Tuesday, August 26, 2014 Matthew 23:23-26 Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean. (Matthew 23:26) Many homes have a junk drawer or catch-all closet that the owners don’t really want other people to know about. When company approaches, stray papers and miscellaneous objects with no clear category are deposited into these hiding places. When these things are out of sight, the house at least appears orderly, and guests get a good impression. Unfortunately, just out of view is evidence of a persistent and perhaps growing clutter. At a restaurant we may be careful to say grace before eating but think nothing of snapping at a waiter who seems less than perfectly polite. We may try hard not to miss Mass, but just before the service, we cut someone off trying to get a parking space. Why don’t our outward observances more closely match what’s inside us? Oftentimes, it’s because we find it easier to manage our appearance than to deal with our flaws. We want to hide them away and occupy ourselves with what we can control. This is exactly what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is for! It should be anything but a cosmetic approach. It’s meant to set us free from the inside out. As we examine our consciences through the light of the Holy Spirit, we can get to the root of the shortcomings that dog us. Whatever we’re dealing with, if we acknowledge it, confess it, and seek God’s grace to part with it, he will forgive us and restore us to his presence. We never have to live chained to our sins. “Lord, you know my heart, and still you love me! Grant me the grace to see my sins as you see them and the courage to come to you for healing.” (the WORD among us) Wednesday, August 27, 2014 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 We wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us. (2 Thessalonians 3:9) We often hear celebrities and athletes spoken of as role models. When they display good character, they are praised as good role models, and when their behavior is not so good, they’re called bad role models. But should we even consider distant public figures like these as models at all? St. Paul speaks about how he was a role model when he lived among the Thessalonians. He explains how he did certain things not because he had to but because he wanted to set a good example. Sometimes we assume that it is someone else’s job to be a role model. Maybe not athletes or celebrities but certainly teachers, priests, or community leaders. But in fact, we all have people who look up to us. And if you choose to embrace this role as Paul did, God can use you in powerful ways. No matter how old or young we are, we all need role models – and we can all become role models as well. When you are out, your gestures and words have the potential to demonstrate love and unity to the people around you. When you speak, even about trivial matters, you can give others a glimpse of God the Father. In fact, your life is always on display. Isn’t it a good thing that Christ is in you to help you mirror his character? “Father, thank you for the role models you have given me. Help me to live as a model for others.” (the WORD among us) Thursday, August 28, 2014 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. (1:7) Scientists tell us that DNA is the master plan behind every living organism – including ourselves. This one tiny molecule holds all the data that determines a person’s gender, eye color, height, susceptibility to various diseases, and, according to some researchers, parts of the individual’s personality. In a number of ways, DNA is what makes us. It’s all there ready to burst out. We have no control over it, but in God’s perfect plan, it comes out at just at the right moment. You also have a spiritual DNA. You have the Holy Spirit at work in your heart, cultivating it so that all these spiritual gifts (grace to say no to temptation, grace to share your faith, grace to love someone who gets on your nerves) can have the greatest effect possible. Why don’t we always see this grace active in us. It could be because we’re too busy, or we’re not used to looking for grace. But another key reason maybe that we are used to focusing on our failings and weaknesses more than on the grace that is in us. But even when we lose sight of our great potential, God doesn’t. Like any good architect, he knows exactly how he built us, and he longs to see us use every tool he has given us. Today, make it a point to repeat this statement over and over: “I am loved by God. He has a perfect plan for my life. He has equipped me for every challenge I may face. I am fearfully, wonderfully made!” Never forget that God sees your potential. Never forget that his Son gave up his life so that you can become the YOU he created you to be! “Thank you, Father, for all the grace and blessings you have given me. Teach me how to open these mighty gifts and use them for your glory.” (the WORD among us) Friday, August 29, 2014 The Passion of St. John the Baptist 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:25) Heavenly Father, we turn to you today and ask you to grant us forerunners like John the Baptist. Raise up zealous missionaries who will break new ground for the gospel. Inspire men and women to seek you in dessert solitude – to usher in your kingdom through fasting and prayer. Father, we ask you to send new John the Baptists into the world – evangelists filled with the power of your Spirit from their earliest years. Light the fire of your love in them, so that they can enkindle that fire wherever they go. O Jesus, raise up new prophets like John the Baptist, who will speak your word courageously. Fill believers with the gift of prophecy and send them into the church to renew, revive, purify, and lift our hearts to heaven. May your word issue forth as a powerful proclamation to every country bringing humanity back to you, the Prince of Peace. Merciful Father, grant us new John the Baptists who are willing to become martyrs for your word. Send them into the lands where sin has a foothold. Strengthen them to crush the head of the enemy and bring new life, even to the shedding of their blood. Lord, we acknowledge that it’s not just about other people being raised up. May all your people be willing to lay down their lives so that a civilization of love may spring forth. Grant each one of us the grace to decrease so that Jesus may increase. “Lord, make me as holy as John the Baptist was. Teach me to seek you first, shunning the riches of this world in favor of your heavenly treasures. Make my family holy in word and deed, a mini-church determined to serve the mission of Jesus. O Lord, may men and women and children everywhere come to love you and work to usher in your kingdom!” (the WORD among us) Saturday, August 30, 2014 Matthew 25:14-30 Out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:25) The unfaithful servant got the idea that his master was a hard-hearted man who expected him to magically produce vast amounts of wealth from his one talent. So instead of taking a chance, he did nothing. Unfortunately this fellow got it all wrong. The master just wanted to know if they had put his wealth to good use. He wanted to know if he could trust them because he had bigger things in mind for them. That’s the way it is with our relationship to God. While he expects us to bear fruit, he doesn’t play a numbers game. He just wants us to understand the basic principle of spiritual investment: it is only as we give away what he has given to us that we will grown into his likeness. Only then will he give us more of his gifts. The unfaithful servant feared that he could never please his master, so he didn’t even try. We do something similar when we wait for God to assign us some really important task but then ignore the small ones he gives us every day or when we turn aside from his prompting because we think we’re not good enough. The reality is, God is already delighted with us! If we take our eyes off ourselves and start doing his will, he will multiply our efforts with an abundant harvest. But he cannot use our talents if they are buried in a hole marked “When I’m Ready.” “Lord, open my eyes to the great gifts you’ve given me and the many opportunities I have to use them. Show me how I can be a vessel of your grace and peace!” (the WORD among us) Sunday, August 31, 2014 Matthew 16:21-27 Get behind me, Satan! Even with the best of intentions, we can say and do things that help the devil instead of the Lord. This is why it’s so important to try to develop the gift of discernment. Even after the strong rebuke from Jesus, Peter continued to find himself influenced by the devil. At the Last Supper, he joined the other disciples in arguing about which of them was the greatest. Later that evening, he told Jesus that he would never deny him – but he did. He even tried to keep Jesus from washing his feet. You would think that Peter would have learned by then! Peter did grow in his ability to discern God’s will. On Pentecost Sunday, his preaching converted thousands. His willingness to reach out to Cornelius and his family, even though they were Gentiles, enlarged everyone’s view of God’s plan. Like Peter, we are going to be influenced by the devil and end up doing things that hinder God’s plan. It’s just the way we are as fallen people. But that’s not the whole story. Jesus wants to teach us how to identify the devil’s ploys. If you pray for grace and if you take time each day to reflect on our thoughts and actions, your gift of discernment will grow. You will think and act more like Jesus. “Lord, fill me with your grace. Teach me to choose your will more and more.” (the WORD among us) Monday, September 1, 2014 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 … So that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5) Let’s connect with Jesus on a personal level, a “heart” level, today. Let’s allow the Scriptures to bring us face to face and heart to heart with the Lord. Reread today’s Gospel and place yourself in the scene. As the synagogue members listen to Jesus and note the graciousness of his word, they still can’t bridge that gap between their minds and their hearts. They are impressed with him intellectually and emotionally, but they still can’t get past what they know of him. He grew up with them; they played together as children; they worked together at their trades. He couldn’t possibly be more than they already know! And so their polite approval changes to fury when Jesus exposes their closed hearts. Jesus’ heart must have ached to see his neighbors unable to accept him. What about you? Will you go deeper than what you know about the Lord? Will you let him – Jesus, the person, and not just the ideas about him - touch your heart? “Lord, I believe that you are more than I know. I don’t want to be just convinced about who you are. I want to meet you and know you personally. Jesus, come and be the foundation of my faith.” (the WORD among us)
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 01:00:26 +0000