Tag: Prayer

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

From the responsorial psalm: “Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:46-50)

An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”

Although beset by a host of tragedies and evildoing from Satan, Job remains faithful to the Lord as he hears from a messenger all that he has lost, including possessions and sons and daughters. “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away,” Job says, “blessed be the name of the LORD!” The disciples vie for a place of honor as his followers, but Jesus recognizes the deception that pride leads them into. By placing a child in their midst, Jesus shows the disciples that humility matters and that accolades and honors don’t. The least among you is the greatest.

God, help me understand my place within my family and my community. Give me the grace to discern how to receive Jesus in the people you place before me. The least, the poorest, the heartbroken—help me see them and at the same time see Christ in them. Help me put aside the pursuit of honor so I can more readily hear and respond to your will in bringing forth your kingdom. Saint Jerome, 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.

“Do not prevent him.” | Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48)

At that time, 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. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.”

The second reading from Saint James describes the natural consequences of storing up earthly treasures—material comforts, luxury and pleasure, and attachment to silver and gold—all of which corrode or fall to dust. In the first reading, a young man tells Moses that others besides him are prophesying in the camp. “Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Moses tells him. In the Gospel, the beloved disciple John tells Jesus that others are driving out demons in his name. Jesus tells him: “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” Those who try to make the treasures of the world increase see them divide and decrease, but those who share God’s love for the sake of his glory see that treasure multiply without end.

God, help me not be subject to the foolishness and enslavement of envy. Help me stand firm in refusing the enticements of the world and its riches. Let me receive joyfully and with gratitude the cup of water you give me to drink. The life Jesus invites me to enter into means choosing to turn away from things that draw me in and instead focus on what endures, what gives joy to the heart—and that is fear of the Lord, or humble acknowledgment of my dependence on you for all of your good gifts. Let me remember from Proverbs where to go to find the treasure that endures: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

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 Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”| Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:43B-45)

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

The events that Luke relates in the Gospel all take place in quick succession and include the feeding of the five thousand, the healing of people possessed by a demon, and the Transfiguration. Amazed witnesses to all of this, the disciples fail to understand what Jesus tells them about his coming passion and death. Yet, what they fail to understand Jesus asks them to pay attention to. Unaware of the martyrdom that some of the disciples would face, they are unable to reconcile that the Son of Man would be handed over to men. But in hanging on Jesus’ every word, they would remember that the crucified Christ, obedient to the Father even to death, would destroy death and rise triumphant to new life to save us.

God, help me understand what Jesus prepares me for as he speaks to the disciples. Although you call few to martyrdom, I want to take to heart the words of Jesus when he asks that I pay attention to what he is saying. In the world, there are plenty of people ready to hand over those who follow Jesus and the teachings of the Church. There are those who would persecute and kill missionaries who preach the Gospel. As Saint Lawrence said, who witnessed to the truth of the Gospel: “We have come to Japan only to preach faith in God and to teach salvation to little ones and to the innocent and to all the rest of the people.” God, help me understand persecution and suffering in light of rising to new life through Jesus Christ your Son. Shelter me, Lord; in every age, you have been our refuge. Saint Lawrence Ruiz, 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.

“But who do you say that I am?” | Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest

From the responsorial psalm: “LORD, what is man, that you notice him; the son of man, that you take thought of him? Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:18-22)

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Just as Herod heard all the commotion about Jesus and wondered who he was, Jesus questions the disciples about who people say that he is. They say nearly the same that Herod said—John the Baptist, Elijah, an ancient prophet who has arisen. But then Jesus asks Peter—an everyman, one of us—in a way that is meant to be heard deep in our hearts: “But who do you say that I am?” When Peter answers that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus warns them sternly not to tell anyone. The Son of God, the I AM come down to earth asks anybody and everybody the same question: “Who do you say that I am?”

God, help me see Jesus as Peter sees him. While in prayer, Jesus asks the disciples who people say that he is. After Peter answers him, Jesus lays out the whole plan of salvation—that he would willingly endure his passion, be killed, and raised on the third day. The disciples are perplexed at this. Your ways, Lord, are not my ways and I also fail to understand. Give me the grace to trust in your providential care, as the first reading expresses: “He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.” Saint Vincent de Paul, 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.

And he kept trying to see him. | Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week 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! In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:7-9)

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him.

In encountering John the Baptist, Herod heard the words of one of the greatest prophets and then beheaded him. Herod’s view of reality was severely limited because of what he refused to hear and take in. Just as he kept trying to hear John the Baptist before killing him, he kept trying to see Jesus even as he sought to have him killed. Eventually paving the way for Jesus’ crucifixion as he meets and mocks him, Herod stands before Jesus but even in that moment fails to see him. What we hear in the first reading describes Herod’s spiritual condition after hearing John and seeing Jesus: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing.”

God, help me see the futility of confidence in my plans and comfort in my possessions. Teach me to number my days aright that I may gain wisdom of heart. If I look at Herod and see only his complete failure to recognize the Son of God standing in front of him, I have missed something greater. In all the toil and labor of a lifetime, what good is there in it unless the futility of it all causes me to remain faithful to you in hearing and doing what pleases you? What else lasts or matters? “I am the way and the truth and the life,” I hear Jesus say. Lord, let me take refuge in you. Saints Cosmas and Damian, 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.

“Take nothing for the journey.” | Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Falsehood I hate and abhor; your law I love. Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:1-6)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.” Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and curing diseases everywhere.

Jesus sends out the Twelve with authority he gives to them to exorcise demons, cure diseases, and proclaim the Gospel. His specific instructions to take nothing for the journey guide the apostles in the way of radical dependence on God for food, clothing, and shelter. These extreme measures of detachment give the apostles power to heal, cure, and preach. Yet, in the extremes Jesus invites the Twelve—and all of us—to return to a kind of normalcy between extremes that we hear in the first reading: “Lest, being full, I deny you, saying, “Who is the LORD?” Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God.” The mission of the Twelve is not our mission but at the same time it is in so far as we cure, heal, and proclaim the Good News in the name of Jesus.

God, give me the grace to be satisfied with the food you give me for the day’s journey. To be the means of healing and proclaiming the Gospel, Jesus says, “Take nothing for the journey.” You know, Lord, I have everything I need and more, so help me understand how I can put into practice what Jesus commands. Help me see the reality of my dependence on you for everything I need so that I don’t say, “Who is the LORD?” You, Lord, are the source of fullness and detachment from constant, nagging want. Whatever house I enter today, for your sake, give me strength to be to others the person Jesus sends me out to be.

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 Mother and Brothers of Jesus. | Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 8:19-21)

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus describes the word of God as light. Today, Luke sets a scene in which Mary and the family members of Jesus stand outside, desiring to see him. As much as the word of God illuminates darkness, obedience to it reveals a new claim to the meaning of family in a relationship with the Father that extends beyond human ties. To live in accordance with God’s will is not to diminish the place of family on earth but to raise the standard of discipleship and to honor first the kingdom of God. Goodness will follow. “But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,” Jesus says in Matthew, “and all these things will be given you besides.”

God, help me understand that my place within my human family loses nothing by hearing and acting on your word. It is a way through faith that transcends human definitions of kinship. Mary and the family of Jesus naturally wanted to see him to care for him and look after his well-being. Instead, your Son showed them that by being obedient to you, he had food to sustain himself that they didn’t know about. Of all people, Mary would have known the source of this food, which Jesus brings to light to all who look to him. Blessed are those, Lord, who hear your word and observe it!

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.

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest

From the responsorial psalm: “He who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 8:16-18)

Jesus said to the crowd: “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

Speaking to the crowd, Jesus uses the image of light to describe every good gift of God that shines through the darkness. Light reveals what is hidden in darkness, penetrating every dark nook and corner, illuminating it and bringing it into clarity. “Take care, then, how you hear,” Jesus says. What is it to take great care in how we are hearing? To the one who has the light of Christ, more will be given; from the ones in complete darkness, even what they seem to have will be taken from them. The light of God’s love—pure gift—is the only thing we get to keep as he guides us on our path to him.

God, help me be attentive today to you as the source of light and what it reveals. I want more of what cannot be taken away; remaining in you, help me be a source of light to others that points to you. Bring to light the opportunities and events of the day that lead to you and give me the grace to use them to give glory to you. As Padre Pio said: “Do you want great love from me, Jesus? I too desire this, just as a deer longs to reach a flowing stream, but as you see I have no more love to give! Give me some more and I’ll offer it to you!” Saint Pio, 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.

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me.” | Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “O God, by your name save me, and by your might defend my cause. O God, hear my prayer; hearken to the words of my mouth. The Lord upholds my life.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 9:30-37)

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

During their journey, the disciples argue about who among them is the greatest. When they arrive at the place where they will stay, Jesus questions them about their argument. “What were you arguing about on the way?” he asks and then teaches them that to be first in his kingdom has nothing to do with power or status but about serving others. Jesus says of a child he places in their midst, “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.” This is the answer to their own questions, which they were afraid to ask Jesus along the way to their destination. To be humble and to serve others is to die to self and to receive in a trusting way Jesus and the One who sent him.

God, help me consider the second reading in light of the Gospel acclamation. James says: “You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain.” What the apostles sought to possess—the kind of greatness in your kingdom that they sought—was unobtainable. What they asked to receive, they asked wrongly. Lord, you wish for me to possess what I can have and not what I can obtain through selfish ambition. The Gospel acclamation is an answer to James, just as Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection was an answer to what the apostles were afraid to ask. “God has called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Teach me, Lord, to think less of myself, to receive who you wish me to possess in Christ’s “redemption both in mystery and in the manner of our life.” 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.

“Let the children come to me.” | Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “A clean heart create for me, O God; and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. Create a clean heart in me, O God.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19:13-15)

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

In receiving the children and blessing them, Jesus teaches the disciples that the kingdom of heaven is for those whose faith is childlike. To remain childlike in faith is to turn back to Jesus continually as he invites us to come to him. To toil through everyday activities without taking him up on his invitation is joyless; to put off his touch, his healing imposition, is to do it our way or else. And that is misery. As the psalmist puts it, “Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you.” The kingdom of heaven is for every one who hears and responds to the invitation of Jesus to come to him.

God, in coming to you in the Eucharist I begin the day in childlike faith that the time I take to go to you will be rewarded with your steadfast presence. Very quickly, as the day moves on, I forget to raise my eyes from the task at hand and realize you first gave me the means to accomplish the task and everything associated with it. Every good gift is yours. Give me the grace to return to you throughout the day in thanksgiving and with the conviction to make a new start. “Create a clean heart in me, O God.”

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.