Thursday 30th Week Of Ordinary Time

 Put on the armor of God Eph 6:10-20

Before we go outside everyday we check the weather so we can know what to wear. 

Because none of us wants to be unprepared. 

Before we go outside everyday into the world each one of us should put on the “armor of God” because none of us knows what we will be facing in our day or in the world. 

St. Patrick put on the Armor Christ everyday in his famous prayer,

The Breastplate of St. Patrick. 

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

Wednesday 30th Week of Ordinary Time

 Honor your father and mother Eph. 6!

When I was young,

I did not understand all that my parents did and were going through. 

My mother was a nurse who worked five and half days a week and when she came home I would ask her “what is for dinner!”

My father would clean house while my mother worked on Sat mornings. 

I look back on their life and their sacrifices and am in awe of what they did. 

The least I can do and the least any child can do is honor their father and mother even if we do not understand all that they did and why they did it. 

Whether or not our parents are alive or dead. 

We should always honor our mother and father by our continued love and prayers for them. 

Tuesday 30th Week of Ordinary Time

 I have Mustard seeds!

The Kingdom of God is like a Mustard Seed that when full grown

Becomes like a large bush and the birds of the sky dwells in its branches. 

Pope Benedict once said,

“I have a handful of Mustard Seeds, and I am not afraid to use them!”

We too have Mustard Seeds. 

Our Faith!

They are the words we speak,

And the actions we do.  

And We must never be afraid to plant them. 

So that the Kingdom of God can take root throughout the world. 

Monday 30th week of Ordinary Time

 The Apostles Simon and Jude Oct 28

The Foundation

A foundation plays a major role in the construction of a building. 

A good and strong foundation keeps the building standing 

Even when the forces of nature wreak havoc.

The Catholic Church is built and founded on the Apostles. 

The men who lived with Jesus for three years. 

Who heard His teaching and who saw His miracles. 

And most of all who saw Him risen from the dead. 

Any other church is built on sand and hearsay

And will not stand. 

The Catholic Church goes back to the Apostles and we know this because the remains of the Apostles are all found in Catholic Churches. 

But the Church is not built on their remains,

But on their living Spirit handed down to every bishop

Who is there successor. 

This is what makes the Church Catholic and Apostolic Church. 

30th Sunday of Ordinary time

Do we want to see?  Mk. 10:46-52

     A blind man comes before Jesus and Jesus asks him what he wants. 

Really?

     Why did Jesus ask such an obvious question from a blind man?

     To know if he really wanted to see. 

Did he want to see the world to which he had been blind?

Did he want to see the poor and homeless?

Did he want to see the war and violence?

Did he want to see sickness, suffering and disease?

     Being a blind man he did not have to see all of this. 

Being blind he could be concerned only with his small corner of the world. 

     But if his eyes were opened;

Then he would become responsible for what he sees. 

He would have no more excuses. 

For not reaching out to those in need and making a difference in the world. 

Do we see the needs of

our neighbor?

our parish?

our city?

Or do we turn a blind eye?

All of us have blind spots. 

     When we do not notice those around us and what is going on in their lives. 

When we do not notice how we are coming across to others. 

Or how we are acting?

     We are all blind in one way or another

And as we sit on the roadside of life,

Do we dare to call out to Jesus to open our eyes?

     Because if He opens our eyes 

Then we can no longer say, 

We didn’t see!

Friday 28th Week of Ordinary Time

 The Feast of St. Luke Oct. 18

Jesus sent out 72 of His disciples in pairs to every town and village that He intended to visit. 

The Lord sends each one of us before Him as well. 

To work, to the store, to school, to the neighborhood. 

Do we prepare the way of The Lord?

Or are busy preparing our own way?

If Christ is no longer present in the workplace, the marketplace, in schools or our neighborhood it is because we have not prepared the way for Him. 

In order to prepare the way for Him in the world we must first prepare the way for Him in our hearts. 

And we prepare for the Lord’s coming into our hearts everyday

By tidying  up our hearts;

Throwing out all anger, lust, pride and selfishness. 

And preparing a place of welcome. 

A place of Faith; Hope and Love!

Where He feels at Home!

Thursday 28th Week of Ordinary Time

 

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch in Syria in the year 100 A.D.  

During the persecutions he was Chained and on his way to Rome to be fed to the lions in the Colessium,  many Christians came out and greeted him on the way. 

     Ignatius told them not to pray for a way for him to escape, because he embraced dying for the Lord. 

“Nearness to the sword is nearness to God; 

to be among the wild beasts is to be in the arms of God; 

 I endure all things that I may suffer with Christ who strengthens me.” 

Ignatius saw his suffering and death as his path to glory with Christ.

Do we?

Wednesday 28th Week of Ordinary Time

 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

St. Margaret Mary is the Patron Saint of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Who revealed His Sacred Heart to her in a vision. 

She once wrote.

“We must never be discouraged,

Or give way to anxiety. 

But always have recourse to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “

“And Keep your heart in Peace. 

Let nothing trouble you,

Not even your faults 

Rather Humble yourself before the Lord. “

Who is Gentle and Humble of Heart.  

Tuesday 28th Week of Ordinary Time

 St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa prayed,

“Let nothing disturb you,Let nothing frighten you,

All things are passing away:

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things! 

Whoever has God lacks nothing; 

God alone suffices.”

May nothing disturb us today;

Nothing frighten us;

It will all pass away

God alone will remain;

And suffice for everything. 

Monday 28th Week of Ordinary Time

Pope Callistus

Pope Callistus went from embezzling 

to being a slave 

to being imprisoned to the mines in Sardina 

to Pope. 

Quite a journey. 

At the time, 

There were those who taught that after Baptism,

If a person sinned, they could not be readmitted to Communion. 

Callistus however taught that sinners could be readmitted to Communion if they repented. 

Callistus had tasted the Mercy of God in Communion 

And wanted to make sure that everyone else did too!

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Wisdom Wis.7:7-11

When I was young I thought I knew it all. 

Who doesn’t at 21!

When you are 21 you DO know everything 

The problem though is that your world is rather small at 21. 

So there is really not that much to know. 

But then as you get older and the world gets bigger

There is more to know. 

 A lot more!

And That life has more questions than answers. 

And in the face of Life’s questions our knowledge is not enough 

What we need is Wisdom. 

Wisdom gives our knowledge the ability to make the right choices. 

To see things more clearly. 

Wisdom is to knowledge 

What oil is to a car or protein is to an athlete. 

Without it a person is not going to get too far. 

And the beginning of Wisdom is Silence. 

Someone who talks too much really has nothing to say. 

But it is not only silencing our lips

But silencing our passions and desires, our fears and anxieties. 

Because our passions and fears and desires and anxieties 

Cloud and distort our thinking. 

And when we silence everything 

we can more wisely know what to say and where to go. 

And this is what many early Christians did. 

They went out into the desert and separated themselves from all the noise so that they could better hear the voice of God. 

Many of us cannot go out into the desert

But we can walk out into the fields.  

Or Sit in an empty church. 

And in the silence Wisdom will begin to speak!