“Return to me with your whole heart.” | Ash Wednesday

From the responsorial psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (6:1-6, 16-18, today’s readings)

“But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

Jesus teaches the disciples how to give alms, pray, and fast. First he tells the them how not to do it, as the hypocrites do, and then he tells them in what way to do it and why. He defines hypocrites as those who “perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.” Whether giving alms, praying, or fasting, those who do it for public recognition, Jesus says, have already received their reward. When done without drawing attention to them, the Lenten observances of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting become a private conversation between the original giver of the gift and we who give back to God what is his. “And your Father who sees in secret,” Jesus says, “will repay you.” Lent is a time of remembering Whose we are and making our way back wholeheartedly to be reconciled to him, the font of mercy.

God, strengthen me today and throughout Lent as I consider the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Jesus calls attention to you six times as he teaches the disciples the way to fast, pray, and give alms. In teaching these observances, Jesus leads us into a genuine, private relationship with you, Our Father. Give me the grace of sincerity and humility this Lent as I seek to deepen my connection with you, Lord, rather than seeking recognition from others. Help me keep pure my attitudes and intentions behind anything I do out of authentic piety. You are the giver of every good gift, Lord; show me how to make a wholehearted return to you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The hope of eternal life in the age to come. | Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his justice; for God himself is the judge. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:28-31, today’s readings)

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.”

Among what is given up in the present age for eternal life in the age to come, Jesus says that those who have given up this for his sake and for the sake of the Gospel will “receive a hundred times more now in this present age.” With this, there will be persecutions but “eternal life in the age to come.” In following him, Jesus teaches what it means to follow and not follow him: “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Jesus, Incarnate Word, is the fulfillment of the words of Sirach, who says, “For the Lord is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold.”

God, I hear in Peter’s declaration to Jesus the voice of one who has committed himself entirely: “We have given up everything and followed you.” Yet, Jesus calls out of Peter and all who follow him a greater sacrifice of praise that Sirach and the psalmist speak of. In your voice, the psalmist writes: “He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me.” Of all the good gifts you give me in turn to offer to you, there is no greater sacrifice of praise than to offer “the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.” In praise, thanks, and adoration, Lord, I ask for the grace to do always what is pleasing to you. Jesus, I trust in you! Saint Casimir, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For men it is impossible, but not for God.” | Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:17-27, today’s readings)

So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

Jesus responds to a man’s question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He reminds him of the commandments and lists several, to which the man says he has kept since his youth. Mark tells us that Jesus looks at him with love and says, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man becomes saddened by this statement because he has many possessions. Jesus comments privately to the disciples how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, repeating the statement twice. Seeing the astonishment of the disciples as they question who can be saved, Jesus says that with man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. The glad cries of freedom the psalmist sings of spring from remaining close to the Lord. And how is this accomplished? As Sirach says, “Stand firm in the way set before you, in prayer to the Most High God.”

God, help me today remember and live out the words of the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” If Jesus, who was rich, became poor, how can I follow his example and become poor even as I receive all of your gifts and blessings? His loving response to the man to sell his possessions is an invitation for me to examine my level of detachment from material goods and to consider how those resources can serve others. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus says. Give me the grace to let go of worldly wealth for the sake of loving service to others. In doing your will, Lord, the hope of the treasure in heaven awaits. How much of that is in standing firm in the way you have set before me? Saint Katherine Drexel, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For every tree is known by its own fruit.” | Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to your name, Most High, To proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (6:39-45, today’s readings)

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.”

In the first reading, Sirach says, “The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had.” Jesus tells his disciples some parables to expand on the truth contained in this idea, including spiritual blindness, or a deeply rooted lack of accountability. The blind are not capable of leading the blind, and if there is a beam of judgment in our own eye, that must be removed before we can see out of God-given mercy the splinter in another’s eye. Jesus’ instruction to remove the beam from one’s own eye before addressing the speck in another’s eye is a teaching on the importance of self-awareness and accountability. What does self-examination reveal about our motivations and intentions? Any good fruit in us that “shows the care we have had” reveals the gift of God’s mercy alive in our hearts.

God, you alone are just and know the hearts of your people. Judgment is not mine to wield, and the word of life will come to fulfillment in the final judgment. Saint Paul reminds me to keep this in mind, that life leads in only one direction in hope of the resurrection: “When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about.” Guide me, Lord, to shine like a light in the world as I hold on to the word of life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” | Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him, For he knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:13-16, today’s readings)

“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

In the first reading, we hear Sirach say that God says to his people, “Avoid all evil.” He created us to live in wisdom and understanding through his covenant with his chosen people, Israel. Similarly, Jesus tells us in the Gospel to welcome in the kingdom of God as he receives the children who come to him. As the children come to Jesus, he embraces and blesses them. Through wisdom, we choose freely to be God’s children and receive his gift. Mary, full of grace, lived by saying yes to everything God asked of her. In her Magnificat, she proclaims, “the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” As Saint John Paul II said of Mary accepting God’s gift within herself: “This Wisdom is Jesus Christ himself, the Eternal Word of God, who perfectly reveals and accomplishes the will of the Father.” Mary invites everyone to accept this gift of Wisdom.” 

Father in heaven, make clear to me as you would make clear to a child what your will is for me today. If I miss what you make clear, again let me see what I didn’t see the first time. The psalmist contemplates the shortness of life. “Man’s days are like those of grass.” Yet, “the kindness of the LORD is from eternity.” I will make many decisions today, small ones and big ones. Give me the grace, Lord, to use your gift of wisdom and choose what is pleasing to you; even more, strengthen my desire that you might embrace and bless me. Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother.” | Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:1-12, today’s readings)

But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

As Jesus teaches the crowds, some Pharisees approach him and ask, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They are testing him with this question. He responds by asking, “What does Moses command you?” They answer, “Moses permits a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” Jesus explains that because of stubbornness, Moses allowed divorce but that from the beginning, God created humans as male and female, intending for a man to leave his parents and become one with his wife. In responding this way, Jesus calls us to a deeper understanding of marital commitment, fidelity, and the need for grace in overcoming the challenges that couples may face in every marriage. As Sirach says in the first reading, “A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds.”

God, thank you for the gift of marriage, a sacred covenant you established by your divine will. What you have joined together, no one should separate. Jesus’ teaching reminds spouses of the commitment they make to each other and the importance of working through challenges. Give me the grace to understand that marriage is a reflection of your love for the Church as married couples embody patience, kindness, and humility in a union that gives all glory to you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

To be salted with fire. | Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (9:41-50, today’s readings)

“Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

Jesus continues to speak to the disciples, answering their questions and teaching them. From the same chapter in Mark, in the home of one of his followers, Jesus takes a child in his arms and says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” Shortly after, Jesus says: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” He tells them it is better to lose a limb or an eye if they cause you to sin and enter Gehenna, a place of unquenchable fire. It is ours to own when God holds us accountable for our actions as natural consequences follow. By being “salted with fire,” a means to purification in this life’s trials and in purgatory, Jesus encourages us in his mercy to be accountable for the faith and charity we show even as the Holy Spirit refines us in true faith and charity.

God, help me take to heart the words of Sirach in the first reading, who urges me to keep from the error of relying on my own strength and presuming your mercy. “Say not, Sirach writes, ‘Great is his mercy; my many sins he will forgive.'” As Jesus makes clear to the disciples, make clear to me that I am responsible for the words and actions I choose through your gift of free will, ardent in my faith and trusting in your mercy and justice through Jesus Christ your Son. Lord, make me know your ways; teach me your paths.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“For whoever is not against us is for us.” | Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (9:38-40, today’s readings)

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

By trying to prevent someone from driving out demons in the name of Jesus, John attempts to be protective of the mission of Jesus. It is from a viewpoint that keeps the power of Christ contained and undivided. John, who refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” seems to have the best interest of Jesus in his heart when he expresses this. Yet, the love of God manifested in the flesh and blood of Jesus cannot be divided without multiplying it. That is why Jesus expresses the truth of his person as the embodiment of indivisible truth that no one who performs a miracle in his name can degrade or diminish him. The first reading from Sirach expresses this in relation to service to the wisdom of God: “Those who serve her serve the Holy One; those who love her the LORD loves.”

Father in heaven, deepen my understanding of the exchange of love between you and the Son through the unity of the Holy Spirit. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, the living access to the Father. Give me the grace to call on you, Lord, as I witness to your undivided power in bringing mercy wherever there are stumbling blocks, to whatever prevents access to the way and the truth and the life in the person of Christ. Jesus, I trust in you!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” | Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart’s requests. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (9:30-37, today’s readings)

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

As Jesus travels with the disciples through Galilee, he tells them about his coming passion, death, and resurrection. Unable to understand him, they ask no questions but on the way to Capernaum discuss who among the disciples is the greatest. Once inside the house where they would stay, Jesus shares with them what true greatness means as his disciples: the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. The child from within the house that Jesus places before them is somehow closely related to the disciples, possibly a son or daughter or nephew or niece of one of the disciples. In receiving the child, Jesus teaches us what the love of a father for his children looks like as he speaks of his own Father and ours as the “One who sent me.”

Father in heaven, teach me to put myself last of all today. In doing what is necessary today, help me look first to the needs of others even as I accomplish my tasks. Nothing extraordinary is likely to happen today as I try to act on being “the last of all and the servant of all.” Yet, let me receive the gifts you give me today and not take my own agendas so seriously that I forget you, the giver of all that is good. The psalmist’s prayer is to “trust in the LORD and do good.” Give me the grace to take to heart this seemingly simple task today for the sake of your glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Everything is possible to one who has faith.” | Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (9:14-29, today’s readings)

Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”

Taking place immediately after the Transfiguration as Jesus comes down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and meets the other disciples, today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ encounter with a man whose son is possessed. In an argument with some scribes after attempting to drive out the demon, the disciples face the lack of faith of the father and the scribes. That is why Jesus says to them, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?” Jesus then asks them to bring the boy to him, whose spirit throws him to the ground in convulsions. The father asks for Jesus compassion and help, saying “if you can do anything.” Jesus redirects the father’s attention to everything that is possible through faith in God. In response, his profession of faith is a prayer for all who have faith in the Lord: “I do believe, help my unbelief.”

God, help me trust that you can do the impossible, especially in circumstances that appear to have no solution. Just as the father asks for help on behalf of the son, let me come to you with firm conviction in faith that you alone can restore us to your image. Daily life seems to produce abundant barriers to the realization of hope sought through continual prayer. Yet, through Jesus Christ your Son, you transfigure human dignity in a way that accomplishes your plan for salvation while respecting free will. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,” you say through Isaiah, “neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” Lord, strengthen my faith!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.