Tag: Prayer

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:35-45)

Jesus summoned the twelve and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

James and John ask Jesus to grant them the honor of sitting at his right and left in his glory. Misunderstanding what it means to share in glory as a leader, Jesus describes his coming suffering and death. He goes on to tell them that they also will face suffering. In this world, Jesus tells explains, rulers exercise authority over others, but among his followers it’s different: true greatness, Jesus tells them, comes from serving others.

God, help me follow what Jesus taught the disciples. On any given day, there are dozens of temptations to power, to be the one who lords power or wealth over others. Help me recognize that your gifts cannot be accounted for in the way the world accounts for blessings. Suffering is not something I would readily take on; yet, it is inevitable. Give me the opportunity to put my needs aside to take care of the person next to me. When I hesitate today and to put selfishness aside, recalling the words of Saint Paul, let me call to you for divine assistance: “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” Lord, be merciful as I place my 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

From the responsorial psalm: “When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? You have given your Son rule over the works of your hands.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:8-12)

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

The words of Jesus call us to greater conversion and discipleship. If we acknowledge Jesus before others, he opens up his doors to us. If we deny him, how could we expect Jesus to do anything but deny us? Yet, we have a choice, and in choosing him there is forgiveness. Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, will not be forgiven. Difficult words to take in and understand in light of free will. Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is committed rejection of the love and forgiveness Jesus offers. Lucifer rejected God once and for all in his exercise of free will. How good it is to acknowledge the Son of God and trust in his mercy.

God, open my eyes today to the opportunity to acknowledge your Son before others. Give me the courage to do it, if only in a quiet way. While I would never desire to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, help me recognize the times in my life when choosing sin has completely eclipsed the light of the Lord, the giver of life. Give me a contrite heart, Lord, as I give over everything to you. Saint Paul said, “And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his Body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.” Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

From the responsorial psalm: “Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:1-9)

“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

Jesus appoints seventy-two disciples and sends them out in pairs to preach the Gospel. Sending them out as lambs among wolves, he gives them specific instructions on what to say and how to behave as guests. The source of peace he tells them to wish on each house they enter is from the love of the Father. In visiting towns, the disciples are instruments of God’s healing grace, and they open the door to the kingdom of God. What might open up to us today as we wish peace—spoken or silent—to every person we encounter?

God, help me trust in you today. In the hope I have for the many plans I would like to carry out today, give me the grace to put my hope in you alone and what you can accomplish through me. Allow me to be aware of what I have to offer you in the people and opportunities you present to me. Lift me up, Lord; empower me to accomplish your will. The seventy-two listened to Jesus and followed his commands, proclaiming your kingdom wherever they went. In accordance with your will, give me courage to do the same. Saint Luke, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

From the responsorial psalm: “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. The Lord has made known his salvation.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:47-54)

“Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

Even as the Pharisees try to trip up Jesus, he calls them to see and respond to the truth, to the key of knowledge he himself is as the Son of God. As they try to “catch him at something he might say,” they become frustrated toward him and hostile because of their inability to see any wrong Jesus has done. The knowledge of God, revealed throughout the ages and finally through his Son Jesus Christ, is a gift given out of love for us. How will I receive it today?

God, help me see the times I have been complicit in preventing the truth of the Gospel from being heard or entered into. I don’t need to look deeply, too far beyond the capacities you have given me, to know the truth of faith that you are a loving Father and to share the goodness of that with others. Give me the grace to have childlike faith and trust in you, Lord; open my hear to hear and respond to you. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth 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. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:42-46)

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

Jesus denounces the Pharisees and the scholars of the law for their overemphasis of authority as they seek to maintain outward appearances. Externally, they appear to be reverent but inside are corrupt—as Jesus says, “like unseen graves.” But even in denunciation, Jesus calls them to love of something that transcends the law even as it brings it to fulfillment—love for God and attention to placing judgment in the hands of the Father. Where honor is given, there our heart is. If not to God, what do we give honor to in our words and actions?

God, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever. Even as I become more aware of you, Lord, in the faces of others, help me look to my interior life to make a place for you to stay. I give others room insofar as I take into account their needs, serve them, fall short, and try again. Teach me, then, to do the same for you as much as for others. If I hear and follow your voice, help me trust that good things will follow. As Saint Paul says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” By this, Lord Jesus Christ, let me trust that you stand beside me and remain within.

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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Everything will be clean for you.” | Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

From the responsorial psalm: “Let your mercy come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise. Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:37-41)

After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

As a guest in the home of a Pharisee, Jesus doesn’t observe the ritual washing before the meal. His harsh response to the Pharisee’s amazement at this calls out the evil he sees in this customary practice. Washing itself doesn’t seem like a bad idea, yet the extreme focus on keeping up appearances is what Jesus criticizes. And there’s more to come. In tomorrow’s Gospel, Jesus continues to denounce the practices of the Pharisees that are for the sake of appearance. Even as he condemns the inner spiritual state of the Pharisees, Jesus has an antidote for their illness and for ours: give alms and be made clean.

God, you fashioned my entire being, inside and outside. As my maker, be my aid in purging my interior self of any evil to make room for you. Jesus says, “Give alms.” In giving alms, help me be a cheerful giver of not only your material gifts but also your mercy. “Give and gifts will be given to you,” Jesus says. Guide me, Lord, throughout the day and lead me not in the way of fools but in the way of a heart made clean by doing your will. “The soul of the just person is nothing else,” Saint Teresa says, “but a paradise where the Lord says he finds his delight.” Saint Teresa, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“There is something greater than Solomon here.” | Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Who is like the LORD, our God, who looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:29-32)

“At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

The condemnation of Jesus ought to have stirred the crowd to repentance. Although Luke doesn’t describe the crowd’s response to these words, it seems likely that the teaching fell on deaf ears. Jesus reveals to the crowd two ways that God has shown his signs in the past, in the wisdom of Solomon, sought by the Queen of Sheba and in the repentance of the Ninevites, who heard and responded to Jonah’s message. The something greater here that Jesus refers to is not another sign but what every prophet points to—that which is, the Great I AM, the very presence of God in flesh and blood. God has given signs, but the crowd rejects them. What Jesus calls evil is the deliberate choice of the people.

God, help me see your goodness, whether I see it in a sign fulfilled or in the peaceful indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If a sign or signs point to you throughout the day, I will welcome them. Still, if I know you are near by every good gift you give me, by your grace, let me rest in the truth of that faith; I don’t need signs. For the times when I have no awareness of your presence, give me the grace, now and then, to trust that you are near. Guard my heart as I hear other voices that may call me away from you. Help me keep in mind the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Saint Callistus I, 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“No one is good but God alone.” | Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:17-30)

“Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” 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: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”

After Jesus challenges a rich young man him to sell all he has, give the money to the poor, and follow him, the young man walks away saddened by this demand. Jesus then tells the disciples how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Probably alarmed to hear that worldly success does not automatically indicate the favor of God, the astonished disciples ask Jesus who then can be saved. For human beings, Jesus tells them, impossible, but not for God. Peter’s statement is a strong profession of faith; in it, he professes his detachment from the world and his identity as a follower of Christ. In a way that calls to mind the Beatitudes, Jesus takes the disciples deeper and farther by revealing to them what they have chosen over countless riches—blessings in this life, including persecutions, and eternal life in the world to come.

God, help me recognize your gift of love, the same loving look that Jesus gave to the rich young man. “You are lacking in one thing.” Give me the grace to see what I am lacking to inherit eternal life; not one thing but many. Yet, what is impossible for me, you make possible. Why do I call you good? Because you alone are the Lord. What I lack in poverty of spirit, you make up for in grace. I hear in the Gospel acclamation the wisdom of choosing poverty of spirit over what the world offers: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Guide me today, Lord, toward your loving gaze; teach me to let go of the things that keep me from 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.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” | Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:27-28)

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

In responding to the woman, Jesus reveals something about his relationship to the Father. Holiness is not a birthright or a status achieved by lineage. The source of holiness is in hearing and doing the will of the Father. Mary, the Mother of God, is also blessed. Conceived without original sin and given special grace to bear Jesus in her womb, her response to the angel Gabriel is a perfect model of faith and obedience to God’s will. Throughout the events of the day, what might people say about you that speaks to your relationship with Our Father—the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

God, thank you for every good gift you give me today. Jesus speaks to the woman in a way that recalls the Beatitudes. Blessed are the clean of heart. The responsorial psalm reminds me to pause throughout the day to look at you, to be a heart that seeks you. Open to seeking you, even a glance redirects me toward obedience to your will, to what pleases you. Luke tells us that Jesus was speaking as the woman called out to him. What was it Jesus was saying that prompted her to praise him, to proclaim his holy name? God, in the face of all the anxieties of the day and the lure of false wealth, guide me in the way of blessedness.

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 is not with me is against me.” | Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “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. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:15-26)

“But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Jesus identifies himself as “one stronger” than Beelzebul, who overcomes him, takes away his armor, and distributes the spoils of victory over every soul he saves. In a chilling description of demons, Jesus describes their behavior and exposes their strategy to possess souls. Looking for a place to rest, the demons return to a soul that has been swept clean. “Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits,” Jesus says, “more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.” Helpless to save ourselves, Jesus is stronger than the strong man and brings our souls into unity with the Father. Deliver us, Lord, from every evil!

God, you know every one of my vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Keep me safe today from the Evil One; in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, keep him far from me in his restless roaming. When I am weak, let me know your strength, Lord; when I am vulnerable, be my refuge. Grant me the wisdom to know what I should truly fear and for what reason I call for your protection. As Saint John XXIII said, “It is the soul’s hell that you must fear, not the hell of the body.” Saint John XXIII, 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.