Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.”

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The cathedral church of Rome, known as the mother church, was dedicated by Pope Sylvester in 324. The church was dedicated after Emperor Constantine’s Edit of Milan, which gave religious freedom to Christians. In the Gospel reading, Jesus makes clear through his words and actions that the temple is a sacred place, not to be desecrated by being made into a marketplace. But Jesus’ zeal is not for physical buildings but for the temple of his Body, the foundation on which Jesus builds the Church. As Saint Paul says in the second reading, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God” and that “the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”

Help me understand, Lord, the sanctity of my body through the Spirit of God who dwells in me, which is constantly nourished by the sacraments. I am your building, built by you. Let me accept this body and spirit as your pure gift allowing me to live a life that will bring me to you, forever praising your name in the company of saints and angels.

Spirit of God, dwell in me today to make me holy. I know you love me with perpetual care; I know also that I will look away from you today. Keep me in your care, Lord, and let me see you in the people and opportunities you set before me today. Thank you, God, for your goodness!

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.

Readings

Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said to the Apostles, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’ ”

In the the first reading from Paul taken together with today’s Gospel reading, the Scriptures provide a guidance on how to live and what attitude to take toward life. Do all you can, Jesus suggests, and think little of what you were obliged to do. Addressing men and women, Paul says, “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ.” Still, to hear the words of Jesus—that we are unprofitable servants—seems harsh and hard to accept. What more is there that Jesus says to me in these words?

God, help me understand that everything I have in this life—my all—is yours. Acknowledging that, my only recourse is to give back to you what is yours for your glory. Any other way to live is an exercise in self-glorification and a lie. Even as I consider this, I test it to see if it is true. Help me, Lord, to learn truth from you, doing what I am obliged to do by acting on your Divine Will. The words of Saint Paul give sound guidance in carrying this out as we await the blessed hope: “be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, love, and endurance.”

Come to me, Lord, and stay with me every minute of this day. Since I am certain to forget that you are with me, rouse me through the breath of the Holy Spirit to take heart. Give me the grace and quiet consolation to know you are near and the ears to hear your still small voice. I know that you delight in me; let my delight be to please you and be, as Paul says, “a model of good deeds in every respect.” Thank you, Lord, for all the gifts you give me every day.

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.

Readings

Monday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.”

What catches my attention immediately from today’s Gospel reading is Jesus’ acknowledgment of the inevitability that things lead to sin. As people in constant need of God’s forgiveness, I feel relieved that Jesus recognizes the inevitability of fallen human nature. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the slate is wiped clean through contrition and the forgiveness of the priest, who absolves sins in persona Christi. To those who cause others to sin, however, Jesus says, “It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” Hearing and believing that, I want to put myself in check whenever an opportunity comes to cause others to sin. Jesus then tells the Apostles to forgive those who hurt you—over and over forgive them. Just as in the Our Father, forgiveness from God comes with a spirit that cooperates with his will in forgiving others. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Lord, you say to me, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur.” Let me consider further these words in relation to the Our Father. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The word us prompts us to consider that this prayer embraces others—our family, the community, and larger spheres of interaction. Keep me, Lord, from causing others to sin, and let me pray that you deliver them from the same. For this, Lord, the Apostles said to you, “Increase our faith.”

God, you take the little faith I have and assure me that astounding things can happen. Today, when I am troubled at the tasks I face, help me remember that you call me back to sit still and rest in you and forgive those who wrong me. Through your grace and my humility to receive it, keep me from being a people pleaser for the sake of pride. Instead, work in me today to accomplish all that is fully pleasing 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.

Readings

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.”

The words of Jesus from this Sunday’s Gospel reading are difficult to hear for couples who have been blessed throughout life with a sacramental marriage. Jesus himself says there will be no marriage or marrying in heaven. He also says we will be like angels, the children of God, and the ones who will rise. He says this in response to a challenging question from the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. For the sake of disproving the resurrection of the dead, they tried to trap Jesus with a question about which of the seven husbands a woman will be married to in heaven.

God, help me understand that the Sadducees were playing a game with Jesus that drew attention away from the truth: namely, the ones who are deemed worthy through the way they live their life will attain everlasting life in heaven as your children. Jesus speaks of the coming age and the resurrection of the dead. I am not certain, but I take that to mean the coming age as life after death and the resurrection as fulfillment of the Second Coming of Christ. In the second reading, Saint Paul says that the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father encourage our hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. “That the dead will rise,” says Jesus, “even Moses made known . . . and [God] is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for the ultimate gift of hope, the hope of the resurrection. God of all that is seen and unseen, you sent your Son to live among a people shrouded in death to be the first to rise to new life. Let that hope and realization sink deep into my soul so that in the coming age and in the resurrection, I may see your face, the living 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

Readings

Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

The Gospel reading for today picks up where yesterday’s left off, relating Jesus’ parable of the dishonest steward. Jesus applies the lesson of the parable to what matters in the sight of God. Jesus says, “If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” That is, do I use the gifts God gives me for the sake of his glory, or do I hoard them for selfish, possessive purposes. There are certain treasures we can’t take with us in death. Cardinal Francis George, former archbishop of Chicago, was known for saying, “The only thing we take with us when we die is what we have given away.” Do I recognize the dignity I have in being a good steward of God’s gifts?

Help me be grateful, Lord, for all that you give me—especially for the gifts I take for granted. I want to come to know the true wealth of your blessings, even the simple blessings along with the mundane trials of everyday life. Let me consider the words you spoke, Lord, and now speak to my heart: “for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.” Whatever I esteem or prize, let me measure that in relation to your will for me and what pleases you.

Jesus, I know you are present in the Blessed Sacrament throughout the world at every moment of the day. That brings me joy and peace; when I am anxious or distressed today, grant me the grace of that recognition and generosity of heart to bring it into the moment. Let me remember not to look so much to others but to realize that you know my heart; in pleasing you, I can best tend to the needs of others. The only things I am to have, I will have to give away.

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.

Readings

Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Jesus said to his disciples, “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the steward who squandered property. When his master made clear that he would no longer be his steward, the steward then made dishonest arrangements with his master’s debtors to give him an advantage once out of his service. The meaning of the parable is somewhat difficult to unravel. In subsequent passages in Luke, however, Jesus says this about the steward in the parable: “If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?” God, how far do I go in recognizing true wealth when I see it, and how do I take that into my care as a steward of my faith?

Help me understand, Lord, the Gospel and the reading from Saint Paul. Through Jesus’ dying and rising, I have the means—the freedom to choose—of attaining eternal life even as a sojourner here on earth. Saint Paul speaks of this choice: “Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their ‘shame.’ Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Saint Charles Borromeo, whose memorial is celebrated today, recognized the place of worldly things in respect to the world to come, saying, “Make use of [the things of this world] according to need, not pleasure, and take care to pass through these temporal things in such a way as not to lose things eternal.”

Jesus, be present with me today so that I can stand firm in desiring true wealth and bringing its hope to others. Through your grace, Lord, let me recall that I live in the hope of the resurrection because of your power to bring all things into subjection to yourself. I want to be a child of the light.

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.

Readings

Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus must have read the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes who complained. To them, he addressed the parable of the one lost sheep among a hundred and the woman who lost and found one coin among ten. By comparing sinners to the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus makes irrelevant whether one is a tax collector, sinner, or scribe or Pharisee (that is, follower of the law). At one time or another in life, I have counted myself among the ninety-nine sheep, while at other times (especially in retrospect), I see that I was the one lost in the desert.

Thank you, God, for the example of Saint Martin de Porres, whose memorial is celebrated today. Martin, a Dominican, daily cared for the sick and the poor while doing tasks in the kitchen and infirmary. He was a friend of Saint Rose of Lima. Through your grace, Lord, help me offer the work of this day—all its difficulties—as a means to repent of anything that separates me from you. Help me see in the midst of the day when it is time to make a metanoia, a return to you.

Jesus, Good Shepherd, when I am hard of heart today, come find me and bring me back into your peace. Let me recognize and welcome any of the lost you send 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.

Readings

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Jesus said to the crowds: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

In today’s reading for All Souls Day, Jesus describes to the crowds his intention for all who believe in him, following the will of his Father. When we die we face our particular judgment. Saint Paul puts it this way in the second reading: “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.” God prepares a place of everlasting life for all who believe in him and who look to him intently in this life. To look to, from the Greek word theōrōn, means “to discern or intensively acknowledge.” In this life, Jesus invites everyone to look upon him every day with a loving gaze, to behold him, the Son of God so that we may have eternal life. After life on earth, Jesus may call us to further purification in purgatory. As Father Burke Masters says, reflecting on All Souls Day, purgatory is a purification, a way to prepare us to see God face to face with all the saints. Jesus said to the crowds, and he says to me, to all: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.”

God, help me call to mind today the souls who have gone before me to see you face to face, remembering to pray for them and to ask for their intercession: my parents, my family members and friends of the family, those who have died recently, those dead who are unremembered. The souls of the just, Lord, are in your hand. “They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead,” says the reading from the Book of Wisdom, “But they are in peace.” God, give me the grace to use today as an opportunity to be in communion with them; it is to choose to believe in you rather than in the power of death and that your Son will raise us on the last day. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. I believe, Lord, in the hope of resurrection; help my unbelief.

God, the souls of the just are in your hand; they are yours. Thank you for your perpetual care of them. Because the day will have a way of turning my attention away from you and obscure my ability to see you, I have the peace of trusting in your mercy and love. Set before me today a means of seeing you in the opportunities and people you present to me, despite what the day demands. Thank you, God, for being present always—stay with 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.

Readings

Solemnity of All Saints

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

The readings today reflect what sainthood is, who the saints are, what they long for (to see God face to face), and how Jesus calls us to sainthood. The first reading from the Book of Revelation describes John’s vision of heaven, where a great multitude stands before the throne and the Lamb. Saint Paul says, “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” In the Gospel acclamation, Jesus invites all who are burdened to come to him to find rest. In the Gospel reading, Jesus shares the beatitudes with the disciples and the crowds who followed him, promising to the blessed that their reward in heaven will be great. It seems a little overwhelming to consider all of this; yet, the Communion of Saints intercedes for us in a way that brings us closer to the Father. As Saint Thérèse of Lisieux says of the intercessory prayer of the saints: “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on Earth.”

God, help me understand that as I celebrate today’s Solemnity of the Saints the particular path you see for me to bring me to sainthood—something you desire for every one of your children. I feel humbled to know that in the midst of an ordinary day, I have the means to lead me to greater sanctity, not by any of my own doing but by every good you give me in this life. Let that realization deepen my need to follow the lives of the saints and call upon them to intercede for me as I discern from among choices the path that leads to you. When the way is difficult, let me take heart that the striving, the suffering, and even the persecution is purposeful and redemptive. As Pope Benedict XVI said of saints: “They are all in joy, in a festival without end, but, like Jesus, they achieved this goal passing through difficulties and trials, each of them shouldering their own share of sacrifice in order to participate in the glory of the Resurrection.”

Lord, I long to see your face. I long to see the face of those I no longer see in this world but am confident I will see in the next. Through the Blessed Sacrament, I participate in that joy already, knowing that you care for those you call your children in mercy and love, and in the hope of the Resurrection. “Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever.”

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.

Readings

Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel reading are an invitation to authentic selflessness. What is there to gain by inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to dine with us at a banquet? Although Jesus speaks to the Pharisee, he also speaks to everyone who would read and hear the Gospel. It would be unusual for a lunch or dinner to be held for the sake of inviting the marginalized, but the meaning is both literal and and figurative. It would be equally unusual to go through an entire day without encountering someone who is brought low or incapacitated in some way. Those people, the everyday encounters, are the ones to whom Jesus says give without expecting repayment.

Today, God, I will feel the pressure to pursue my own interests and complete all I hope to complete in a neat package. It won’t be that easy. There will be interruptions, requests, coworkers and family members who will call me away from that aim. The words of Saint Paul from today’s first reading are a strong antidote to any delusions I might have about carving out a path of selfishness: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.” God, help me welcome rather than shun the interruptions of others. Instead, let me find God in those moments, getting my attention. As the psalmist says, “In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.”

God, I am anxious about the day and its tasks. Be my strength. I will forget you during the day and this moment with you will fade. Be present as you are present always in the Blessed Sacrament. How can I repay you, Lord, for quieting my soul?

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.

Readings