Tag: disciples

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to the Twelve: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

As Jesus prepares the Twelve for courage under persecution in proclaiming the Gospel, he strengthens them with his words and assures them of God’s assistance and sure hand. As Jeremiah says in the first reading, “But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” Not once or twice does Jesus tell the apostles not to be afraid; three times he tells them. What there is to fear, he tells them, is this: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” What, then, is there to fear when God goes before us?

God, help me call to mind your goodness throughout the day and give thanks for the strength you give to me when I am faint of heart. Give me the courage to acknowledge you in the name of your Son and proclaim loudly what he whispered in darkness to the apostles. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. Help me testify to you, Lord, who are truth itself.

From the Gospel acclamation: “The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord; and you also will testify.”

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

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.

Today’s Gospel reading takes place after the archangel Gabriel visited Zechariah and told him that his elderly wife Elizabeth would conceive a son and that they should name him John. Zechariah questioned Gabriel, and the angel told him that he would be unable to speak until the child was born. At John’s circumcision, Elizabeth and Zechariah name him John to the amazement of their relatives and neighbors. Luke shows us that God is always faithful to his promises, even when we cannot see how they will be fulfilled.

God, help me hear and respond to your will today just as you were present to John who “grew and became strong in spirit.” A combination of fear and stubbornness often drives me throughout the day to overlook your presence. Help me carry on the work of John, who turned the hearts of the people of Israel to your Son. I want to understand my purpose on this earth in doing your will today and every day. Lord, as the day quickly runs its course, let me know the peace of your presence in every moment.

Be with me, Lord. From the responsorial psalm, “O LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar.” Saint John the Baptist, 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.

Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

Having taught the disciples about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Jesus teaches them about the activity of the heart. Rather than seeking and storing up treasures on earth, Jesus commands the disciples not to seek and store up the goods of this life, subject to decay and theft. Instead, he instructs them to store up treasures in heaven. The goods of the earth are not evil in themselves, but Jesus calls the disciples to invest their hearts in what begins on earth and leads to heaven. Jesus compares this in another way to sound sight. “If your eye is sound,” Jesus says, “your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.”

God, I often turn my heart to the material things of this world that sustain me for a while but need continual replenishing. Help me see where I place my heart. In choosing treasures, give me the grace today of prudence in storing up the treasures that endure eternally in heaven. In the light of your grace, help me see with a sound eye and mind all the good gifts you give me.

Lord, help me be mindful of you throughout the day. Stay with me as I become aware of the freedom to choose where my treasure is.

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.

Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares with his disciples what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Before teaching them how to pray, Jesus tells the disciples how not to pray. God does not hear our prayers better when we babble many words; he hears us and knows what we need, Jesus says, even before we pray. After saying the Lord’s Prayer with the disciples, Jesus adds: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Part of our “daily bread” is to ask God to forgive us just as we forgive others who have wronged us. In giving, we receive; in forgiving, we are forgiven.

God, as I pray the Our Father, help me hear each word and take to heart what I am saying. In today’s short Gospel passage, Jesus says the word forgive six times. What is there to forgive every day but trespasses (offenses) and transgressions (wrongdoing)? How many times today will I do wrong and expect your forgiveness? Just as many times, give me the grace to show mercy and forgiveness when I am wronged by a stranger or those closest to me.

You alone are just, Lord; you are mercy itself. Help me imitate your Son. From the responsorial psalm: “Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD.”

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 Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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 tells the disciples about giving alms, praying, and fasting. He teaches that when you do good deeds, do not do them for the praise of others, but do them for the glory of God. He promises that if you do good deeds in secret, your Father in heaven will reward you. With prayer, for example, Jesus teaches that when you pray, do not do it like the hypocrites who pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Instead, go into your room, close the door, and pray to God the Father in secret, and your Father in secret will hear your prayer and repay you.

God, help me recognize throughout the day that you see everything I do and hear my thoughts, spoken or unspoken. Jesus teaches me to pray, fast, and give alms. Give me the grace today to do each of these, even in a small way, to keep your word. With the Gospel acclamation, I pray: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.” Help me today, God, love you and keep your word.

Lord, help me in all my words and actions today look to you and give to others for the sake of your greater glory. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, 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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In today’s Gospel, as Jesus gives teachings on how to live a life of discipleship, he has just finished telling his disciples this: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Regardless of our status or station in life, the sun rises on the bad and the good and the rain falls on all of us. To be perfect, to be children of God, seems an impossible task. But Jesus tells us exactly what to do to accomplish just that: love our enemies and pray for our persecutors.

God, help me place my trust in you when I perceive perfection to be an impossible goal. As the Church teaches, with your grace, it is possible. As the Catechism says, “The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.” Let me hear your Son’s call us to be perfect. He desires me to strive for holiness and to become more and more like him through all the works, joys, and sufferings of each day.

Thank you, Lord, for your call to holiness. Be with me today as I strive to know your will and imitate you in my words and actions.

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 Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples in a way that might seem as equally as extreme as eye-for-eye, tooth-for-tooth mentality. Offer no resistance to one who is evil, he tells them. Turn your left cheek to someone who strikes your right one. Three times in this short passage Jesus tells his disciples to give to someone who wants to take: turn your cheek, hand him your cloak, go with him for two miles. “Give to the one who asks of you,” Jesus says, “and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” The trust that Jesus demonstrates in the Father is evident in these words: to give is to trust in the providence of the Father.

God, help me understand what it means to offer no resistance to one who is evil. I can’t pretend to know what that moment might look like, but I know it is far from curling up in a ball, defenseless. If I am attentive to your will, I am open to receiving every good gift from you that is not mine to hold on to. I have the power to conduct your love as gift to others in a way that gives you greater glory. Jesus said to the disciples, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

Lord, help me trust you; give me the grace to give today to the one who asks of 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.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion for them because they are troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He says to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Jesus then sends out his twelve disciples, giving them authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons.

God, the sending out of the disciples reminds me of the divine authority your Son gave the them—power to cure illnesses, rebuke evil spirits, and even power over death itself. How can I possibly measure up to the Twelve? Yet, if I look at the encounters I experience in daily life with those closest to me, I have opportunities similar to those of his disciples. Within my family and among those I meet, I have the choice to cultivate illness or well being; I have the means of evoking evil or rebuking it; and I have the power to give life or take it away—all with the words that I allow to pass between my lips. God, help me have the same compassion Jesus had for the troubled and abandoned. Give me the grace to know how to be attentive to your word and bring them to you.

Lord, help me recognize today how to show compassion and be a good shepherd according to your will. Stay with me today as I strive to hear your 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.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

USCCB Readings

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Jesus refers to the Old Testament account that foreshadows his crucifixion and resurrection. Because the people complained against God and Moses, God sent seraph serpents among the people that bit them and caused them to die. Moses prayed to the Lord to take the serpents from them, so God told him to make a seraph serpent and mount it on a pole. Everyone who had been bitten would look upon it and recover.

“The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” God, help me understand that you had to be lifted up so that you could bring eternal life to everyone who believes in you and who is born of the Spirit. You have heard the cry of your people and have given us eternal life through your crucifixion.

Jesus made clear the purpose of Moses lifting up the serpent and himself being lifted up: eternal life for all who believe in him. I ask God to make clear to me how I am to be a witness to the resurrection and to my faith.

I want to remember today that when Jesus says, “. . . so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life,” it means being a witness to my faith. From today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke says that among the community of believers there was no needy person among them because what they did have they distributed to each according to need. “With great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.” Today, let me see the needs of others around me, bearing witness to God in my works, joys, and sufferings, in communion with them through the risen Christ.