. Realizing this hope is the first step to putting it to use and unleashing the full potential of the Ascension in the world.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

12 May 2018 - joy for the asking

Today's Readings (Audio)

Jesus and the Father have so much that they want to give us. We just need to ask.

Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

We do not ask to be perfectly entertained or comfortable. But neither do we only ask for things which are for others only and of no interest to us. We ask for things that lead to complete joy. It is by making requests like this that Paul sustains what is humanly speaking a very difficult ministry.

Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence
through the Galatian country and Phrygia,
bringing strength to all the disciples.

He knows the joy of brothers and sisters being gathered into the Kingdom of God. We often ask the Father wrongly, to spend his blessings on our passions. But Paul asks for things that bring true joy. He is like Jesus, pressing on to the joy set before him even though he faces suffering and opposition for a while.

A good start is to realize what will bring us true joy. If we still believe we need something other than God to be happy our prayer life is always going to be a little off. It will never be quite as miraculous as when we learn to desire the things that God desires for us. This is not limiting and should not be disappointing. The joy he has in store for us is greater than any we can seek apart from him.

All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.

11 May 2018 - lasting joy

Today's Readings (Audio)

But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.

We are invited to experience this joy that can not be taken away. It is the joy of the resurrection. All other joy is subject to endings. In all else death holds sway. But not here. This is what comes after those tears. This is the joy is able to last forever.

Suffering is still a part of reality for us. We are like the woman in anguish, still struggling to bring Christ to birth fully in each of our hearts. Creation itself suffers labor pains until the reign of the Kingdom comes in fullness. But even though there is a not yet to this joy it is possible to have an ever greater experience of it here and now.

On that day you will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

That day is this day. Christ is Risen. The Spirit is given. We are invited to enter by faith into the not yet, into the fullness, into joy which the world cannot take away.

We are able to speak about Jesus and go on speaking about him because the risen LORD is truly with us. Jesus holds us in the palm of his hand. No one can hinder has plans for us. No one can take us from his hand. All things work together for the good of we who are loved by him and called according to his purpose.

Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
No one will attack and harm you,
for I have many people in this city.

Let us go on speaking of Jesus, not only without fear, but with the fullness of joy that makes our witness compelling.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

10 May 2018 - the remedy

Today's Readings (Audio)

Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.

The resurrection is meant to be our source of joy. The separations that this world can impose, the sorrows, and the tears are only for a little while. We will see Christ again. In him we will see one another.

The resurrection is Paul's proof that the Christ is Jesus. The importance of the resurrection is why he is so upset to see people not welcome his teaching. Paul knows the antidote to sin and the remedy for death. But some people are only vaguely curious and others openly revile him. Yet there is nothing more important than this truth. 

We who know of the resurrection must proclaim it. Without it nothing can truly matter. Without it nothing can last. But the resurrection is real. In it's light everything takes on a new and more profound meaning.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

Let us not withhold this truth even if some people have a hard time with it. May we ourselves seek to realize it ever more deeply so that we can be convincing witnesses that Jesus is truly risen.

9 May 2018 - ready for the truth

Today's Readings (Audio)

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

The Spirit guides us from partial understanding into the fullness of Catholic truth. He leads us from altars inscribed, "To an Unknown God" to the altar of the sacrifice of the Cross.

Without the Spirit we grope for him. Even though he is not far from any of us we still manage to mix things up without guidance. Even though we recognize a certain likeness between us, made in God's image, and God himself, the origin of that image, our ways of approaching God tend to devolve to idol worship. We represent him as something even less than human. And maybe this is because that without the Spirit he is not easily approachable or understandable in the way the Spirit makes possible. But when we fail to recognize the Lord of heaven and earth we tend to give our loyalty and even our worship to created realities that are not deserving thereof.

Since therefore we are the offspring of God,
we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image
fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.

God waits in mercy and in patience during times of ignorance. He overlooks them, not so that everyone can go their own way and do their own thing, but so that everyone can repent.

The Father raised Jesus from the dead and made him the judge of the world. He gives the world his Spirit so that we can have all truth and with that truth be ready. In the judgment God will fine set the inequities and injustices allowed into the world by sin to right. If we want to be on the right side of that judgment we can only do it by listening to the Spirit of truth.

It is nice to know that God is patient. It is reassuring that his Spirit doesn't overload us with what we cannot bear at the moment. But that said, he is making us ready. He is leading us on. He is preparing for the day when he will come to judge the earth. Amen, LORD Jesus. Even so, come.

He has lifted up the horn of his people;
Be this his praise from all his faithful ones,
from the children of Israel, the people close to him. 
Alleluia.

8 May 2018 - not cell outs

Today's Readings (Audio)

But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation

It is not primarily our job to convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation. It isn't even mainly the job of our parish priest, our bishop, missionaries, or the Pope. Evangelization is primarily a work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who does the actual convicting. We for our part need to receive him and welcome him into our midst. Jesus tells us it is better that he goes because it means the advocate will come. In order for this to be true for us the presence of the Advocate should be at least as real for us as the presence of Jesus was his disciples.

Only if we listen to the Holy Spirit will we be in the right place at the right time for the LORD to do mighty works through us.

About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. 

Let's by honest. Most of us wouldn't stick around. We'd get out of a bad situation for us without worrying about those around us. But Paul and Silas know there is something more important than simple escape.

Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved."

Do we hear the Spirit well enough to spend the extra hours in a dark prison cell when the salvation of another soul is on the line? Probably we don't hear him quite that well. Let's ask for more of his presence in our lives. Let us ask to experience how it is better to have him with us than even the physical presence of Jesus. Our expectation should be that the Spirit is at work in our lives in mighty and tangible ways. And we needn't worry. He won't leave us in the cell forever. He will only keep us there until we are able to help free others from a deeper imprisonment to sin.

Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.

7 May 2018 - key to focus

Today's Readings (Audio)

One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.

We need the LORD to open our hearts to pay attention as well. Attention seems like something that would be on us to achieve. Then, perhaps, the LORD would reward our attention with blessing. But as with much in life, we overestimate our abilities without God. Especially living in a world that is designed to abuse and hijack our attention in a million ways we need the LORD's help if we are want to pay attention to what truly matters with a fully open heart. Without this grace we only get snatches and fragments. What bits we do receive impact on the surface of hearts dull or dead from overstimulation. But today, just as for Lydia, the LORD opens hearts.

When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.

The Holy Spirit testifies to Jesus. He guides us into all truth. He makes us remember all that Jesus taught. We need the Holy Spirit to direct our minds, to focus our attention, and to reveal this truth to us. Why? We are called to know this truth. We are called to live it and to testify to it. We can't allow the world to prevent us from receiving it or to make us forget it.

I have told you this so that you may not fall away.

When we have to stand up for the truth and choose it over and against the lies of the culture we must first know it. And that starts, not with our limited attention spans, but with the grace of God.

For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.