Salt

Readings for Tuesday June 9, 2009

First Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16


Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:13-16)

A few years ago I remember watching Emeril on the food network. Aside from his "BAMS!" and "kicking it up a notch" after every commercial, he talked a good amount in his show about spices and seasonings. He discussed the shelf life for spices that many of us keep in our cabinets for many years. His point was that after so much time, the spices and seasonings are no longer at their peak performance and are no longer as good as they once were. His suggestion of what to do with them was throw them out and get new spices. This makes sense, because what can you do with a spice or seasoning that does not add the desired taste to the dish you are preparing? It is not going to be good for anything else, so you might as well get rid of it.

After reading today's gospel, I wonder if Emeril ever came across this passage as inspiration for that particular show. Jesus knew that salt, like any other spice or seasoning, once it loses it's flavor is useless. It is no longer good for anything else, and must be done away with. The characteristic trait of salt and other seasonings is the particular taste and benefit that it adds to the dish. We too like salt are made, and used for a purpose. If, however, we lose our flavor and no longer contribute or add anything, then we are not serving our purpose, we essentially have lost our "flavor."

Today's gospel warns us today of losing our "flavor" and of hiding "under a basket." We are called to be the salt of the world, adding the right flavor to this world. We are called to be the lights of the world, allowing the light of Christ to shine through us and allowing others to be lead to Him. We are called to share the good news, do good works, and to give all glory to God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may we all keep our flavor, and be the lights of the world that we are all called to be.

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful and make the fire of your love burn within them. Send forth your spirit and there shall be another creation. And you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, you have instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit. Grant that through the same Holy Spirit we may always be truly wise and rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessed are

Readings for Monday June 8, 2009

First Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12


"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

In today's gospel reading we hear the teachings of our savior, known as the beatitudes. These beautfiful, yet very radical teachings, show us the character traits that are truly important for us to possess and demonstrate. Our world does not teach that those who are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry, merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, and persecuted are blessed in any sort of way. In fact our world will typically teach that these types of people are unsuccessful, boring, weak, lazy, are just sad excuses for people. If our world had its own version of beatitudes, the list might look something like this: blessed are those who are arrogant, flamboyant, rich and successful, unforgiving, lustful and indulging, rioters, and popular. Our world certainly teaches character traits and virtues that are very opposite to what our Lord teaches.

The teaching of the beatitudes was as radical in Jesus' day as it is in ours. The beatitudes are the ways in which we should live if we want to make it to heaven. We are not called to a luxurios and lavish lifestyle, and we are not called to live out all our desires and fantasies; we are called to live a life for and with Christ. A life that will be hard and will go against the culture of today. But if we seek to live out the teachings of our Lord, to be among the clean of heart, the meek, and the merciful; then we can truly be blessed with an eternity in paradise with our Lord.

I pray that we all seek to know and understand the beatitudes more, and to let these traits and ways of living manifest in our lives. May we all strive to be among the blessed.

Father above, we thank you for the gift of this day. Lord, we thank you and give you all praise and glory in our lives. Lord, give us the strength and courage to live out your beatitudes and to seek nothing more than your will. Lord, you know what is best for us and we trust in you. We pray for all those in need of conversion and that all political leaders can come to values life at all stages. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scourges

Readings for Friday June 5, 2009

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

First Reading: Tobit 11:5-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146
Gospel: Mark 12:35-37


"Blessed be God, and praised be his great name, and blessed be all his holy angels. May his holy name be praised throughout all the ages, Because it was he who scourged me, and it is he who has had mercy on me. Behold, I now see my son Tobiah!" (Tobit 11:14-15)

In today's first reading we see Tobit regaining his vision, and then praising God for the gift of receiving his sight back. It is only right that Tobit give credit to God who made him well again, but from his blindness Tobit learned that while it was God who "scourged" him, it was also God who had mercy on him. Tobit learned an important lesson from the Lord that day, one of which we should all do well to learn.

Each of us will go through trials, difficult times, and lows in our lives. This does not mean that God has abandoned us, but only that He is working. When we emerge from these times, we must be thankful to God for the hardship and for the healing that comes with it. If we never experienced hardship or challenges, then we would never grow. It is easier to have faith when everything is going right, but when things go wrong then our faith is challenged. It is from the lows that we are raised up, and made well again. The martyrs, like Saint Boniface, knew this all too well, why else would they be willing to give up their lives up for their faith? Because they knew that while even being persecuted and killed, they would be lifted up into heaven. They were not concerned about preserving their lives; their only concern was sacrificing for the sake of the kingdom.

May the Lord increase our faith, so that we too might give Him all the thanks and glory for our own "scourges" as well as the great mercy He gives us every day.

Saint Boniface, pray for us.

Father above, we thank you for the gift of this day. Lord we thank you for all the trials and challenges in our lives of which we have grown. Lord, let us never doubt that you are with us and always working in our lives. Lord, you are our Lord and the giver of life, may we find ourselves fully alive in you. Lord, send us your spirit so that we may be strong in our faith and courageous in our hearts and be willing to sacrifice all for the sake of your kingdom. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Greatest Commandment

Readings for June 4, 2009

First Reading: Tobit 6:10-11, 7:1, 9:17, 8:4-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 128
Gospel: Mark 12:28-34


One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)

Jesus tells the scribe today that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and that the second is to love our neighbor as our self. Upon reading this gospel we should be asking ourselves, "is this how I love?" Are these commandments the ones of which I am living my life?

This first commandment deal with how we relate to God. Are we really giving all that we have to Him? What does it even mean to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? Well, since we are human beings, we have four main components that make us specifically human; physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Jesus, being both fully God and fully human, understood these four dimensions all too well. By having four areas that make us up, this commandment is telling us to love God with everything that we have. We are to hold nothing back, we are to give our lives completely to God. We are to love Him with our bodies, with our intelligence, with our heart and our feelings, and our own soul. God is the one who created us, He knows how we are and how we work, He doesn't want us to hold anything back from Him at all. God wants us to be alive and thriving in all aspects of our lives, and the only way to do that is to give all of ourselves to Him and surrender all that we have and all that we are.

We must also remember that we are not simply called to love God, but we are also called to love our neighbor as ourselves. This means that no matter what those close to us may do or say, we are still called to love them as ourselves. It is these two commandments which our Lord says are the greatest, we would do well to listen and follow both of them. While they are certainly not easy, following both of these commandments can lead to a freedom on this earth and an eternity in heaven with our Father.

May we all love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Father above, we thank you and give you praise for this day. Lord, help increase our faith, help us to follow you and to surrender all that we have and all that we are to you. Lord, we praise you for your love and mercy to us, we pray that we would cling to you instead of the things of this world. Lord, we know that you lead us to you and an eternity of life in heaven, help us not to stray from that plan. We pray for all those who are ill, all those who are in need of your mercy. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

God hears all our prayers

Readings for Wednesday June 3, 2009

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga, martyr, and his companions, martyrs

First Reading: Tobit 3:1-11, 16-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25
Gospel: Mark 12:18-17


At that very time, the prayer of these two suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God. So Raphael was sent to heal them both: to remove the cataracts from Tobit's eyes, so that he might again see God's sunlight; and to marry Raguel's daughter Sarah to Tobit's son Tobiah, and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her. (Tobit 3:16-17)

From the first reading we see two people going through a very difficult time in their lives. Tobit, a devout and faithful Jew, was blinded by cataracts; and Sarah has tried to marry seven times with each husband dying due to a demon. In their great sorrow, each of them turn their prayers to the Lord and ask for His help. While they did not know it, their prayers were heard and God had sent one of his angels to help Tobit and Sarah in their struggles.

Like Sarah and Tobit, we too face very trying times and times where we have just lost all hope and want to give up. But in these times we cannot give up, on both God and ourselves. We must continue to turn to God and pray to Him, as Tobit ad Sarah had done. While we may want God to just clap His hands and make everything right at that instant, it does not work like that. God works in the time that is necessary; sometimes this is quickly, and sometimes this happens slowly. The important thing that we must remember is that we have a God who loves us deeply and who does hear our prayers. He will take care of us and all of our needs. Even when it does not seem like it, He is there working.

In today's reading, we see that Tobit, in his despair wishes for the Lord to take his life. While the Lord did hear his prayers, God had something much better in store for Him. God does not want to take away life, He wants to give it. While it is certainly hard and trying to follow God, we must always trust that He will answer our prayers, perhaps not the way we wanted or thought they should be answered, but He will answer them the way in which is best for us.

We must always remember that God hears all of our prayers. He has a great plan for both you and me, may we always trust in His perfect plan. May the Lord's will be done in all of our lives!

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, we praise you for all your love and mercy. Lord forgive us for all the times in our lives when we did not acknowledge your great works in our life, and did not give you the thanks and glory for your mighty deeds. Lord, we know you seek to give us all new life, may we follow you more closely until that day. We pray for all those who are spiritually dead, may they find your truth and may their hearts long for you. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Give to God what Belongs to God

Readings for Tuesday June 2, 2009

First Reading: Tobit 2:9-14
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112
Gospel: Mark 12:13-17


Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him. (Mark 12:13-17)

"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Well, I hope that everyone filed and paid their taxes this year, because according to this passage it looks as if there is no getting around that. In this wonderful gospel reading where Jesus dishes up a slice of humble pie for the pharisees and Herodians; Jesus reminds us of something very important, priorities. He is telling that it is okay to live in this world and to take care of our responsibilities, but we cannot live of this world and we cannot let it be the only thing that we are concerned with.

God must have number one priority in our life, and we must be giving to Him what belongs to Him; and that is us. Is God taking top priority in your life? When you tithe money, do you give 10% or do you give to your own wants first? Is the first thing you do in the morning is drop to your knees in prayer or proceed to enjoy your coffee and breakfast? Are Sundays filled with rest and God's work, or is it filled with work and a "to do list?" We are all certainly guilty of this, and the fact is that we can all do a better job in our faith lives and in putting God first. Gospels like this remind us that God needs to be first, and with all that He has given us, He is deserving of our whole lives.

Remember, it is okay to be responsible and to give to the world what belongs to it, but in doing so we cannot let God be second or third, He must be first and we must always be seeking to do His will all the time.

Father above we thank you for the gift of this day. Lord we praise you for all that you freely give to us; we thank you for your love and mercy; may we also be loving and merciful to others as you are to us. Lord, help us to seek you first and to not seek our own interests. Help us to live in this world and not of it. Lord we seek to do your will first and foremost; grant us the faith and courage to follow you with all that we are. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Greed

Readings for June 1, 2009

Memorial of Saint Justin, martyr

First Reading: Tobit 1:3, 2:1-8
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 112
Gospel: Mark 12:1-12


What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture passage:
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?" (Mark 12:9-11)

In today's gospel we read the parable of the selfish and greedy tenants. These tenants were meant to take care of the vineyard while the owner was away. When the Owner sent his servants to the vineyard to collect His produce, the tenants beat him, and then they proceeded to beat and kill anyone else that the owner sent. Then the owner sent His beloved son, whom He thought for sure they would respect. But once again, greed seized their hearts, and they killed the beloved son thinking that they would then be able to inherit the vineyard.

These tenants did not think about what the consequences of their actions would be, they only thought of their of their own wants and desires. Greed has this way of making us only concerned about ourselves and of the things that we want. If we let this greed consume our hearts, then there is nothing we won't do to get what we want, even lie, murder or steal. This parable illustrates how far we can fall when we let greed consume us. Allowing greed into our hearts turns us away from God, causing us to give in to sin more and more. Giving into greed really says, "let my will be done." When we allow our hearts to be ruled by greed then we reject God, just as the priests and scribes that Jesus addressed this parable to had done.

The good news that we have and which Jesus showed us is that greed can be conquered. It can be conquered through acts of charity and sacrifice. Jesus did not show any self-interest or own personal wants when He went to the cross. If was are to truly follow Christ and live our life for Him and others then we must be willing to sacrifice as He did. For all believers and followers, there is not room for greed in our hearts. May we be among the blessed to receive the inheritance that Jesus offers to us.

Father above, we thank you and praise for this day. Lord Jesus, help to purify our hearts and to not let in the sins and greed of this world. Lord, help us to choose love and sacrifice over our own self-interest. We know that you are love, and we pray for you to increase your love in us so that we may go out and be lights in this world. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.