Tuesday, June 30, 2020

The circumstances we ask God to CHANGE are often the circumstances God is using to CHANGE US.


If we do not fill our mind with prayer, it will fill itself with anxieties, worries, temptations, resentments, and unwelcome memories.
Scott Hahn: (An American Christian theologian and apologist.) 

Gospel Text: (MT 8:23-27)
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

Reflect, today, on how you react to hardship and problems in your life.  Be they big or small, do you face them with the confidence, calm and hope that Jesus wants you to have?  Life is too short to be filled with terror.  Have confidence in the Lord no matter what you face each day.  If He seems to be asleep, allow Him to remain asleep.  He knows what He is doing and you can be certain that He will never allow you to endure more than you can handle.


Monday, June 29, 2020

Today the Lord repeats to me, to you…: Follow Me! Waste no time in questioning or in useless chattering; do not dwell on secondary things but look to what is essential and follow Me. Follow Me without regard for the difficulties. Follow Me in preaching the Gospel. Follow Me by the witness of a life shaped by the grace you received in baptism….. Follow Me by speaking of Me, to those with whom you live, day after day, in your work, your conversations and among your friends. Follow Me by proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially to the least among us, so that no one will fail to hear the word of life, which sets us free from every fear and enables us to trust in the faithfulness of God. Follow Me!


St. Peter and St. Paul were very different people. They each had an important mission for building up the early Church, and the way each saint served God and spread the Gospel was unique to the special gifts God gave him. But in many ways, St. Peter and St. Paul were quite alike. After reaching drastically low points (for Peter, denying Jesus; for Paul, persecuting the early Christians), both men decided to say yes to God. And their “Yes” changed everything for the early Church, leading to the Church we have today. 

Gospel Text: (MT 16:13-19)
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
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.
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.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The truth must be proclaimed in love and compassion; but love is not loving nor is compassion compassionate if the truth of the life of faith and morals is not present. 

On this feast of Saints Peter and Paul, may Christ give all of us, and the entire Church, the courage, charity, and wisdom we need to continue to be the instruments that set the world free.


Thursday, June 25, 2020

Let me ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure?


The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being. - Lech Walesa: (born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the first democratically-elected President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.

(Gospel Text: Matthew 7:21-29)
Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'
Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."
When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Reflect, today, upon how deeply you believe all that Jesus says.  Do you trust in every word He has spoken?  Do you believe Him enough to rely upon His promises even in the midst of life’s greatest challenges?  If you are not sure, then this is a good day to recommit yourself to the prayerful reading of His Word.  All He says in Scripture is true and those truths are what we need to create a firm foundation for the rest of our lives.


Wednesday, June 24, 2020

“God is not only faithful by definition; He is also faithful by demonstration.”


Have confidence. Return. Invoke our Lady and you'll be faithful. - Josemaria Escriva: (1902 – 26 June 1975) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness by God and that ordinary life can result in sanctity.

Gospel Text: (LK 1:57-66, 80)
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
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.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
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.

Reflect, today, upon the ways that you have not been faithful to God in your life.  But think of it in the context of hope.  Hope that God will receive you back and transform your life if you return to Him.  God is waiting and His mercy is abundant.  Allow His mercy to fill you with a heart that blesses the goodness of God.