8th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Beam in Our Eye. Lk. 6:39-45

Did you see that!

Did you hear that!

I cannot believe He did that!

Very little gets past us nowadays.

With the internet, Facebook, cameras everywhere nothing is private and therefore everyone has a comment about everything and everyone.

We have become judge and jury on each other.

But while we are quick to notice what everyone else is doing, very seldom do we notice or critique ourselves.

Are we not all human beings cut out of the same cloth?

Formed from the same dirt?

Are we really so different from each other?

We are so busy noticing the splinter in the other person's eye, that we are blind to the wooden beam in our own. Lk. 6:42

Before we make a comment or judgement or critique abut another person we should always look in the mirror.

And after taking a good, long, hard look in the mirror we might see more clearly and speak more wisely about the other person who only has a splinter in their eye.

God Bless

Thursday 7th. Week of Ordinary Time

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Money is not evil.

Rather the “love” of money is what is evil.

And St. James warns us about this.

He warns us that our clothes will become moth eaten.

Our gold will corrode.

Worms will devour our flesh. James 5:1-6

So for what are we living?

For things that will fade away?

Or for that which will endure forever!

Friday 7th Week of Ordinary Time

 

The Lord is compassionate and merciful James 5:12

Did you see what that person did?

Did you hear what that person said?

People are quick to judge others but never themselves.

Live long enough and everyone eventually stumbles somewhere along the road of life.

And says or does something they regret.

This is why “to err is human, to forgive is Divine!”

St. James urges us to be Compassionate and Merciful as the Lord is Compassionate and Merciful.

For one day everyone is going to need a little Compassion and Mercy somewhere along the road.

Thursday 7th. Week of Ordinary Time

Blessed are the poor in spirit

Money is not evil.

Rather the “love” of money is what is evil.

And St. James warns us about this.

He warns us that our clothes will become moth eaten.

Our gold will corrode.

Worms will devour our flesh. James 5:1-6

So for what are we living?

For things that will fade away?

Or for that which will endure forever!

Wednesday 7th Week of Ordinary Time

 

Feast of St. Polycarp

Polycarp!

Now there’s a name you don’t hear too often.

But has been remembered in the Halls of the Kingdom of Heaven.

His is a name and a life though that will never be forgotten.

For he was a disciple of St. John the Apostle,

Who ordained him as Bishop of Smyrna.

And who was later burned at the stake and stabbed to death for the Faith.

And one of the three chief Apostolic Fathers,

Along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch.

He once said,

“Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian!”

Perhaps if we are unashamed and just as bold about being a Christian,

Our name too will be remembered forever,

In the Kingdom of Heaven.

Tuesday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

 

Temptation James 1:12-18

Temptation is a seed that does not bear good fruit.

First it lands on the soul.

Then the desires of the heart water it.

Then it takes root and grows.

Until it bears nothing good.

St. James tells us not to be deceived by temptations.

For nothing good comes of them.

Rather every good gift comes from above,

From the Father of Lights.

Who desires to give His children every good gift that bears fruit 30, 60 and a 100 fold.

7th Sunday of Ordinary Time

David had him!
Right there!
In his grasp and let him go.

Saul was hunting David to kill him.

And one night David snuck into the camp where Saul was sleeping.

And he could have killed him right then and there.

And he had every reason to.

Because Saul was trying to kill him.

David had been anointed to become king,

Because Saul was taking the country down the wrong path.

All of his problems would have been gone.

He would no longer have to flee for his own life

And He would now become the rightful king.

But instead he let him go.

It was an extraordinary act of mercy towards someone who wanted him dead.

But that is what Mercy does.

It lets the guilty go free.

God could have left us to our own designs.

He did not have to die on the cross.

We were the ones who were guilty.

We were the one’s who had done wrong.

But instead, Jesus chose to die in our place.

Because that is what Mercy does.

It takes the place of the guilty.

Are you a masker or anti masker?

Are you vaccinated or un vaccinated?

Are you a Democrat or a Republican?

If you had it in your power to do whatever you wanted.

What would you do?

Would you love your enemy?

Would you do good to them?

Would you be kind to the ungrateful and the wicked?

Would you be merciful, just as your Heavenly Father is merciful?

The measure with which you measure,

Will in return be measured out to you in the end!

Saturday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

 

The human tongue James :3:1-10

Horses have bits to tame them;

Ships have rudders to guide them;

But what does the human tongue have?

A single spark can set an entire forest ablaze.

Just so a single word can cause unspeakable harm

That can never be taken back once spoken.

Amazing how We praise God with the same tongue with which we curse our neighbor.

What we say today not only makes a difference tomorrow

But for all Eternity.

Friday 6th week of Ordinary Time

 

Faith and works James 2:14-26

We are not saved by our works or what we do.

We do not earn our way into heaven.

Rather We are saved by faith.

Saved by our Faith in the death and resurrection of Christ.

But how do we know we have Faith?

Just because a person says, “Lord, Lord!”

Does that mean they have Faith?

Faith becomes visible in what we do and say.

Faith welcomes strangers.

Faith feeds the hungry and clothes the naked.

Faith visits those who are sick and in prison. Mt. 25: 31-46

Actions speak louder than words,

And our Faith speaks loudest when we put it into practice

Thursday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

 

Show no partiality. James 2:1-9

Would you rather associate with the rich or the poor?

With the famous or the forgotten?

With saint or sinner?

St. James tells us to show no partiality.

Because Jesus showed none.

He was born among the poor in a stable.

He emptied Himself of all His riches and took the form of a slave

And He ate with sinners and tax collectors.

We are most like Jesus therefore when we show no partiality

But love our neighbor whoever it may be,

As ourself.

Wednesday 6th week of Ordinary Time

 

Quick and slow. James 1:19-27

What is the source of most of the problems in the world.

Of most of the problems in families and between friends?

It is that many people are slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to anger!

St. James tells us to be the opposite.

To be quick to listen;

Slow to speak;

Slow to anger;

For those who are quick to listen;

Will have the Wisdom to speak

And avoid the foolishness of anger?

Tuesday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

Temptation James 1:12-18

Temptation is a seed that does not bear good fruit.

First it lands on the soul.

Then the desires of the heart water it.

Then it takes root and grows.

Until it bears nothing good.

St. James tells us not to be deceived by temptations.

For nothing good comes of them.

Rather every good gift comes from above,

From the Father of Lights.

Who desires to give His children every good gift that bears fruit 30,60 and a 100 fold.

Monday 6th Week of Ordinary Time

Liturgical colour: white

White is the colour of heaven. At Mass,
it is used to celebrate feasts of the Lord; Christmas and Easter, the great seasons of the Lord; and the saints. Sometimes one will see gold to portray the splendor of God.

In the earliest centuries all vestments were white – the white of baptismal purity and of the robes worn by the armies of the redeemed in the Apocalypse, washed white in the blood of the Lamb. As the persecutions ended at the Edict of Milan in 313AD, the Church began to use colour so that our sense of sight could deepen our experience of the mysteries of salvation, just as incense recruits our sense of smell and music that of hearing. Over the centuries various schemes of colour for feasts and seasons were worked out, and it is only as late as the 19th century that they were harmonized into their present form.

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

The Beatitudes

We really have only two things to do while we are alive.

Make the most out of this life

and prepare for the next !

Jesus shows us how to do both,

At the same time!

For Jesus came that we might have life,

and have it more Abundantly.

here and now. Jn. 10:10

And have Eternal life when this one ends. Jn. 10:28

The Beatitudes are the way to Abundant Life here and in the next.

1. Blessed are the Poor for they will not spend their life chasing after Fools Gold.
2. Blessed are those who Mourn, for the wounded are much wiser.
3. Blessed are those who are Meek, for Pride goes before a Fall.
4. Blessed are those who are Merciful, for they have learned from their sins and struggles.
   
5. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, for they strive to be like God.
6. Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they never lose sight of what really matters.
7. Blessed are the Peacemakers for they have no enemies.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for Holiness’ sake, for they have not given in to the ways of the world.

But Woe to those who are rich, for their riches are fleeting.

Woe to those who seek to fill themselves up with every physical pleasure, for they will never be satisfied.

Woe to those who live only to have a good time,

For those times always come to an end.

And Woe to those who seek the approval of others,

For they are false friends.

Those who follow the Beatitudes will have Abundant Life in this world and the next.

While Woe to those who do not.

Saturday 5th week

The Sub Tuum Prasesidium  is the oldest known prayer to the Virgin Mary and dates back to the 3rd Century and was the favorite prayer of St. Maximilian Kolbe who prayed it everyday 

Sub Tuum Praesidium (Under Thy Protection)

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Friday 5th week

 Our Lady of Lourdes

When most people think of Lourdes they think of the Miraculous Waters. 

But that was not the message of Our Lady. 

The message that She gave to Bernadette was,

“Penance, Penance Penance !  Pray to God for sinners.”

So often we think that it is our words and our convictions and our wit and intelligence that others need to hear in order to change their minds. 

When Penance is what Our Lady asks of us 

and will go so much further to touch and change hearts. 

Thursday 5th Week

Not as Wise as he thought. I Kings 11:4-13

The Wisdom of Solomon was known throughout the world,

But he was not as wise as he thought. 

Solomon turned out to be the most foolish of all,

As He allowed his wives to turn his heart away from worshipping the true God to worshiping their false gods.

There is nothing more foolish than thinking we know everything.

And no longer need the Wisdom of God.

Wednesday 5th Week

 

The heart of Man Mk. 7:14-23

The Pharisees were always avoiding sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes for fear they might become “infected” by them. 

Jesus however warned his disciples that it is not what comes from “without” a person that infects them but what comes from “within”

From within their own hearts and thoughts. 

For sin is not a Virus that we catch from others,

But comes from within us. 

For the moment we are conceived 

Original Sin enters our hearts and souls

Which is why sin “Originates” from within us. 

And not from others. 

Tuesday 5th Week

 

The Bigness of God 1 Kings 8:22-30

King Solomon built the most magnificent Temple for the Lord to dwell in,

But had to acknowledge that no matter how grand and beautiful it was,

It could not contain God who made the heavens and the earth. 

God is so much bigger than any Temple. 

If the Temple of Solomon could not contain God,

we should therefore never think that our human, finite minds can comprehend the fullness of God either.

5th Week Monday

 

Touch his tassels. Mk. 6:53-56

The sick came to Jesus seeking to touch just the tassel on his cloak. 

Observant Jews from the time of Moses wore prayer shawls with tassels on them even to this day. 

Jesus being Jewish wore them as well. 

The clothes he wore were a reflection of Who He was and of His Faith. 

What do the clothes that we wear reflect?

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Holiness

Catholics live and experience the Bible differently than Protestants.

Rather than always studying the Bible by chapter and verse

Catholics immerse themselves in the Bible by the way they pray,

Especially the Mass.

The Mass is filled with passages from the Bible,

From the sign of the cross at the beginning of Mass,

to communion when we pray, “Lord I am not worthy.”

Another example is when we say at every Mass,

Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of Hosts. Is. 6:2

It comes from Isaiah’s vision of angels.

Who cry out night and day that God is Holy.

And when Isaiah saw the vision of angels crying out about the holiness of God,

He cried out Woe is me.

For he realized he was not Holy like God. Is. 6:3-8

When Jesus called Peter to follow Him,

Peter cried out,

“Depart from me, for I am a sinful Man. Lk. 5:8

These were prophets and saints saying how sinful they were.

What does it say about us?

Why is it that the closer a person draws to God,

The more one realize one’s own sinfulness?

Bishop Sheen explains it like this.

When we take a painting and hold it up to a candle.

It can look rather nice.

But when we take that same picture outside and hold it up to the noon day sun,

We can see every flaw and mistake.

The closer one draws to the Light of God the more one sees one’s own sins

And how different one is from God.

To be Holy means to be like God.

For God is Holy.

Do we strive to be Holy,

Or do we settle for just “being good”

Or being like everyone else?

No athlete settles for being average

No scientist settles for knowing what everyone else knows.

And no saint settles for just “being good.”

When they can be Holy as our Heavenly Father is Holy!