Sorrow to Joy

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
LK.2:34,35

Joseph and Mary have taken baby Jesus to the Temple to be presented as Jewish custom instructed.  While there Simeon prophesies the messianic role of Jesus. Almost as an aside he directs a prophesy to Mary. A sword was to pierce her soul.

Mary, the perfect Christian role model, was not spared pain and suffering, anguish and sorrow. If she, the perfect Christian, was to suffer, why should any other Christian life be different?

Christian suffering is different though.  We know from Mary's ultimate destination, in heaven with her son, that suffering never has the final say. Sorrow is always temporary. What a glorious hope our faith always gives.  This is the source of my joy today.

Thank you Jesus for showing us that suffering has no victory in the end. I place my trust in you.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us siners, now and at the our of our death. Amen.

Christ in All

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.
Col.3:11

Saint Paul is writing to the Church in Colossia, outlining the new way of living for those alive in Christ. His message is radical to a community that has been divided for generations. Christ is in all.

The western world is in turmoil on how to respond to the refugee tsunami pouring out of Syria and New Zealand has not escaped the pressure. I have heard people speak out of fear, fear of having to change, fear of having to give, fear of terrorism, fear of the new, fear of difference.

Today's first reading gives direction on how to face this crisis. Christ is in all. A lesson for me, today.

Lord Jesus, help me see you in all, even in the stranger who can make me fearful.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Love not Law

And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath.’
Lk.6:5

Jesus' disciples have just been chastised by the Pharisees for doing "work" on the Sabbath by pulling ears of corn and eating them.  Jesus defends his disciples action, pointing out what the Sabbath really is, not a man-made law but a day set aside to come under the love of God.

There's a tendency in me to be a little Pharisee, to make laws and then judge others as to how they meet those laws. And I try to legitimise my laws by saying God must agree with them even if he didn't specifically make them. Jesus blows my petty rules out of the water.

The most important laws are to love God and love others. Sometimes the loving thing to do is to feed the hungry on the Sabbath. My reference point must always be the question, "How does this fulfill the command to love God and love others?"  If this question is being satisfied then I'm heading in the right direction... today.

Lord Jesus, forgive my Pharisaical zeal. Let love not law be my touch stone today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Authority

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority. 
Lk.4:31

Jesus has begun his ministry and word about him starting to spread.  The greatest impression he is making is that he speaks with authority, an authority that even demons obey.

The world is hungry for strong, authoritative leadership.  It's as if there is a space before people always waiting for a leader to occupy.  I've experienced this at times when leading worship or acting as MC at a wedding.  People are relieved when there is a strong pair of hands on the steering wheel guiding things to a safe destination.

Jesus still provides this authoritative leadership. When I acknowledge him as my Lord, then things fall into place. No matter what is happening, all is well.

Thank you Jesus for being my "strong pair of hands". I walk into today knowing you are before me. What peace, what joy, what confidence you give me.

Saint Thomas Moore please pray for me.

Unfailing Love

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Ps.89:14

Moses is praying to God, stating that all joy has its foundation in the knowledge of God's love.

The NIV Bible heads up Psalm 89 (90) as "A Prayer of Moses the Man of God". It's a prayer that reinstates God as God and man as his creation. There's a peace and a joy that comes from knowing this. No matter what happens today, God is God over all and he loves me.

I'm looking out over the school field across the road, watching the sun slowly rise into a pink-into-blue cloudless sky. God is God, and he loves me...

Abba, Father. Your abounding love is evident all around me.  Thank you for reminding me.
Saint Monica, please pray for me.

Clean the Inside

"Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well."
Mt.23:26

Jesus is is weighing in to the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees, leaders drawing others in the wrong direction like blind guides. Their focus is on appearances rather than on the heart.

The Kingdom of God is so different to the world. It is small, weak in appearance and interior. But when it works its way out, wow! It changes everything. And the only way it can work is from the inside out, not from the outside in. It cannot be enforced by external law. It comes from a change of heart, from cleaning the inside of the cup.

I find when my cup is clean on the inside from daily prayer, from receiving the sacraments, I sin less. When my prayer-life is weak, I sin more. Funny that. I need to recommit to morning prayer, to cleaning the inside of my cup. Then the outside will take care of itself.

Lord Jesus, you know my tendency to focus more on the outside. Help me clean the inside of my cup that I may become a more authentic witness for you.

Little Flower, please pray for me.

One Flesh

He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’
Mt.19:5,6

The Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus on the age-old question of divorce. Jesus' answer lays the foundation for marriage that is quoted in marriage ceremonies to this day, "what God has united, man must not divide".

There is confusion about marriage today only when God is taken out of the picture.  A marriage is a permanent commitment between a man and a woman, open to life, because God designed it so. Sex is God's idea, not the Devil's, and marriage is his plan to control it and employ it for its proper purpose.  Jesus even goes further to say celibacy is an accepted legitimate response to sexuality.

My marriage is a blessing from God. Today seems a good day to celebrate that.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of marriage in general and the gift of my marriage in particular. Bless Kate and I that we my let our sacrament shine. 
Saint Thomas Moore, pray for us.