Thursday 22nd Week of Ordinary Time

 An astonishing catch. Lk 5:1-11

Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing.

This is what usually happens when we try and do things on our own.

Thinking we do not need God’s help.

But as soon as Peter listened to Jesus,

His nets were filled to overflowing;

To the point of sinking.

It seems the harder we work,

The less we produce.

But if we listen to the Lord,

Even if we have worked all night;

We too can fill our empty nets to the point of overflowing.

God Bless

Tuesday 22nd Week of Ordinary Time

 Speaking with Authority Lk. 4:31-37

The people were amazed because Jesus spoke with authority.

Meaning His words had power;

Power to expel demons!

Many People talk.

But do they talk with authority?

Is their power in their words to heal?

To save?

To set people free?

If we do not talk with authority,

Maybe we should talk a little less,

And pray a little more.

God Bless

Monday 22nd Week of Ordinary Time

What do we bring? Lk. 4:16-30

Jesus brought glad tidings to the poor.

Liberty to captives.

Sight to the blind.

Freedom to those oppressed.

This should make one stop and think about what we bring to others.

God Bless

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

God Forbid! 

Jesus was on a mission.

A mission to Jerusalem where He would suffer and be killed.

Peter put two and two together

And realized that if Jesus suffers and dies,

Then he will too!

Since he is a disciple of Jesus.

So he said to Jesus,

“God forbid!”

Peter couldn’t see the logic in suffering and dying.

To be honest,

How many of us do??

Jesus however rebuked him,

For Peter was thinking as human beings do and not as God does.

Many people think that when they follow Jesus

It will be smooth sailing.

I remember when I was young

And I would look through vocation brochures,

And I would see pictures of monks

With their hood up,

Looking out over a lake

That is as smooth as glass,

Not a single ripple.

And I thought to myself.

“If I become a monk

Then my life will be peaceful

And there won’t be a single ripple

In the pond of my life.”

Boy was I wrong!

Whoever dares to follow Jesus,

Has only one path to walk,

The way of the cross.

And it leads up only one hill,

Calvary

Where here will be a cross waiting for them.

One on the left and one on the right of Jesus.

And Jesus will say to them,

Do you dare to join me?

And most people would look at those crosses

And like Peter say,

“God forbid.”

But there is that rare person who says “Yes”

Because the greatest use of Life is to spend it for something that will outlast it!

God Bless

St. Monica

 St. Monica had a wayward child.

He left the church in which he was baptized

And went off to a life of pleasure

Following one cult after another.

And what did she do?

She did not preach or scold or admonish her son.

Rather she wept tears for him.

Tears that God saw

And tears that eventually touched the heart of her son.

And through those tears

Her son came back to the Church and became

St. Augustine.

Perhaps the greatest theologian in the history of the Church.

So never underestimate the power of tears.

God Bless

The Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist

 Herod was attracted to John,

Much like a moth to a flame.

But at the same time he rejected John,

Because he did not want to hear the Truth;

The Truth that he cannot marry his brother’s wife.

And eventually Herod silenced the Truth,

By having John beheaded.

Or so he thought.

The life and message of St. John the Baptist lives on,

While Herod fades away.

This is how it is with Truth.

People are attracted to it.

But often reject it because it convicts them of the falsehood of their own opinions and desires.

Truth is Always being crucified on the altar of public opinion.

If the polls say it’s true then it must be true.

We may be Put on trial in the court of public opinion as was Jesus and Saint John the Baptist.

And Like Jesus and Saint John the Baptist,

We too may be crucified in one form or another, for holding onto the Truth.

But it is better to die a martyr for the Truth than live as a slave to Public opinion.

Wednesday 21st Week of Ordinary Time

 

Shunning 2 Thes. 3:6-10

St. Paul told the Thessalonians to “shun” those who walk in a disorderly way.

Yet Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors.

So what is a person to do?

Shun the attitudes and values that are not of Jesus.

But not the person.

Eat and drink with them as Jesus did,

For by your charity they may find their way back to the Lord.

God Bless