Tag: disciples

“Lord, teach us to pray.” | Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:1-4)

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

In today’s Gospel, one of the disciples observes Jesus praying. He waits until Jesus finishes and asks that Jesus teach him to pray. The form of this prayer is worded differently than the Our Father we hear in Matthew or say regularly, but the content is the same. It is the Father Jesus addresses in prayer; in it, he asks for the Father’s daily sustenance—both physical and spiritual—forgiveness and forgiving, and protection against sin and temptation. Observing from the outside looking in, the disciple asks Jesus how to pray. Through the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites him into the sacred space of intimacy and unity the Son has with his Father.

Father in heaven, help me come to know your love through the Lord’s Prayer. Let me take time today to say it slowly throughout the day, letting it permeate the day’s events and give meaning to them. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

From the Gospel acclamation: “You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!” Lord, teach me to pray!

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.

“There is need of only one thing.” | Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:38-42)

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

In today’s Gospel, Luke gives us a view into Jesus’ friendship with Martha and Mary. He tells us that Martha welcomes Jesus as he enters a village. Without Luke describing how, we see Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary. At that moment, Martha is burdened with much serving while Mary is “beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.” Where would Mary be without Martha? She has welcomed Jesus into her home and served him hospitably with food and drink. Because of this, Mary is able to give wholehearted attention to the words of the Lord. And where would Martha be without Mary? Although Martha is anxious and asks, “Lord, do you not care,” Mary holds up for her a fundamental choice—the better part. What is the one thing needed but to quiet yourself in the presence of the Lord?

God, I want to be in your presence today. Whether I am aware of you, I will go on with the day regardless, busy with many things and anxious to accomplish them. Martha, in her frustration, said, “Lord, do you not care?” Yet, that in itself is a prayer for your presence and an expression of need. When I forget you today, bring me back through your grace to recognize that I need you. Call me back, Lord, to sit at your feet and hear your voice. Help me remember today’s Gospel acclamation as a way to return to you again and again: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” Lord, hear my voice!

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.

Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:25-37)

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Today’s Gospel makes clear that the language God uses to speak to his people is mercy. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrates for the scholar what it means to be a neighbor. First a priest and then a Levite approach a victim lying in the road, but they see the man and pass him on the opposite side. As models caretakers of worship and the Temple, they would be expected also to be model neighbors. Instead, a Samaritan helps the victim. In other passages in the Gospel, as when Jesus tries to pass through a Samaritan village to reach Jerusalem, the Samaritans are anything but welcoming, and Jesus finds another way to reach the city. In the same way, God’s mercy—if not expressed through his chosen people, the Israelites—finds another way through the love and care the Samaritan provides for the victim. What does cooperation with God’s grace do for our relationships with neighbors?

Father in heaven, eternal life seems far off, and here it is sometimes hard to love. Within the turmoil of this life, I forget to be loving or choose not to love. Yet, in this state of exile, you hear my prayer just as you heard the prayers of Jonah: “From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God.” And from the responsorial psalm, I hear: “Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me; From the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice.” Hear me, Lord, as I encounter my neighbor many times over today and have the opportunity to show compassion in return as you have been compassionate to me. Where I tend to accuse, show me how to forgive; when I am tempted to wound with words, teach me to heal; and when I am inclined to deny who my neighbor is, help me instead be welcoming and merciful.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” Lord, be merciful; help me show mercy in return.

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.

“It is wonderful in our eyes.” | Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 21:33-43)

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

Jesus speaks to the chief priests and elders about the kingdom of God through a parable about a landowner and his vineyard. The landowner is the Lord, and the tenants caring for the vineyard are the spiritual leaders of Israel. The servants the landowner sends are holy people and prophets sent by God to bear spiritual fruit and do God’s will. During harvest, when the landowner sends servants to obtain the produce of the harvest, the tenants beat, kill, and stone them. Others are sent, treated the same way. Finally, the landowner sends his son, whom the landowner believes they will respect. On seeing the son, the tenants say, foreshadowing Jesus’ passion and death: “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.” Jesus asks what the landowner will do when he returns. Today and at the Second Coming, how will we be found caring for the Lord’s vineyard—all of his gifts and his Church?

God, help me take in the richness in all of today’s readings. As in the first reading and responsorial psalm, the vineyard represents your kingdom on earth. We, your servants on earth are here to care for it. But often in my corner of the vineyard, rather than a crop of grapes, wild grapes grow. Parts of it lie in ruin, overgrown with thorns and briers. A sinner, I forget and cut myself off from you. Yet, as with the psalmist, I ask for your grace to bear good fruit: “Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine.” Lord, help me care for your gifts, the kingdom you have given me to nurture. It is, after all, yours: “by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.”

From the second reading: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Lord, grant me your peace; remain in me to produce lasting fruit.

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.

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” | Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:17-24)

Turning to the disciples in private Jesus said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

In today’s Gospel, as the seventy-two disciples return from their mission, Jesus hears of their victories for body and soul over the powers of darkness. The disciples say to Jesus: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus replies, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.” And he tells them that he has given them power so that the full force of the enemy will not harm them. Jesus rejoices in the Father in this and praises his will. In Jesus’ name and in the revelation of his divine identity, the disciples accomplished through childlike faith the Father’s work, which has written their names in heaven.

God, you offer me continually the opportunity to see your will accomplished through childlike faith and trust. Help me see the daily battle that rages on. Because of his holy name, Jesus your Son sees Satan falling like lightning from the sky, and he says to the disciples and to me: “Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.” Through the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, help lift me up today to hear these words when I am in most need of hearing them. Give me the grace, Lord, to return to you again and again for the strength and mercy only you can give me.

From the first reading: “As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him. For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.” Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for me to hear and do whatever Jesus tells me. Take me in hand and show me the way to Christ your Son!

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 whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” | Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:13-16)

Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses Jews and Gentiles of unrepentant towns he visits. As the Son of God, his judgment on the people though severe, is just. “And whoever rejects me,” Jesus says to the people of Capernaum, “rejects the one who sent me.” These people, whose towns Jesus had visited and had witnessed his miracles, were not incapable of hearing and following the Lord. In the first reading from Baruch, we hear, “From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice.” Similarly, from today’s Psalm, “Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low.” Yet, rejecting God results from original sin, a loss of the original image of goodness in which God formed us. Jesus restores us to the original image in Baptism through his death and resurrection.

Father in heaven, help me understand and take to heart today the words of your Son. Give me the grace to do spiritual battle today so I can be free to choose you. I want to hear you and do your will, and to do it I need the strength of your presence to turn to you. As the Catechism states: “Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.” Help me recall today the moments of life you kept me from harm and in your care. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver me.

From the responsorial psalm: “Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.” Stay with me, Lord, to show me your will!

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.

“Peace to this household.” | Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:1-12)

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them . . . , “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.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.'”

As Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples ahead of the places he intends to visit, he instructs them to take little with them as they proclaim the Kingdom of God. “I am sending you like lambs among wolves,” Jesus says. And to whatever house they enter, Jesus tells them to say, “Peace to this household.” In this, Jesus the Master teaches the disciples what he himself does. What does it mean to preach the Good News except to place trust in the Lord as you share with others the message of repentance and reconciliation? A welcoming reception, Jesus knew, is nothing he could guarantee the disciples. But he didn’t send them defenseless. God’s peace wished upon a household, today, as then, returns to the one who wishes the peace, regardless of its acceptance.

Father in heaven, help me understand the task of the disciples and my task in sharing your word and curing what ails others. Just as the disciples would face rejection, the reality is there for me as well. The potential for rejection among wolves hinders my ability to proclaim your word and wish peace to every house I enter. Yet, Jesus makes clear that I am to do that. And to the ones who accept peace, it will rest on them; to the ones who reject it, it will return to me—either way, that is your blessing. Lord, give me the grace to remain courageous and joyful in proclaiming your word, through Jesus Christ your Son.

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.”

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 has nowhere to rest his head.” | Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi | 10.4.23

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:57-62)

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

Jesus encounters people who desire to follow him. To each, he responds in a way that makes them question their sincerity. The response to the man who asks first to bury his father is without question harsh. Whether the man’s father had just passed away or he wanted to wait until his father’s death and burial to commit to discipleship is not clear. Yet, Jesus radically rearranges human spiritual priorities, placing family obligations behind worship of God and proclaiming his kingdom. Another person requests to bid farewell to their family before following Jesus, but Jesus warns against looking back and emphasizes the need for wholehearted dedication to the Kingdom of God. As Jesus does his Father’s will by proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the urgency for us to do the same is indisputable. In doing that, nothing is lost in choices that follow.

Father in heaven, you are present in apparent absence, present always and everywhere in heaven and earth. While foxes have dens and birds have nests, whoever would follow Jesus has not even a place to rest his head. Yet, you are present daily, every second of the day. In the face of death, Lord God of hosts, you are there. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Jesus said to the man with family at home: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Lord, give me the grace to understand what Jesus teaches about spiritual priorities. Help me recognize your presence, Lord, and always put you first.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I consider all things so much rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” Saint Francis, 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.

“Jesus turned and rebuked them.” | Tuesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:51-56)

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

As Luke tells us that Jesus “resolutely determined” to travel to Jerusalem, the first reading from the prophet Zechariah makes clear why Jesus made that his intention before his passion, death, and resurrection: God came to be with his people. Speaking through Zechariah, the LORD says: “Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to implore the favor of the LORD.” But the people in a Samaritan village would not welcome him. Faced with rejection, James and John, the Sons of Thunder, ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven. But Jesus came to serve and die on the cross for many; he does not force the fulfillment of his mission on the Samaritans. Luke tells us: “Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.”

God, as the psalmist says, you are with us and invite all of us to implore your favor. Jesus teaches me through his rebuke of James and John. Your invitation to be with you isn’t accomplished as worldly power would accomplish it, through force. Instead, Jesus journeys to another village to find his way to Jerusalem. He finds another way to accomplish your will by dying on the cross. Luke doesn’t say what words of rebuke Jesus spoke to James and John. Was it a silent rebuke—eyes on them—as he led them to seek another way, to learn through mercy the way to their eternal home? Lord, help me today be resolutely determined to recognize and do your will.

From the responsorial psalm: “They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled: ‘This man was born there.’ And all shall sing, in their festive dance: ‘My home is within you.’ God is with 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.

“. . . unless you turn and become like children.” | Memorial of the Guardian Angels

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:1-5, 10)

Jesus said to the disciples: “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.”

Jesus teaches the importance of humility, simplicity, and care for the vulnerable in the kingdom of heaven. All of us are called to embrace trust and humility and to value and protect the most vulnerable in society. Consider what Jesus is really saying when he refers to little ones as a “child such as this”; that is, all of us—every person. Jesus refers to the love of his Father in being childlike and receiving children in his name as a way of receiving him. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” Jesus says, “for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” To become like children and to receive the childlike in Jesus’ name—how far can one take that to heart?

Father in heaven, help me understand what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel. To be childlike in faith challenges my sense of self-reliance and status that have developed in maturity. Find a way through to my hardness of heart in receiving your love and in turn caring for others. Give me the grace today to trust you with a childlike heart, recognizing with joy that my guardian angel always looks upon your face. In that, let me take delight in recalling throughout the day that I am never apart from you for even a second.

From the first reading from the prophet Zechariah: “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun. I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.” Guardian angel, be ever present to help and guide me!

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.