Month: October 2016

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul praises the faith and charity of the Ephesians and encourages them to grow in theological hope. Faith and charity help us to see things as Our Lord sees them and as he wills them. They help us see things from his perspective, and that perspective helps us to know him better. However, this is not just a rational process; Our Lord reveals himself to us, and if he hadn’t chosen to do so we’d never have really known him well. It is not just information; it’s also grace.

The more we know Our Lord, the more we trust in him and in what our Heavenly Father has done in him and through him, giving us cause for theological hope. That “first installment” we spoke about yesterday is solid and a harbinger of good things to come for those who trust in God. Our Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, attested to by many witnesses in the faith, is the reason for our hope. All things are submitted to him, as Paul teaches, so we only have cause for hope, not fear.

Faith, hope, and charity are meant to grow throughout our earthly lives and work together to achieve that end. Let’s put our faith, trust, and love in Our Lord and he will reveal to us the glorious things yet to come.

Readings: Ephesians 1:15–23; Psalm 8:2–3b, 4–7; Luke 12:8–12. See also 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II, 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, and 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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In yesterday‘s First Reading Paul, addressing the Ephesians, reminded us that we’ve been chosen to be holy and blameless in God’s sight since before the foundation of the world. Today he expounds on how we are chosen in Christ and for what we are chosen: we exist in order to praise God, and Our Lord helps us to do that. Praising God may not seem all that exciting a vocation, but how many people do we applaud when they simply entertain us, and how much more has God done for us to merit praise?

The Lord doesn’t expect praise in a vacuum, just as we normally applaud someone who has accomplished something, whether noble or entertaining. We praise the Lord here on earth because we’ve already received the “first installment,” as Paul describes it, of our redemption. When we believe and are baptized our redemption begins, right here, right now, and Jesus was a hero to make it happen. That merits our praise now, and we can only imagine how much more we’ll want to praise God in eternity when our redemption is complete, free from sin, death, and fear.

Let’s meditate on the “first installment” we’ve received in our life today and give Our Lord a round of applause.

Readings: Ephesians 1:11–14; Psalm 33:1–2, 4–5, 12–13; Luke 12:1–7. See also 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday and 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul greets the believers at Ephesus by reminding them that the have been chosen by God the Father for something wonderful and special even before their creation or the creation of the world. In cinema, television, and literature there is usually something special associated with being the “chosen one”: some great destiny, often some great responsibility. The Lord is calling us to both. God the Father calls us to be adopted in his Son, become his children, and one day stand in his presence “holy and without blemish”: holiness means we will participate in his divine life, and without blemish means that no matter what we’ve done, Our Father will forgive us, heal us, and cleanse us if we let him.

The “chosen one” in popular culture usually has to go it alone, yet we don’t have to. Our Lord has come to ensure that we live up to the wonderful calling we’ve received from God the Father, just as he has in his Incarnation. Being chosen does involve some work on our part, and if we don’t accept that we might not live up to everything God the Father wants of us, and that will rob us of a lot of happiness from here to eternity. In Christ we’re guaranteed a happy ending to our life, no matter how rocky it might get.

You’ve been chosen. Ask Our Lord to guide you to the wonderful destiny that has awaited you since before the foundation of the world.

Readings: Ephesians 1:1–10; Psalm 98:1–6; Luke 11:47–54. See also 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday.

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Paul presents two lists that contrast the way in which we can live. One, where our baser passions are simply given free reign until they achieve their destructive logical conclusions, are the works of the flesh. It should sober us that many of the things Paul mentions in the list of works of the flesh are glamorized today, even admired. It’s no coincidence that at baptism we promise to reject the glamour of evil: indulging the flesh can be very attractive, but how many mornings after does it fill us with regret?

Not all passions are base or destructive, and a life guided by the Spirit helps us build on the better and nobler ones. If we consider the fruits of the Spirit we see an ideal that is worthy of admiration, something to which we can aspire in order to be a good friend or seek in order to find a good friend. The crucifixion we have to undergo is a process of deadening ourselves to the passions that would lead us to the works of the flesh. We’ll never completely deaden temptation in our earthly life, but we can reject it and the Spirit will help us.

Do a prayerful examination regarding both lists in today’s First Reading and ask the Spirit to help you start working toward the right one.

Readings: Galatians 5:18–25; Psalm 1:1–4, 6; Luke 11:42–46. See also 2nd Week of Lent, Tuesday; 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday; 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday and Wednesday;  20th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday; and 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

28th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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Even today newborn Jewish males are initiated into their faith not just through their lineage, but through a ceremony of circumcision. Because of this ancient Jewish practice those who wanted to practice Judaism, even as adults, were required in Paul’s time to be circumcised. Paul is warning the Galatians in today’s First Reading that if they decide to embrace Jewish practices they are turning their backs on who’ll really benefit them spiritually: Our Lord.

Even today people sometimes choose to mix and match religion. Commitment is a foundation for belief. With circumcision the Galatians are committing to something other than Christianity, and by doing so, as Paul warns them, they are shutting themselves out of Christ’s life if they choose to do so.

Mix and match religion just leads us in circles. Let’s commit ourselves to Christ and the path he invites us to follow.

Readings: Galatians 5:1–6;  Psalm 119:41, 43–45, 47–48; Luke 11:37–41. See also 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.