Sunday

**Various reflections from different sources this week

Protestants have always said the ‘age of miracles’ ended with the apostles, but, that is not true.  Miracles in both the Catholic Church, as well as in the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchates, are well documented multiple times in each century since Christ  (often much more frequently).  While some like the praying of the Rosary in 1517 that helped a small Catholic naval force defeat a much superior Moslem navy from invading Europe are well known;   secular newspapers document many Marian apparitions such as then the sun ‘danced’ (moved about and seemed to spin) and which was witnessed in 1917 by may thousands, including sceptics that came to scoff;   the blood of the Martyr Januarius, sealed in a vial, liquifies on his feast each year with science unable to explain it;  Holy Fire appears in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday of each year after thorough searches by hostile government authorities eager to prove fraud, all of which are unsuccessful.  So, the age of miracles continues as a witness to the reality of Christ and His Church even today…they are just mostly, purposely ignored by the media and powers of the world.

Prayer:  Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Prayer for us!

 

Monday

This reflection is about the ‘new year’ but can also be applied to each new day of our lives…

A new year has begun but if the only change that takes place is putting up a new calendar then there is a greatly missed opportunity.   We should have reflected on the highlights of last year, including our actions and attitudes when putting up a new calendar.   Few people search to find the same calendar and pictures for the new calendar but rather want something different.  Similarly we should want to improve so that in 12 months we can look back and see a ‘better person’ than we did the previous year.   To do this we must  allow Christ to work in us to create a new image of ourselves…we can’t do it alone.   “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

Prayer: Sacred heart of Jesus have mercy on us.

Tuesday

The familiar  parable of the sower teaches us that we need to be ‘good ground’ for the seed of the Word, Christ, to grown.  Good ground isn’t natural and requires work just as making our soul receptive to the Grace of God.  How is this done?  Attending church and taking communion is first and most important.  It takes time and discipline to ‘get up and go’ to church  when we could just stay at home and read the Bible or read a sermon from a Church Father.  What does the church have that our homes don’t?  The ‘real presence’ of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine which are the body and blood of Christ.  We literally honor Christ ‘in person’ when we attend church.  We literally receive Grace in the most concentrated form when we take communion.   Again, we can’t do that on our own at home and this is by design:  Christ wants His body, the church, to come together so just like stores that offer unique ‘special purchase’ items that you can only get from them if you come and shop there in person we can only interact fully with Christ, spiritually and physically, if we attend church.  “ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10)

Prayer: St Joseph, pray us.

Wednesday

Perhaps the greatest sin of the modern age is ingratitude.  Most people don’t deny God  as atheists, they just ignore Him as much as possible.  They live their lives like hamsters in a cage busily working on things in their little world while ignoring their master who is watching them and who makes their ‘little world’ possible.  How can we show gratitude to God?  Crossing ourselves and saying something like ‘Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me’ when we get up starts the day with gratitude because we have recognized our ‘master’ as the first thing we do each day.   Other prayers, which includes ‘talking’ with God, show that we are not ignoring Him.  Bible reading and church attendance are further ways of showing thanks.  Giving money to God through the Church is a concrete way of gratitude and shows that we are using what He has given us in the way He asks.  If we don’t give to God, circumstances will ‘take’ the 10% (just like locusts eating grain) and more but we won’t gain any ‘credit’ for it because it wasn’t given willingly.  ”

Prayer: Precious blood of Jesus have mercy on us.

Thursday

The only thing modern man ignores more than God is death.  Funerals and surrounding events are spent thinking and  talking about what others are wearing, family issues, general gossip, preparing the arrangements and food…anything but the reality of death.   The person will shortly face judgement and His relationship with Christ along with the way he or she responded to it…by keeping the commandments and striving daily to be more like Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit…will determine where he will be for eternity.  Its like going on vacation and focusing entirely  on the car ride rather than what’s going to happen when the destination is reached.  Orthodox saints and elders always emphasize the need to keep the ‘remembrance of death’ in mind.  The Catholic Church in the past has also emphasized this with St John Bosco having a month ‘Preparation for a Happy Death’ where the young people spent a day preparing themselves as if it was their last.  The thought of death is like a cultist who comes to our door distracting us a few seconds until we close the door sending the annoyance on the way.    The reality of death doesn’t ring a door bell…it just comes in and it doesn’t leave.  “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”  (Jams 2:24)

Prayer: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have resource to thee.

Friday

Most people put money away in the bank in case there is an unforeseen need.  Insurance serves a similar need.   Drivers keep their foot ready to hit the brakes if something unexpected happens.  We set a clock to get us up so we don’t oversleep and lose our job.  We set a timer to check food that is cooking so it won’t burn or start a fire.   We make sure we record TV shows that are on so we don’t miss them.  People do all sorts of planning and spend money to attend a sporting event that is held on a particular day.  In other words, we prepare for things in  life that we know will happen and for things that happen unexpectedly.   Death is  a certainty…have you prepared for that?  If not, why?

“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12:16)

Prayer: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

Saturday

Every product from a small flashlight   to a car   has instructions.   These are not written to make things unnecessarily complex but because the creator or maker of the product knows its limits.  You can jump in a lake with a flashlight to help you see the bottom but it will stop working because  you can’t get it wet.  You can never change the oil in the car but eventually it will stop lubricating the engine and it will be ruined.  You can ignore admonitions to brush your teeth well but eventually a painful cavity or expensive root canal will occur.   The same goes with God’s instructions to us in the Bible.  Many people today think that sex is a type of recreation with no restrictions ignoring God’s teaching on marriage.  Abortion, killing, is viewed as a woman’s choice.  Cheating purposely on taxes, stealing,  is just being clever.  The list goes on.  However, just as with physical products ignoring the spiritual instruction manual eventually has negative consequences that we don’t see at first but which have eternal consequences.

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”:  (Revelation 20:12)

Prayer:   Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us!