June 19 - Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

June 19 - Prayer to St. Romuald

O sign of perfect solitude who heeded so well the Lord's command to enter into your closet in order to pray, whose great measure of self-denial led you to the peak of contemplation in God's holy presence, whose only desire was that souls might draw close to Him – pray all who seek the Lord may approach Him with a whole heart, a heart set on Him alone, that in such perfect devotion all might find Him present in their souls, in their spirits, and be elevated in their lowliness to His indescribable divine love, to His peace which passes all our understanding but draws us ever closer to His wounded side.

June 19 - Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(2Kgs.11:1-4,9-18,20; Ps.132:11-14,17-18; Mt.6:19-23) "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your body will be filled with light; if your eye is bad, your body will be in darkness." And "how deep the darkness" is upon Athaliah. For her eye is evil, her "light is darkness," as so desperately she seeks to "lay up for [herself] an earthly treasure" by unjust and murderous means. Seeing that her son, the king of Judah, has died, she attempts to hold on to his crown by killing all the rightful heirs to his throne, caring more for the things which "moth and rust corrode" than for the righteousness of God. And she succeeds, though only briefly, as, true to the words of our gospel today, "thieves break in and steal" the kingship she has herself stolen away. And how great is her woe upon seeing all she has so anxiously and vainly sought removed from under her sight. How deep indeed is her darkness, deeper than the death she is about to endure. In our psalm today we are reminded of the promise the Lord has made with David, king of all Israel: "If your sons keep my covenant and the decrees which I teach them, their sons, too, forever shall sit upon your throne." For in Zion the Lord vows to "place a lamp for [His] anointed," and declares that upon His chosen one His "crown shall shine." This crown, this lamp, is for all the Lord's children to receive, to shine forth in His holy presence. All who keep to His ways shall know such blessing. But, clearly, those who turn away lose the light the Lord deems to give to us as followers of His One Light, Jesus Christ. And however boldly or by whatever anxious means we attempt to hold on to it, it shall be removed from us like the passing day. Only remaining in Him are we saved. In our first reading the people, led by Jehoiada the priest of God, renew the covenant "by which they would be the Lord's people." Terribly they have fallen from it and its grace and seek to regain what has now, and so often, been lost. Continually, in fact, the Israelites fell away from the Lord's command and so were abandoned to their sins – thus necessitating the coming of Christ – but continually the Lord returns them to the light when they return to Him, until finally Jesus does come. Let us not be as the Israelites have been, brothers and sisters, so easily led into darkness and error, so easily seeking to look upon the evil of this earth. The Lord has come now to lead us away from just such things and give us a light that never fades. It is for us to remain with Him. Let your eye be sound, and so let His wisdom shine through you, O blessed one. ******* O LORD, let us shine like your Son in your heavenly kingdom. YHWH, upon what are our hearts set? Are they set on you and the doing of your will? Do we seek indeed your kingdom? Or do we look to gain whatever we can of earthly treasure, and so set ourselves in opposition to your law of love? You alone are King; your Son alone is the rightful heir to all. Let us place Him upon the throne of our hearts and rejoice at your presence there. How evil man can be, O LORD, how blind and desperate in his selfishness. Into such grave darkness can we fall when we set our hearts on the things of this world. But how vain power and riches are; how quickly they come to an end, for these are not ours but yours alone, and they return to you at the end of the day. And so, if we would hold to them, we would find ourselves fighting you… and that is a battle we cannot win. O LORD, have mercy on your people! Take not your light from our midst – make us your very dwelling place. Let your light shine forth from all your children as they set their hearts on Heaven.

June 18 - Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(Sir.48:1-14; Ps.97:1-7,12; Mt.6:7-15) "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Our psalm sings of the greatness of our God; in our first reading we hear of how this greatness was revealed in the prophets Elijah and Elisha; and in the Lord's Prayer we call for this greatness to be present in our midst. "Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes round about," our psalmist declares in praise of God. "His lightnings illumine the world." How great indeed is He: "The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth." Nothing stands before His glance, for "justice and judgment are the foundation of His throne," and this world is held in His all-powerful Hand. And how well this greatness is brought to bear by His holy prophets. We are told, "Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace." The consuming power of the Lord is indeed revealed in him, for "by God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire." He "brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the Lord… sent kings down to destruction," and finally was "taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses." How the Lord blesses His holy ones! How He reveals His greatness in them! And of Elisha it is said, "Nothing was beyond his power… In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds." There is no end to the power the Lord provides to His children, for there is no end to His power, and this power He would share with all. Thus does the Lord encourage us to call upon the majesty of God our Father to be with us, to feed us each day, that His Name might indeed be praised, that His holiness might be revealed in His chosen ones. And to avoid His wrath, and to share in His power, what must we do? What is the central call of this all-powerful, all-holy Lord? Forgiveness. His grace is power, and grace and mercy we must share with all to share that power which has no end. Trust in Him who holds you in His Hand, brothers and sisters. And His mighty Hand you shall see at work in the course of your day, and the fire of His grace shall pour upon your soul. ******* O LORD, let your power be upon us, the power of your merciful love. YHWH, you are all-good and all-powerful, and those who share your goodness share in your power. Let your kingdom come upon us; there let us dwell with you. We pray to be forgiven all our sins that your Spirit might be with us. But we know, O LORD, for your Son has taught us, that if we are to come into your presence and share in your power and wonder, first we must forgive our neighbor – even our enemy we must love. Those who sin against us indeed become as our enemies, but your mercy we must share with them if we are to know your grace at work in our souls. Separated from you, all die, but in your light all are brought to life: let all souls come into your kingdom. Let thy holy will be done, O LORD, in all your prophets, in all your disciples. Your power, your love, make known in all who bear your NAME. What should we fear if you are with us? Let your Word be spoken through us and His blood course through our veins. Let all peoples see your glory.

June 17 - Wednesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(2Kgs.2:1,6-14; Ps.31:20-21,24-25; Mt.6:1-6,16-18) "As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind." Jesus instructs us in our gospel, "Whenever you pray, go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private." This prescription the holy prophet Elijah fulfills in our first reading when he miraculously crosses the Jordan River and enters the wilderness, out of the sight of the prophets who remain standing on its other side. Elisha, too, he would have remain apart, but this holy man determines to stay with his father in faith. And so as their prayer becomes secret, as their conversation of God becomes hidden and private, even then Elijah is taken in flames of holy fire from the sight of men; even then he ascends to heaven. And though so otherworldly, the eyes of Elisha witness the hand of God lifting the prophet from our midst. Brothers and sisters, can you see that this is as what happens with us when we pray to God in our private rooms? David in his psalm declares, "How great is the goodness, O Lord, which you have in store for those who fear you, and which, toward those who take refuge in you, you show in the sight of men." When we "hide… in the shelter of [His] presence… screen[ed]… within [His] abode," He reveals Himself to us in His glorious might, He lifts us up to heaven where He dwells. As He blesses those who keep their alms secret and repays those whose fasting is hidden, so He anoints the prayers of His children who find Him in the recesses of their hearts. From this wilderness, from this desert place, He lifts us to see the encompassing shining of holy light. The quiet place is within your soul; the kingdom of heaven is within you. Converse with the Lord quite readily, quite faithfully, in this hidden place, and all shall be revealed to your eyes. Stay with Him; do not leave His side, and all your requests shall be filled in His blessed generosity. And His cloak He shall place upon you, His cross He shall lay across your shoulders, and the great blessings of heaven will be your own. "Love the Lord, all you His faithful ones! The Lord keeps those who are constant." And all humble souls He raises to the throne of God. ******* O LORD, let us hide ourselves in you, that you might carry us to Heaven. YHWH, let us enter into your presence hidden within us; into this wilderness let us come that we might meet with you and you might bless us, and take us to Heaven. Hear our prayer this day. LORD, you alone are our refuge, you alone are our glory and our peace – you are our only desire. Let us not seek the approval of this world or the praise it may give, but look always only to serve you, to love you, with all our might… and let all our might be only of you. Let it be you who work miracles in our life. Take all we have, LORD; we ask nothing in return but to be with you. Quietly let us come to you who dwell in the purest silence, apart from all the vain distractions of this world. You are quite above this dreadful place, though you come to dwell with us even here. In you let us transcend all the emptiness that surrounds us, even as we walk with you. O LORD, let us never leave your side that we might come to be where you are.

June 16 - Tuesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(1Kgs.21:17-29; Ps.51:3-6,11,16; Mt.5:43-48) "Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me." We have hope, brothers and sisters; we have hope that the very depths of our sin and depravity against the Lord shall be forgiven, and we shall be made new, washed in His blood. For the Lord "sends His rain on the just and the unjust," and this He proves today in our readings. The Lord forgives David his "blood-guilt," he who has committed the dual sins of adultery and murder; and Ahab, too, of whom it is said, "No one gave himself to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab," finds a measure of His mercy. Indeed, if there is reconciliation of these sinners with the Lord God, then even we must have hope of the Lord's grace at work within us. The Lord is He who loves even His enemies, whose "sun rises on the bad and the good" alike, whose arm is not shortened, whose love knows no bounds – for has He not gone so far as to die on the cross as a common criminal, as the worst of sinners, to redeem all from their sins? But to receive such grace and mercy how must we come to Him? It is clear both in our first reading and in David's great psalm that forgiveness is not obtained in a casual manner. To find it, we must imitate our sinners in their repentance as we have mirrored them in our sin. For Ahab when he heard the condemnation of the Lord upon his house "tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh"; he did not hesitate to "acknowledge [his] offense" before the Lord and all the people. And recognizing that his "sin is before [him] always," David comes begging the Lord, "Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt," seeking the compassion he knows only God holds. And this trust in His mercy the Lord sees; this declaration of sin the Lord hears. It is because Ahab "humbled himself before [Him]" and because David proclaimed openly his guilt that God has mercy on their lives. And we must join them just so in our own repentance to find that same mercy and kindness. More than this, brothers and sisters. To more than this are we called now, my friends. For like the Lord Himself we are commanded to be – to show such mercy as He. The blood of Christ now outpoured, and it having poured upon our souls, we must now see that it is shared with all. We do that by shedding our own blood, by sharing that same love with everyone, indeed even with our enemies, as with us the Lord has done. And so our freedom from sin is made complete in His heavenly presence. ******* O LORD, is it not only fair that we should love our enemies since you have loved us who have done such evil in your sight, even having your Son die for our sins? YHWH, free us all from bloodguilt, for we are all guilty of shedding your Son's blood; we are all sinners in your sight. Yet you love us, and offer forth your forgiveness as we repent before you – though we have been your enemies, you make us your friends. Help us to receive such grace from you, and to share it with others. Your mercy pour upon us, LORD; each day let us come to you and find your cleansing rain. For continually our hearts turn from you… sinners we remain, and your healing grace ever we need to come into your presence and find your all-encompassing love. Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy! And let us answer your call to show your love and mercy in our lives. The light you impart to us let us shine upon all souls. O what a great grace you offer us, LORD! to be as you are, to love as you do – to be perfect even as you. Let us find such grace at work in us; let it be all we desire.