Year II

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

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At the beginning of today’s First Reading James tackles how we should face suffering, illness, and good times: prayer. Prayer is not just for when we’re down; our prayer simply changes based on our circumstances. In good times we praise God, the source of all blessings. In times of suffering, we pray for strength to endure our trials and for healing. However, we don’t just pray for ourselves; our prayer in time of suffering is very powerful, which is why the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick (alluded to in this passage), when administered, is a consecration of its recipient’s sufferings for the spiritual benefit of others, as well as a moment when the whole Church commends him or her to the Lord. Even if physical healing does not result, the afflicted person receives spiritual healing.

James also reminds us of the effectiveness of a righteous man’s prayer. The secret to effective prayer is to seek God’s will, to ask that it be done and to collaborate in its accomplishment. Elijah proclaimed a drought at the Lord’s command to punish Israel for its sins, and, when the Lord willed it, summoned the rain to end the drought. It wasn’t just his agenda. It is through this union of wills that we are able to seek out those who stray from the truth and sin so that they too can be spared spiritual death.

Whether physically healthy or not, spiritual health is the most important and we must strive to ensure everyone’s spiritual health. Let’s offer up our sufferings today and help anyone spiritually ill to be restored to health through our prayers, the sacraments, and a holy life.

Readings: James 5:13–20; Psalm 141:1–3, 8; Mark 10:13–16. See also 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading James encourages the first Christians not to complain about each other, using the prophets and Job as examples to follow and warning them that if one party goes on trial seeking justice, both parties go on trial before the just Judge. Job and the prophets may seem to have complained at times about the situation in which they lived, but the true cause for their glory was that they suffered for the sake of truth.

Job suffered one tragedy after the other in his life, but other than asking why and arguing with his friends about whether it was God’s punishment for something he’d done (it wasn’t), Job never blamed God or denounced him for the evil he had suffered. Prophets almost invariably clashed with the political authorities of their time, since they’d been sent by the Lord with an unwelcome message, but they didn’t quit in the face of injustice or hardship.

When you are suffering, when times are difficult, remember that perseverance is precious in the eyes of God, and that is more important than anything your neighbor may have done to you.

Readings: James 5:9–12; Psalm 103:1–4, 8–9, 11–12; Mark 10:1–12. See also 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday and 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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James in today’s First Reading reminds us that career planning can only get us so far, because we really never know what the future holds. We can plan the perfect college degree, the perfect career, only to suddenly fall head over heels in love and start a family, be struck down by cancer or an accident requiring extended treatment, discover a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life, or lose your job. Many people throughout the world today don’t even have a level of what we’d call normal stability, living in a broken family, poverty, or persecution and can’t even guess what the future holds for them.

Every good thing in our life is a gift from the Lord, and, as Job teaches us, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away (see Job 1:21-22). That’s not a truth to live in fear if we practice faith, hope, and love. God wills the good and helps us achieve it, but we can also help him achieve good as well by asking him what would please him. That’s why whenever we make plans we must be open to God’s will, knowing that he is a loving Father who has his children’s best interest in mind. Being in a Fortune 500 company or in a hospital bed suffering through chemotherapy are both opportunities to help others through our talents and our sacrifices.

Spend some time in prayer today considering the expression, “God laughs at man’s plans”; is there anything you’re planning for life that God may think is a joke? Ask him.

Readings: James 4:13–17; Psalm 49:2–3, 6–11; Mark 9:38–40. See also 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading James teaches us that outer conflicts stem from inner ones. Wars rarely remain within the confines of where they broke out; they always strive to spread and conquer new terrain in order to fuel their ambitions. Similarly, our selfish ambitions don’t just remain in our hearts or in our living rooms; they put us on a path to clashing with others pursuing their own selfish goals.

As James reminds us today, that path only leads to frustration, because seeking vain things is seeking empty things, and if those things can never satisfy us, we will always be at conflict within ourselves and with others. It’s a recipe for endless conflict with no end in sight. Loving the world to the exclusion of God is a road to nowhere; if we set our sights on the world, we set our sights on something that ultimately will pass away.

Let’s ask Our Lord to help us strive for what really will satisfy us: love for God, which will also instill in us a love for others. It’s the only thing worth fighting for and the only thing that will fulfill us forever.

Readings: James 4:1–10; Psalm 55:7–11a, 23; Mark 9:30–37. See also 19th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday and 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.

7th Week of Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading James encourages us to choose the wise path and not the selfish one. The wise path starts with wisdom, an understanding of the big picture, humility, an understanding of our role and place in the grand scheme of things, and a life of good works that reflects that we’ve understood well and lived truthfully.  The selfish path starts with jealously, a resentment and bitterness over what others have and we don’t, selfish ambition, seeking our own interests with no regard for others’, and an opinion of ourselves and our accomplishments that doesn’t reflect the truth, showing our lack understanding.

We’ve all known people who’ve chosen both paths, but James encourages us today to consider which path we’re on and whether we need to be more wise, through humility, and less selfish. That requires considering which path attracts us and is truly best for us and for others. We resist humility, gentleness, and peace when we see others striving to take it all with impunity, but we know in our hearts that peace and gentleness irradiate a serenity and goodness that would make even the most jaded ambitious person reflect on what he or she truly wants out of life.

We know the path to take. Let’s ask Our Lord to help us take it today and stay on it “without inconstancy or insincerity.”

Readings: James 3:13–18; Psalm 19:8–10, 15; Mark 9:14–29. See also 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.