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