June 4 - Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

June 4 - Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(2Tm.2:8-15; Ps.25:4-5,8-10,14; Mk.12:28-34) "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior." Brothers and sisters, "Remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, was raised from the dead." He is our Lord. He is our God. He is our Savior who speaks only truth. Listen to Him and walk in His way, "following a straight course in preaching the truth." After Jesus proclaims the greatest of all commandments today, finally, "no one ha[s] the courage to ask Him any more questions." Finally the traps cease to be set to catch Jesus in His speech and the leaders of the people "stop disputing about mere words." For who can argue with the Son of God when He makes known the clear path to God, when He exposes the heart of the law and the prophets in absolute terms? Only silence can follow such Truth. No vain utterance can stand in the face of such Love. For the command is love, and Jesus is love – and this Paul has come to preach, "even to the point of being thrown into chains." His only concern is for "those whom God has chosen, in order that they may obtain the salvation to be found in Christ Jesus." For this he preaches the Gospel unto death, that all might hear and know of the love of God… and should we not join him? Should the Church not be a speaker of the truth in love, "a workman who has no cause to be ashamed"? Should she cower to declare Christ Jesus risen from the dead and fear offending those on the path to destruction? Should she stand by idly as false gospels are preached and docile lambs are led to the teeth of wolves in sheep's clothing? Does she not care for the flock as does Paul, as does Paul exhort Timothy? Should it not be she who "guides the humble to justice" and "teaches the humble His way"? Brothers and sisters, "there is no chaining the word of God!" and there is no place for falsehood to stand in its light. God is love and we must love others. We do not love by nodding as others fall into error – this is not our call in the Lord. We must teach the truth with Jesus our Lord with "heart," "mind," "soul," and "strength," His Spirit of love and truth upon us. Then will all lies fall silent. Then will light shine. Then will His love be known and all come to the "eternal glory" He holds. ******* O LORD, teach us your way of love that humbly we might walk in it and teach it with strength to others. YHWH, Jesus is the true teacher of the faith, for He is risen from the dead – He is your Son, O God! Who can dispute with His wisdom? Who can question His knowledge, who compare with His holiness? None there is beside Him, yet send us true teachers to speak in His Name. We are prone to go astray, dear LORD, to wander from your love, which is life itself to us. We do indeed tend to forget why we're here and fall easily into sin. O send forth your preachers to remind us of your love, to remind us of the sacrifice your Son has made for us, and that He is risen from the dead. For if we forget not that He is raised for our sakes, will not your love remain in our hearts; will we not conquer sin and death and live with you in love of one another? Then let your Word come to us and make His home in us, that humbly we might worship you all the days of our life. O LORD, let us be faithful to your Word at work within us and live in your love. May all our being bless your NAME!

June 3 - Prayer to St. Charles Lwanga and Companions

O modern martyrs for Christ who gave your lives even as the early Christians, under torture by the emperor, who remained steadfast as these despite sword or fire come by the power of the king… a new age indeed you ushered in, one of mighty suffering, a time for the blood to mount up on this earth – pray, brothers in the faith, that your sacrifice not be in vain, that we shall join you in loyal service and so find the Church blessed with new growth in the Spirit. Though new to the faith yourselves when you bled and died for the Word, deeply was your foundation laid, unshaken by the threats of the mighty. Should we not be the same; should we not follow in your way, we who profess to love the Lord?

June 3 - Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(2Tm.1:1-3,6-12; Ps.123:1-2; Mk.12:18-27) "He has robbed death of its power and has brought life and immortality into clear light through the Gospel." It is this Gospel which Paul exhorts his "dear child" Timothy to serve, to preach and to teach "with the strength which comes from God, bear[ing] [his] share of the hardship which the Gospel entails." Paul has suffered for the sake of the Gospel – and suffers "present hardships" till the end – and he would see his favored disciple carry on in his way. And so he encourages him: "The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise." For of the life Christ brings the world must know, and who shall preach it if we don't? And so, through his letter Paul calls us all to be as he is, "an apostle of Christ Jesus sent to proclaim the promise of life in Him." Does Jesus not bear well His hardships today in our gospel? Does He not stand strong and speak of life everlasting even before those who "hold there is no resurrection"? The Sadducees question Him: "At the resurrection, when they all come back to life, whose wife will she be" – she who has married so many? Again a trap is laid, and again it is shown so futile, for what word can stand before the word of God. And that Word answers simply and directly: "When people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but live like angels in heaven." These Sadducees "fail to understand Scripture or the power of God," and so they are terribly blind in their mistaken thinking, which sees nothing beyond the present time. (Yet the present, too, they do not understand, for they do not recognize Him who stands before them.) Brothers and sisters, we are called to live like the angels of heaven, and not only to live such, but to preach this life as our Savior has done, as Paul has done, as Timothy. We must keep "our eyes on the Lord, our God," "confident that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to [us] until that Day" when we join Him who is "enthroned in heaven." And so let us "stir into flame the gift of God"; let us speak His Word of life without fear for the hardships the Gospel entails. The Light that lasts forever has come into our midst, and before Him death has no dominion. ******* O LORD, through all the trials of this world, bring us to the light of Heaven. YHWH, God of the living, let our eyes be ever upon you, let us ever remember you whom we serve… and let us ever serve you with strength and dedication, knowing it is through you we are brought to new birth and made immortal as you. O let us live with you now and forever! Why should we be afraid, LORD, of any challenge to our faith? Why should we turn away from our call to worship in your NAME? Why should we hesitate to proclaim your glory and the grace you bring us by your Son's death and resurrection? His sacrifice means life to us, and to turn from His Cross would spell our death. May we serve Him and His Gospel in confidence all our days and so come to the place He prepares for us in Heaven. All your angels and saints live forever in your holy presence, their eyes ever upon you and their voices ever praising your NAME. May we share with them in your holy life even as we toil for you on this plane.

June 2 - Prayer to Sts. Marcellinus and Peter

O blessed martyrs for the Lord, in your catacombs the faith flourished, upon your tomb the Church was built… your blood is the seed planted in the ground that has caused the growth of the tree of life; joining in the sacrifice of Christ, His great joy you knew – pray that such grace will be known to us this day, that we will give ourselves in faith to the Holy One by whom we are saved and so find union with Him in Heaven. How far His consolation is from our souls this day, for how little love we show; have our hearts not become as a tomb? Though cold and lifeless, by your prayers may our faith flourish once more, dear saints.

June 2 - Tuesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(2Pt.3:12-15,17-18; Ps.90:2-4,10,14,16; Mk.12:13-17) "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's but give to God what is God's." "Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent after Jesus to catch Him in His speech." These "two groups" seem to come one from God and the other from Caesar. But their devious plotting shows the only party present of God is Jesus Himself. And to whom do we belong? Peter makes it abundantly clear in his letter today where our allegiance should lie. He exhorts us to "look for the coming of the day of God and try to hasten it!" We must not set our hearts on things below but on things above, where God dwells; for "the heavens will be destroyed in flames and the elements will melt away in a blaze." It is "new heavens and a new earth" we must await, where "the justice of God will reside." What is of Caesar will return to the earth, just as God "turn[s] man back to dust, saying, 'Return, O children of men.'" (For where is Caesar today? And where is the coin that was in their hands?) But the Lord is "from everlasting to everlasting"; "a thousand years in [His] sight are as yesterday… or as a watch of the night." For He exists "before the mountains were begotten and the earth and the world were brought forth." These indeed He created; and these are destroyed by His hand. Brothers and sisters, as our years "pass quickly and we drift away," let us listen to Jesus, who indeed "teach[es] God's way of life sincerely." Let us listen to His servant Peter, who tells us, "Be on your guard lest you be led astray by the error of the wicked." The wicked surround us here on this earth, but even here our hearts must be set on God and we must "be found without stain or defilement, and at peace in His sight." Here we must pray that the Lord will "fill us at daybreak with [His] kindness," that when He comes we shall know His glory… but also that even in these decaying earthen vessels we shall find His grace and see His work accomplished. "Glory be to Him now and to the day of eternity!" May He make us His own. ******* O LORD, let your eternal kingdom dawn upon us, even as the kingdom of this world passes away. YHWH, make us your own; let us come into your kingdom. On this barren earth let us not make our home, in princes and kings let us never trust – to you alone may we give our allegiance, waiting ever for your Day. O LORD, our lives are but passing on this plane, but you are everlasting. Though we wither and die, though all we see shall be consumed by fire, with you we shall live, and rejoice eternally. And so, let us not set our hearts on the riches and glory this world holds in its grasping hands; let us give all over to you with praise. The Day draws near, O LORD, we know, when your Son will return and bring with Him new heavens and a new earth. O let us hasten this Day by our prayers, let us prepare for it by our actions… let us never fear His coming because of our attachment to sin but give up all the darkness, the evil surrounding us and inviting us in, and wait in purity with our eyes to the heavens for our salvation to be fulfilled. Come, Lord Jesus, and draw us into the Father's kingdom.