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nightstand, or desk, or next to an easy chair. Invest just five minutes a
day, and your faith will deepen and grow—a day at a time.
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Invest just five minutes a day, and
your faith will deepen and grow-a day at a time.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
First things first
Do we recognize the Jesus who says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, he cannot be my disciple”? The words seem harsh in comparison to the soothing invitation of the Good Shepherd. Not to worry—Jesus is not insisting, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is not insisting we abandon family or become homeless in order to follow him. But Jesus is saying, without doubt, that nothing—no thing and no one—can become so central in life that it interferes with doing God’s will to love God and love your neighbor as yourself by being just, showing mercy, and walking with God. Jesus’ call is “do as I do. Love as I love, hold nothing back. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Today’s readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33
“Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
Monday, September 6
Labor Day
Sabbath prayer
Treating the sabbath as a special day has a long and somewhat mixed history in the U.S. In colonial times, punishment for violations as simple as playing cards or shuffleboard could involve whippings, fines, even physical punishment or mutilation for some offenses. Variations on the so-called “blue laws” continue today in many states, fortunately without the extreme penalties. To pause from our labors is good. But to lose sight of the purpose of the sabbath is not. Jesus reminds us that compassion and good works rise above the letter of the law. Don’t get caught up in legalisms—seek the greater good and extend a helping hand, no matter the circumstances.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8; Luke 6:6-11
“I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?”
Tuesday, September 7
A healing touch
Health-care workers and sick people remind us that when we visit the sick, it’s important to offer the comforting power of touch. So it makes sense that the crowds who followed Jesus also wanted to touch him and for him to touch them. They wanted to experience not only Jesus’ miracle-working power but also what lay beneath that power: God’s love for them, in their time of trouble, made concrete in the presence of Jesus. Human contact assures us we are not “untouchable,” and that assurance, in turn, advances healing. We may not feel like miracle-workers today, but we’re capable of gestures, signs, and words of compassion. And if those gestures flow from genuine love, healing will come.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11; Luke 6:12-19
“All in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.”
Wednesday, September 8
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Once upon a time
If you’ve ever tried to find the beginning of a story—say, the one about how you met your spouse or how you ended up living where you do—it quickly becomes apparent that there is no definite beginning to that or any human story. We realize that our stories didn’t even begin at birth but rather reach back through every generation to the beginning of time. It is an awe-inspiring thought. Like Mary, whose birth we celebrate today, our lives were set in motion by God from the very beginning. Take a moment today to appreciate the depth and richness of the human story.
Today’s readings: Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23
“. . . Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”
Thursday, September 9
Feast of Peter Claver, priest
Live up to the gold standard
“Do unto others as you would have them do to you” is one of the simplest commands to understand but one of the hardest to live out, especially when it involves any kind of personal sacrifice. Why is that? Perhaps because our “me first” tendency is hard to overcome—a little like trying to swim against the tide. Saint Peter Claver ministered to newly arrived slaves in Colombia at a time when the colonial powers put economic self-interest above humane considerations. He swam against a strong current in his ministry, and his words on Christian witness ring as true today as they did 400 years ago: “We must speak to others with our hands before we try to speak to them with our lips.”
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13; Luke 6:27-38
“Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?”
Friday, September 10
Much obliged
A man sits in the back row at every Mass. He confesses he’s not Catholic. “I used to belong to a denomination where attendance was tallied at each service. And a ‘pew fee’ was required of each member. Now I come here, because Catholics let you sit here for free. And nobody keeps score on your attendance.” While it’s true there’s no fee required for the gospel in our churches, it never comes entirely free of charge, as Saint Paul implies. We’re obliged both to hear the word of God and keep it—those who truly hear it are happy to be so obliged!
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27; Luke 6:39-42
“What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge.”
Saturday, September 11
Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary; National Day of Mourning and Remembrance
Sorrow and comfort
Today we remember and mourn the lives lost on this day in 2001. On this same occasion we celebrate a feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What are we to do with feelings of sadness on a day of celebration? The most important thing is to remember whom we are talking about: Mary, a mother who saw her own child killed; a Jew who experienced oppression and religious intolerance in her homeland; a person whose gender and poverty classified her as a second-class citizen in society. Truly Mary understands our sorrow and walks with us and continues to be a source of God’s light to those who journey in darkness.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; Luke 6:43-49
“I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.”
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The path to greatness
They say that if you’re really good at parenting and if you hang in there long enough, you gain the title “grand.” If you’re really, really good, and you hang in there even longer, you get to be called “great.” Today being Grandparent’s Day, we honor the grand and the great among us. But as any parent will tell you, the hard part is the hanging in there. Let the example of the father in the parable of the prodigal son inspire you to recommit to the compassion and reconciliation that leads to greatness as a parent and as a follower of Christ.
Today’s readings: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32 or 15:1-10
“But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”
Monday, September 13
Feast of John Chrysostom, bishop, doctor of the church
Good preaching keeps it real
A gifted preacher gains a great following. Take the early church father John Chrysostom (347-407) for example. Because of his eloquence, he was given the surname chrysostomos, meaning “golden mouthed,” and his sermons are still studied and quoted today. What gave his words such power? It is said he avoided flowery language and complex images; instead, he spoke simply and plainly and applied biblical lessons to everyday life. Gifted preaching changes hearts and lives. The next time you hear such preaching, let the one who delivered it know you appreciate the effort that went into preparing it.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33; Luke 7:1-10
“. . . Only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.”
Tuesday, September 14
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
What makes the cross holy?
We owe the finding of the “true cross” upon which Jesus was crucified—and today’s feast—to Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. While visiting Jerusalem, Helen ordered the destruction of the Temple of Aphrodite, which was rumored to have been built upon the site of Jesus’ tomb. During the subsequent clearing and excavation, three crosses were discovered. In order to determine which was the true cross of Christ, Helen was inspired to bring them to the bed of a dying woman. She was healed by touching one of the crosses. The sacrifice of God’s only Son remains a mystery 2,000 years after the fact. Let our prayer today be for a deeper understanding of the meaning of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.
Today’s readings: Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him . . . may have eternal life.”
Wednesday, September 15
Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
Love is never lost
“Our Lady of Sorrows” is a title of Mary that refers to the sorrows she experienced throughout her life. These stretched from Simeon’s prophecy about Jesus’ future to the burial of Jesus. Take time today to consider the sorrows in your own life—maybe they are dreams broken, loved ones lost, or small disappointments and frustrations added up. With Mary at your side, hold these sorrows tenderly and then place them into the hands of God who, as Mary experienced, is a God of mercy and faithfulness, a God of love.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35
“Love . . . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Thursday, September 16
Feast of Cornelius, pope, martyr, and Cyprian, bishop, martyr
Forgive us our trespasses
Being a Christian back in the third-century Roman Empire could get you into a world of trouble. Imagine being offered the choice of renouncing your faith or becoming lunch meat for the lions. It’s easy to understand why some folks opted out of their religion. Later on, however, when they thought better of it and wanted back in, some bishops said uh-uh: No amnesty for apostates. But not our saints Cornelius and Cyprian; they welcomed them back and fought against the rigorists to make it standard practice. Forgiving a great trespass has a way of engendering great love.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 7:36-50
“I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love.”
Friday, September 17
Feast of Robert Bellarmine, bishop, doctor of the church
The influences of church and state
A church window at St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Andover, Massachusetts includes a series of quotations from the saint paralleled with parts of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Historians do not propose that Thomas Jefferson read Bellarmine (1542-1621), but he did have books with underlined passages referring to Bellarmine’s disputes with King James I of England over the “divine right of kings.” Bellarmine wrote: “In a commonwealth, all men are born naturally free and equal” while our Declaration of Independence says, “All men are created equal.” The link between the two has not been proven definitively, but some find a “marriage of true minds” and even a reason to consider Robert Bellarmine as a patron saint of the United States.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 8:1-3
“Soon afterwards [Jesus] went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.”
Saturday, September 18
Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary
What goodness looks like
Recently the checkout line was backed up, and people were voicing their impatience. At the head of the line was a young woman who was pregnant, new to the procedure of food stamps. The cashier explained that the young woman was eligible for more items, but she didn’t know how to proceed. So the clerk patiently dictated a healthy list: milk, cheese, oranges, apples. At each suggestion she pointed in the right direction. Finally, tallying the order, the clerk realized the teen was still entitled to another few ounces. Reaching behind her register into a bin, she snapped off one banana. A perfect picture of goodness.
Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49; Luke 8:4-15
“These are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart.”
©2010 by TrueQuest Communications, L.L.C. Phone: 800-942-2811; e-mail: mail@takefiveforfaith.com; website: www.TakeFiveForFaith.com. Licensed for noncommercial use. All rights reserved. Scripture quotes come from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Contributors: Father Paul Boudreau, Alice Camille, Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Ann O’Connor, Sean Reynolds, Joel Schorn, Patrice J. Tuohy, and Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.