Lectio Divina Daily Reflections

Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us who have put our hope in you. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:32-48, today's readings)."Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”These words of Jesus spoken to the disciples follow his teaching on discipleship. Jesus tells the parable of the servant awaiting the master's return from a wedding. "Blessed are those servants," Jesus says, "whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. . . . for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Peter asks if the parable is meant only for them or for everyone, and Jesus answers by sharing another parable. This one focuses on a master who goes away and puts a steward in charge of the distribution of food at the proper time. Jesus speaks to the "little flock"—that's all of us—when he tells his stewards to store up an inexhaustible treasure in heaven. "For where your treasure is," he says, "there also will your heart be."God, help me hear the reassuring voice of Jesus today and throughout the days ahead. “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom." What are the belongings Jesus asks me to sell? The material things I possess are more than I need—more clothing, food, money. Even more, Lord, what belongings am I attached to that in some way prevent me from storing up treasures in heaven? Give me the grace, Lord, to conform my will to yours more and more, with a heart that treasures what you treasure, so that when the unexpected knock comes at the door, I am ready to open immediately at your arrival.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. I love you, Lord, my strength.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 17:14-20, today's readings).Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured.The father who brings his son to Jesus has watched the son suffer terribly, falling into fire and often into water. In his anguish, he brings him to the disciples, who try to cure the boy but fail. When the boy is brought to Jesus, he rebukes the demon, who comes out of him immediately, and the disciples ask, "Why could we not drive it out?" Along with chastising them, Jesus encourages the disciples. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. "Nothing," Jesus says, "will be impossible for you." What kind of faith the father must have had to bring his son first to the disciples and then to Jesus. Through his perseverance, the father received his son back, restored and whole, from the arms of the Good Shepherd.God, help me have faith at all times, whether I succeed or fail to see its effects. Just as the father put all of his trust in Jesus, give me the grace to do the same even during trials and suffering. In the first reading, Moses says to the people: "The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." With the little faith I have, Lord, help deepen my understanding of the words of Jesus: "Nothing will be impossible for you."Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I remember your wonders of old. And I meditate on your works; your exploits I ponder. I remember the deeds of the Lord.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 16:24-28, today's readings).Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."Jesus makes clear what is at stake in following him: losing one's life in trying to save it and saving one's life in losing it for his sake. Yet, the challenge to take up one's cross is resisted and denied. Jesus goes on to describe it in terms of material gain. What purpose is there in gaining the whole world at the cost of forfeiting life? We will be repaid, as Jesus says, according to our conduct. Whatever our response, the call is unmistakable: "Follow me."God, there are moments when it is difficult to accept your will or to believe that what is made quite clear is your will. In these instances, help me learn to trust in your will even when I can't see where it leads. Lord, give me the understanding to know your will and, with courage, pick up my cross and follow you. Give me perseverance when I am tempted to turn away, and strengthen my faith in the goodness and mercy of your plan for me. Saint Dominic, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

"My people heard not my voice, and Israel obeyed me not; So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their own counsels." Sing with joy to God our help.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 14:13-21, today's readings).Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over–twelve wicker baskets full.Jesus has just heard of the death of John the Baptist. From the same chapter of Matthew's Gospel, we see Jesus respond to the new's that John's disciples shared with him. Matthew tells us that Jesus withdraws to a deserted place by himself by boat but the crowds soon find out about this and go by foot to meet him as he disembarks. Jesus' response to this is not at all what one might imagine. On hearing devastating news about his cousin John, withdrawing and insisting on time alone would be understood, even expected. Yet, Jesus sees the crowd and Matthew says that "his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick." When the disciples tell Jesus there is not enough food for the crowds and that they should go buy some, Jesus tells them: "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." By saying this, Jesus teaches them to provide for others as life-giving bearers of the word and also to give them a greater opportunity to trust completely in him, the true food of the Word made flesh.Father in heaven, give me the true food I need today to sustain me in your compassion even as I look to the needs of others, as Jesus said, to give them some food myself. For the times today when I am unaware that you are present, orient me to you again so that I walk in your ways. Just as the crowds went on foot to meet Jesus at the other shore, I want to move with confidence throughout the day to know firsthand your ever-present healing and compassion. And give me the grace to be a means of that to others. Saint John Vianney, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%A3o_Jo%C3%A3o_Maria_Vianney.png

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:13-21, today's readings).Then Jesus told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.'"Jesus shares a parable with the crowd after someone tells Jesus to demand that his brother share his inheritance with him. What the inheritance is, we don't know. But Jesus knows the man's heart and warns the crowd to guard against greed and attachment to possessions. The man in the parable builds larger barns and celebrates having, as he says, "so many good things stored up for many years." This also is vanity, Qoheleth would say, that his moment in the sun would not last. As Jesus finish the parable, we hear God say to the man: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" Jesus concludes the parable by teaching us to store up treasure not for ourselves but to labor on earth to become "rich in what matters to God." God, help me today and every day of my life do the work that Jesus lays out in storing up treasure in heaven. Help me recall the way Saint Paul puts it: dying to this life and finding our lives hidden with Christ in God naturally follows when the focus is on what is above and not what is on earth. Give me the grace, Lord, to live a life that is rich in faith and generosity in the divine inheritance I have in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

There shall be no strange god among you nor shall you worship any alien god. I, the LORD, am your God who led you forth from the land of Egypt. Sing with joy to God our help.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:54-58, today's readings).But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.The psalm for today presents the words of the Lord to the Israelites. "There shall be no strange god among you. . . ." In the Gospel, Jesus is in his hometown of Nazareth among neighbors and family friends, when they say of him: "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son?" They name Mary, and his brothers and sisters, family members, and say out of bewilderment. "Where did this man get all this." Among his own townspeople, Jesus would have been no stranger, yet they rejected him despite witnessing his words and miraculous works. The greater truth that some would come to believe is that Jesus was no strange god among them but the Son of the Most High.Father in heaven, I know that Jesus is present in many ways, foremost in the real presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Help me see Jesus also present in the faces of the people I encounter today and in their words and actions. Those closest who bear Christ and manifest his presence are often the ones most taken for granted. Give me the grace, Lord, to pause and see in them, as Saint Paul said, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious." Let me consider how Christ is in my midst, right her in my native place. Saint Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Blessed they who dwell in your house! continually they praise you. Blessed the men whose strength you are! They go from strength to strength. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:47-53, today's readings).Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age.”Jesus makes a comparison of the kingdom of heaven that the disciples would have been intimately familiar with. The bad catch that is thrown away would have particular meaning to them as well as the good, which they put into buckets. Jesus shares this parable to bring to mind the end of the age, the final judgment. To discern good and bad in relation to the end of the age is to know God's will and move forward with it in the present moment, just as the Israelites moved forward whenever the cloud of the LORD's glory rose among them on their journey in the desert. “But if the cloud did not lift,” we hear in Exodus, “they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward.” In his Word and in the glory of his resurrection, Jesus is with us as we discern through prayer and move throughout the day.God, help me take to heart the parables as they apply to today's events. Open my eyes to the coexistence of good and evil in the world and their separation in the final judgment. To take from the parables what Jesus says to me as a follower is to trust in his every word. As the Israelites watched for the cloud to rise before the day's journey, I want to see your glory made manifest as I give witness to your kingdom through my life. “Blessed the men whose strength you are!” the psalmist sings. “They go from strength to strength.” Strengthen my desire, Lord, to make myself a dwelling that calls attention to your glory. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Extol the LORD, our God, and worship at his footstool; holy is he! Holy is the Lord our God.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:44-46, today's readings).Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."The two short parables Jesus shares with the disciples communicate the nature of the kingdom of heaven and reveal its effect on the person who finds it. Jesus mentions twice that it is found and twice he says that the person sells all he has in order to buy it. To the one who finds it, the kingdom of heaven is the treasure that renders all else worthless; it is the one investment that yields joy in this life and unending security in heaven. The kingdom of heaven is right now and yet to be; it is far above on God's holy mountain and in the deepest recesses of our hearts. God, in the parables of the buried treasure and the pearl of great price, I see Jesus express two types of encounters with the kingdom of heaven. A treasure might be stumbled upon or found after years of searching; the pearl is found after a lifetime of learning the worth of other pearls. By your grace, Lord, the kingdom of heaven is pure gift to the one who hopes in you or actively seeks you out. And what you have to give, you have made known generously through your Son. Throughout the day, help me call to mind the Gospel acclamation with joy: "I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me." Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The LORD secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. The Lord is kind and merciful.A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 11:19-27, today's readings).Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.”The dialogue between Jesus and Martha deepens as Jesus tells Martha that her brother will rise. Martha shows confidence in the resurrection, saying, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus takes Martha's confidence in him further when he asks her if she believes in him. “I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus tells her. "Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Martha's profession of faith is an example for all of confidence in God's mercy. She says, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Jesus, identifying himself as the resurrection and the life, refers to the ultimate victory over sin and death in his coming resurrection.God, help me trust in your mercy. As I consider the example of Martha's faith in Christ, the resurrection and the life, grant me the opportunity today to express confidence in you as Martha did when she said, "But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Let me come to share more and more in that same confidence Martha expresses in the hope of the resurrection. Martha professed her faith by saying that Christ is "the one who is coming into the world.” Teach me, Lord, to realize you are present in every moment of the day even as you prepare me for the life of the world to come.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image; They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:31-35, today's readings).Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”Jesus speaks to the crowd in parables about the kingdom of heaven to fulfill what has been said through the prophets. Jesus says, quoting Psalm 78, "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world." What is hidden in plain sight, Jesus reveals to the people through parables that point to the mystery of God's kingdom: the smallest of seeds grows into a large dwelling for birds; a small measure of yeast leavens an entire basket of wheat flour. In the parables, Jesus relates real-world glimpses to reveal the spiritual reality of the kingdom of heaven. Here, we can rest in its branches and grow with Christ to one day see its fulfillment. God, help me trust that the smallest of seeds that grows to its utmost under your care is to abandon my will to yours. The kingdom of heaven, already here and yet to be, is your gift to receive, where what you have revealed from the beginning of time is brought into sight through childlike faith. Matthew says that Jesus spoke to the disciples only in parables. Give me the grace to understand that the mystery of the kingdom is contained in the real presence of the Eucharist as I take it in and let it grow and become more a manifestation of Christ every time I receive it.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:1-13, today's readings).Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."After Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord's Prayer, he shares a parable about a man who goes to a friend at midnight to ask for bread to feed a guest staying at his house while on a journey. The friend eventually gives him the bread although he is reluctant at first. By his persistence, the visitor receives the bread he asks for. Likewise, in another parable, Jesus makes clear that if flawed human parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more so does God. "If you then, who are wicked," Jesus says, "know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Jesus teaches the disciples more than they ask for: he points the way to his Father in a Spirit of adoption, the one to whom we cry, Abba, Father.Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Help me be grateful that your will be done and that I have the gift of freely choosing it. Let the persistent cry of the friend in the parable be my cry as well. If not because of friendship with you, Lord, then out of my persistence you never tire of hearing and answering me. Jesus says, "Ask and you will receive. . . . For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds." Give me the grace to call to mind throughout the day that I am the son in the parable who asks his father for a fish. Father in heaven, you are the giver of all good gifts. From the responsorial psalm, let me remember this with complete trust: "Your right hand saves me. The LORD will complete what he has done for me."Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfill your vows to the Most High; Then call upon me in time of distress; I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:24-30, today's readings)."He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”'”Jesus speaks to the crowds in a parable about a sower who sows good seed. The seed sprouts and grows, but an enemy of the sower comes at night to sow weeds throughout the wheat. When the slaves of the sower ask if they should pull up the weeds, he tells them to let the wheat and the weeds grow together and at the harvest separate them. They will then gather the wheat into the barn, but the weeds they will tie up and burn. At the harvest, the final judgment, Jesus will come to separate the weeds from the wheat. The Gospel acclamation reminds us to receive the word of God and realize the kingdom of heaven now and eternally for the life of the world to come: "Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls."Father in heaven, help me today see the the kingdom of heaven already here and yet to be. Like a planted seed, the word has in it challenges to life along with the potential for life brought to fulfillment at the time of harvest. Give me the grace to live the present moment with enthusiasm and in hope of the fulfillment of the word in the eternal kingdom yet to be. In a world where good and evil coexist, help me, Lord, hold onto the hope of the ultimate triumph of your kingdom in its fullness through Jesus Christ, your Son. Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 20:20-28, today's readings)."Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."The mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks that her two sons be granted authority to sit at his side in his kingdom. Jesus questions them, knowing they are unaware of what this means. "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." And then Jesus tells them that it is not his to give but for the ones for whom the Father has prepared. To be at the right hand of Jesus in his kingdom is to serve and give one's life, to die to this life so to rise to new life through Christ. As Saint Paul says in the first reading: "For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh." So out of love, Jesus asks all of us: "Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"God, help me understand that true greatness does not mean success in the way the world defines it. The mother of James and John asked that Jesus command that they sit at his right and left in the kingdom. To command in that way, as Jesus said, is to "lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt." But it would not be this way, Jesus said, among them. Lord, give me the grace every day to serve others and "carry about in the body the dying of Jesus" but especially when in a position of authority to bring Christ's presence to others. Give me the opportunity today to do just that: to die to self to let Christ be manifested in me to others. Saint James, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. Glory and praise for ever!A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:10-17, today's readings)."But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."The disciples ask Jesus why he speaks to the crowds in parables. He responds by telling them, "This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand." Jesus goes on to quote Isaiah, to show that the people who hear but do not understand fulfill his prophecy. In his compassion, Jesus fulfills Isaiah's prophecy as the one who heals them as they "see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts." Blessed are our eyes, Lord, when we see you and our ears when we hear you.God, help me see, hear, and understand your will. As much as I try, I am afraid that I don't see and hear and understand you well enough and often enough to comprehend it. You said to Moses, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud so that the people may always have faith in you also." Give me the grace to trust in the work you do in my life and through me so that I can be a witness to your compassion to others. Saint Charbel, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

They tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food they craved. Yes, they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?” The Lord gave them bread from heaven.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:1-98, today's readings)."Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”The Gospel acclamation spells out the parable that Jesus shares with the crowd: "The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever." Christ, the sower, walks continuously among the soil of our souls, sowing the word of God. He walks among thorns, among our well-worn paths, among the rocky ground of hardened hearts where scorching heat withers roots. But some seed falls on rich soil, and from that the word of God produces more abundant fruit than we can possibly make grow by our own doing. God loved us first and, as he did for the Israelites, rains down bread from heaven "so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”God, help me appreciate the parable Jesus shares with the crowd from a boat, an ancient Christian symbol for the Church. The last words of the parable give me hope, Lord, that your word will find a spot of rich soil softened by your gift of love. "But some seed fell on rich soil" sounds like an epilogue to a dark story that ends in hope, where lush vegetation begins to spring up and spread in a scorched and lifeless desert. Move my heart, Lord, to hear what my ears ought to hear as my soul trusts in you and the hundredfold fruits of your Spirit. Saint Bridget, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name! Pharaoh's chariots and army he hurled into the sea; the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 12:38-42, today's readings)."Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here."Jesus responds to the Pharisees who are seeking a sign by saying that "an evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign." The ultimate word of the Father, Jesus, tells them that no sign will be given to the people because he stands before them as the one whom all the signs point to. And then Jesus draws on the story of Jonah to give them a sign: just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, so will Jesus be at his burial, resurrection, and second coming. The people of Nineveh, Jesus says, will rise in judgment against this generation because they responded to Jonah's message in faith. The greater message Jesus brings is an invitation to genuine repentance and faith.God, help me be aware of when I go looking for unmistakable signs that you are at work in my life. The quest to piece together occurrences into what appears to be a meaningful expression is to look for fulfillment of your plans. Sometimes events confirm that but at other times the signs point to an outcome that could not have been predicted. Strengthen my faith, Lord, to move forward today and every day in confidence that your will is actively guiding me as I seek to understand it and respond to it. The Gospel acclamation is a gentle reminder that I need not go far to find that Christ is present: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

One who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:38-42, today's readings).Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary. Martha welcomes him and is busy with preparing things and serving, while Mary simply sits at Jesus' feet, listening to him teach. Martha frustration becomes clear when she says to Jesus, "Lord, do you not care" and asks him to tell Mary to help her. Jesus gently responds, addressing Martha's anxiety and worry. At the same time, he gestures to Mary, who has chosen "the better part," focusing on his words—something that will not be taken away from her.God, in the events of the day, help me see Jesus present with Martha and Mary. Each of them lovingly serves Jesus, but the better part is a calling Mary responds to that he always invites us to take up. If there were no Marthas in the world, I would lack the example of service and practical expression of love. If there were no Marys, I would lose sight of the vitality of spiritual depth and contemplation. In my own life, give me the grace to develop each part—love in service and love in contemplative listening. Help me today choose the better part as you make your presence known. Be with me, Lord.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever; Who remembered us in our abjection, for his mercy endures forever; And freed us from our foes, for his mercy endures forever. His mercy endures forever.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 12:14-21, today's readings).The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known.In today's Gospel, Jesus withdraws from the Pharisees who seek to kill him. In the first reading from Exodus, we hear how the Israelites flee from Egypt and slavery under Pharaoh to the desert. Under the scrutiny of the Pharisees, Jesus answers their questions about what is lawful to do on the sabbath. The disciples pick the heads of grain on the sabbath, and Jesus cures a man with a withered hand on the sabbath. So Jesus flees from them because they seek to kill him, and it is not yet his time. In flight from them, Jesus continues to do what he has been doing in his earthly mission: teaching, healing, fulfilling all of the Old Testament prophecies, and establishing his Church.God, help me consider the works Jesus did on earth to prepare all who hear and follow him for eternal life. I read in the Gospel acclamation: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." Just as Jesus understood and accomplished your will, strengthen me to do the same. As Jesus responded to the Pharisees by withdrawing from them, I have by this the example that doing your will sometimes means retreating from hostility to continue to serve you elsewhere. Give me, Lord, a heart able to discern your will, aware that at all times through Christ you entrust to me your message of reconciliation. Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us!Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 12:1-8, today's readings).“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”The Pharisees criticize the disciples for picking the heads of grain on the sabbath and then eating them. Jesus tells the Pharisees about the time when David and his companions ate the consecrated bread to show that human need can take precedence over Mosaic law. With his authority and the new covenant he brings as the Lord of the sabbath, Jesus makes clear to the Pharisees that he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. The mercy of God is something greater than the temple.God, help me learn what Jesus desired that the Pharisees should know in his call for mercy over sacrifice. You know my every need and would not withhold from me what you freely give. The psalmist sings, “I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds.” Your gift of freedom is an innate gift; through obedience to your will, Jesus shows the way to experience it in its fullness. Father in heaven, guide me in the way of your Son.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30, today's readings).Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."Jesus invites everyone who labors and is burdened to come to him. The labor and the burden of each of us is unique and known only to the Lord. Yet, to each person, Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon us and learn from him. In his meekness and humility, he adds no weight of sin and suffering but instead relieves us of it. What might it mean that a yoke is easy? As an actual yoke that pairs two animals, a yoke that is easy conforms to the shape of the neck and shoulders and allows freedom of movement while carrying the burden. The yoke that Jesus invites us to take upon us does the same: it is shaped uniquely to each person so that we choose freely to walk with Christ as we labor to become more like him.God, help me understand that to labor and be burdened is a reality of this life and that, realistically, there is no escape from it. When I face the difficulties of the day and the certainty of its burdens, help me remember the first words of Jesus in today's Gospel as a way to take to heart what follows: "Come to me." Twice, Jesus makes clear what his purpose is in inviting me to come to him. He says, "I will give you rest." Stay with me, Lord. Give me the grace to find rest for myself as you make your presence known.Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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