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MINISTRIES OF THE ARCHANGELS FOR US

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SAINTS MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL, ARCHANGELS Apoc 12:7-12; Ps 138:1-5; Jn 1:47-51 Descending and Ascending of Angels on the Son of Man We celebrate the archangels today. By this celebration, the Church brings us to consider, thank, and glorify God for the wonders of his love for us, poor sinners. The Scriptures make abundant references to the ministry of the angels in our salvation history. These make us aware of the existence of these spiritual creatures of God. He created them as spiritual or heavenly beings to praise and glorify his name and wonderful works of nature and grace. We have no clear idea of when they were created, but the Fathers of the Church hold that the reference to God’s creation of heaven in the beginning refers to the angelic beings. Saint Augustine considers the alternation of evening and day in the creation story as referring to the participation of angelic beings in the creation of the earth. Evening refers to initial confusion and gradual illumination...
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THE LORD GIVES AND TAKES AWAY

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MONDAY, TWENTY SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Job 1:6-22; Ps 17:1-3,6-7; Lk 9:46-50 Anyone who welcomes Me welcomes the Father The book of Job gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of God's justice as it applies to our lives here on earth. Many Christians are ignorant of the fact that we have a formidable enemy who fights dirty; the devil is the enemy of our salvation. Since we are not to be afraid of the devil because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ that has ransomed us from the bondage of the devil, we must not be ignorant of his existence and continuous battle for the ruin of our souls. The devil's ultimate weapon against us is falsehood, or lies. Through delusions and manipulation of our senses and imagination, he attempts to lure us away from believing and living the word of God. When that fails because of our constant reading and meditations on the word of God, he goes after our attachments to created things. He uses our attachment to creatures to try to swa...
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SINNERS ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

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SUNDAY, TWENTY SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Ezek 18:25-28; Ps 25:4-9; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32 Doing the Will of the Father Our sins and sinful habits cause us to dwell in darkness. They make us remain ignorant of the will of God, our Father. To begin our journey toward the light, we must think deeply and understand what sin is. Sin is basically the abandonment of God’s holy will to do our own will. From the moment of the fall of Adam and Eve, the will of God that was clear to them became obscure, for they chose to do their own will at the instigation of the devil. Since the doing of our own will is always at the instigation of the devil, we not only sin against God by doing what we want instead of what God wants of us, but we become evil and share in the communion of evil doers. On this understanding, we see that God did not totally abandon us at the fall; he gave us his word about a future redemption of our race in the promise of the woman and her Offspring. That was a prophetic...
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DYING WITH JESUS CHRIST

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SATURDAY, TWENTY FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccles 11:9-12:8; Ps 90:3-6,12-14,17; Lk 9:43-45 The Death of the Son of Man Growing up, none of us gave a thought to death. This is understandable, given that youth is a time when life is at its fullest and most ripe. All human senses and faculties are at their best and fully functional in youths. It is rare for a youth to think of death or the end of life, when life is at its fullest. To overcome the temptations of prime, the preacher bids youths to think of God and the requirement of judgment. “Rejoice in your youth, you who are young; let your heart give you joy in your young days. Follow the promptings of your heart and the desires of your eyes. But this you must know: for all these things God will bring you to judgement.” The excess energy of young age should not be wasted on useless amusements and pastimes but directed to disciplining of our passions and acquiring knowledge, which is a rigorous enterprise. The overflowing ener...
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BIRTH AND DEATH BEYOND OUR CONTROL

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FRIDAY, TWENTY FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccles 3:1-11; Ps 144:1-4; Lk 9:18-22 Knowing the Christ of God We have a very short time to live on earth. But the shortness of our mortal life is not the original plan of God but a consequence of the original fall of our first parents and our sins. The Scriptures testify that death is a consequence of sin. God made us to be like him; to share his communion in eternity. God's original intention for us was not abrogated but is now a matter of choice. Our temporal life is a time given to us to choose to be with God and work for its realisation with the grace he provides for us in Jesus Christ. Though death is a consequence of our sins, God offers us eternal life in his Son, Jesus Christ. The grace to understand the opportunity our mortal life offers us and use it is not a common grace from God. The difficulty surrounding our coming to wisdom and salvation is not God’s doing, but due to the multiplication of sins and darkness. Both in ...
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VANITY OF VANITIES

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THURSDAY, TWENTY FIFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccles 1:2-11; Ps 90:3-6,12-14,17; Lk 9:7-9 The Vanity of Life outside the Vineyard Many of us are familiar with the frustration of not having the right instrument or equipment for a particular task. Consider, for example, attempting to loosen a nut without the right spanner. One can injure oneself or destroy the bolt and nut in the attempt. The same applies when we live to pursue earthly things and passing amusements and pleasure. These engagements may provide momentary pleasures or amusement, but these do not last because our lives are not made for creatures. The life we have received is a mystery and something beyond our comprehension. But to sound its depth, we must acquire the right key or access code to unlock the door of life and its meaning. As we have noted previously in our reflections, we are the vineyard of God, the inheritance of his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can unlock the meaning of our lives and give us ...
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WE ARE THE SON'S INHERITANCE

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SAINT PIUS OF PIETRELCINA (PADRE PIO), PRIEST Prov 30:5-9; Ps 119:28,72,89,101,104,163; Lk 9:1-6 The Vineyard of the Son of God The vineyard of the God of the hosts is the Son’s inheritance. The Son is one with the Father and knows the Father’s will. Thus, he cultivates the vineyard to the Father’s taste. The vineyard is his inheritance, for all that the Father has belongs to the Son. The Son is the Word, and the Word was with God from the beginning; through him all things were made. Since all things were made through him, all things will be restored to the Father through him. John tells us that the Word enlightens all men who come into the world. Therefore, the Son calls and instructs all who are employed to work in the vineyard. We are the vineyard of the Lord; the work to be done in us must be carried out with the Son’s specification. To be unwilling to work in the vineyard is to attempt to usurp what is not ours, but the Son’s inheritance. To put it simply, our temporal lives...
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