Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

In today’s Gospel reading, people describe to Jesus the brutal violence under Pilate of Galileans whose blood was spilled as they offered ritual sacrifices. Exactly what happened is not clear. Jesus gives another example of people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them. In both instances, Jesus says it is not that these people were more guilty than anyone else but that what is needed—what he calls them to—is repentance. The Greek word from which repent is translated is metanoia, or a transformative change of heart. The Gospel acclamation expresses this in this way: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live.”

Help me understand, Lord, this conversion of heart that your Son calls me to. It is easy to brush off the violent events of the past as irrelevant and completely unlike those of today. Beneath that, though, is the message of your mercy. And then in the parable, your Son says of the barren fig tree: “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.” One more gift of mercy you give to us for change of heart, one more call to return to you.

Lord, you are beautiful to behold in the Blessed Sacrament. Although it is not practical for me to be before you throughout the day in adoration, teach me to return to you with my whole heart through the people I meet and in my words and actions. Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man. Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus calls the crowd hypocrites because they are unable to judge the present time, that the Son of God is in their midst. Yet, in Jesus’ words is a kind of encouragement: you are smart enough to read events in the natural world, he seems to say; why are you not able to read events in the supernatural world? What Jesus said to the crowds, he says to people of the present: “You hypocrites.”

Offering a way to acknowledge that God is among us, Jesus goes on to encourage the crowd to settle conflicts before they escalate. And in the first reading, Saint Paul provides a means of bringing peace in his letter to the Ephesians: “I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.” Through this and through your grace, God, bring clarity of these readings to me; help me see, as the psalmist says, how to ascend the mountain of the LORD.

Jesus, teach me to interpret the present time; that is, your presence among us as true God and true man and the love made manifest in the relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Help me remember to turn to you, Lord, in my moments of distress; teach me peace so that I can get outside of myself and see 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

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

The division Jesus came to establish on the earth doesn’t remain in the past but still works today between individuals and among society. The great anguish Jesus felt was to establish the truth of the Gospel as a basis for authentic relationships. Through this truth, Saint Paul says in the first reading, the Father grants that we come to know “what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” In that, Saint Paul then says, we may be filled with the truth and fullness of God.

Help me understand, God, that when there are situations where the truth of the Gospel appears to bring division, it is actually God’s prompting to bring me into greater union with him. As a member of a household, I don’t want to fear division for the sake of keeping peace, as Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers suggests in his reflection on today’s readings; rather, I want to be faithful to what I know is true and bring others into that truth.

Jesus, stay with me today. There is certain to be division as the day unfolds. Pour forth your grace so that I can see that as an opportunity to be confident that you are with me so that I can bring others to you. I ask for the grace to remember you throughout the day, come rain or shine. It won’t be easy to be a means of God’s peace, but let me remember the words of the psalmist: “But the plan of the LORD stands forever; / the design of his heart, through all generations.”

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 Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Jesus tells his disciples something that they can remember in all situations. It is a dynamic command he gives them: always be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. These words are especially challenging because they speak to the end of life as well as life as it will be lived today.

God, give me greater assurance that I can be prepared for you today by being attentive to your will. At times during the day, I not only feel unprepared to receive you but completely unaware of your presence. Jesus, give me the grace to see you in others as a way to remind me that you are right there. Everyday responsibilities of work and family life create a structure that seems to stand on its own. Help me understand, Lord, that you can break into that at any moment, but will I be prepared?

It is difficult for me today to sit still with God. Therefore, Lord, I ask for your grace so that you can act through me in the people and work I encounter today. Let the stillness and peace that is your very being animate my thoughts and actions. Help me be prepared today for the coming of 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.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beUfzVKLiN4

Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist

Jesus said to the seventy-two disciples, “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.”

Jesus instructs his disciples on how to go out into the world and tell people that the Kingdom of God is at hand for them. He is specific about the austerity of being sent: “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” And, Jesus says, “first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.” These first disciples were sent literally on mission out into the world. Although it’s unlikely I will ever go out the same way as an evangelist, the literal world I face as an evangelist is my family, my church, my coworkers, and with people I happen to meet every day.

Help me understand, Jesus, that when a family member or someone I encounter asks for help, I am literally sent out in the same way you sent out the disciples. I tend to want to take my own aims into that situation, but let me remember “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.” Before helping someone, is it so much for me to say interiorly “Peace to you” and let that peace rest on them? Jesus, you say to me, “I am sending you like lambs among wolves”—that is, among my family, my fellow parishioners, my coworkers, and people I happen to meet every day. In the first reading, Saint Paul says that Alexander the coppersmith strongly resisted his preaching. Despite situations like this, give me the grace, Lord, to see and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

It’s unsettling, Lord, but true to think that I am at times like Alexander the coppersmith, doing wrong and resisting the splendor of your kingdom. For this reason, God, you sent your Son, and in that ocean of mercy my sins are drowned. Thank you, God, for the gift of your mercy! Teach me to be a means of your peace.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am72_e-h9d8

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

Then [Jesus] said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

From among the crowd that followed Jesus, someone said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” He then told the parable of the man who had fertile land and a bountiful harvest. To store all that he gathered, he decided to tear down his old barns and build larger ones. After that, he decided to enjoy himself. “Rest, eat, drink, be merry!” he said to himself. But God said to the man that same night that his life would be taken from him and asked him who will own all of his things. “Thus will it be,“ God said, “for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”

Today's Gospel reading is clear with little explanation. But, Lord, how do I look to how it applies to my own life, my own possessions? What treasures do I store up for myself that will someday—perhaps today—be taken from me when I die? “Take care to guard against all greed,” Jesus says, “for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” There are other riches mentioned by Saint Paul in the first reading: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ . . . that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” God, I do not ask for the comfort of your mercy but to be rich through your grace and to have the faith to see it and know it.

At times I know my smallness, Lord; at other times, the realization fades. Help me to see that there is no false humility in that but the recognition that all is your gift and that my life is worth nothing if it is not for love of you and for your greater glory. From you I came to be and to you I will return. The psalmist writes, “Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.”

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

https://youtu.be/tpuJ5WytCOA

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lord said, “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Jesus tells the parable of the judge in a certain town and a widow who would come to him and ask him to make a just decision against an adversary of hers. For a long time, the widow kept coming to him, and eventually he gave in to making a just decision for her. Before telling this parable to his disciples, Jesus says to them that it is necessary to pray always without becoming weary.

How is it possible, Lord, to pray always? There are moments during the day where I am engaged in something or with someone and am hardly aware of anything else. Help me understand that through your grace, the disposition I take toward things and toward others can be a form of prayer. And what is it the widow wanted from the judge? A just decision. God is always good, always just, and I sometimes lose sight of that. As Jesus says at the end of the Gospel reading, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your presence! Be a light to me throughout the day, and teach me to seek you out in quiet prayer and in my disposition toward all I know and experience, which is pure gift.

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 Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

“When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

Speaking to the disciples, Jesus says things that comfort and warn them. Everyone who acknowledges Jesus will be recognized in heaven, but everyone who denies him will be denied in heaven. Everyone who speaks a word against Jesus will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Jesus then tells his disciples not to worry about what to say in defense before synagogue officials and authorities. The Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.

God, help me take to heart the words “do not worry.” There are many instances throughout the day where I will believe and fear that I need to say something to maintain order or give direction. Help me understand that it is the Holy Spirit I should listen to in those moments. Today, on the Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, let me remember to pray for her help and pray as she prayed: “Let nothing frighten you, / All things pass away: / God never changes. . . . He who has God / Finds he lacks nothing; / God alone suffices.”

Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Teach me not to worry today about the things that I know you can take care of. May it be as Saint Paul says in the first reading: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, grant a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Lift the ordinary burdens of the day, God, so that I can be joyful in the presence of others and give glory to your name.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. . . . Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the crowds press in on Jesus, and he warns the crowd and the disciples of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Whatever they do in darkness, Jesus says, will be revealed; whatever they say will be proclaimed from the housetops. Be afraid, Jesus says, of those who have power to kill not the body but the soul. And twice in the passage Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” By comparing his disciples—and by extension all of humanity—to sparrows sold in a marketplace, Jesus would seem to be expressing the little worth of human lives and all of life’s torments. Instead, the comparison expresses God’s tender love for us in every single dimension of our lives. When sin disrupts that relationship, the Sacrament of Reconciliation restores us through grace to God’s constant presence.

God, help me understand the depth and breadth of your love. It is so great that I would venture to see it in only one aspect, in one splinter of my life as it is lived. How is it present in my relationship with my family? Where is that depth and breadth when others share their fears and concerns with me? “Do not be afraid," Jesus says. Let me be a living means of that message. Nothing escapes the notice of God.

Lord, let me be aware today that in your great love that you take notice of my coming and my going and my inmost thoughts. Let that awareness bring me joy that is visible to others for the sake of your glory.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.

These words of Jesus from today’s Gospel reading are difficult to hear. Jesus tells the scribes, Pharisees, and scholars of the law that their ancestors are responsible for killing the prophets and that later generations built them memorials. The hypocrisy Jesus points to comes out of generations and generations of the Chosen People’s disobedience to God, whom God tested in various ways. Jesus directs the gaze of those who hear him to his Father in heaven. “Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute.’ ” In the same way, Jesus charges the scribes, Pharisees, and scholars of the law with the shedding of blood since the foundation of the world. Why would Jesus go so far to condemn those who killed the prophets, the ones God called to speak his words to the Israelites? In the first reading, Saint Paul makes this clear, also referring to the “foundation of the world.” He says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” Jesus condemns, but in that condemnation, he calls to adoption those who hear him to be without blemish, to be holy. Or as Paul says, “in love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.”

God, help me make sense of this. There is a lot here to take in and make meaningful in my own life. I have to wonder about my own hypocrisy and actions from my past that you would condemn. You treat me not as I deserve to be treated but as a merciful, forgiving father through the redemption of your Son and the grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus, I know you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Don’t let me fool myself into thinking today is about what I want out of it. Teach me to know and do your will. Help me see where I can let go of judgment and instead show mercy.

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

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7YbWyPcQo

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

It’s hard to imagine in what tone Jesus says these words to the Pharisee who invited him to dinner. Rude, accusative, and authoritarian are just some of the terms someone at that moment might have used to describe Jesus. Yet, it was the Pharisee who was amazed at Jesus not following the prescribed ritual of washing before the meal. The Greek word Luke used to describe the Pharisee is ἐθαύμασεν (ethaumasen), “to wonder” or “to marvel.” The Pharisee’s amazement was based on his adherence to the law and Jesus’ disobedience to the law. In the first reading, Saint Paul faces the same strict adherence to the law that Jesus say, when he said, “every man who has himself circumcised . . . is bound to observe the entire law.” Instead, Jesus says, “Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Only faith working through love is what counts, Saint Paul says. To avoid the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, I have to consider areas in my life where I am strict and unrelenting. God, help me understand that on my own, I am incapable of avoiding hypocrisy and being a complete, loving person made in your image. It is you, who make everything clean for me. It is my faith and your love that will make everything whole. “Give alms,” Jesus says. What can I do, Lord, to help the poor today? Make that clear to me, and give me the opportunity to act.

Thank you, Lord, for your presence by making clear where love is needed. Sometimes I see presented to me two ways: one, where I act out of love and look in another’s eyes and see what is needed; another, where I respond rudely or rigidly or with sarcasm and look over what is most needed—love. Teach me to see so that I choose love.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Today’s short Gospel reading echoes the words Elizabeth spoke on greeting her cousin Mary: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary carried and bore Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God. For that reason, Mary was born free of original sin to be the Ark of the New Covenant. When Jesus replies to the woman, the word of God he refers to includes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God, help me understand the mystery of your Incarnation. To hear and observe your word should be my primary aim every day. On my own, I will fail time after time, but through your grace—or as Saint Paul put it, “clothed with Christ”—it makes hearing and observing your word possible. Lord, I ask for that grace today; help me see.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6ufFVFbOvU

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

In today’s Gospel reading, again on how Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, Luke tells of Jesus driving out a demon. The crowd confronts Jesus, saying that he drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”

Understanding perfectly the course of division, Jesus offers unity through him, with him, and in him by saying, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” The Gospel acclamation echoes this in the words of Jesus from the Book of Revelation: “The prince of this world will now be cast out, and when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.” Help me understand, God, that I need to stay close to you so that when you come again you will draw me to you.

Thank you, God, for the gift of your presence in the Gospel, at Mass in the Eucharist, and in the Blessed Sacrament. I’m not confident that I know what it means to gather with you; through your grace, I ask that you give me an example today. I want to be with you and not against you. Stay with me, Lord, 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.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke follows immediately after Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer. In praying, Jesus tells his disciples, be persistent. The parable that tells about the man who goes to his friend’s house at midnight for three loaves of bread describes approaching God in prayer. Because every moment on earth may be our last, it is always the midnight hour when we approach God, who is always ready to receive the ones who seek him out.

Not everything I ask God to give me will be given to me. In the parable, Jesus makes clear that what we pray for that is in accord with the will of God will be given. The friend will give his persistent friend three loaves of bread, which he will in turn share with his friend who is on a journey. In seeking God, the will of God will be found; in knocking, the door will be opened; in asking, God will give every good thing there is to receive. In the Our Father it is the same perfect unity and abandonment to the will of God. “Thy will be done” and “give us this day our daily bread.” Help me discern, Lord, whether what I ask you in prayer is one with your will.

God, teach me today to know your will. I know you want me to know your will, not because it shackles and confines my will but because to do your will is to live in the truth and freedom of your divine love. When I say I want to do your will, let it not be as if I am fulfilling another’s human wish. Let me see instead that your will is woven into the very fabric of existence. Your will simply is; it is the way things work on earth as in heaven—a mystery. Job said it best: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.”

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

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.”

Jesus teaches his disciples to say the Our Father, the Lord’s prayer. As one of the disciples came to Jesus to ask him how to pray, he must have asked out of true humility. The disciple also shows a certain observance to tradition that comes across by his asking to be taught to pray just as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. Jesus then prays what we know as the Our Father.

Saint Paul says, “We do not know how to pray as we ought.” Lord, help me understand how this applies to me. When I pray the Our Father, let me realize that I am saying the same prayer you said from the heart to be in union with God the Father. Every line of the Our Father is a meditation on the glory of the Father and the mercy he shows us. As a whole, it is complete abandonment to God’s will even for our daily needs. Lord, when I struggle with prayer and distractions crowd my mind, let me remember to ask you as the disciple asks: “Teach me to pray.”

The Gospel acclamation for today is “You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!” With a spirit of adoption, we pray: 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.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “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.”

Jesus makes clear in today’s Gospel reading that one thing is necessary: to sit beside the Lord at his feet and listen to him speak. While Martha was busy serving and preparing, Mary sat at the feet of the Lord. I imagine Martha in the kitchen taking account of things she still has to do before everybody can sit down, eat, and rest. Being burdened means completing a seemingly endless list of things, exacting tasks that must be done before taking a breath. Mary chooses the better part, and it will not be taken from her. Another way of saying that: being present before God and listening to him gives what is everlasting and can’t be taken away even amid the demands of a day.

God, you know how I will deceive myself today in the seemingly endless list of things I have to do before I rest. Help me understand that there will always be more to do that drains and leaves me feeling burdened with many cares. Yet, if I return to you in the day through prayer—even a few quiet moments—I will choose something that will not be taken from me. Let me be mindful that you will supply the grace I need in order to sit beside you and listen to you speak.

On this memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, teach me, Lord, to measure my success not by how much I acquire in the world and how much surplus I possess. I know you are rich in mercy, and I am poor to whatever degree I dismiss that. As Saint Paul says, “For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Show me, Lord, how to succeed in listening to you and doing your will by letting go of excess—all that places an obstacle between you and 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

Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.

In the well-known parable from today’s Gospel reading, Jesus responds to a scholar of the law who asks him, “Who is my neighbor?” A priest and Levite separately passed by the man who had been stripped and beaten, but a Samaritan saw him, stopped, and eventually took him to an inn. Jesus finishes the parable and asks the scholar which of the three was the neighbor. “The one who treated him with mercy,” he says. And Jesus replies, “Go and do likewise.”

God, help me understand your mercy. There will be opportunity today to show mercy to someone in need—probably not in a dramatic or memorable way—but nonetheless in a way that through my actions, another may receive your mercy. The question is whether I will be too busy to notice or find justification in some other necessary task. The readings from a few days ago describe Jesus and his disciples trying to pass through a Samaritan village on their way to Jerusalem, but they were not welcome so went another way. Here, Jesus places the Samaritan in the role of giving tender care to a wounded human being. Rather than demonize Samaritans, Jesus shows one of them giving mercy where mercy is sorely needed.

Lord, amid all the necessities and distractions of the day, put in my path the means to show someone your mercy. You know me, Lord; unless you make things very clear to me, I will miss it. Be with me today, and show me how I can please you best.

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

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

The apostles ask Jesus for the gift of faith, and he reassures them with his reply. Just as Jesus heals those who called out to him in their illness or distress by reaching out for him, so it is with the apostles. Only a little faith is necessary for God to supply what is lacking.

God, help me understand that the little faith I have is enough as long as I desire you. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. Help me see the mulberry trees in my life that the mustard seed of faith can move. I can do little, but as Job says in yesterday’s reading: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.”

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