Prayfor2

The abuse crisis ripping through the Church should shake each of us to our very core. That some would not only use their position of trust within the Church to victimize others, but also cover up the abuse, should be unconscionable.

Positions of power and prestige will always draw some that look to exploit them. It is a stark reminder that we are all fatally flawed and in need of ongoing renewal in our savior, Jesus Christ.

But it is in the perfect, purifying love of Jesus that we find our faith. And in faith, our prayer should be that every single injustice is brought to light, so the victims can begin the process of healing, and that those that perpetuated it are brought to justice. We need to root out rot within the Church.

Listen to Jesus address his disciples in the Gospel of Luke:

There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Our hearts are broken for all who have suffered. Shower the light of your love into their hearts, that they might know of our heartfelt sorrow as they begin to heal. And cleanse the Church of all that keeps it from being the beacon of hope and love you instituted it to be. Amen

We humans are funny creatures. We will complain when we don’t get enough information, and then when we do, we complain that it’s too much or too hard. God gave us plenty of clues of his existence, then revealed more through the prophets and his son, Jesus Christ.

And Jesus taught us THE way, THE truth, and THE life. He has given us the roadmap to joy and happiness, and yet how often do we toss it aside to chart our own course, often down a very destructive path?

Listen to Saint John’s reading from August 26th, contemplating how fragile our faith often is:

“Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the ones who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason, I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” As a result of this, many of the disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You teach us the path of joy and love through the Holy Spirit. Renew in our hearts the fire of your love. Give us the grace to correct course when we get off your path, trusting your infinite heart of mercy. Help us to trust that you have the words of eternal life. Amen

Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app

Faith – it’s our trust that what God has revealed is true. But is faith simply an acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? No. That is the start of faith. A saving faith – one that will reunite us with God in Heaven one day, must be demonstrated by our works. It is not the works themselves that save us, but our faith working in love. Remember, we don’t do any of this on our own – we are working with every good grace and prompt that God gives us.

Listen to Saint James’s reading from August 26th,

Dearest brothers and sisters: all good giving and every perfect gift two-minute from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alternation of shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy. You give us every good gift to accept your love in faith. Help us to put that faith into action, loving one another and you loved us. Help us be your hands and feet in this world – as doers of the word, and not hearers only. Amen.

Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app

I will admit it – there are many times I drive or walk by the person holding a cardboard sign asking for money.

It is a struggle when we’re racing around from activity to activity to see the Christ in the face of every person, but it is a common theme throughout the, and – we are called to take care of the poor.

Listen to the September 9th reading from Saint James:

“My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not two-minute choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in fath and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him”

Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You entrust us with caring for the poor. comes our busy routines to see the face of Christ in every person, knowing they too are your beloved sons and daughters, and trusting it is through your Providence that we encounter them. Help us to love all and you love us. Amen.

Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.

Jesus’s teaching on the Eucharist was difficult to comprehend, even to the original hearers. The original Christians were called cannibals for their belief in what Jesus emphatically and repeatedly said – that he was the living bread that comes down from heaven, and the bread he was giving was his flesh for the life of the world.

Listen to August 19th’s reading from Saint John’s “Bread of Life Discourse,”

Jesus said, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

Let’s pray – Jesus, our Redeemer. You enter into us through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, feeding us with nothing less than yourself. Let the bread and wine of the mass – your flesh and blood - be a catalyst for the ongoing transformation you continue to affect in each one of us.

Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app

To someone outside the Catholic Church, our reverence for the Eucharist can seem odd. As Catholics, we believe the bread and wine offered at mass become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. They aren’t merely a symbol of Jesus, or the presence of Jesus within them, but Jesus Himself. The creator of the universe wants to be food for your earthly journey, and offers nothing less than Himself to fill every cell of our being, figuratively and spiritually.

Why do we believe this so fervently, to the point where we call the Eucharist the source and summit of our faith? Listen to August 12th’s gospel reading from Saint John as Jesus speaks with a crowd that had just seen Him feed 5000 people with a few fish loaves of bread:

“I am the bread of life. You ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy – you give us nothing less than yourself in the Holy Eucharist. Stir in our hearts a passion for this profound mystery as you seek to enter into us through the bread and wine at each and every mass.

The spiritual life is a lot like our physical life. We are either striving to move forward, or are regressing - there is no staying the same. Just as our muscles atrophy without work, our spiritual muscle weakens if it’s not exercised. It’s why we say that we “practice our faith.”

In the August 5th reading, we hear Saint Paul invite the Ephesians to a renewal of themselves, much like we do when we begin an exercise program. Just as we have to get off the couch and commit to a new pattern of life when we work out, we commit to a new spiritual pattern of life as imitators of Jesus.

“Brothers and Sisters – I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned in Christ,…, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life; corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Let’s pray - Father of Grace and Mercy. You love us right where we are. But you also love us too much to leave us there. Thank you for the open invitation to renewal – to get off the spiritual couch, to leave our past failings behind, and be renewed in you. Help us strengthen our spiritual muscle as we practice our faith in you.

I often think about how to engage someone who has very little knowledge of God. In our zeal to share His love with others, we can often begin too far in the weeds, without first painting the big picture. It’s why I like to start with the fact that God is love. Our faith isn’t blind allegiance to something we hope to be real – it is a rational assent based on what is revealed in natural law and through the many prophets of the Bible.

And our faithful assent is first made by trusting that God not only loves us, but is love itself. Under that umbrella, all the rest makes sense, and it is why we can find peace even in the most trying circumstances.

Let’s pray Psalm 23 from the daily reading on July 22nd, with an ear for the peace the writer has found, faithfully resting in the love of God.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In verdant pastures he give me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshed my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.”

Have you ever seen the man in the moon? Many of us have spent time gazing upon the moon. We marvel at brightly it shines in the night sky, and how there almost seems to be a face smiling down on us.

Now think back to when you discovered that the moon wasn’t providing the light, but merely reflected the light of the sun. Didn’t that make you appreciate the sun all the more?

As we listen to July 29th’s reading from Saint Paul to the Ephesians, listen not only to the prose of this great saint, but also how well he reflected the light of Jesus.

“Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worth of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. You are the loving creator of all – the sun, the moon, and the stars. You call us to love one another as you have loved us – being light in the darkness. As we ponder the depths of these summer nights, may the moon inspire us to reflect the light of your love onto the world. Amen.

One of my favorite books of the Bible is James. He doesn’t pull any punches and tends to hit you like a spiritual 2x4. Let’s ponder this little slice of shock and awe from May 22

“So submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.”

Now, does this mean we’re supposed to mope around like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh? No – we know that joy is nothing short of a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John, Jesus even says, “I give you my joy so that your joy may be complete.”

What James is saying it that our sin is lamentable and not something to gloss over. The gravity of, “being of two minds” should weigh on us, especially when we choose to avoid confession and lug sin around unnecessarily. Drawing close to God means trusting that His way and His will for our lives truly is what’s best for us.

Let’s pray – Merciful father…you give us the free will to choose your love, or to turn away. Help us to see the wisdom in your paths. Help us to draw close to you, trusting in faith that you will draw close to us. Amen.