A FOX CHASE? - One Bread, One Bod

Romans 8:31-39, Psalm 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31, Luke 13:31-35

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/103113.cfm

"For all that, I must proceed on course today, tomorrow, and the day after." -Luke 13:33

Do you feel pressured to "leave this place," marriage, church, neighborhood, or job? (Lk 13:31) Be careful! Satan may be trying to outfox you (see Lk 13:32) by manipulating you into changing your plans. Satan wants to push you into being at the wrong place at the wrong time. "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the Lord will win for you today" (Ex 14:13). "The Lord Himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still" (Ex 14:14). "By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies" (Is 30:15). "Do all that your duty requires, and hold your ground. Stand fast" (Eph 6:13-14).

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to not do anything. However, we can refuse to panic or even budge because:
   * "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rm 8:31)
   * "Is it possible that He Who did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides?" (Rm 8:32)
   * "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rm 8:35)
   * "In all this we are more than conquerors because of Him Who has loved us" (Rm 8:37).

Because we are secure in God's love, we don't have to hurry up, speak up, move up, move away, or run away. We are stable and free in His love.

Prayer: Father, when I am in Your will, make me as immovable as a rock.

Promise: "How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird collects her young under her wings, and you refused Me!" -Lk 13:34

Praise: Carla forgave her adulterous husband.

DENYING DENIAL - One Bread, One Body, 10/30/2013

Romans 8:26-30, Psalm 13:4-6, Luke 13:22-30

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/103013.cfm

"Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?" -Luke 13:23

Our society is in what psychologists call "denial." We are in denial concerning our addictions and the self-destruction due to our sins. We are in denial even of killing over nine million babies each year in the U.S.A. through surgical and chemical abortions. We refuse to face the facts that our actions have major consequences - even eternal life or everlasting damnation.

Jesus challenges us to come out of denial. He speaks the truth in love (Eph 4:15) and says:
   * "Try to come in through the narrow door" of salvation (Lk 13:24).
   * "Many...will try to enter and be unable" (Lk 13:24).
   * Some will "stand outside knocking" (Lk 13:25).
   * Some will hear the words: "Away from Me, you evildoers!" (Lk 13:27)
   * "There will be wailing and grinding of teeth" (Lk 13:28).
   * Some will be rejected (Lk 13:28).
   * "People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will take their place at the feast in the kingdom of God" (Lk 13:29).
   * "Some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last" (Lk 13:30).

Face reality. Walk in the truth. Let Jesus forgive and save you.

Prayer: Father, "when the saints go marching in, I want to be in that number."

Promise: "The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us." -Rm 8:26

Praise: The Audette family gathers each evening to pray together. They pray daily for each of their godchildren.

HOPE CHEST - One Bread, One Body

Romans 8:18-25, Psalm 126:1-6, Luke 13:18-21

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102913.cfm

"Creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but by Him Who once subjected it; yet not without hope." -Romans 8:20

We should not compare ourselves with other people, but we should compare our present sufferings "with the glory to be revealed in us" (Rm 8:18). We Christians may suffer greatly because we follow Jesus Who suffered greatly. However, our sufferings should not be due to our sin (see 1 Pt 4:15); they should be in the pattern of Jesus' death (see Phil 3:10). Although these sufferings hurt us, we consider them to be nothing compared with our hope to rise from the dead, see Jesus face to face, and live forever with Him in the perfect joy of heaven.

When we hope in the Lord, we compare the present with the future in such a way that we rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4). Hope makes it possible for us to rejoice in proportion to our redemptive suffering (1 Pt 4:13). In hope, sufferings don't crush us but strengthen us (see Rm 5:3-5). Hope helps us to be free and unmanipulated by the threat of suffering. Hope energizes us and frees us from being paralyzed by fear. "In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? And hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance" (Rm 8:24-25). "Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth; a birth unto hope" (1 Pt 1:3).

Prayer: Father, may my hope overshadow my sufferings.

Promise: "What does the reign of God resemble? To what shall I liken it? It is like mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large shrub and the birds of the air nested in its branches." -Lk 13:18-19

Praise: The Horton family surrounded their dying grandmother with rosaries, prayer, confidence, and peace as she received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick hours before her death. "Happy now are the dead who die in the Lord" (Rv 14:13)

PATRON OF THE IMPOSSIBLE - One Bread, One Body

Ephesians 2:19-22, Psalm 19:2-5, Luke 6:12-16

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102813.cfm

Jesus "selected twelve of them to be His apostles...Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who turned traitor." -Luke 6:13, 15-16

Jude has become known as the patron of the impossible. His partner among the apostles was "Simon called the Zealot." A Zealot was what we would call a terrorist or guerilla. Consequently, Jude's first partner was probably an impossible person. Maybe that's how he became patron of the impossible.

No matter how impossible you are, you probably aren't any more impossible than Simon, Jude's namesake Judas, or the other Simon, whose name Jesus changed to Peter. Thus, if you team up with Jude, he can probably help you. He is used to impossible people, and you aren't any worse than any other of the countless impossible people he's worked with over centuries.

Jude is an apostle, a canonized saint, and part of the foundation of the Church (Eph 2:20). Even some of the impossible people he has worked with are saints - for example, Simon. Ask Jude to pray for and work with you. He will lead you to totally commit your life to Jesus. That is when the impossible starts to happen. St. Jude, pray for us.

Prayer: Father, may I firmly believe that nothing is impossible for You (Lk 1:37).

Promise: "Through [Jesus] the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in Him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit." -Eph 2:21-22

Praise: Sts. Simon and Jude "went from village to village, spreading the good news everywhere and curing diseases" (Lk 9:6).

GOING HOME FROM CHURCH - One Bread, One Body, 10/27/2013

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 23, Luke 18:9-14

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102713.cfm

"Believe Me, this man went home from the temple justified but the other did not." -Luke 18:14

When you walk out of church today, will you be justified? Or will you walk away sad? (see Mk 10:22) We are justified, forgiven, and free when we serve God willingly (Sir 35:16). It is our Sunday obligation to attend church, but we must go beyond this and serve God willingly if our petition is to reach the heavens (Sir 35:16). Is your Sunday obligation also a Sunday privilege? If not, you will not leave church justified.

We will go home from church justified and our prayer will pierce the clouds if we are lowly (Sir 35:17). Jesus, God Himself, was lowly in emptying Himself and becoming a human being (see Phil 2:7). He was so lowly as to die on the cross for love of us. He is so lowly as to come to us in Holy Communion under the appearance of bread and wine. If we humble ourselves, admit we are sinners, and cry out for God's mercy (see Lk 18:13), we become lowly and justified.

The willing and the lowly go home from church and go home to heaven justified.

Prayer: Father, do whatever You must in me so that You may do whatever You will through me.

Promise: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me." -2 Tm 4:7-8

Praise: Alleluia! Jesus has risen and will raise me from the dead! Alleluia!

CRUCIFIED FLESH - One Bread, One Body, 10/26/2013

Romans 8:1-11, Psalm 24:1-6, Luke 13:1-9
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102613.cfm

"Those who live according to the flesh are intent on the things of the flesh, those who live according to the Spirit, on those of the Spirit." -Romans 8:5

"Remember that you have been called to live in freedom - but not a freedom that gives free rein to the flesh" (Gal 5:13). Most of the time, in St. Paul's writings, "the flesh" means our human nature. Although not all of our fleshly desires are bad, our flesh nevertheless demands our total attention. In effect, our flesh wants to be our god. Therefore, "the flesh in its tendency is at enmity with God; it is not subject to God's law. Indeed, it cannot be; those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rm 8:7-8).
Only the Spirit is stronger than the flesh. Only by the Spirit can we resist the temptation to give in to the idolatry of flesh, self, and pleasure. "My point is that you should live in accord with the Spirit and you will not yield to the cravings of the flesh. The flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; the two are directly opposed" (Gal 5:16-17). "If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the evil deeds of the body, you will live" (Rm 8:13).
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's lead" (Gal 5:24-25).


Prayer: Father, crucify my flesh with its passions and desires.

Promise: "Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain." -Ps 24:3-4

Praise: Al and Joe fast on Fridays.

DIVIDED WE FALL - AND RISE - One Bread, One Body, 10/24/2013

Romans 6:19-23, Psalm 1:1-4, 6, Luke 12:49-53

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102413.cfm

"I have come for division." -Luke 12:51

Jesus is the Divine Physician (see Mt 9:12). In an operation to remove a malignant tumor, a surgeon divides the healthy cells from the cancerous cells. He removes only the cancer and leaves the rest. Likewise, Jesus divides the good and bad (Mt 25:32).
Jesus is "the Carpenter" (Mk 6:3). In His workshop, He divided strong wood from rotten wood. He divided broken nails from sturdy ones. "What was useless [He] threw away" (Mt 13:48).
Jesus is the Word of God (Jn 1:1). He, the Living Word, "divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow" and "judges the reflections and thoughts of the heart" (Heb 4:12). He divides us from sinful thoughts, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, and impurity.
Jesus is Family with the Holy Spirit and "the Father from Whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name" (Eph 3:14-15). As He divides all else, Jesus also divides families if they need to be rebuilt or restored (Lk 12:52-53). If necessary, Jesus will divide father and son, mother and daughter, in-laws, and anyone or anything that divides the family from God's plan.
Why has Jesus "come for division"? (Lk 12:51) It is because God is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Love is consuming. Love suffers "anguish" (Lk 12:50) until we "attain to the fullness of God Himself" (Eph 3:19). Love can't tolerate anything holding us back from that fullness. Therefore, repent completely of anything that holds you back from the Lord - before Jesus has to divide you from it.


Prayer: Father, bestow on us gifts in keeping with the riches of Your glory (Eph 3:16).

Promise: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Rm 6:23

Praise: St. Anthony continued to preach Christ in the face of several assassination attempts.

SLAVE TRADE - One Bread, One Body, 10/23/2013

Romans 6:12-18, Psalm 124:1-8, Luke 12:39-48

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102313.cfm

"You must realize that, when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one you obey, whether yours is the slavery of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to justice." -Romans 6:16

In the movie A.D., a woman who is a household slave is bought at the slave trade. When her new owner brings his purchased slave home, he removes her handcuffs, sets her free, and turns her over to his son, with whom she has fallen in love, to be his bride. This scene resembles what happens to everyone who comes to accept Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God. We are set free from the hard slavery of sin. Sin is a brutal slave-master, showing us no mercy. At the end of a lifetime of serving slave-master sin, our hard-earned wages are "death" (Rm 6:23). "Sin is a demon lurking at the door" (Gn 4:7), yet in Jesus "you can be [its] master."

By contrast, obedient and faithful slavery to Jesus Christ is a completely different sort of slavery. Yes, Lord Jesus demands and requires much of us, His slaves (Lk 12:48). Yet His is a slavery of love. In fact, Jesus no longer calls us slaves; rather, He calls us friends! (Jn 15:15) In Jesus, we are no  longer slaves; we are sons and daughters of God! (Gal 4:7)

Trade sin-slavery for a life of loving slavery to Jesus. "Be slaves of Christ the Lord" (Col 3:24). "It was for liberty that Christ freed us" from the yoke of slavery to sin, "so stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery" to sin "a second time!" (Gal 5:1) Rather, take on the yoke of slavery to Jesus, the Lord of love. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Mt 11:30).

Prayer: Father, I offer my body to You as a weapon for justice (Rm 6:13).

Promise: "Sin will no longer have power over you; you are now under grace, not under the law." -Rm 6:14

Praise: St. John, having a reason for hope, was known for his cheerfulness as he preached untiringly to strengthen others and fight heresy.

INDEPENDENCE DAY - One Bread, One Body, 10/21/2013

Romans 4:20-25, Luke 1:69-75, Luke 12:13-21

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102113.cfm

"I will say to myself: You have blessings in reserve for years to come. Relax!" -Luke 12:19

The man in today's Gospel was already rich (Lk 12:16). He had several grain bins on his property (Lk 12:18). It had been a year since his last harvest, and still he had no room to store this year's harvest. Therefore, his grain bins contained at least a year's foodstores in reserve. Then he "had a good harvest" (Lk 12:16), so large he was bursting at the seams. God blessed this man in ways foretold by the prophets (see Am 9:13-14; Is 30:23-25).

This man's speech reveals his heart (Lk 6:45). Though rich, he was worried about his future. He could have thanked God for a bountiful harvest; instead, he told himself he was finally financially secure enough to "relax" (Lk 12:19). He could have shared his plenty with the hungry, thus growing rich for God. Instead, he only thought of growing rich for himself (Lk 12:21).

The man rejoiced most of all because he trusted in his reserves rather than in God. When deciding how to handle his harvest, he consulted himself rather than God. Now he would be self-sufficient, independent of a God he never thanks or mentions. His actions and words show he does not trust the very God Who continues to bless him so abundantly, Who cannot be outgiven, and Who continues to provide for him. In His mercy, God reserved a place for this man and all others who insist upon being independent of God "for years to come" (Lk 12:19). It's called hell.

Some of us could also fall into this "trap" of desiring to be secure for the rest of our life (1 Tm 6:9). Repent! Trust in God alone.

Prayer: Father, I trust You alone for my daily needs (Mt 6:11). May I never turn from You in times of prosperity (Prv 30:7-9).

Promise: "Our faith will be credited to us also if we believe in Him Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead." -Rm 4:24

Praise: After nursing a grudge and judging his in-laws for seventeen years, John finally forgave them.