30 November 2019 - invitation

Today's Readings

(Audio)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.

It is true that Jesus is LORD. How ready are we to proclaim it and especially to live as if we believe it?

no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit (see First Corinthians 12:3).

May the Holy Spirit come upon us today to deepen our conviction that Jesus is truly LORD. He is, as the creed proclaims "God from God, light from light." He is not just a nice idea that influences people by their beliefs and feelings. He has the genuine power to transform our lives and the world.

Andrew must have sensed this when Jesus was walking by. He must have had a sense of this majesty that is present in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. Because the readiness of Andrew's response is not deserved by any merely human person.

He said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.

But for one who truly is LORD there is no other response that is appropriate. Slight delay or partial commitment must be shunned entirely.

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (see Luke 9:62).

How ready are we to follow Jesus? How much do we live our lives with him as our LORD? If we live as if he is LORD we will experience his power in our lives. The regular experience of his care will make us ready to speak of him just as Andrew does.

He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ) (see John 1:41).

We too have found the Messiah. Let us pause to be amazed, to give thanks, and to invite the Holy Spirit to seal this truth in our hearts. Then let us get about the business of telling everyone we meet about him.

29 November 2019 - be prepared

Today's Readings

(Audio)

when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.

Jesus tells us to pay attention, to keep watch, to be ready. The Kingdom is near. It comes like a thief in the night. We need to stay awake and not be taken completely by surprise. We also need to be like the wise maidens with oil in our lamps. We need hearts that long for the cry that indicates that bridegroom is here. Because whether we live to see the end of all things of whether the Kingdom comes for us at the end of our lives it is still not something that can be predicted with exact science. It is something for which we need to make ourselves ready now if we want to be ready then.

How do we prepare for the coming of the Kingdom? Do we need to unlock some kind of Bible code of prophecies to ensure we are doing the right thing at the right place at the right time? No. It is nothing as hidden as that.

I have not spoken in secret
from some place in the land of darkness,
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,
“Look for me in an empty waste.”
I, the LORD, promise justice,
I declare what is right (see Isaiah 45:19).

Rather than getting lost in secrets and speculation let us get grounded in the words to which we already have ready access.

Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.

The process is preparation is a lot more mundane than people making movies and writing books might like. But that for which we prepare is for more than any human imagination could do justice.

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was snow bright,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.

The visions of Daniel show us that for which we prepare. It should show us not only the importance of preparing but also inspire hope in our hearts for just how amazing it will be when the Kingdom comes in fullness.

One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

28 November 2019 - for every blessing

Today's Readings (for Thanksgiving in the US)

Audio

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

Do we realize how much healing we have received from Jesus? How many are the chains he has broken! How great the freedom our hearts now have in him! Compared to when we first met him we have been "enriched in every way, with all discourse and knowledge" and we "are not lacking any spiritual gift".

Our gratitude and thanksgiving can never measure up to all that we have received. But can't we do better? It seems that we sometimes make the effort to be thankful for new blessings we have received. But how often do we take the time to say thank you for all the blessings which we usually take for granted? Let us not limit our thanks today to the food we have today and the family with whom we share it. Let us take some time to return to Jesus with the healed leper. Let us bring our thanks for lives that have been entirely transformed.

We can live in an attitude of thanksgiving. We can have great confidence in God's providence. This is what he wants for us. He himself has no need of our thanks. Rather, he wants us to know, understand, and trust in his goodness.

May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure in Israel
to deliver us in our days.

If we realize that we are his works, that being itself is his gift, we become capable of living Eucharistic lives, lives of true thanksgiving.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

27 November 2019 - finding the words

 

Today's Readings

(Audio)

It will lead to your giving testimony.

How ready are we to give testimony?

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (see First Peter 3:15).

We are called to be ready to give testimony. But it does not mean carefully working out our words in advance.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand

We are called to be ready, not to have a script ready, nor a flowchart with every possible direction that a conversation might take. We are not called to have every answer. We are only told that we will have to give testimony. To be prepared means that we accept and do not run from this responsibility.
Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (see First Corinthians 9:16).

Truly being prepared to give testimony, to give reason for the hope that is within us, is something that should arise naturally from our relationship with Jesus.

for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (see Acts 4:20).

We are people who have seen the power of Jesus at work. How can we not speak about it? And if that is true we will be ready no matter who is asking. We'll be ready whether the situation is difficult or easy. The perspective we have from a life lived under the Lordship of Christ will outweigh even the greatest challenges and apparent difficulties.

But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.

Daniel is more concerned about the holiness of the LORD than he is about his own well-being or potential gain. He is set apart for the LORD and so he sees the problems with a world that treats holy things as trivial. He knows that kind of behavior is headed toward destruction and he can't help but give warning.

We find ourselves in a world much like Daniel's. We see things as sacred as life and sexuality used for trivial ends. It can be hard to speak into these circumstances if we look too directly at the opposition we face. But if we are firmly grounded in the hope we have in Christ and in his Spirit we will be given the words we need.

for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

The goal is that everyone be able to give God glory and eternal praise, those who are even now his enemies together with those he has already won over by his love.

26 November 2019 - Kingdom coming

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Then they asked him,
"Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"

Our excessive concern about the future makes us susceptible to being led astray, deceived, and terrified. Jesus is meant to be our peace even when the world is going crazy. If we get so wrapped up the problems of the world we may be driven to accept the false promises of false messiahs. We may become so desperate in looking for a way out that we are willing to turn away from Jesus for more immediate answers. Jesus does not promise, necessarily, to help us with a way out. Rather, what he always provides is a way through.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (see First Corinthians 10:13, emphasis mine).

It is the power of love not to escape from all things, but rather to endure them, as Paul writes, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (see First Corinthians 13:7). Therefore we must not and need not be deceived or terrified. We must instead keep our hope fixed on Jesus and trust that hope can endure in the face of any worldly circumstances.

Earthly kingdoms come and go. They are set up by humans and fall by humans. The Kingdom to which we belong, and for the full coming of which we still wait, is not made by human hands and cannot be destroyed.

In the lifetime of those kings
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people;
rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms
and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.

This is precisely the indestructible Kingdom of which the angel tells us Jesus is King.

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end (see Luke 1:32-33).

It is a Kingdom that does not send armies of angels to fight, for it is not currently fully of this world. Rather it is a Kingdom that endures in love and is nevertheless even more invincible because of this than any merely human realm.

What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven?

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Philippians 3:19-20).

To the degree that our faith takes hold of this reality we are able to wait with enduring love and unshakable peace. Most of us are somewhat shakable and and sporadically enduring. Let us ask the Spirit to reveal our heavenly citizenship to us today, that we might live it.

The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future;
this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure."

25 November 2019 - all she had

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;

How attached are we to our time and treasure? Don't we often come up against the sense that if we give too much there will be none left for ourselves? We are typically willing to give from our excess to the degree that feels comfortable. But there are times when God calls us to give out of our poverty. These are specific times. It is not the case that he calls us to utterly sacrifice prudence. We have families to provide for and responsibilities to meet. A call to surrender everything is a specific and valid vocation, but not one that to which most of us are called. But what of the times when God asks us to step beyond our comfort zones? What of the times when he asks us to give of ourselves beyond what we believe we can manage?

she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.

We need to be able to trust in God when he calls us to give. We need to believe that he can provide for us even when it seems like we ourselves would come up short.

But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself
with the king's food or wine;

Daniel was able to avoid defilement because he trusted, not in a vegetarian diet, but in God who would give him strength. This allowed him to avoid becoming increasingly captive to the king's power or dependent on his whims.

He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days;
after ten days they looked healthier and better fed
than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.

The gifts we are able to share are not ultimately from ourselves. We have a certain comfort level with giving and a certain familiarity with it that allows us to believe that we are acting out of our own strength and that it might be dangerous to do more. But if we take instead an attitude of thanksgiving for the gifts we even now have to share we will see that God is calling us to do still more, not of ourselves, but depending on him.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency
in all literature and science,
and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.

Our two small coins are simply the agreement of our minds and hearts with the will of God for us. Even these things are given to us as gifts and the freedom to offer them back is similarly given rather than something we possess. So let us give them. Let us do even small things with the great love and trust in God. No matter to what we are called we will see that there is nothing to fear.

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;

24 November 2019 - the King of love

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."
Above him there was an inscription that read,
"This is the King of the Jews."

Here is our King. But this is not kingship as the world understands it. This is not the assertion of power over those too weak to resist. In fact, it is the opposite. The King who is the image of the invisible God, in whom were created all things, who has all power and authority (see Matthew 28:18), lays down his rights and does not rely on his strength. Though he is King he chooses to be a servant.

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet (see John 13:14).

Jesus is teaching us what it means to be a part of his Kingdom. It does not mean using our power to force detractors into submission. It means, service, love, and self-sacrifice.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.

Being part of the Kingdom means the willingness to offer our lives for others. This is how we begin make the Kingdom manifest on earth. It is in this way that God's presence in us is revealed.

For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

There are many who are still trapped in the power of darkness. God wants to show them the way to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He wants to lead us all as the Good Shepherd who leads us in the green pastures of his Kingdom. How can we assist the LORD and allow him to use us to help accomplish this purpose?

Then he said,
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
He replied to him,
"Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise."

We give ourselves in love. This is what ultimately opens the eyes of all those who are searching. Jesus does not hide the truth of who he is. He speaks and proclaims it. But he does not rely on that alone. Nor even does he rely on his signs and wonders. It is in this ultimate sign, the only real sign he gives, that his Kingship is made known. So too for us. We must speak the truth, must always be ready to give a reason for the hope within us (see First Peter 3:15), but even more to be ready to lay our lives down in love.

Giving our lives away in love sounds burdensome. But emphatically, it only sounds that way when we are preoccupied with ourselves. Instead, let love of the King and his Kingdom fill us. Then we will move forward with joy.

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

23 November 2019 - God of the living

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.

The seemed like a perfectly legitimate objection on the part of the Sadducees. They were expecting that the resurrection would be nothing more than an extension of this present life. Yet Jesus revealed that while the resurrection does have a continuity with this present life, and while the dead do rise bodily, there is also a way in which it transcends the life known now to mortals.

but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.

Some aspects of this present life are mere shadows of a greater glory yet to be revealed. This is why they have such value. Marriage helps to reveal something of the ultimate destiny of God and his bride, the Church. The lifelong bond of marriage educates and prepares for the permanent bond of the beatific vision. Marriage is no longer necessary in heaven where God will be all in all (see First Corinthians 15:28), where we are his, and he is ours, and all others whom we love imperfectly in this life are loved perfectly in him.

Let us not become so fixedly attached to the goods of this present age that they become obstacles that we set against our progress toward God. Every legitimate good here below is meant to aid in our pursuit of him.

We are looking forward to something more and greater than anything we can ask or imagine. We hope for more than mere extension of this present life. Instead, we look toward the eternal day in which God himself is alive. 

That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called  'Lord'
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.

This day is meant to be the day of our true wedding, the day when we know the fullness of lasting joy, when the last of our enemies is destroyed (see First Corinthians 15:26) and the final Abomination is pulled down.

I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.

22 November 2019 - devotion

Saint Cecilia 

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things, saying to them,
"It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves."

In what ways are we making the LORD's temple a den of thieves? We may not be setting up a full-fledged business in the doors of a Church. Yet we may still be concerned with self-promotion more than the worship of the LORD. We do bring many cares and anxieties with us. This makes sense. We are meant to bring all that we have and are with us as we offer ourselves to God

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (see Romans 12:1).

We turn the Church into a den of thieves when what we can get from it becomes primary. This means the temporary problems have usurped the place of our eternal destiny in our minds and wills. We do or at least should get much out of being in Church. But the more this becomes our focus the more blessings will slip through our fingers. It is in fact through forgetting ourselves and loving and worshiping God that we find what we seek. This is the reason we were made.

Let us be intentional about worship as we come before the LORD. Let us repent of those times when we wouldn't allow God to work in us because we were so distracted with specific passing problems of this life.

"Now that our enemies have been crushed,
let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it."

The LORD will not allow anyone to interfere with us living our lives in worship to him. He is victorious (see John 16:33) and in him we are more than conquerors (see Romans 8:37). We were promised that we would be able to worship him without fear (see Luke 1:74). The enemies that need to be crushed are not just around us but within. We ourselves need to be reconsecrated to the worship of God.

on that very day it was reconsecrated
with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals.
All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven,
who had given them success.

With single-hearted devotion let us say, "We praise your glorious name O mighty God."

21 November 2019 - what makes for peace

Today's Readings

(Audio)

If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.

What makes for peace? This is as relevant now as it was then. We still don't seem to know. We believe that peace is something that can be enforced from the top down via the correct application of power. And while this isn't entirely wrong it is a small part of the picture. Those imposing peace, if they do not themselves have peace in their hearts, can never impose it with evenhanded fairness. Those on whom peace is imposed, if they do not have it in themselves already, will not cooperate readily enough that true peace will result. Their own resistance-our our resistance-will stack and multiply until cracks of discord appear. Certainly we see this across our society. So what makes for peace?

you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

We need to recognize the time of our visitation. Jesus is the only one who can truly bring peace. Peace begins between ourselves and God. It can only come to us through the cross. It is only from this beginning that peace in the world, true peace, lasting peace, can grow.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (see John 14:27).

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (see Ephesians 2:14-16).

It is therefore true that Jesus both came to give us peace and life in abundance and at the same time also true that he came not to bring peace but the sword (see Matthew 10:34). The false pretenses must give way if true peace is to be revealed. The world attempts to devour the children of peace. But the children of peace offer no resistance. They follow their eldest brother to the Cross exposing the hatred of the world for what it is, making repentance possible.

To be a child of peace means to be meek but not to be weak. It takes more strength than violence and is only possible with the help of God.

God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.
We will not obey the words of the king
nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree.

Peace must be our priority or we will not have it. If we prefer anything else to peace the world will use those things to maintain power over us.

Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons,
leaving behind in the city all their possessions.
Many who sought to live according to righteousness and religious custom
went out into the desert to settle there.

Jesus, you came to give us peace beyond understanding that the world cannot give or take away. Help us to receive that peace today. Help us to live it always.

20 November 2019 - beyond our fears

Today's Readings

(Audio)

'Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;

Fear causes us to close in on ourselves. It immobilizes us and makes us ineffective and unproductive as we await the nobleman's return to claim the kingship. We find ourselves imprisoned by fear, stuck in holding patterns we can't seem to break.

You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?

We may feel like the man given a single coin is justified in his fear of the nobleman. After all, it seems like the man given the least is punished for his failure. But the real problem here is that the man doesn't trust in the nobleman's gift. The coin can bring the nobleman a return all on its own. Yet the man to whom it is given insists that it had something to do with him. It is a sort of inverted pride that causes him to hide and take no action.

Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.

What treasures has the LORD given to us and what are we doing with them? The more we step into using the charisms we have been given the more abundance we discover, the less our own obvious and real limitations seem to matter.

Ultimately even our lives and gifts from the LORD, meant to be invested in one way or another to bring maximal return to the King.

Do not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death,
so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them.

In one way or another we are given the grain of wheat that must die to give life. Death is investing in the cross of Christ, to which we are all called in different ways. When we realize that all we have is from the LORD we become more bold in our readiness to give it away.

then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things;
and in the same way the human race came into existence.

The King is coming with rich recompense for all who will trust in the gifts he has given. These are the good works prepared in advance for us, that we may walk in them (see Ephesians 2:10). It is in fully accepting our gifts and using them for these works prepared for us that we prepare ourselves for the King's return. We will not be so busy looking at ourselves that we are afraid to welcome him.

But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.

19 November 2019 - lost and found

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”

Jesus notices us. The crowds don't obscure his vision of us. Even though we are sinners, wealthy, and in no way deserving, he still has compassion for us because we are still lost without him who "has come to seek and to save what was lost." Let us do whatever is within our capabilities to see him. Let us run ahead and climb a tree if needed. Whatever effort we put forth is more than reciprocated by the way we are recognized welcomed.

And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house

When he comes to our house we can receive him with the joy of those who were lost but have been found. Even if our running and climbing to welcome him takes on the shape of something more extreme...

Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now,
I will prove myself worthy of my old age,
and I will leave to the young a noble example
of how to die willingly and generously
for the revered and holy laws.

...still the way we will be received and welcomed with joy into the mansion prepared, into the everlasting dwelling places of heaven will prove even the greatest worldly hardships to be brief. We need to remember that even the desire to run toward him and to climb the tree are desires he has placed within us. We are meant to be found by him. He himself is the one who made us with the strength to seek him. So let us seek him with all our hearts.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (see Jeremiah 29:13)

Let us pay attention today for the times when Jesus passes by. Let us be sure to do what we need to do to see him when he does. When we do this we can be sure that he in turn sees us. We can be sure that in whatever ways we still feel lost he will find us.

When I call out to the LORD,
he answers me from his holy mountain.

18 November 2019 - cry out to him

Today's Readings 

(Audio)

The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me!"

Let us not be silent when Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. We need his healing just like this blind beggar. Our vision is obscured not only by our own sinful habits and the shortsightedness on which we rely to protect them but even also simply on what we perceive to be normal, usual, or possible in the world at large. Our expectations are limited by what we have already seen. In other words, we are unable to see anything new without the help is Jesus. Where is the miraculous? Perhaps it is all around us and we are blind.

He replied, "Lord, please let me see."

The world isn't interested in having its assumptions challenged. In fact, in the face of the hope Jesus offers the world can either give in or refuse to listen. This refusal must be aggressive and can often be violent, for fear that the hope overwhelms it. Hope, to the blind eye, is the dangerous fact that change might be necessary.

Any scrolls of the law which they found they tore up and burnt.
Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant,
and whoever observed the law,
was condemned to death by royal decree.

Parts of us are often like this too. Parts of us are afraid of what it might mean to hope. It is only on the other side of hope that we experience ourselves being sustained, not be our own strength for a new task, but by grace.

But many in Israel were determined
and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean;
they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food
or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

This dichotomy between hope and despair is why the same martyr can look so very different depending on who is looking. To one they appear to be battered and overwhelmed, ultimately failures. To a Christian gaze they inspire because beneath their own weakness the grace of God at work is evident.

Far from sinners is salvation,
because they seek not your statutes.

Jesus will pass us by today. Let us be attentive and cry out to him, with no regard to anyone who tries to silence us.

Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you."
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

17 November 2019 - accept no substitutes

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand

We get so worried about the things that are going to happen in the future. The temple is going to be torn down. There will be "wars and insurrections," and "earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky." Can we be blamed for wanting to know all we can about such things so that we can be as ready as possible?

"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
Do not follow them!

The trouble is that the future is an unsolvable problem for everyone except Jesus. When we try to plan for it without him we end up replacing a role only he is meant to play. In one way or in another we chase false prophets in order to quench the fear we feel.

do not be terrified

The only way to avoid being deceived, to avoid following false prophets, to avoid succumbing to terror, is to keep at the very center of our lives the name of Jesus.

because of my name.

Following Jesus and hallowing his name is not necessarily a recipe for peace and prosperity, at least not immediately. The wars happen anyway. We are still handed over to synagogues and to prisons. We are still led before kings and governors.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

It is only by being firmly fixed in the truth of Jesus, by being living examples of the testimony to his name, that we can be safe. It is not safety on a human level, but rather one much deeper and more permanent.

and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

So let us fear the name of the LORD so that the "sun of justice with its healing rays" may arise for us as well. When this is the basis of our lives we are able to return in a new way to that which before seemed old and mundane.

We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.

We can work, in spite of the craziness of the world. We can perform the task at hand, though it is now performed not for bread that leaves us hungry again, but for the sake of the Kingdom. The very routine of our daily lives is elevated as we ourselves are given wholly over to Jesus.

Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
he will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.

16 November 2019 - just asking

Readings

(Audio)

Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.

If the unjust judge will even acquiesce to the petitions of the widow simply for his own sake how much more will our God, who actually cares about us, who needs nothing for himself, answer our prayers? If even bad parents give good things to their children how much more will the our Father in heaven give the Spirit to those who ask? (See Luke 11:13).

We must strive to emulate the persistence of the widow. She perseveres out of self-interest and out of a sense that the judge might change his mind. This is not true of God. We persist because of our belief that God loves us and has more for us than we dare to ask or dream (see Ephesians 3:20). Jesus tells us that we need to ask and keep asking, to seek and keep seeking, to knock and keep knocking (see Matthew 7:7-12), so that in the process we ourselves are transformed. We become steadfast in faith and in hope. We no longer need to rely on what is seen or even on our own limited perspective of time in to have a firm trust in God's goodness.

Jesus will answer. It may not be on our timeline. It may not be in the way we expected. But we can learn to believe that his timeline is better than ours and that his ways, though not our ways, are better.

When peaceful stillness compassed everything
and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful word, from heaven's royal throne
bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land,
bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree.

Jesus is still transforming creation anew from within. He is restoring it to serve the natural laws that it was always originally intended to follow. He wants to transform us from within for something still greater. He wants us to behold is "stupendous wonders." The unjust judge simply cannot compare. Yet the world, if they believe at all, tend to think that God is very much like this judge. Let us put the lie to this belief as we live out of trust and joy in the LORD.

For they ranged about like horses,
and bounded about like lambs,
praising you, O Lord! their deliverer.

15 November 2019 - source of all truth and beauty

Today's Readings

(Audio)

As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;

When the ark is ready we need to be willing to get inside. This isn't so easy when we realize that to enter involves leaving behind many normal daily concerns, life as it has always been. People are simply eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. It all looks so familiar. The ark looks both unusual and uncomfortable.

Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all

When the LORD warns us that the edifices of culture will not stand, that judgment is coming, we need to be willing to avail ourselves of his protection. We must follow the path he outlines to safety. We can't stand in the city of this world when he calls us into his Church. If we seek to maintain our lives in the world we lose them. Only if we are willing to surrender what we know in trust can we save our lives.

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.

Jesus reserves the right, even once we are within the Church, to call us higher and deeper. The call may come suddenly. If we are not prepared we might miss out on great plans which the LORD has for us.

I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.

If we're too deeply entrenched in the things that were made, beautiful though they are, we miss the deeper purposes of the one who made them, who is himself the source of beauty.

For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.

The heavens and the earth are declaring the glory of God. They are teaching us to put first things first, not just eventually, but in the very moment we hear God call. It is as if creation says, 'Believe him. He is the source of strength and beauty. You can trust his call.'

Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.

14 November 2019 - kingdom among us

Today's Readings

(Audio)

"The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.'
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you."

How shocking this must have been for those who expected the Kingdom to be achieved by military conquest. How shocking it probably still should be when we hear that the Kingdom is already present among us. We think of building the Kingdom, perhaps by helping the poor, perhaps by Evangelism, but not in so much in terms of an already present reality.

For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.

The Kingdom is among us because the King is in our midst. We need not go off searching after this or that alternative.

There will be those who will say to you,
'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.'
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.

We will solve nothing by simply finding a new celebrity to follow, nothing even by finding a better preacher or Church program. None of this will matter without Jesus at the very center. To the degree he is at the center any program can work, any preaching can be good, even a celebrity's influence can be put to good use.

For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.

The Kingdom does not compete with the kingdoms of this world. It operates on entirely different terms than those of power and oppression. The Kingdom is present wherever the spirit of Wisdom abides. This spirit is not present because of the power of those whom she pervades. Rather she enters only into those willing to share in her purity, those who are willing to be made friends of God.

For she is an aura of the might of God
and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.

...

And passing into holy souls from age to age,
she produces friends of God and prophets.

Let us welcome the true light that shines when Jesus is at the center of our lives. Let us welcome wisdom to direct us and order the Kingdom in which we dwell. Without wisdom at the center we miss the great things that are already happening within and around us.

Compared to light, she takes precedence;
for that, indeed, night supplants,
but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.

Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily
and governs all things well.

Come, Holy Wisdom! Teach us to be pure as you are pure. Make us friends of God so that we can take our proper place in his Kingdom and at his wedding feast.

13 November 2019 - mercy for the lowly

St. Francis Xavier Cabrini

Today's Readings

(Audio)

For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.

Those put in lofty positions will have to give an account. Those in authority will be probed and scrutinized. Good, we think, that doesn't include us. But wait, doesn't it? There is a sense and a degree to which will all have authority because we are filled with the Spirit and because we possess the word of God which is itself authoritative.

Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you (see Titus 2:15).

As with Paul, this authority is given to us so that we might build the kingdom, not so that we might tear anyone down.

For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you (see Second Corinthians 10:8).

There is, however, a difference between being lowly and so being pardoned out of mercy, and simply ignoring the riches with which we have been entrusted. As with the talents, simply burying this grace is not an excuse that will be accepted.

For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed.

Given, then, that we do not put our gifts are graces to good use let us seek the one who can heal us. We have become broken and not able to function correctly within the unique roles given to us in the body of Christ. We ourselves, at times, act as leprosy on the body. We can't simply try to be mighty in the face of such obvious brokenness. If we do we will certainly fail that test. Instead, let us cry out:

Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!

This is the lowliness that finds mercy. It is not simply shirking the responsibilities the LORD has for us. It is lowliness that can find wholeness and strength in Jesus, because it is not too closed in on itself to receive healing.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

The healing we receive is meant to start a constant exchange with Jesus wherein we bring him our needs, he fulfills them, and we respond with thanksgiving. This is the cadence that is meant to mark our days and our lives.

Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.

12 November 2019 - unprofitable servants

 

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

We don't earn our place at the Eucharistic table by fulfilling the commandments. Simply checking off the boxes to ensure that our souls are in a state of grace does not give us the right to expect the master to wait on us at table. Even perfectly responding to every opportunity for a corporeal or spiritual work of mercy is still only a response to the good works that were prepared in advance for us.

"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?

We are the hired hands for whom to work in the field is a privilege. Nothing is thereby earned. Yet this is all the more reason to be astounded when Jesus does call us, unworthy though we are, to gather at his banquet.

The banquet to which we are invited is to feast upon the antidote to death and the medicine of immortality. It restores man to the life for which God originally intended him and exults him far above and beyond even that.

God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made them.

We receive life because we are in God's hands, because he has a plan and a purpose for us. It is not because we ourselves can withstand death by the strength of what we earn. Rather, having exhausted our own finitude we fall at last into the hands of mercy.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.

If we are tried by God, if we are required to spend hours or days in the field, it is only so that we may be formed into better offerings for him. It is only so that we may be stretched and widened to love to our full potential.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;

May the LORD bring us the grace and mercy to work though nothing is earned thereby, to stretch ourselves simply out of love.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

 

11 November 2019 - a kindly spirit

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Because into a soul that plots evil, wisdom enters not,
nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.

Sin is serious. It separates from the presence of God. Sin has power over us because we believe the lies, the "perverse counsels" of the Enemy. When this happens we stop relying on the Holy Spirit of discipline to keep us from sinning. We become invested in the lies that we ourselves are failures and that others are deserving of our hatred.

With the Apostles we must say, "Increase our faith." With faith we can overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles of sin in our lives.

The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

Faith isn't something we do. Wisdom isn't something we figure out on our own. These are graces that must be received. 

Because he is found by those who test him not,
and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.

Wisdom is a kindly spirit. The reason that she won't dwell in a sinners heart is because she is too pure for such a dwelling, not because she is too mean or judgmental. Jesus calls us to be forgiving ourselves in order that we might learn that he himself longs to forgive us. Just as we are called to forgive a brother his wrongs seven times in one day so too will God forgive us, for even the righteous man falls seven times a day (see Proverbs 24:16).

Jesus invites us to believe and trust in his wisdom so that the Holy Spirit of discipline may enter into us. He asks us to forgive and receive forgiveness so that wisdom has no cause to flee, so that we have no incentive to believe lies about ourselves. He is seeking us even now, inviting us to come closer to himself.

Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?

10 November 2019 - to Him all are alive

Today's Readings

(Audio)

and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.

We tend to place human limitations on God when we think about him. We imagine he is bound by time and space in the same ways that way are. We don't mean to think this way about him. But it is natural for us. It is unavoidable unless we make the specific effort to remember that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8-9).

When we limit God in this way we tend to get confused about our ultimate priorities. Marriage loses the dignity it possesses as a preparation for the union between God and the Church, the divine bridegroom and his bride. We tend to insist on time-bound and temporary things as if they are absolute and so rely on them for certainty and permanence they cannot offer. Instead, we are called to be like the sons of Maccabees, able to disdain the good things of this world in favor of better things to come.

"It was from Heaven that I received these;
for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again."

Remembering the eternity of God does indeed give us the fear of the LORD. But it is not a dire or bleak perspective. Rather it is one of ultimate hope. With this perspective we make use of the things of this world for all the good they can provide but with a view toward those things that last forever. 

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
and word.

So today, what seems permanent to us that is really temporary? How have such things usurped God's place in our hearts and in our hope? Let us return fully to him who to whom all are alive.

But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking I shall be content in your presence.

9 November 2019 - zeal of approval

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Zeal for your house will consume me.

We are regularly privileged to enter into the house of God, into the very presence of the LORD, flesh and blood, soul and divinity. Not only that, he enters into and dwells in us, both by the Holy Spirit and in the Eucharist. Does zeal consume us? Most likely it isn't always the most characteristic mark of our experience. Often we find that mark to be more one of complacency. According to Merriam-Webster, zeal is "eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something". Synonyms include passion, fervor, ardor, and enthusiasm. It is no wonder that such a feeling could bring about righteous anger in Jesus when he saw his Father's house being made a marketplace.

He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
"Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father's house a marketplace."

This is not to say that we chase out the people who are talking about things that aren't Church related during mass. Rather, it is more about what we allow in ourselves. When we find thoughts within us that are not zealous for his temple we should chase them out.

we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (see Second Corinthians 10:5).

Our visits to physical Churches are meant to be heightened and focused experiences of the presence of God. They are the house of the Father where we experience his love out poured for our sakes. But these experiences are meant to feed back into how we live our lives day to day. Just as our Churches are set apart for divine purpose so too are we.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

We can't keep living so casually, letting ourselves become dens of thieves, a marketplace of worldly pursuits and passions competing with God for our attention. There is so much joy, so much life to be found when we let ourselves become what we are meant to be.

Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.

Jesus tells us that this river is meant to flow from the hearts of those who believe (see John 7:38). Is it flowing from us? If we desire it, it can.

There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.