The Word of God

Daily Reflections

• Reflection – Lectionary: 380

  Freedom is a Right.  From the very depths of each of our hearts, we celebrate freedom today. On the most outward and national level, we commemorate the historical proceedings that led us here today. Not everyone who is reviewing this commentary is American, but the values for which this country stands may and should serve as a beacon of life and hope for a better tomorrow. I want to share with you today the peace and joy that is in my heart. Knowing what this day means historically and intellectually, I still want to take it a step further.

  “‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’– he then said to the paralytic, ‘Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.’  He rose and went home.” 

  Bottom line: there are real, tangible, and ongoing miracles all around us. Just think for a minute about your own life and those who are precious to you. For some, the miracle began when they gave their hearts to Jesus early on, while for others, the turning point came when a person welcomed the Holy Spirit and allowed that Spirit to work within them.

  Independence is a Choice. Today, this is what I witnessed: we are free. We’ve tasted the slavery of dysfunction and co-dependence and have chosen freedom. We’ve struggled to survive financially, but we have chosen hope. We’ve tasted lust and selfishness and have chosen love. We know that we are the person we are when no one is looking. We have chosen integrity.

  Can we abuse this freedom? Can we ever forget what has brought us to this moment? Can we become yet another statistic? Yes, we can–—but—-we won’t because we have spiritual freedom, and nothing in life can replace that.

  Let us Pray:
  Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
  my memory, my understanding,
  and my entire will,
  All I have and call my own.
  You have given all to me.
  To you, Lord, I return it.
  Everything is yours;
  do with it what you will.

  Give me only your love and grace; that is enough for me.

  AMEN.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 379

  “As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a great nation of him also since he too is your offspring.” So often, we think that maybe God has forgotten or, worse, abandoned us because of the way we feel, what others have said to us, or perhaps as a result of past guilty acts. There is always the possibility of true evil at work as well. The ancient world believed that the air was thickly populated with evil spirits that sought entry into everyone. Often they did enter through food or drink. All illness was caused by them. The Egyptians believed there were thirty-six different parts of the human body, and any of them could be entered and controlled by one of these evil spirits. There were spirits of deafness, of dumbness, of fever; spirits which took a man’s sanity and wits away; spirits of lying and of deceit and of uncleanness. It was such demonic spirits that Jesus exorcised here.  “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

  “They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned.” However dramatic or dark, this topic of confronting evil and evil spirits is good for each and every one of us: every day is a challenge and struggle to live this life and walk this walk. Keep in mind, as a result of reading the Scriptures today, especially the Gospel of today, that Jesus truly intended to confront these evil spirits; that is to say, it was no accident. We live in a world of darkness and terror and unless we hold the Light of Christ within us, we will indeed be swallowed up in despair. We also learn from this passage that the envious and godless people in this world are actually tormented at the sight of generosity, as were the possessed grave dwellers in the Gospel. This is yet another sobering lesson for all of us. You see, the battle of light and darkness is not just outside of us; it is also within us, as in every human being who grows. And we have Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, to help us move forward in faith. Evil is not sustainable because it has already been defeated. It is now up to us to join the winning, victorious team. Let us pray: 

  Lord Jesus, free from me all that is not of You and cleanse my soul from all deceit, worry, and shame. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 378

  “Flee for your life! Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.” This phrase from our First Reading from Genesis creates a pivotal, critical point in our understanding of who Jesus is and why He came. As the mediator of the New Covenant by which all are saved by the shedding of His blood, we have access to the most wonderful of all gifts and walk in the light of faith toward our Heavenly home. This is why our most important goal and search on earth is to encounter Jesus and invite Him to live and move and have our being and existence. With this in mind, everything that happens to us, good, bad, or indifferent, will be seen through the lens of redemption as the real person of Christ lives within each one of us. Without this precious gift, human life and all of our encounters will be thrown into a dark chasm of resentment and pessimism, such as we witnessed in our final reading from St. Matthew. 

  Jesus, of the House of David, took the threatening condition of storm and rain and displayed His authority over all of creation, human and nature. “Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.” Once the inner storms and weaknesses within the human soul are faced and blessed in the name of Jesus, peace is returned, life is strengthened, and fear takes a back seat; the further, the better. This is true freedom. 

  “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.”  St. Thomas Aquinas

• Reflection – Lectionary: 591 

  Let’s begin with a quote from a sermon by St. Augustine: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.”

  “Then Peter recovered his senses and said, ‘Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod  and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” It is clear throughout the New Testament that Peter is first among the Apostles and their leader. He was chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him on several levels. St. Peter was privileged to witness the awesome mystery of the powerful Transfiguration, which sought to prepare the early Church for the scandal of the suffering and horrible death of Jesus by the crucifixion. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus and his name appears more than 100 times in the New Testament, with St. John in a distant second place with nearly 30 mentions. “The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.”

  Although the impetuous and impulsive Peter is seemingly close to the edge of belief and doubt, his place in Church History, Scriptural Theology, and Ecclesiology (the nature of the Church itself) is simply unmatched. He is willing to accept Jesus’ doctrine of forgiveness but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off a soldier’s ear, but in the end, he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. In that light, St. Peter sounds like every one of us who is trying to follow the Lord with all of our own imperfections and faults. Yet, we learn never to give up or give in, and the role of service becomes crystal clear. Our own selves have to die to the wants and needs of the mission ahead of us.

  “I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” What we have learned from the writings and life of St. Paul is also simple and absolute: God alone, in His great mercy and love, can save us.  No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil, and from death, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus, and there is simply no other way or middle ground. One must have both feet in the game and never look back. His passionate love for Jesus is not only inspiring, it is necessary for the disciple.

  “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” The Gospel clearly establishes the deep desire and longing of Jesus to keep the Church going and shepherded throughout the centuries until the end of time. This is the ongoing gift of love that Christ has for us in giving us shepherds after His own heart. St. Peter’s incredible and phenomenal life is perhaps best summed up in the account of his meeting with Jesus after the Resurrection. Jesus asked him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16). Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. . . . Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (John 21:17). 

  And he still does.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 97

  What do these people have in common?

  • John Dillinger
  • Billy the Kid
  • Bonnie and Clyde
  • Baby Face Nelson
  • Jack the Ripper
  • James Earl Ray
  • John Wilkes Booth
  • D. B. Cooper
  • Pablo Escobar
  • Jesse James
  • Al Capone

  They were all wanted for a crime by lawful authorities who wanted to catch them and bring them to justice, whether or not they could be apprehended alive or not. There was typically a set monetary reward offered to whoever captured the wanted criminal that was advertised on the poster. Rewards from $100,000 to $25 Million are currently being offered by the US Government.

  In an analogous and similar way, we could make the case that you and I are wanted by the Lord, who also offers a reward for our acquisition. Let’s see how far we can take this: “Can something be done for her?” The woman from Shunem in our first selection understood the holiness of Elisha and continued to provide hospitality for his visits. She was rewarded with a baby son.

  The rewards to those who believe in the Lord’s goodness and promises are immense and illicit great and joyful reactions, a reward of hope and fidelity, clearly. “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” Because of the death and Resurrection of Jesus, those of us baptized into His very life are promised and assured the reward of life beyond imagining in this world and the next.

  “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple—Amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” Jesus spoke of reward. The concept can be misunderstood. Jesus was not talking about something extrinsic – a prize or payment of some kind. The reward would rather be the reality (and the experience) of human and personal growth: this could mean growth in love, truth, and inner freedom, in the enjoyed intimacy of love for God, which is its own reward. We could also posit that loving God with every fiber of our being is, in fact, its own reward.

  Therefore, being wanted by God and seeking “to be brought in (Heaven) alive” ranks above all the most desired conditions we could ever imagine! He wants us alive!

• Reflection – Lectionary: 376

  “Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?” What is painfully clear in the Readings today is that without prayer fueled by Faith, we are definitely lost. As the marquee down the street from our office reads, “Prayer is the best wireless connection to God.“ And every prayer needs words and those words must be inspired and lead us to the Word made Flesh in the very person of Jesus Christ. “The Lord has remembered his mercy.”

  By most accounts, the human person comprises the body, mind, heart, and soul. There are some variations on that composite, but basically, that seems to wrap up what we know about ourselves. The body indeed has its physical needs and wants, the mind is either in control of the emotions of the heart or being whisked away depending on the maturity of the individual, and the soul is the very center and essence of the person, which hungers and longs for God as the body longs for air and water. We are all very well aware and versed in how to feed the needs of the body and the emotions, but today we focus on the way we feed our souls so that the wants of the other elements of existence are balanced and yield a life that is one of integrity and strength.

  It is analogous to the difference between nutritious and fast food. One is easy, cheap, and fast but leaves one unhealthy, tired, and hungry very quickly. Good, healthy food is harder to come by and takes time to prepare and eat, but it does, in fact, satisfy the true nutritional needs of the body. Such it is with the startling difference between the fast talk of the world and inspired prayer of the soul who loves God. “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” 

  Read: open the Scriptures and let the words flow through your mind like a river through a dry, parched land.

  Absorb: learn and study what those words mean. Consult. Listen. Pray.

  Believe: place the Word of God squarely in your soul and commit your life to Jesus, who is the Word Made Flesh.

  Act: Do something! Today and every day, God will present to us every opportunity to act on the Word.

• Reflection – Lectionary: 375

  Every morning is a wake-up call. Each new breath we take creates the backdrop for a whole new set of exciting circumstances and opportunities to grow and live the dream that God has placed in our hearts and minds. “See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.” 

  “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  Included in this recurring opening scene of life is the demand, yes, the demand to die to oneself. This includes the start of throwing out any excuses as to why we cannot or choose not to be happy. That’s right; we must shield our hearts from the negative influences that come from within and from outside our lives. That also means being totally realistic with ourselves and asking for forgiveness. This leaves behind the deceptions that creep into our hearts that somehow we don’t deserve to suffer or experience disappointments. Jesus never promised a smooth ride, but He sure did ensure that we would have a safe landing.

  “I will do it. Be made clean.” Jesus taught us that he can and does both forgive and heal. Perhaps that is the most important lesson we are to learn today. Spiritual sickness does impact our physical lives. Sin wounds and the love of Christ heals. This process must start with each of us personally.

  Even though nothing externally or existentially has changed around us, even though the same ruthless and negative voices are still chattering outside our personal walls, the impact of honesty, forgiveness, and healing has everything to do with moving forward from an old way of life to the bright promise of what is waiting for us this very day.
  

  Let us pray:

  Lord, you are Holy above all others, and all of the strength that I need is in your hands. I am not asking, Lord, that you take this trial away. Instead, I simply ask that Your will be done in my life. Whatever that means, that is what I want.

  But I admit that it’s hard, Lord. Sometimes I feel like I can’t go on. The pain and the fear are too much for me, and I know that I don’t have the strength on my own to get through this. I know that I can come to you, Jesus, and that you will hear my prayer. I know that it is not your intent to bring me to this point just to leave me in the wilderness alone.

  Please, Lord, give me the strength that I need to face today. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow. If you just give me the strength that I need today that is all I need. Keep me from sinning during this trial. Instead, help me to keep my eyes on you. You are the Holy Lord, and all of my hope rests in you.

  Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read more >>