30 June 2019 - you are my inheritance

Today's Readings

(Audio)

And to another he said, "Follow me."

Jesus invites us to follow him not as some secondary hobby but as the primary purpose for our lives. We are called to seek first the Kingdom and let God worry about the rest. We imagine ourselves up to the challenge.

"I will follow you wherever you go." 

But we realize quickly that there is more involved than we are able to guess or imagine at first.

"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."

We want to follow him. We also want to remain comfortable. We want to follow him but we want to balance that desire against our other obligations. We make him one of many priorities. He will not allow himself to be thus subjugated. Jesus is LORD. If he is not first in our hearts, something else, something less than God, has usurped his preeminence.

But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. 
But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 

In this Jesus shows that he is greater even the Elijah. Elijah is willing to let Elisha say goodbye to his father and mother.

Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
"Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you."
Elijah answered, "Go back!
Have I done anything to you?"

Whereas Jesus, greater even than Elijah, must take precedence even over family.

And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home." 
To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

This is what Jesus means in another place when he says, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Jesus is the LORD of all. If we refuse to put him first, if we love even the best people around us more than him, we won't love them or him as well as if we love him more than all others. When Jesus is first in our hearts we are able to love others through him. That love is empowered by the Spirit. It is more greater than anything we can do on our own.

I say, then: live by the Spirit
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. 

The LORD himself is our inheritance. He is more than enough!

29 June 2019 - rock solid apostles

Today's Readings (Mass during the day)

(Audio)

Peter receives the revelation of who Jesus is from the Father.

Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

Peter thus possesses the key of our faith. 

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (see John 17:3).

God takes this response and transforms it from a mere individual grace and makes it the foundation of his Church.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

God does not build on faith in the abstract apart from Peter. He builds precisely on Peter's correct reception of the truth. Peter and his successors thus become the rock on which the Church is built, against which the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail.

We could misunderstand Peter's perogative here if we thought that he was somehow free to bind and loose on a whim. But this is not correct. He is rather bound himself to the revelation he first receives from the Father. His task is to call others to receive that same revelation themselves, directly, from the Father. Once they have it they themselves can become living stones built on unity on Peter.

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (see First Peter 2:5).

Peter is protected from error to protect us all. He is the principle of unity that can save us from our ability to delude ourselves. He does not fulfill this role for his own glory but for the flock who need his guidance.

Paul visited and conversed with Peter to make sure he himself wasn't running in vain (see Galatians 2:2). He received his revelation directly from Jesus himself. Even so, he desired to be built on the principle of divine unity. Only humility could enable someone as educated and credentialed as Paul to submit to an uneducated and often brash fisherman like Peter. We do see that his humility did not prevent him from speaking out when Peter acted insincerely. In this we have a good model for responding to problems in authority in our own day.

Paul and Peter both learned to be zealous for the kingdom. They were united in the desire of Jesus himself to do whatever was needed for the flock. They did not let obstacles such as prison bars stop them when it was not God's will.

So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.

Paul and Peter both were so united to Jesus as to even be united to him in their deaths for his sake.

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.

These two great apostles died in different ways. But they died united in a profound union of faith, guarded by the Holy Spirit and the bond of peace, united with the Master whom they followed.

On this feast of these two great apostles there is much we can learn and much grace for which we should ask. We should pray that we receive real revelation from the Father about Jesus and that the resultant faith be built solidly on the rock of the Church. We should pray that we have the same heart for others that make Peter and Paul unstoppable forces of evangelization. And we should pray to follow Jesus so closely as to be willing to suffer for him, knowing that if we do we too will receive "the crown of righteousness" that awaits us.

The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

28 June 2019 - the shepherd's heart

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The Sacred Heart is the heart of a shepherd who loves his sheep beyond reason.

What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?

Jesus leads us to green pastures. Other shepherds would focus their care on the strong and the seemingly deserving. Jesus tends the lost, the scattered, the injured and the sick. 

The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly who know that they are lowly. The poor in spirit are those that receive the Kingdom. The sleek are difficult to shepherd. They think they know where they are and where they are going and how to get there. But all sheep are lost without the shepherd. All sheep will eventually succumb to wolves or go hungry without his guidance.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. How amazing this is, that a shepherd would die for his sheep, and not only the sheep who would seem to be the best, not even just the sheep who had already learned how to please him, not the strong only, not his friends only, but the weak, and those who acted as enemies of his love.

But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

This is the Heart will celebrate today. It is good and helpful to remember how far beyond human love is the love with which Christ loves us. How far beyond what we can ask for or imagine is ours in stream that pours forth from the Sacred Heart.

The love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

We realize that we do not love one another as Jesus loves us. It is truly extreme love. But we are called to let our hearts be changed so that we can love this way more and more.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (see Ezekiel 36:26).

Let us welcome the love of the shepherd as he leads us back from every place where we have gone astray. Let us drink from the stream of mercy that flows from his own heart, the stream of the Holy Spirit, so that we ourselves may be transformed. Let us be led by him to the banquet.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

27 June 2019 - firm foundations

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

It isn't about having the appearance of a disciple. Saying 'Lord, Lord,' isn't enough in itself. Even the apparently miraculous is not enough. We are called to do the will of the Father in heaven and to listen to and act upon the words of his Son. We must guard against constructing lives which have the mere appearance of religion but which have some other ultimate direction than the Father's will. 

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit (see First Corinthians 12:3).

There is a right way and a wrong way to proclaim the Lordship of Christ. The demons his identity but when they speak it they are silenced. They aren't speaking it by the Spirit. They aren't trying to proclaim his name so that it might be known but rather to sow confusion and are therefore silenced by Jesus himself. But we who have received the Holy Spirit can say "Jesus is Lord" by the Spirit. The Spirit himself gives testimony within us about the identity of Jesus.

We are called to build our house on the rock of Christ and his Church. We do this with actions in accord with the words Jesus gives us from the Father. We can't do it off on our own, ignoring the words of Jesus, even if for a time the results seem to be both good and perhaps verge on miraculous. We must be directed by the Spirit as to always seek the will of the Father. "Jesus is Lord" is more than a simple proclamation in this sense. When we proclaim these words in the Spirit our whole lives in reoriented toward him as our compass or our north star.

Abram tried doing things on his own apart from the Father's will. He had some apparent results when Hagar bore a child. It was only in trusting in God's word to him that he received the promised blessing. Only in God do we find a solid rock on which to build.

Visit me with your saving help,
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people,
and glory with your inheritance.

26 June 2019 - fruitful discernment

Today's Readings

(Audio)

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.

Looking at the fruit can be helpful. It is hard to look directly and honestly at ourselves to gauge our own fruit. Yet we should be bearing good fruit. The Holy Spirit produces such fruit in the hearts of those who cooperate with him. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (see Galatians 5:22-23). And if we have a hard time being honest about our gifts we can at least see when we fall short.

Looking at the fruit of time spent is useful tool for discernment. What is causing growth in the fruits of the Spirit in us? What is less so? We sometimes stick with activities out of duty or habit without really considering whether they are desirable or useful for us anymore even if, perhaps, they once were.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.

Looking at fruit can help us see which institutions and individuals are fulfilling God's will, even when they don't have a specifically religious brand. We can alley our own efforts with those of others who are bearing kingdom fruit and multiple our effectiveness. This keeps us from false prophets in sheep's clothing who do have a specifically religious brand but are nevertheless not working for the kingdom.

Abram bore good fruit by trusting in God's plan for him even when it seemed impossible. He walked in faithfulness and patience even before the LORD brought about his promise for him. In order to ensure that he was not misled he sought the LORD to see if good fruit would indeed result from the revelation and promise he had received.

"O Lord GOD," he asked,
"how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

It was in sacrifice that the LORD revealed to Abram that good fruit would indeed be born and the degree to which it would. 

"Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be."

So too is our fruit meant to be so multiplied as to be beyond counting. In the sacrifice of the mass we can with greater purity see where true fruit is found. We look first to Jesus, the bread of life, and the giver of the Spirit. The Spirit is the fire that consumes the acceptable sacrifice, for "our God is a consuming fire" (see Hebrews 12:29). Filled with the Spirit around the altar of sacrifice our eyes are opened to where good fruit is found.

He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.

25 June 2019 - becoming human

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

The sacred should be treated as sacred. This is why the Church reserves the Eucharist to Catholics only. It isn't that in once sense she does not want to share. It is rather that the world is ill-equipped to appreciate or understand what is given under the appearances of bread and wine. The world is wont trample our sacred things. The name of God and the name of Jesus are just foremost among examples of this. But the world need not remain unappreciative dogs and swine. They can become human, in proof of which we look to ourselves. We too are only able to honor the sacred by the grace of God.

Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.

We are called to love others as ourselves. We do not want anyone to abuse and misuse sacred things. But we ourselves want to be gathered around the banquet of the lamb of God in heaven. And so we must want this for others. We desire ourselves to be free from grave sin so that we may keep the feast. So too must we desire purity for others. There isn't one standard for others, where we will that they get whatever they think they want, and one for ourselves, where we desire the divine union promised by God. We were all made for God and our hearts our restless until we rest in him.

Is not the whole land at your disposal?
Please separate from me.
If you prefer the left, I will go to the right;
if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.

We are called to be willing to let go of mere preference in order to maintain bonds of unity and charity. The gate is narrow to salvation precisely because we have a hard time letting go of all the things we have. We want to bring wealth with us through the gate. Our horses and our camels are laden with the fine saddles of our preferences. They are encumbered by bags containing the food and skins containing the drinks that delight us.  But we can only bring those virtues and relationships which leave us unencumbered. The true feast awaits on the other side.

How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.

How do we find the gate? We leave aside anything nonessential if God commands. We treat and honor the sacred as sacred. We will the good of others, actively, and intentionally. If we do these things we will certainly find the gate and the road to life.

He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

24 June 2019 - a sharp-edged sword

Today's Readings (Mass During the Day)

(Audio)

He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.

John the Baptist was a sharp-edged sword used by God to proclaim his glory. He helped Israel cut away the dross of sin through his call to repentance. In turning the people toward God and preparing the way for Jesus he revealed God's glory to Israel. The tribes of Jacob were to be raised up in Jesus. The survivors of Israel were to be restored in Jesus. John was a light to the nations precisely because he shined upon Jesus, the lamb of God who would make all things new.

'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'

God was able to use John because John didn't try to keep any of the glory at all for himself. He cared little for what anyone thought of him. His food and clothing weren't trendy. He would say unpopular things even at the risk of his life. He never tried to co-opt the movement of the masses that formed around him for his own benefit.

He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.

Old Testament prophecy was shrouded in symbol and secrecy. John, when he arrived, was the one who fully freed the tongue of the prophets. He proclaimed the lamb of God, the messiah who was the one about whom the law and the prophets all bore witness. In him the turn from doubt and self-direction to faith and abandonment to God.

For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,                
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.

John prays for us today that we too can decrease so that Jesus may increase. We too can be sharp-edged swords for the LORD our God.

I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.

23 June 2019 - observing due procession

Today's Readings

(Audio)

They all ate and were satisfied.

And yet even those who ate the bread were hungry again. Those who ate the manna in the desert were hungry again. These things pointed forward. They were archetypes of what was to come.

In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,

Melchizedek pointed forward to the one whose priesthood would abide forever. His bread and wine pointed toward the one who would offer something more than bread and wine, yet under those appearances.

Jesus is the one whose priesthood and whose kingship have no end. He is the one who offers the perfect sacrifice aside from which no sacrifice is needed. He is the one who gives us the true food from heaven which satisfies for all eternity.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
"You are a priest forever, according to the order of  Melchizedek."

The bread Jesus gives is his flesh for the life of the world. The wine he gives is his precious blood poured out for all of us. His death on the cross would have seemed to be a mere execution apart from the Eucharist which revealed it to be the true and final Passover sacrifice.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, 
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

We know that the Passover of Jesus conquers sin and death. In order for us to share in this victory we too must keep the feast.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival (see First Corinthians 5:7-8).

Our participation in this sacrifice is more than ritual. It is how we share in the benefits of the victory won for us by Jesus himself. And this, not just once, but any time we choose to receive him. His sacrificial gift is present throughout time until he comes.

Let us keep the feast! We receive in the mode of the receiver. This means that the more we prepare our hearts to receive the living, real, bodily presence of Jesus, the more grace will fill our hearts when we do receive him.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
 Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
 Where the heav'nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

22 June 2019 - on being free from worry

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life

Worry is by definition useless. It begins when we insist on taking over the running of the universe from God.

Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?

We implicitly believe that if we just think enough of these worried thoughts we will solve the problem. But we know that this isn't what happens. Instead, we find ourselves trapped by our thoughts, which, rather than resolving our problems, only get more and more anxious and hopeless as we dwell on them.

We need to trust in our Father. We can intentionally think thoughts of faith that will uproot the anxiety this has heretofore dominated our minds. 

Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

We can realize and intentionally call to mind that the Father knows all of our needs, knows what we are going through, has good plans to bless and not to harm us (see Jeremiah 29:11), and makes all things work together for the good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28). We do this not simply for the sake of our own comfort, though right thinking is necessary for that as well. We keep these thoughts in mind because anxiety is a trap. We want to be free for service and for love.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.

Free from anxiety, trusting in God, we are no longer limited by our own weaknesses. They may still be there. But they no longer need to hinder us.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness."
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

21 June 2019 - weak and strong

Saint Paul (not a Klingon)

Today's Readings

(Audio)

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

This is counterintuitive to say the least. We tend to try to present ourselves in the best light possible. We are reluctant to show any weakness. Weakness shown to others can be interpreted as neediness. We can seem to be high maintenance or hard to be around. Yet this isn't Paul's point. He boasts of his own weakness only in order to make the point that Christ's power is what sustains him.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (see Second Corinthians 12:9).

The reason we don't know how to boast about our weakness without just seeming like we are whining is because we don't yet know how to rely on Christ in times of hardship. We know how to ask Jesus to change our circumstances. Yet when the circumstances don't change, are we do we still abide with Christ? We can experience strength in spite of circumstance. We can learn to say, "when I am weak, then I am strong."

Another way to talk about finding our strength in Christ is when Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven. Such treasure can not be impacted by even the hardest circumstances, neither moth, decay, nor thief. It is, in fact, what Paul is seeking by putting Jesus and his concern for the Church first in his heart.

And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?

We need to focus our gaze on what matters most. In Jesus we have everlasting treasure and strength for every challenge. But we need to keep our gaze fixed upon him and not look away to the waves of circumstance.

The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light

20 June 2019 - a simple prayer

Today's Readings

(Audio)

In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

We still slide back into this pagan mentality. We tend to think that prayer somehow obligates God to respond if we just do it right or if there is just enough of it. We are somehow still trying to prove ourselves, to put in effort, and to earn our salvation. We secretly worry that God doesn't know or care what we need before we ask him and that only by reminding him ad nauseum will our own needs be met.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name

Full stop. If God is our Father all of our incorrect and broken notions about prayer have to go. If he is not a power alien and indifferent at best and hostile at worst, but rather our loving creator, our approach to prayer must be different. We are free to "confidently approach the throne of grace" (see Hebrews 4:16). The way we come to have this access is through Jesus Christ "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him" see (Ephesians 3:12).

When we realize that God is our Father, when we let the Spirit cry out "Abba!" in our hearts, our prayers become simple. We begin to move beyond the constant distractions that steal our focus as we realize that prayer is a genuine conversation of love between persons. We don't need to multiple words anymore. Simplicity suffices.

thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus teaches us to pray for ourselves because he wants us to love ourselves as he himself loves us. It is his will for us to desire appropriate blessings for ourselves. If we let him will this desire in us we will be free from excess or deficiency.

Paul knows well that his own identity is based on Christ and the Father. It is this grounding that allows him to forego privileges on which others would insist for the sake of love and the Gospel. He need not receive money as long as other people come to share the relationship he himself has with Christ.

For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God,
since I betrothed you to one husband
to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning,
your thoughts may be corrupted
from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ.

His commitment to Christ is sincere and pure. It is simple. He knows God is his Father and that Jesus lives in him. We too can know this ourselves in our own lives.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.

19 June 2019 - God loves a cheerful giver

Today's Readings

(Audio)

But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,

We are called to do good for its own sake rather than for how it makes us feel about ourselves. We are called to disregard out self-image. It doesn't matter that we seem to be people who fast, pray, and give alms. It matters that we actually do these things. The goal is love, not the appearance of love. The world is really good at the appearance of love. But true love in word and deed is rare indeed. Feelings and the desire for self-image and control us. If the good to which God is calling us doesn't happen to correspond to something which feels good to our pride we often allow ourselves to ignore it. Our pride can therefore keep us from accomplishing much of anything.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

There is, however, a reward for which we hope when we do good works. When we love it is legitimate to hope to be joined more and more to the God who is love. The works themselves are impossible without his grace in us.

You are being enriched in every way for all generosity,
which through us produces thanksgiving to God.

As we allow that grace to be unleashed in us we do experience more and more the joy of union with the Father who sees in secret, there with us in our inner room with facade at last surrendered.

whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

It isn't about us or our effort. If we find ourselves struggling it is likely that we are not yet truly trying to please the Father who sees in secret.

Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.

He isn't asking for some heroic effort that we can ultimately feel prideful about. He is asking us to desire his will above all things. His person, after all, is a reward beyond anything the world can give.

Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.

18 June 2019 - poor man, rich man

Today's Readings

(Audio)

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.

This is the model for our own giving and our own love. Jesus, though in the form of God, did not grasp equality with God. He emptied himself and was made poor. In doing so he enabled us to be made rich, even to partake of the divine nature. We are called to give of ourselves, to carry our crosses for the sake of others, to die to self in service of neighbor, so that together with us they might share in newness of life.

But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father

We are called to love as Jesus loved. We are not called to calculate the worthiness of those whom we love, but rather to love those God has placed in front of us. While we were still enemies of God he nevertheless loved us and sent his Son to die for us. When we deserved it least he loved us most. So too are we called to love. And through such love from Christians the world is transformed and converted.

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.

There is only one way to be perfect as the Father is perfect. We can only meet that standard if he himself gives us the grace. His perfection is not something he hordes for himself. It is rather among the riches that he gives away to raise us up with him.

Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.

How can we give of ourselves today? What is one way we can share the blessings we ourselves receive in order to lift up other people? When we do so, God lives in us. Our lives become his song of praise.

Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.

17 June 2019 - beyond nonviolence

Today's Readings

(Audio)

offer no resistance to one who is evil.

Jesus offers us a radically new and different way to respond to the power struggles in this world. He himself demonstrates it as he allows evil men to crucify him. It is more than a refusal to participate in the broken systems of society. It is not a mere protest of non-violence such as he would later inspire others to perform. It is an act of love. Merely not responding does not change situations or society. Only love can do that.

Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

Jesus does not merely allow his life to be taken. He gives it to us. And when it becomes a gift for us it can transform us and give new life to we who receive it. This is how our love should be as well. Not only should we not fight back, not only should we respond without grumbling, but we should lay our lives down for others in love.

Paul knows that this is his calling as well. As a missionary he is worried about causing others to stumble, especially when faced with "afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, [and] fasts". It seems like all one could do to not fight back, to not speak bitter words, and to simply maintain one's own peace. But Paul insists on loving intentionally even in those circumstances, "by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left".

The Holy Spirit makes all of those fruits available to us as well. The weapons of righteousness are available whether we are facing glory or dishonor, insult or praise. It doesn't even matter what others think of us. When we begin to realize and rely on the Spirit we experience life, rejoicing, and riches that this world cannot recognize or understand.

We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful;
as unrecognized and yet acknowledged;
as dying and behold we live;
as chastised and yet not put to death;
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

Let us love intentionally even to those who don't understand, even to those who would cause us harm, or at best don't appreciate our efforts. Let this be our song of praise to God.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.

16 June 2019 - most Holy Trinity

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions

How might we boast of our afflictions? For Christians, afflictions reveal God's power at work in us. For most of us, however, this is the last things that comes to mind when we suffer. We're eager to find the quickest way out of painful situations. And this makes sense. But we should pause to reflect that God is at work during such times. 

knowing that affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint

Faith, hope, and love, are poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Because these seeds are planted at baptism we can choose to cooperate and express them and allow them to grow. We are meant to gain greater hope as we see that God's plans for us are not thwarted by suffering. Rather, the very suffering the enemy intends to sabotage us becomes the means of our growth. We come to see that all things work together for the good of those who love God (see Romans 8:28).

Just as God delights in his wisdom, so too are we invited to share in the wonder at all of his mighty works.

then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,

Yet things don't always (or perhaps often) seem wonderful. We can't absorb the full truth of revelation all at once. It isn't simply a one time prayer of faith to Jesus that will suffice for our entire lives. We are called to grow more and more into our knowledge of him as we learn to hope in his promises and delight in his works.

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

Let us delight, let us hope, and let us come at last to know the fullness of truth, the most Holy Trinity, even as we ourselves are known (see First Corinthians 13:12).

O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

15 June 2019 - impelled by love

Today's Readings

(Audio)

The love of Christ impels us

Does the love of Christ actually impel us? Does it actually motivate us and shape our lives? Or is it rather something we discuss and acknowledge but which doesn't impact us day to day?

once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.

This conviction that we have all died means that we are now free. Nothing can harm us any longer. We don't have to live just to avoid suffering and death. We can live for Jesus.

He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

If the love of Christ is the basis of our lives we become new creations. All have died. The old creation has passed away. We are made new in the resurrection.

So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:

We can choose to be moved and impelled by this love and this knowledge or we can continue to live the old way, clinging to old things which are passing away.

In Christ even our words take on more significance. We speak in a new and more sincere way. We have less need to be persuasive ourselves and we are able to let our message speak for itself.

Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'

Does the love of Christ impel us? Let us answer, 'Yes'.

He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

14 June 2019 - earthen vessels

Today's Readings

(Audio)

everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The LORD wants to heal our hearts. It isn't that he is looking to catch us in unintentional habitual acts. But he is asking us to exert control, by his grace, of parts of our lives we often believe are beyond our control. He is asking us, for example, to have custody of our eyes. He isn't condemning what we happen to see. But he is recommending that we don't allow our eyes to unduly wander if that is something with which we struggle.

If your right eye causes you to sin, 
tear it out and throw it away.

If HBO causes you to sin, cancel it. If going to the beach during the summer causes you to sin, buy a pool, or stay home. This is what we call avoiding the occasion of temptation. Does it matter as much as this?

It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

Anything less than sanctity involves treating others as objects for our own pleasure. That is bad for both of us. God wants to see us delivered from those cycles that can never satisfy. Being trapped in them is an experience of Gehenna even while we live.

Our earthen vessels often reveal our faults. In all of our sufferings, including when we ourselves fail, we experience the dying of Jesus. Because of this we can experience the surpassing power of God even and perhaps especially when we are at our lowest and have fallen the farthest. There is never cause to give up hope.

always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

As this surpassing power manifests in us we surpass the limits of selfishness that cause us to use others for our own ends. We become like Jesus and like Paul for whom everything is for the sake of others and especially of God.

Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

13 June 2019 - before anger leads to hate

Saint Anthony of Padua

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus is helping us move beyond a merely external order where we must be content to simply not kill one another. He is leading us to the new order of the Spirit. By the Spirit we can move beyond violence, beyond even violent words, and ultimately even beyond acting out of anger at all.

If we struggle with these words about anger we should know that we can't live them through our own effort. They become a law of condemnation when we try to hear them apart from Jesus who speaks them and with them offers the grace to carry them out. When we aren't looking toward him the solution is veiled and inaccessible.

but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
there is freedom.

We need to look upon the LORD. However, we usually don't experience freedom from sin all at once. Whether anger, lust, pride, or whichever sin is the biggest problem for us, we typically need to look to the Lord not just once, but as often as we face temptation.

All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

So what does a brother have against us today and how can we be reconciled to him? Let's not solve this problem on our own, but rather in the light of the face of Christ.

For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness,
has shone in our hearts to bring to light
the knowledge of the glory of God
on the face of Jesus Christ.

In the light of his presence we feel our defences being softened. We feel ourselves gradually wanting to set things right. We feel ourselves becoming the righteousness of God in Christ (see Corinthians 5:21).

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.

12 June 2019 - a new want to

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

The law doesn't change in the moral content it contains. That does not pass away. Yet of itself, "the letter brings death". It makes us know our sins but has no power to help us overcome them. It is a tutor showing us our need for a savior (see Galatians 4). It does help the world keep the external form of law and therefore helps keep it from falling apart. But hearts are never healed with the letter of the law. Hearts need the healing rays of the Holy Spirit.

for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

The Spirit marks this new covenant established by Jesus. He is the newness that differentiates it from the old. And in this sense the old does pass away. It can no longer be merely a system of rules that we maintain through human efforts, though they be Herculean. Trying to fix our problems through greater adherence is just the wrong place to start.

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Jesus makes possible a new and Spirit-filled way of life. In it we no longer need obey merely out of slavish fear. The Spirit sets us free and enables us to live in a way that does not transgress any laws almost as though we weren't even trying.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (see Galatians 5:13).

There is a new "want to" available to us in place of the old "have to" but we must avail ourselves of it. We must walk by the Spirit, standing fast in the liberty Christ gave us in order to move more and more from a the old motivations which cannot perfect us to complete dependence on the grace God is giving us now in the moment through the Holy Spirit.

Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.

11 June 2019 - encouraging hearts

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.

Barnabas was the name the apostles gave to him. His given name was actually "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus" (see Acts 4:36). But he was considered to be a "son of encouragement". We can see why in today's reading as he rejoices and encourages the disciples in Antioch.

What is our first response when we see Barnabas encouraging others? Are we dismissive? Do we consider it to be superficial and not very important? Because if that is the case we need to reevaluate. The encouragement he gave the people at Antioch made them more firm in the grace of God at work in their midst. It positioned them so that "a large number of people was added to the Lord." It was, in fact, salt that helped keep the taste of God's grace at work. 

You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

It was light that could not be hidden from those around them, drawing more and more people to join them in following Jesus.

You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Christian encouragement is more than mere psychology of affirmation. It isn't so much about what we're doing as it is about being aware of and thankful for the action of God in our midst so we can rely on it more and more.

Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.

Who can we encourage today? How can we be salt and light for the Kingdom?

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;

10 June 2019 - behold your mother

Today's Readings

(Audio)

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

Together with Mary and the apostles we are called to devote ourselves to prayer. We are called to prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of the bread (see Acts 2:42). These are the people and characteristic activities that mark the Church. If we look at them we saw the four marks of the Church in miniature. We see oneness, sanctity, apostolicity, and universality. This picture could not be complete without Mary.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
He will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel.

Her unique importance was clearly seen in the early Church:

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.

- Saint Irenaeus

It is this sanctity in which we are meant the participate. It is united with her that we ourselves can be united. It is around her that we find the apostles and therefore the fullness of the catholic truth of Jesus. She is now the Mother of all the living, those who keep the testimony of Jesus (see Revelation 12:17), whereas Eve, though meant to be, became the mother of the dead through her disobedience. We have a mother whose obedience is life-giving. This is why Jesus is born from the fruit of her womb. But the womb of her spirit continues to be fruitful in interceding for her other children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus by adoption.

Let us stand with the beloved disciples at the cross and receive Mary again and afresh as a new gift for all of us.

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."

Mary is herself the new Zion because within her God's true children are born.

And of Zion they shall say:
"One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD."

Mary, mother of the Church, pray for us!

9 June 2019 - Spirit willing

Today's Readings - Mass During the Day

(Audio)

But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

We are in the Spirit, the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and because of that we can live lives that are pleasing to God. Even though our bodies still show symptoms our eventual death yet these symptoms no longer need to control us. The Spirit dwells in us and gives us life. 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

We can live the old way, the way that anyone can live without God. Or instead we can choose to live by the power of the Spirit. We can rely on ourselves or we can rely on the Spirit. One thing that won't work is stradling some middle way between our effort and God's grace. We need to be all in for the Spirit.

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

We need to rely on the Spirit. But the how is not something we need to figure out or struggle with. We need to be attentive rather than inventive.

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.

The Holy Spirit shows us how to live. But even before this he shows us who we are in him. Only when we live this new identity are we able to live Spirit-filled lives.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

It is the confidence we have as sons and daughters in the Son that make us cry, "Abba, Father!" When we know that we are children of the Father death and temptation will not be able to intimidate us into compliance. We will choose the new life of the Spirit that is constantly being offered to us.

When we let the Holy Spirit direct us miracles happen.

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.

When we welcome the fire from on high we receive gifts uniquely appropriate to each one of us and to our individual missions for the kingdom. Though the gifts are many the world stands in dire need of all of them.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

Let's spend a few prayerful moments allowing the Spirit to say, "Jesus is Lord" in us. May he cry out "Abba, Father!" from the depths of our own hearts. As his voice shouts we know that we are transformed. We feel the life of the resurrection being released in us. These are cries we can shout when the enemy comes against us. These are words on which we can rely.

8 June 2019 - no comparison

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"

Peter had just learned that he was being called to suffer. Jesus spoke words to him indicating the death he was going to die. Peter then did what we all often do. He began comparing himself to others. He started to have the thought that perhaps it wasn't fair for him to have this calling and for John to be off the hook.

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

Here is the message for us today. What the LORD is doing in the lives of others is no concern of ours. We only need to concern ourselves with following him. Even though we may face trials and suffering the LORD makes all things work together for good. When we compare we're one step away from complaining. We risk shutting our ears to God's specific will for us. We need to believe that God is doing a good work in us (see Philippians 1:6), that he has a good plan for us (see Jeremiah 29:11), and that he will bring it to completion.

Beyond most people Paul would have a reason to complain if he were comparing himself to others. His whole mission would then be at risk because he wouldn't be willing to take the next step. If he was complaining he probably wouldn't make the appeal to Caesar. He wouldn't do all he could to make the name of Jesus known.

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.

Paul knows that Jesus is working all things for good in him. Because he knows it God is able to do amazing works through him. May it be so in us as well.

For the LORD is just, he loves just deeds;
the upright shall see his face.