21 September 2026 - in need of the divine physician

Today's Readings

(Audio)

  

He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.

Jesus called us to follow him and we did follow, but not nearly so immediately and wholeheartedly as did Matthew. He continues to call us to follow him more closely, but we continue to hesitate and second guess his call. The way we experience encountering Jesus must be qualitatively quite different from the way Matthew experienced it. Jesus upended everything Matthew thought he knew about who he was and his place in the world. But somehow we don't receive the invitation from Jesus with similar power. We can see from Scripture that not everyone did. For some people the invitation was revolutionary and transformational. But others found reasons to ignore or reject it. It seems that we may be trying to straddle the issue, with one foot in and one foot out. We may not fully trust Jesus or his intentions if we believe too much of the world tells us about him. Is he really good? Does he really want want is best for us? Yet the hardest part of believing his call can sometimes be the fact that he would call us specifically. We believe ourselves to be unworthy of his love. We may wonder what of value we have to contribute to his Kingdom project. 

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Jesus did not come to call those who were already worthy of him. He came to give us the grace to make us worthy. He did not come to call those already equipped, but rather to equip those whom he called. As Paul explained to the Ephesians, "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". But many of us put up a false pretense of worthiness and skill that prevent us from receiving all that Jesus has for us. We are like the Pharisees in this way. Even if we may recognize that our situation is imperfection and needs improvement we imagine our need to be mild and incremental. We don't realize that we stand in the same desperate need as any tax collector or sinner. We've been projecting this aura of competence because the world all but insists upon it. Unfortunately we often come to believe it to one degree or another We think that if we need Jesus at all we need him just a bit, in some measure, but that much of our lives are fine without him. Thus we try to slot him in to specifically religious segments of our schedules. But Jesus is not willing to play the role of our life enhancer. He wants to be our lord and our king. To experience this we may have to tear the band-aids off of our wounded hearts, revealing the full truth of who we are to him, so that we can receive the healing and transformation that he so longs to give us.

Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

We do need the healing hands of the divine physician in our own lives. We are doing ourselves a disservice when we pretend otherwise. But this does not apply only to ourselves. It means there are many people who are merely pretending, though perhaps they themselves believe, that they are fine, complete, needing nothing and no one. The more people insist on this the more suspicious the claim becomes. Obviously the point is not that we should attack them, shouting 'You're just as pathetic as the rest of us', or something like that. Rather we should be sympathetic and willing to put the invitation of Jesus in front of them even if they don't seem interested. They may not appear to be on the surface. But somewhere inside every person is interested. We are made to be so.

Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.

 

  

David Crowder Band - How He Loves

 

 

20 September 2026 - not our ways

Today's Readings

(Audio)

  

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

Although the Jews had been the Lord's people since the beginning of history it was no violation of justice for God to share his benefits with the Gentiles as well. This had in fact been his plan the whole time. Though they had been idle while the Jewish people had been in the vineyard of the Lord it did not imply that they should receive less as a result. It wasn't as though God truly needed the involvement of either people. Rather he involved them both in different ways and at different times to demonstrate his generosity and his mercy through them. Part of the lesson was precisely the gratuitous nature of the gift. God did not need anyone, was in fact able, "from these stones to raise up children for Abraham" (see Matthew 3:9).

What was true about periods of history and the difference between the other nations and Israel was also true about the calling of different people at different times in their lives. Whether one is called in youth, in middle age, or repented like the good thief on the cross moments before death, the fundamental reward was still the same: eternal life. Yet it is also true that there is a sense in which some were rewarded more than others, but it requires a reversal of assumptions to understand it. Only when we come to see that the work in the vineyard is a privilege and not a mere obligation do we begin to see how those who are able to show greater love and mercy while still in this life, and perhaps in spite of great suffering, are actually uniquely privileged. It seems clear to us that the landowner sees things this way. He is borderline obsessed with putting as many people to work as possible, going again and again to find any he might have missed on earlier visits. He seems to do this, not so much because he needs the help, since, after all, how much will it really contribute to have people working the last hour of the day? But he appears to sense the indignity endured by those who were standing around idle and without purpose. They are, he knows, meant for more.

'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'

This is good news for those of us who have turned to the Lord later in life. But it is also good news for those who have labored long in the Lord's vineyard. We can see something of this attitude in Paul, who would have been content to receive the reward of eternal life common to all, which is, in one sense, incomparable. But he did not begrudge the importance of the ongoing work he could do in the vineyard during his mortal life.

For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. 
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me. 

A more selfish man who was similarly convinced of his eternal destiny and in love with Jesus might have been less willing to put up with longer years of suffering and service before seeing him face to face. But not Paul. He wanted what the landowner wanted. He knew that human ways were different from God's ways and he decided to relinquish his own right to preference when it came to the God's judgment.

Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. 

 

Randy Rothwell - Salvation Belongs To Our God

 

19 September 2026 - sown and raised

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.

The opportunity to receive the word of God is fairly abundant in our world today. But we know that there is a difference between the abstract possibility of receiving it and actually doing so. There is so much set against our reception of the word. The general cultural view of Christianity is that it is a myth that has given way to a more enlightened scientific understanding. Among Christians there are many who claim to adhere to the word of God but who have not allowed it to significantly change their lives. The Devil is highly invested in preventing people from receiving the word and in taking it from those who do begin to receive it. As a liar and the father of lies, we should not be surprised that he does this by spreading false rumors and partial truths about Christianity. These tend to prevent people from receiving the seed in the first place. But they can also weaken the potency of what is received such that is unable to take deep enough root. If the Devil managed to make the Corinthians believe in a false and limited view of the resurrection it would have meant that their beliefs were less able to resist worldly temptations, and more subject to their passions, such anxiety, pleasure, and the pursuit of wealth.

The antidote to the lies of the Devil is the truth, since, as Jesus tells us, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (see John 8:32). We fight the spiritual battle against the Devil in a variety of ways. But one way is by making sure he doesn't steal from us our Christian birthright of access to the truth, the fullness of divine revelation contained in the word of God and the Sacred Tradition as expressed authentically through the magesterium of the Bride of Christ. This implies understanding the resurrection, which in turn means understanding what Jesus did for us, how it applies to us now, and how it will apply to us in the future. Far from an abstraction, it helps us see that this world is not ultimate and death is not the end. This does prepare us for the harvest, but it also motivates us from the long haul since we know that our efforts are not hopeless. We "embrace it [the word] with a generous and good heart" and bear fruit here and now precisely because we know that we are meant to live now in a way that embraces we hope our eternal destiny will be. We live now by the power of the Spirit because we hope to one day receive resurrection in which all that we are, including our physical bodies, will be fully transformed by the Spirit into something glorious. If there is a resurrection then no love is ever wasted. But if the resurrection is a myth, or something that happened to Jesus as a one time unique event, then it is only natural to infer that it doesn't have much to do with us. What is left but anxiety, riches, and pleasure in that case?

It might seem like a stretch to imagine a future so different from the present world we know. But this present world is only the beginning. It is still in the mold shaped and left to us by Adam, full of the heritage of sin and death that taints ourselves and everything around us. This was allowed to be the beginning precisely so that something better and more lasting could meaningfully supersede it. The happy fault of Adam was permitted because God saw that he could bring from it an even greater good. He gave life and breath to humans through Adam. But he gave us his Spirit through Christ Jesus, and through that same Spirit he will one day raise us up. 

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (see Romans 8:11).

So let us treasure the precious seed of the word of God, knowing that there is a real opponent out there doing all he can to make us second guess what we believe. Let us seek to learn how to make it a true root, one that can anchor us even in the face of real world difficulties, and help us resist the allure of worldly temptations. We begin to bear fruit in this life, love, joy, peace, and the rest. But it does not end here.

So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious.
It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

Kutless - Word Of God Speak

 

18 September 2026 - accompanying him

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities

We too are called to accompany Jesus, to provide for him from out of our resources, and to serve him with our talents. We are called to do so regardless of our social standing, and are not disqualified by our past, whatever it may have been. Even for those of us who did not have lifestyles of debauchery and dissipation before our eventual conversions it is nevertheless true that we have all sinned, all fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). We have all done what we ought not do, and not done many things we ought to do. We have never once adequately responded to the many gifts of grace given us by God. Even our thanksgiving is paltry compared to what we receive. Yet none of this defines us. None of it puts a limit on who we can become now that we are walking with Christ. We may have a past as sinners but it in no way precludes our future as saints. Things that the world tells us should define us and limit us are not limitations in Christ in whom, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (see Galatians 3:28).  Our lives now transcend the narrow horizon of mortality. Paul wants us to understand that the resurrection of Christ does not merely tell us about Jesus but also about ourselves and our own destinies.

If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?

It is not the case that resurrection was merely a one-time event, an outlier that happened to Jesus, but without ongoing effects on reality. The problem it addressed was not a temporary problem, as though it merely removed an obstacle for Jesus himself. It was not just a continue after a game over. It was the victory in a battle in which death was defeated and sin was conquered. Our own sin would still remain were it not for the resurrection. Our own past would still define us. It is the resurrection which opens a new horizon of life for us and makes us new creations in Christ (see Second Corinthians 5:17). This is why Paul writes, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins". This is the reason why we're here. Without it Christianity doesn't really have anything to offer. Without the resurrection all that remains is a distraction from the harsh reality of our impending death. There are ways in which our lives will be better as Christians regardless, since being virtuous does lead to fulfillment of a sort. But living as though our treasure is in heaven if there were really no heaven awaiting us would truly be sad and hollow. The payoff from Christianity is meant to be more than the side benefits that may accrue during our mortal lives, which is why Paul tells us, "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all". But the thing to remember, the thing on which Paul insists, and the fundamental core of the Good News of Christianity is precisely that "Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep". Let us not only believe it but let's allow it to transform us, as it did all who encountered the risen Christ.

 

Matt Maher - Christ Is Risen

 

17 September 2026 - hence, she has shown great love

Today's Readings
(Audio)

 

Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.

The primary thing that differentiated the Pharisee from the so-called sinful woman was that she recognized the depth of her need for Jesus, whereas the Pharisee took a more casual academic interest. The woman came in desperate hope. The Pharisee was as ready to be disappointed as impressed, seeing himself as better than Jesus, able to recognize the fact that the woman was a sinner, which Jesus had apparently missed. The Pharisee didn't recognize that he too ought to have wept for his sins at the feet of Jesus. Because he didn't recognize his need for forgiveness his was unable to receive it, and was therefore not  motivated to do anything for Jesus in response. Although he invited Jesus to dinner he did not give water to wash his feet, or kiss him in welcome, or anoint his head with oil. 

The woman knew her need for Jesus, sought him, and, this is key, he welcomed and did not reject her. It was this loving acceptance that motivated her response, since it represented the forgiveness she desired. It made it clear that her contrition was received and accepted. Thus she was forgiven much and then loved much in response. She washed his feet with her tears, kissed them, and anointed them with oil. This extravagant response was provoked by recognizing and receiving the extravagant love of Jesus himself. We can see too that her love represented a kind of "reparation" to the heart of Jesus for the omissions of the Pharisee since Jesus himself saw it as filling the omissions of hospitality by Simon the Pharisee.

Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?

It isn't so much that any of us owes so much more or less than any other. The point is that some of us recognize it more, and our lives are changed as a result. We do ourselves no favors by pretending to be perfect, strong, and flawless. When we do so, we fail to give Jesus the access to our hearts that he needs in order to transform us. The risk is that we remain like Simon, stingy, judgmental, indifferent to others, and trapped in the prison of our egos. But when we recognize our need for Jesus he breaks open the shell of our egos, transforms us, and makes us both capable of love and motivated to do so.
We can infer from our first reading the degree to which Paul knew the transforming love of Jesus for himself. Since he saw himself as foremost among sinners (see First Timothy 1:15) and yet forgiven he received grace that allowed him to toil "harder than all of them". Let us not neglect the source of strength we find when we cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus, holding nothing back.

Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.

Matt Maher - Your Love Is Extravagant

 

16 September 2026 - acceptable answers

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

 

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.

When John came they thought he was too extreme, too single-mindedly focused on only his mission. They thought that they way he ate and the fact that he avoided wine entirely were entirely unreasonable and unacceptable. Rather than his approach, they preferred to slot religion in more as a hobby or an abstraction than as a way of life. If it was important to them at all it was important as one thing among many. This would lead one to believe that if someone else came eating and drinking they would be more open to it. But it was not so.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

If the Son Of Man had merely been a believable excuse for them to eat and drink they might have welcomed him. But there was a difference between the feast being offered by the king for the wedding of his son and mere gluttony and indulgence. In order to reap the benefits of the festive and joyful mood of the wedding feast they would need to accept the invitation. As we know from the parable, they had better things to do. They could not imitate Zacchaeus who welcomed Jesus to his table but who also transformed his life as a consequence.

In short, the crowds who could not accept either John or Jesus did not really do so because they were hugely averse to fasting or feasting. These were convenient excuses to impugn the character of individuals whose doctrine they found to be difficult. It is ever thus. In ages marked by excess conservatism the Church is regarded as too liberal for permitting music, dancing, and moderate alcohol consumption. In ages marked by excess liberality the Church is condemned as too conservative for condemning the excesses of sexual license and other moral failings. Her character is impugned not because it is really too extreme in one direction or the other, but because she is too right, and we don't want to change.

In spite of our reluctance to dance and weep when we ought the Father does not cease playing the music of his invitation to us. The world may tell us that this invitation will, in one way or another, destroy us. But we know that it will not because "wisdom is vindicated by all her children". We can see that it worked in the lives of others, notably in the lives of Saint Cyprian and Cornelius whom we remember today. And we can recognize that it works in us as we ourselves believe and begin to bear fruit in the joy and power of the Holy Spirit.

It ultimately isn't about a competition among competing spiritual ideologies, as though the group who could demonstrate the greatest spiritual gifts were superior. It is rather about something far more fundamental: the path of love. This path means necessarily following and uniting ourselves to God who is love, and to Jesus, who took on flesh for our salvation, to be the face of love for us. Among the childish things we are called to put aside are these instincts that make us compete, even in spiritual matters, rather than focusing on the one thing that really matters. Whether we call that one thing love or we call it God, we are talking about the same thing. The music of his invitation is ongoing. Let us take up our part in the dance.

Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.

 

David Ruis - We Will Dance

 

15 September 2026 - her station keeping

Today's Readings
(Audio)

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.

Mary was so united to her Son that she felt the pain that he felt, just as Simeon prophesied, saying, "you yourself a sword will pierce". She was preeminently part of the body of Christ of which, as Paul tells us, all the baptized are members. This means not only sharing the charismatic gifts that flow from Christ but also and especially sharing his heart, being motivated by what motivates him, moved to compassion as he was, desiring the Father's will above all as he did. Being united to the heart of Christ means resisting the diabolical temptation to avoid the cross to which Peter momentarily succumbed. It means being willing to stand up and be counted with Jesus rather than denying and betraying him before men. It means a willingness to be present with him in dark and difficult times and not only in moments of glory. 

 If we try to be members of his body without receiving everything that flows to us from his heart we are obviously going to have, at best, impaired function. Mary is a stellar example of an unfiltered reception of the heart of Jesus into her own heart. It began with her fiat to the angel Gabriel, continued as she took up her station by his cross, and culminated in her assumption and coronation in heaven. None of this did she earn through her own merit. It was a gift, and one not intended for her alone.

Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

We are meant to be the disciples who are meant to take Mary into our home. United to Jesus we not only cry "Abba! Father!" but we also call Mary our mother. Just as she was perfectly united to her Son so too is Mary united to his Body. What Mary became by grace she helps her other children, those who keep the commandments and the testimony of Jesus (see Revelation 12:17), to become. She treasured everything she received about the Lord in her heart. And now she helps us to learn what she learned through contemplating the face of her Son. One particular way she does this is in the mysteries of the rosary that she has given us. But, as should be clear by now, these are not meant to be pious abstractions. They are meant to increase our own union with Jesus so that we can love him as completely as Mary herself did, and then, in turn, love our neighbors for his sake, as Mary also clearly did. We will not do this all in the same way or with the same gifts. But we are all meant to be united to Jesus and used by him as Mary allowed herself to be. This may mean that we too will be signs to the world that are "contradicted". But at such times we can know that we are not alone at our cross. Mary is there with us, together with her Son, bringing the image of Jesus to perfection in us through her motherly care.

Norbertines of St. Michael's Abbey - Stabat Mater Dolorosa