Gospel Acclamation: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.

Our Gospel Acclamation today invites us to make the Blessed Virgin Mary's words our own. In her deep humility, Mary recognizes herself as God's handmaid, the one who stands beside the throne of a king waiting to fulfill his every request. Mary knows that God is the King of Kings, the Lord of the Universe, and she places herself before Him in willing service, freely accepting the request of the angel and becoming the mother of the Savior.

Mary's words of acceptance are a combination of permission and prayer. God never forces Himself upon anyone. He asks for Mary's free consent, and she gives it, praying that the angel's words may come to pass. Mary's heart is wide open, and she longs for God's will above all.

As we acclaim these words, we should reflect on whether, we, like Mary, stand ready and willing to serve God in all that He asks.

Gospel Acclamation: Third Sunday of Advent

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

When Jesus gets up in His hometown synagogue to read a passage from the Scriptures, He chooses Isaiah 61:1-2a, which begins with the words of our acclamation today. Jesus applies these words to Himself in a very literal way. The Spirit of the Lord has fallen upon Him at His baptism when He symbolically accepted our sins as His own burden and when the Father's voice rang out announcing that Jesus is His beloved Son. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at that very moment and prepared to begin His public ministry.

What is that public ministry? Jesus Himself tells us. He will bring glad tidings to the poor. And we are all poor. We are weak and sinful, and we fall continually. We need God at every moment to sustain us. We do nothing on our own.

Yet Jesus brings us good news. God does indeed sustain us at every moment, and Jesus has come to save us from our sins, to open the gates of Heaven, and to fill us with His grace that we might have eternal life.

On another level, we can make this Gospel acclamation our own. At our baptism, we were filled with sanctifying grace, and the Holy Spirit came upon us. At our confirmation, we were anointed and filled with the Spirit in an even deeper way and prepared for our adult mission in the Church. We are called to bring glad tidings to the poor, the materially poor but also the spiritually poor. By our words and our actions, we are called to spread the Gospel and to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world.

Gospel Acclamation: Second Sunday of Advent

Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Are we putting up road blocks in our lives and in our hearts? Road blocks that attempt to keep God at bay? To keep Him out of certain places? We do this by our sins, by our lack of prayer, by our resistance to God's will, and by the stubbornness of our hearts.

During Advent we are called to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight His paths. We are called to demolish the road blocks, the clear away the rubble, and to build a wide open road for God to come into our hearts and into our lives. We can do this by going to Confession, by increasing our prayer (and our attention in prayer), and by offering our lives, ourselves, and everything we have to God.

We can also take down road blocks by reaching out in love to others. This helps us do our part in making the second half of this acclamation come true. We are to show the salvation to God to all those we meet, by our words, our actions, and especially our love.

Gospel Acclamation: First Sunday of Advent

The Gospel Acclamation can easily slide right by us during Mass. We are used to saying singing “Alleluia” (or “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ...” during Lent), but we might not pay much attention to the Scripture verse that follows.

Yet these passages are designed to complement the readings and lead us into a deeper understanding and a higher worship. We would do well, then, to reflect on the meaning of the Gospel Acclamation each week and even adopt it as a prayer and point of meditation for the whole week.

For the First Sunday of Advent, cycle C, the Gospel Acclamation is

Show us, Lord, Your love; and grant us Your salvation.

During Advent, we strive to open our hearts to the Lord in new ways, fuller ways, deeper and more loving ways, than every before. We grow in our longing for Him. We recognize His coming to us in our experiences, in our prayers, in the Eucharist, even as we wait for the celebration of His birth at Christmas and as we beg Him to come again to usher in a new Heaven and a new earth.

Yet in our striving and our longings, we often fail. We fall, and we sin, and we forget God's love. This is why we cry out with today's acclamation. We ask our Lord to show us His love. He does this constantly, but we need to open our eyes to see it and our hearts to experience it, and this, too, requires grace. God's love is infinite; we should desire to be immersed in it and to allow it to flow in and through us.

We also need our Lord's salvation. We need His grace and mercy and forgiveness at every moment. We cannot save ourselves, no matter how we try, yet we must open ourselves to the salvation Jesus Christ has won for us and longs to give us. God wills that all people be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). But we must will that, too, for God has given us free will. May we pray this acclamation with sincere and open hearts.

Show us, Lord, Your love; and grant us Your salvation.

Minute Meditations: Matthew 8:15-20

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” He says that we will “know them by their fruits.” Thorns do not bear grapes, and thistles do not bear figs. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit,” Jesus reminds us.

So what kind of “trees” are we listening to and following after? Are they trees that bear good fruit of love and peace and obedience to God? Or are they thorns and thistles that will only stab and poison us in the end? Are they wolves in disguise who only mean to devour us?

And perhaps more importantly, what kind of trees are we? Are we bearing good fruit in this world? Or are we the thorns and thistles or the wolves in disguise?

Pray to our Lord for discernment to know the truth.

Minute Meditations: Daniel 10

In the tenth chapter of the Book of Daniel, the prophet longs for understanding. He wants to know what God has planned for His people who are in exile. Therefore, Daniel prays and fasts. For three whole weeks, he eats plain food, abstains from meat and wine, and does not dress in fine clothing or anoint himself. He places himself before God in humility, praying that he might understand His will.

Daniel's prayer is answered as he stands on the banks of the Tigris river with some companions. He looks up and sees an angel. Only Daniel sees this magnificent vision, but his companions sense the angel's presence. They dash off in terror and hide. Daniel himself falls to ground on his face, his strength gone.

In the Old Testament, angels are not cute, chubby cherubs. That, in fact, is a pagan idea. Angels are the powerful, majestic messengers of God whose very presence inspires terror in people who encounter them.

The angel who appears to Daniel gently touches the terrified prophet, calls him “greatly beloved,” and tells him to get up. This angel is here in answer to Daniel's humble and persistent prayer. He has been sent to explain to Daniel what will happen to God's people in the future and how a new kingdom will one day come, a kingdom that will change the world.

Even with the angel's gentle concern, Daniel still has no strength to get up or even say a word. The vision is so overwhelming to him. The angel touches his lips so that Daniel can speak. Daniel then expresses his fear, so the angel tells him, “Do not fear, greatly beloved, you are safe. Be strong and courageous!” The angel strengthens Daniel so that he may rise up and hear the message for which he has prayed so long and hard. Through His angel, God answers Daniel's prayer, strengthens him with gentle care, and gives him the understanding he has longed for that he might pass it on to the people of his time and today.

Minute Meditations: Genesis 37

Joseph is a young dreamer. He imprudently tells his brothers all about his dreams of the sun, the moon, and eleven stars all bowing down to him and of his brothers' sheaves of wheat bowing down to his own sheaf. Since Joseph is already their father's favorite (so much so that their father gave Joseph a beautiful robe), his brothers are not inclined to be sympathetic or encouraging. In fact, they are violently jealous, and Joseph doesn't yet know how to keep his mouth shut.

When Joseph comes to check on his brothers and their flocks one day, the brothers decide that they will get rid of this kid once and for all. Reuben manages to talk them out of murder. He tells them to throw Joseph in a pit instead, meaning to rescue him later (and perhaps give him a bit of lecture in tactfulness). But before Reuben can do anything more, Joseph's other brothers sell him as a slave.

Just think of how Joseph must have felt. Sure, he's a little boastful and a little arrogant, but he doesn't deserve to be sold by his own brothers. Yet God has a plan for Joseph and for his family. God needs to set Joseph in a particular place so that he can actually provide for his family when the day comes.

We know how Joseph makes his way to Egypt and climbs the ladder of success all the way to second in command to the Pharaoh. We know how Joseph's brothers come to Egypt for food in time of famine. They don't recognize their brother, and he makes them squirm a bit (okay, more than a bit) before revealing his identity. God has indeed set Joseph up to save his family from certain death. He can see so much further than we can. He will work all things for our good. Why do we not trust Him?

Minute Meditations: 1 Samuel 8-10

The first king of the Israelites was Saul. The people of Israel really, really wanted a king. They wanted to be just like all the other nations around them and have a man who could lead them in battle and protect them. But God warned them. A king would tax them and make them serve him. He would place all kinds of demands upon them. God was the king of the people, and the prophet and judge Samuel tried to tell them that. They refused to listen. They wanted to be just like everyone else.

So God gave the people what they wanted. He gave them a king. God told Samuel to anoint Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul wasn't actually the brightest bulb in the box, but he looked the part of king. He was tall and strong and handsome. When Samuel met Saul for the first time, the young man was out hunting for his father's donkeys who had somehow managed to wander off (why wasn't someone watching them?). Saul and his servant couldn't find the critters, so the servant suggested they consult the seer Samuel. Saul hadn't bothered to bring any money, but luckily the servant had some to provide a little tribute.

We might wonder what Samuel really thought about Saul upon meeting him, but he obeyed God and anointed the young man to kingship. He then gathered the people so they could acclaim Saul as king. But there was one problem. No one could find Saul. He eventually turned up hiding among the baggage. Cold feet perhaps?

Yes, Saul looked the part of a king, but he was already demonstrating God's point about kings and why Israel shouldn't have one. Sometimes God gives us what we want so we can see that it is not what we need.

Minute Meditations: 1 John 1:1-3

St. John begins his first letter in a tone of wonder and awe. “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life...” John and the other apostles have seen the Word of Life in person, the One Who was from the beginning, before the beginning, from all eternity, but has appeared in time. They have seen Him with their own eyes, looked at Him, touched Him. The Incarnation really happened. God really became Man, and they have been in the closest of contact with Him. This is amazing, truly marvelous, and John can't seem to emphasize it enough.

John goes on to explain that “this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us...” Jesus is Life, and Life walked on this earth in person. John can and does testify to that. He declares that the Eternal Life was with the Father and has been revealed to us. Jesus has come among us to give us eternal life, to give us Himself.

John and the other apostles “declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” This fellowship is koinōnia, communion, the intimate sharing of life and love. Because Jesus, Who is Life, has given us eternal life, we have entered into communion with Him and with the Father and with all who share in this eternal life.

Minute Meditations: Psalm 101

In Psalm 101, the psalmist assumes the role of a sovereign, a king, and since this is psalm of David, he was indeed a king by right and by divine decree. The king declares that he will “walk with integrity of heart” in his house and avoid all that is “base.” He will hate evil works and perverseness of heart. He will destroy the one who slanders a neighbor, and he will not tolerate haughtiness or arrogance. He will live with the faithful and the blameless and turn out those who are lying and deceitful. Finally, he claims that he will destroy “all the wicked in the land” and cut off evil doers from God's city.

We might think that this is all well and good for David. He is a king, after all, and he has authority over his subjects. But what about us? We can all try to walk with integrity and avoid what is base and hate evil works. But we can't control other people. We aren't kings like David. Or are we?

When we were baptized, we were anointed as priests, prophets, and kings to share in Jesus' priesthood, prophetic office, and kingship. We are priests in that we offer ourselves to God, giving Him all that we have and all that we are. We offer ourselves and our lives especially in the Mass, joining ourselves to Jesus, Whose sacrifice is made present on the altar in an unbloody way that we might participate in it.

We are prophets when we proclaim the Gospel by our words and deeds, declaring God's plan for His people and for the world. Prophets don't just tell the future. They interpret the meaning of the past and the present according to God's revelation.

We are also kings when we rule over ourselves, striving to obey God's moral law and putting our passions under the control of our reason and both under the control of God's commandments and will. This is how we can live out Psalm 101. We can destroy the one who slanders a neighbor by destroying the temptation to do so and by repenting when we fall into sin in this area. We will not tolerate haughtiness and arrogance in ourselves. We will surround ourselves with the faithful and the blameless, and we will strive to be that way, too. We will turn out lying and deceitful thoughts, words, and deeds from our minds and our lives. We will destroy the wickedness in our own hearts and cut off the evil in the place where God dwells, and He dwells in us.

Minute Meditations: 1 Maccabees 5

By the beginning of the fifth chapter in the First Book of Maccabees, Judas Maccabeus and his brothers have made great strides. They have roundly defeated and pushed back the Gentile armies. They have rededicated the Jerusalem Temple and reinstated the proper worship of God in Jerusalem. They have made a name for themselves, or rather they have allowed God to make a name for them, among Israelites and Gentiles alike. Now the brothers are setting out on offensive campaigns to defeat more enemies and rescue persecuted Jews.

Before he sets out on his new ventures, Judas appoints Joseph, son of Zechariah, and Azariah to stay in Jerusalem, lead the people, and guard the city. He tells these two specifically that they are not to go out and fight the Gentiles. They don't have enough men, and it is not their place.

Joseph and Azariah, however, don't listen. They want to go out and make a name for themselves, too. They want to do brave deeds and earn glory just like Judas and his brothers. But this is not God's will for them, and they fail miserably.

Joseph and Azariah take an Israelite army and set out to defeat some Gentiles, but they run into quite a problem when the Gentiles defeat them instead and chase them all the way back to Judea. Two thousand Israelites die in the process, and only by the grace and protection of God do the Gentiles stop at the border of Judea and not come crashing in and reconquer Jerusalem.

We might wonder what Judas says to Joseph and Azariah when he returns after another successful mission and discovers what they have done in their pride and disobedience. In any case, we can learn from the lesson of Joseph and Azariah not to go beyond the orders and tasks that God in His wisdom and through His representatives has given to us. When we set out on our own in disobedience, we might just meet with disaster.

Minute Meditations: Tobit 12

There is a delightful irony in the Book of Tobit. Tobit sends his son, Tobiah, on his journey with the prayer that an angel may watch over him and guide him. He speaks more than once about angels, trusting in their protection and praying for their assistance. Yet Tobit does not realize how literally God is answering his prayers until Tobiah returns from his journey.

Tobiah has been guided along his road by a kinsman he knows as Azariah (the name means “God helps”). Azariah is a wise man who gives Tobiah plenty of good advice about getting rid of a demon, getting married, and healing his father's blindness. Tobiah, however, has no idea who his traveling companion and mentor really is.

The father and son learn in chapter 12 that Azariah is none other than Raphael, one of the archangels sent to answer the prayers of Tobit and of Tobiah's new wife, Sarah. Imagine how shocked they must be. They fall flat on their faces in terror, but Raphael raises them up and tells them not to be afraid. God has answered their prayers and provided for their prosperity. Now they must focus on praising Him and living according to His law. Raphael is merely God's instrument, carrying out His will in every detail.

On this Feast of the Guardian Angels, then, let us reflect on our angelic companions and think about how many times they have acted to protect and guide us on our journey through life. Then let us praise and thank God for His loving care.

Minute Meditations: Ezekiel 24:15-27

God often called on the prophet Ezekiel to portray what would happen to the Jews if they failed to obey God during the time of their trials and the exile. Ezekiel acted out various scenarios, like packing up his baggage and going off into exile or binding himself with ropes or cutting off his hair with a sword, to show the Jews exactly what they would be in for as a result of their stubborn hearts and stiff necks.

Yet in this chapter, God calls on Ezekiel to act out a prophecy in a way that must have hurt the prophet deeply. The Jews are about to lose everything through their sinful behavior. They are about to be carried off into exile, leaving many of their loved ones dead behind them.

Therefore, God tells Ezekiel that he must, by his own experience, prophesy what is about to happen. Ezekiel will lose the delight of his eyes, yet he must not mourn. He must not go through any of the normal rituals. Rather, he must go on as if nothing has happened.

That evening, Ezekiel's wife dies. He does not mourn or weep. He does not eat the bread of mourning or cover his face or tear his clothing or remove his sandals. Rather, he speaks God's message to the Jewish people, telling them that they, too, will lose the delight of their eyes. God will allow the sanctuary to be destroyed and their city to fall. Their loved ones will die in the streets. Yet they will not have time to mourn or weep. They will not follow the normal customs of honoring the dead. Rather, they will be carried off into exile.

Think of how difficult this must have been for Ezekiel. He loved his wife, but he loved God even more. Even in his grief, he was obedient, and he trusted that God's plan was perfect no matter how heartbreaking it seemed.

Minute Meditations: 1 Samuel 20

By all human standards, Jonathan should hate David with a passion. After all, Jonathan's father, Saul, is the king of Israel, and Saul has decided that David is too much of a threat to his reign. David is just too successful and too popular. And even worse, rumor has it that God has designated David as the next king of Israel. According to the normal progression of things, that honor should go to Jonathan. Yes, Jonathan should be furious that this young shepherd is set to usurp his throne. He should be joining with his father to try to eliminate this nuisance.

But Jonathan does not hate David. In fact, he loves David far more than he loves himself. The friendship between these two men has only grown over time, and it is deep and secure. Jonathan defends the innocent David before Saul (receiving Saul's angry insults in the process), warns David of danger, and helps David flee.

Indeed, David and Jonathan make a covenant, binding themselves in friendship for as long as they live. Jonathan easily places himself second to David in authority, acknowledging God's choice over his own honor and committing himself to the love of friendship above all worldly glory.

Minute Meditations: Lamentations 3

Lamentations is certainly not the most cheerful book in the Bible and with good reason. The Jews are experiencing some of the worst trials of their history. Jerusalem and the Temple have been destroyed. Most of the people have been carried off into exile. Those left behind are in deep mourning and near despair. Yet they must express this sorrow somehow, and the poetry of this book helps them do so.

In chapter 3, the writer (perhaps the prophet Jeremiah) groans under affliction. His enemies have worn him down. He walks in darkness, desolate and terrified and broken. All around him are poverty and exhaustion. He feels like he is a target. Something in the shadows is just waiting to ambush him. He has no peace, no dignity, apparently no future.

Yet this writer does have hope. “The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, His mercies are not spent,” he proclaims. Indeed, God renews His mercies every morning. He remains faithful. The writer is silence and still before God, waiting for Him, seeking Him. The writer accepts what God allows him to suffer, knowing that God has His reasons and His own perfect timing. God may punish (and indeed people deserve that punishment), but He also takes pity. He will raise up His people once again. He will console them and draw them to Himself in love, showering down an abundance of mercy.

Minute Meditations: Daniel 6

We all know and love the story of Daniel in the lions' den, but perhaps it is just a little bit too familiar, and perhaps we miss the full significance of it.

Daniel is one of the top guys in in the Babylonian court. He is the king's right-hand man, so to speak, and this means that other people are really, really jealous of him. Therefore, several of them get together and plot Daniel's downfall. It isn't even that they think they will take his place; they just don't want him to have his place! How typically human that is.

So these fellows get the king to sign a document ordering everyone to worship no one but the king himself for thirty days. If anyone worships or prays to another god during that time, the penalty is a quick trip to the lions' den. The conspirators know that Daniel is a Jew and that there is no way he will ever worship the king or stop worshiping and praying to God. They think they have him.

For a while, it seems that Daniel is indeed in hot water. The conspirators find him praying to God (they are watching for him to do this), and they run straight to tattle to the king. The king, of course, doesn't want to throw Daniel in the lions' den. He likes Daniel, and he relies on him as his top adviser, but he quickly discovers that he is bound by his own decree. With great regret, he throws Daniel to the lions, hoping that Daniel's God will save him.

God does save Daniel. An angel comes and clamps the lions' mouths closed so that Daniel spends the night in peace and doesn't get eaten. The surprised and grateful king lets his adviser out the next morning and throws the conspirators to the lions instead. Since no angel comes to save them, they are devoured at once.

Daniel has taught us some important lessons here. We worship God, period, only God. We do not worship what the world calls us to worship, be that money or fame or possessions or science or government or “experts” or anything else. We worship God, and we pray to Him and trust in Him to care for us. This is what Daniel does. Imagine how frightened he is as he faces those lions, yet he knows that if God wants him to come out alive, he will. If not, then God has something better in store for him. We would do well to remember that, too.

Minute Meditations: Genesis 18

Hebrews 13:2 reminds us, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” This is exactly what happens to Abraham in Genesis 18. Abraham is sitting out the heat of the day in front of his tent when he sees three men nearby. He doesn't hesitate for a moment. He jumps up and invites them to wash their feet and rest while he prepares a meal.

Abraham has no idea who these three men really are. They could be saints or thieves, but he makes no judgment. Rather, he sees them as three tired travelers who need the rest and refreshment that he can provide, and he is quick to set himself at their service, no matter who they are.

Abraham moves quickly, telling Sarah to bake some cakes and ordering a servant to prepare a calf. When the meal is ready, he does not share it with them. Rather he assumes the role of a servant, standing near the men to make sure they have everything they need while they enjoy the food.

Are these three men angels? The three Persons of the Blessed Trinity? Angels representing the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity? We don't know, and neither does Abraham, but he provides the very best for then. In turn, they bring him the very best of news. By this time next year, God will have fulfilled His promise to Abraham. Abraham and Sarah will have a baby boy. Now there's a fine reward for a little bit of hospitality!

Minute Meditations: Ruth 1

Ruth was a Moabite woman. She was a descendent of Lot's son, Moab (Lot was the nephew of Abraham who got into some trouble in Sodom and Gomorrah), but Moab's descendents did not worship the God of Abraham. They were pagans who worshiped a god by the name of Chemosh (and probably other gods as well).

Ruth, however, married into an Israelite family when she took as her husband Mahlon, one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi who had come to Moab to escape a famine. Many people would have considered Mahlon's marriage to Ruth to be unwise at best and perhaps even sinful. Israelites were often warned against marrying pagan women, for their wives could draw them away from the worship of the one true God and into pagan rites.

Ruth had not been married very long, though, when she became a widow. Mahlon's brother, Chilion, also died, leaving Orpah, another Moabite, as his widow. The brothers' father passed on as well. Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah were left on their own.

Naomi told her daughters-in-law to return to their people. She would not bind them to herself. They were young, and there was still a chance for them to marry again and have children. Orpah went, but Ruth would not. In the short time she had spent with her new family, Ruth had found love and truth. Ruth was already devoted to her mother-in-law, and she refused to leave Naomi to fend for herself. Instead, she would take the Israelites as her own people, and she would accept God as her own God.

The two women traveled back to Bethlehem, the family's home town, where although she didn't know it, Ruth was about to embark on a new adventure that would one day make her the direct ancestor of Jesus Christ, God Incarnate.

Minute Meditations: Micah 6

At the beginning of Micah 6, God is bringing a lawsuit against his people. He asks the mountains to hear His case as He contends with Israel. God asks His people, “What have I done to you?” God wants to know how He has ever wearied them. The answers here, of course, are that God has done everything good for His people. He has cared for them and nourished them in every way. He has never wearied them. Rather He has supported them. When they have become weary, it has been firmly their own fault because they have not obeyed God and followed His plan for their prosperity.

God then goes on to remind His people exactly what He has done for them. He brought them out of slavery in Egypt and settled them in their own land. He protected them the whole way. He let them see His “saving acts” so that they could know Him. Yet they have failed to know Him.

The prophet then places words in the mouths of the people of Israel as they wonder how they can please God. They ask if they should bring thousands of burnt offerings and tens of thousands of libations of oil. They wonder if they should even sacrifice their firstborn sons to try to atone for their sins. These ideas show how little the people know about God. They have become completely blind. God has told them so many times what He wants, yet they still say crazy things like this.

The prophet is quick to correct the people. He reminds them that God has indeed revealed what He wants. He wants them to do justice, to act rightly toward Him and toward each other according to His moral law. What's more, He wants them to love kindness. In other words, they are to go beyond strict justice and show mercy, just as God does. Finally, God wants them to walk humbly beside Him. He wants them to remain in His presence always and to make their lives a journey of intimate companionship with Him.

Minute Meditations: Amos 7

Amos never intended to be a prophet. In fact, it was probably the last thing he ever thought he would do. He was, after all, a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees in the southern kingdom of Judah. His life was simple and probably relatively peaceful. But then God called him.

And Amos responded with a “yes” to God’s call, as difficult as that probably was for him. He went to the northern kingdom of Israel to preach against the people’s sins and to warn them that if they continued to break their covenant with God, horrible things would happen to them.

Amos had no prophetic training, and he was not a member of the guild of prophets. What’s more, he delivered an unpopular message. The people didn’t want to hear about things like sins and covenant curses. They didn’t want Amos to interrupt their routines or poke their consciences. Through their priest Amaziah, therefore, they told Amos to go away.

But Amos doesn’t go away. He continued the mission that God had given him. He may not particularly have liked it. He probably often wished that he could go home to his sheep and his trees. But he found courage in God and in His will, and he kept right on speaking the truth even though people hated him for it.

Minute Meditations: Exodus 4

Moses is standing in the presence of God, Who is speaking to him out of the burning bush that is not consumed by the divine fire. He has heard God pronounce the Divine Name. He has seen his own staff turn into a snake and back into a staff. He has witnessed God change his hand to the hand of a leper and back again. God has told Moses that he is to go to the Pharaoh and speak as God's representative that God may bring the people of Israel out of Egypt and settle them in the Promised Land.

After all this, Moses stands there before God and whines that he isn't a good speaker. He is far from eloquent, he tells God, in fact he is “slow of speech and slow of tongue.” God assures Moses that He can handle the problem. After all, God is the One Who makes the deaf hear and the blind see and the dumb talk. He can take care of Moses. We would think that Moses would be comforted and strengthened by God's assurances and by the miracles he has just seen.

But the next words out of Moses mouth are “O my Lord, please send someone else!” Isn't that so very human? Moses is scared and insecure. He doesn't want to step out of his comfort zone. He doesn't want this mission. He can do without the honor. He just wants to be left alone to hide.

If God had been incarnate at that moment, He probably would have rolled His eyes and shaken His head at Moses. But He doesn't give up on Moses. Instead, He eliminates Moses' last excuse. Moses' brother, Aaron, speaks fluently and well, and when God tells Moses what to say, Moses will, in turn, tell Aaron. Aaron will serve as the mouthpiece. Moses is out of excuses, and he sets out on his mission.

Minute Meditations: Psalm 50

In this psalm, God summons His people to stand before Him that He may judge them. They have made a covenant with Him, but they have broken it, and now God takes them to task for the lack of correspondence between their external practices of worship and the rest of their lives.

God admits that He does not rebuke the people for the number of their sacrifices. They're good at going through the motions, and they do so frequently. Their burnt offerings are always before God. But God won't accept any of them, for the people are not offering them in the right spirit. They seem to think that God might be hungry and that they are giving Him something He needs (as with the pagan “gods”). God puts an end to this notion. If He were hungry (which He isn't), He certainly wouldn't tell them. He owns everything and could simply take what He wanted. What's more, the people seem to think that they can buy God's favor by doing their external rituals exactly right. Apparently, they know very little about God and what He really wants.

So God tells them what He really wants. He wants His people to bring their voluntary sacrifices to Him out of love. He wants their gratitude. He wants them to keep the vows they have made to Him, i.e., the covenant. He wants them to stop merely reciting His laws and actually start living them. He wants them to stop speaking evil and telling lies. He wants them to be generous and loving with one another. He wants them to stop being hypocrites.

Minute Meditations: 1 Kings 19

Elijah is at the very end of his proverbial rope. He has just defeated (with God's help, of course) all of the prophets of Baal, and for good measure, he slit their throats. But now Queen Jezebel (whose pet prophets are all dead) is out to get Elijah. Elijah decides to get out of her way...and fast.

The prophet goes a day's journey into the wilderness and decides that he has had enough. He sits down under a broom tree and has a little talk with God. “It is enough,” he tells Him; “now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Elijah is tired and discouraged, and he doesn't know what to do next. In fact, he would rather not do anything at all. He is quite content, he thinks, to sit there and die. He lies down and goes to sleep.

God, however, does not take Elijah's life. In fact, He completely ignores that request. An angel tells Elijah to get up and eat and drink. God is sending him on a journey. Elijah obeys, eating the cake and drinking from the jug of water that have miraculously appeared. Neither the miracle nor the food phase him all that much, though, and he merely lies back down, still discouraged and unwilling to move. The angel pokes Elijah a second time, telling him again to eat and drink because the journey will be too hard for him otherwise.

This time Elijah finally moves. He eats and drinks and finds himself so much strengthened by the simple yet miraculous food that he can walk for forty days all the way to Mount Horeb, where he will have an important meeting with God.

So whenever we're feeling discouraged, down-in-the-dumps, and sluggish, we should remember that we are in good company. Even the great Elijah had his moments. But Elijah got up (eventually), ate, and obeyed God. We, too, must get up out of our slump, eat and drink (God has given us an even more miraculous food than that which appeared to Elijah – the Eucharist!), and go on about fulfilling God's will.

Minute Meditations: Tobit 1

By the time we meet Tobit in the first chapter of the book that bears his name, he has long been in exile in Nineveh, carried away from Israel when the Assyrians captured the Northern Kingdom and resettled the Israelites in Nineveh and other cities in their domain.

Tobit, however, looks back to his days as a young Israelite in the lands of his tribe of Naphtali. Even when everybody else was going to worship at the shrine of the calf that King Jeroboam set up, Tobit would not. He continued to go and worship in Jerusalem as God had commanded. He brought his first fruits and paid the proper tithes. Even though he was the only one of his tribe (or even the only one in the Northern Kingdom) to go to Jerusalem, Tobit did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. He was determined to follow God's will.

It takes courage to go against the crowd. It takes courage to be the only one to stand up for what is right. It takes courage to show one's stance by one's actions and to continue to do that against the opposition of everyone else. Tobit had that courage. He chose God over human beings, and he invites us to do the same.

A Note on the Collect Series

Thank you for reading my series on the weekly Collect prayers. I have now written a full year's set of these reflections. To begin the series again with the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time, please refer to the post made on July 5, 2020.

Please watch for a new series about praying with poetry coming soon!

The Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

O God, Who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

the grace of adoption – When we were baptized, we entered into God's covenant family. We became His sons and daughters by adoption. Jesus is God's only-begotten Son, but we are given a share in Jesus' own sonship and become sons and daughters in the Son, heirs in the Heir, sharers in the divine life, and members of the divine family.

children of light – Are we children of light? Do we let God's light shine through us? Do we seek to become transparent like the Blessed Virgin Mary who magnifies the Lord? Or do we allow ourselves to give in to the darkness of the world around us? Do we let it darken our minds and hearts? Do we let it take over our lives?

grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error – This world presents so many errors as though they were great truths. We are so often told what to think and what to believe by people who are clearly trying to manipulate us for their own purposes. When we give in and accept the errors, we allow the darkness to overshadow us and to sneak into our minds and hearts. Our thoughts become warped and degraded, and we often forget how to think properly at all. We allow others to control us rather than seeking the truth and the light.

always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth – Jesus says, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” He also says, “I am the Light of the World.” When we stand in the bright light of truth, then, we stand in Jesus. In Him we find the truth. In Him we are filled with light and life and peace. In Him we must stand and allow Him to shine through us to those still wrapped in darkness. We must stand as a lamp on a table or a city on a hill and let His light and His truth pour through us to a world that desperately needs that light and truth.

The Collect for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love Your holy name, for You never deprive of Your guidance those You set firm on the foundation of Your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

we may always revere and love Your holy name – In the Bible, a name refers to the one's character, personality, and even person. It is much more than a mere word used arbitrarily to identify someone. So God's name, then, stands for Who He is. When we revere and love God's holy name, we revere and love Him. And we must pray for the grace that will help our reverence deepen and our love broaden, for we can never revere and love God too much.

You never deprive of Your guidance – God guides us always. He nudges us and inspires us. He reveals His will in many different ways. He teaches us through Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. He pokes our consciences. God is always speaking to us in one way or another. But do we listen? Do we recognize His voice? Do we notice His messages? Do we follow His guidance? Or do we go our own way?

those You set firm on the foundation of Your love – Take a few minutes today to reflect on God's love and how it serves as the foundation of our lives, our faith, and our own love. God has set us firm in His love. We cannot lose it. God will always love us infinitely more than we can imagine. Yet we can fail to accept and return that love or to spread that love to others. May we always embrace God's love and make it the foundation of our entire existence.

The Collect for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

O God, strength of those who hope in You, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without You mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of Your grace, that in following Your commands we may please You by our resolve and our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

strength of those who hope in You – God is our strength at all times, in all circumstances. Without Him, we could not live or move or breathe. We could do nothing good without His grace working in us. And for those of us who hope in Him, who know Him and place our trust in Him, He provides even greater strength and grace that we may shine His light to the world and get everyone else to realize that without God, they are nothing at all.

graciously hear our pleas – God always hears our pleas, and He always hears them graciously and with love. He just doesn't always answer them as we might wish. When we pray words like this, we are actually reminding ourselves of God's love and care rather than asking Him to change in some way.

without You mortal frailty can do nothing – This is a true statement that we often forget. We like to think that we can do all sorts of things on our own, that we are actors in the play that we write for our lives. Yet we are actually dependent upon God for everything. We are weak, frail creatures who can do nothing without our loving God to give us the ability to think and speak and act and even be.

in following Your commands we may please You by our resolve and our deeds – Our good intentions please God even when we fail miserably in carrying them out. He always gives us a chance to repent of our sins and failures and to embrace His mercy and forgiveness. Yet it is, of course, much better to obey God's commands in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Again, though, we cannot do this on our own. God gives us His grace to help us obey Him. Our job is to accept that grace and use it, allowing it to fill us and motivate us that we may live our lives in, with, and for God.

The Collect for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

O God, Who in this wonderful Sacrament have left us a memorial of Your Passion, grant us, we pray, so to revere the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood that we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of Your redemption. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

in this wonderful Sacrament – The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith and life. It is wonderful beyond our imagination because in the Eucharist we receive Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

a memorial of Your Passion – In the Eucharist, Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross is re-presented, made present again in an unbloody manner, that we may participate in it. It is the very same sacrifice. We do not crucify Jesus again. Because Jesus is both God and Man, His sacrifice stands outside of time. Yet Heaven touches earth at every Mass that we may enter into Jesus' Passion anew.

to revere the sacred mysteries of Your Body and Blood – Unfortunately, many Catholics fail to understand the infinitive treasure we have in the Eucharist. They receive without, as St. Paul says, discerning the Body and Blood of Christ. Perhaps the Mass is a merely routine or habit to some, an obligation to others. Yet they do not realize that Jesus is really present in the Host and in the Chalice. They lack faith, so they also lack the reverence they ought to show toward this sacred mystery. And this is a tragedy on so many levels.

we may always experience in ourselves the fruits of Your redemption – May we open ourselves to Jesus when we receive Him in the Eucharist. May we allow Him to cleans us with His mercy, fill us with His grace, and strengthen us with His love. May we live a Eucharistic life, filled with His presence, radiant with His joy, and generous in His blessings.

The Collect for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

God our Father, Who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race Your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore Your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

God our Father, Who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification – Here we have a majestic portrait of the Blessed Trinity: God our Father, the Word of truth, and the Spirit of sanctification. We should take a few minutes on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity to ponder the mystery of the Trinity, to reach out in gratitude and worship to the Father, Son, and Spirit, three in one. God our Father loves us so much that He gave His only Son, the Word, the way, the truth, and the life, to die on the cross for us. The Father and the Son love us so much that they send their very Love, the Holy Spirit, to guide our journey toward increasing holiness.

Your wondrous mystery – The Trinity is now and will always be a mystery. We will never fully understand how God is three Persons and one God, but we believe and we adore.

we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory – The Catechism beautifully teaches, “The divine persons are really distinct from one another. 'God is one but not solitary.' 'Father', 'Son', 'Holy Spirit' are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: 'He is not the Father Who is the Son, nor is the Son He Who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit He Who is the Father or the Son.' They are distinct from one another in Their relations of origin: 'It is the Father Who generates, the Son Who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit Who proceeds.' The divine Unity is Triune” (#254).

and adore Your Unity, powerful in majesty – The Catechism also explains, “The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three Persons, the 'consubstantial Trinity.' The divine Persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: 'The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God.' In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), 'Each of the Persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature'” (#253).

The Collect for Pentecost

O God, Who by the mystery of today's great feast sanctify Your whole Church in every people and nation, pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and, with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed, fill now once more the hearts of believers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

the mystery of today's great feast – Pentecost is a mysterious feast indeed. Take a moment to reflect on how the Holy Spirit appeared in a noise like a strong, driving wind and how He came to rest on the apostles in tongues as of fire. Think about how He made the apostles speak in many different languages and how He made those listening hear in his or her own language. Consider how the Holy Spirit lives in us when we are in a state of grace. We are His temple. What a truly awesome mystery!

sanctify Your whole Church in every people and nation – The miracles of language at Pentecost are a sign, a foreshadowing, that the Church would spread across the whole world and present the Gospel in the language of every people. And the Church has done exactly that. Let us pray that people will open themselves up to the sanctification God offers through His Holy Church in every place.

pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth – The Holy Spirit showers us with His gifts: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. We should take some time on this Pentecost to reflect on how these gifts are operating in our lives and to pray to the Holy Spirit to increase them and to give us the grace to embrace them and use them well.

with the divine grace that was at work when the Gospel was first proclaimed – By God's grace, three thousand people were baptized on the first Christian Pentecost. Their hearts were set on fire, and they longed to plunge into the depths of God's love. That same divine grace is at work today. Do we respond with the same loving intensity?

fill now once more the hearts of believers – Fill our hearts with Your grace, dear Lord. Fill our hearts with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Fill our hearts with Your love. Fill our minds with knowledge and wisdom. Fill our souls with the very presence of the Holy Spirit, indeed, with the indwelling presence of the Blessed Trinity, that we may enjoy You now as we wait to see You face to face in Heaven.

The Collect for Ascension

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ Your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Gladden us with holy joys – Holy joys. Isn't that a wonderful phrase? Do we take delight in holy things? Are we joyful when we pray and go to Mass? Are we glad to read Scripture and study our faith? Do we rejoice with the saints and angels? If not, we should!

make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving – Our rejoicing and devotion must be accompanied by thanksgiving. We should thank God for every blessing He gives to us, and those blessings are innumerable. We will never be able to count them all. God gives us everything we have and everything we are. We should strive to express our gratitude deeply, widely, and frequently.

for the Ascension of Christ Your Son is our exaltation – With the Ascension of Jesus, humanity has entered into the very midst of the Blessed Trinity. Think about that for a moment. Jesus has raised human nature to infinite heights. What's more, He promises that we shall join Him in Heaven and sit with Him on His throne, first in our resurrected souls and later in our resurrected bodies, which will be rejoined to our resurrected souls. How can we not exalt at the top of our lungs, praising God for the wonder and beauty of His love?

where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope – Jesus is now in Heaven with part of His Body, the Church, i.e., with the saints who have gone before us. Yet we, too, are members of His Body, and we are called as pilgrims to travel through this world, following Jesus all the way to Heaven. We are called to proceed in hope, the assurance that by God's grace, we will reach our destination even though we are not there yet. We look forward with faith, hope, and love to the day when Jesus will come to take us home to be with Him forever.

The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

Grant, almighty God, that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy, which we keep in honor of the risen Lord, and that what we relive in remembrance we may always hold to in what we do. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy – Easter is all about joy. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. He brings us to new life with Him, making us new creatures and preparing us for eternal life with Him. Our devotion should be wide and deep, reflecting our joy and gratitude, the newness of our lives, and our recognition of the grace and salvation that is ours in Jesus.

in honor of the risen Jesus – Easter is not a one-day celebration. It lasts for weeks in order to give us plenty of time to celebrate the miracle of Jesus' resurrection and to worship our risen Lord in a special way. Further, every Sunday no matter what the liturgical season is like a mini-celebration of Easter as we worship the risen Jesus and marvel at the divine life He has given to us.

what we relive in remembrance – At every Mass, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is re-presented to us, and He is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist. In Baptism, we died and rose again with Him. We were plunged into His death and resurrection sacramentally. In the Mass, we renew the covenant we entered into with our God at Baptism and welcome Him into our bodies and souls, minds and hearts, in the most intimate way possible.

we may always hold to in what we do – Our lives, every single aspect of our lives, must be immersed in and guided by the risen Lord. Our thoughts, our words, and our actions should all be focused firmly on Jesus. We must live for Him as He lives in us.

The Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us, that those You were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism may, under Your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us – When we were baptized, we died with Christ and rose to new life. We entered into a covenant with God, becoming His adopted children, members of His family, the Church. We renew that covenant every time we receive our Lord in the Eucharist. The Paschal Mystery plays out in our lives as we continually strive to die to ourselves and embrace the will of God, to surrender to our Lord and live for Him, to take up our Cross and follow Christ, and to receive the new life He gives us.

You were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism – Baptism is not merely a symbol; it changes us ontologically, in our very being. It indelibly marks us as God's children. It infuses us with sanctifying grace and divine life. It fills us with the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity. It makes us new creatures in Christ, sons and daughters in the Son, heirs to the kingdom of Heaven, members of Christ's very Body.

under Your protective care – How often do we reflect on God's protective care? Do we realize how much He guards us and nurtures us every day, every moment, of our lives? So why are we afraid? Why are we anxious? If God is all-powerful (and He is), if He loves us infinitely (and He does), why do we not trust Him to work all things out for good as He has promised to do?

bear much fruit – God wants us to be fruitful vines, channels of His love to those around us. We are to make His love active in the world by allowing it to flow through us freely.

come to the joys of life eternal – We can begin living eternal life right now, not fully of course, but truly, for we are new creatures in Christ, filled with the divine presence, drawn into intimacy with God, and loved beyond all telling. In this joy, we long for and make our way to the fullness of joy that we will find in Heaven.

The Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before. Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

lead us to a share in the joys of heaven – We will never make it to Heaven on our own. We must follow our Lord and allow Him to lead us with His love and His grace and His mercy. But if we do, we will begin to encounter great joy already here on earth, and that joy will blossom in Heaven in ways we can't even imagine. God wants us to begin living with Him right now in joy that one day we may experience as fully as possible the joy beyond all telling.

the humble flock – Do we behave like a humble flock that follows wherever our divine Shepherd leads? Or are we stubborn, stupid sheep that go off on our own paths and get tangled up in thorns? Worse yet, do we go chasing after another shepherd, one who sounds good and who makes nice promises but will only lead us away from God and His plan for us?

may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before – Our brave Shepherd went to the cross for us to save us from sin and death. He entered the realm of the dead where the souls of all righteous people who died since the world began awaited His arrival. He conquered death, opened the gates of Heaven, and ascended to His Father's side. Now our brave Shepherd waits for us to follow Him, but He does not wait passively. He showers us with love and grace. He gives us everything we need to embrace the salvation He holds out to us that we may join Him in Heaven. Will we bravely follow where He has led?

The Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter

May Your people exult for ever, O God, in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that, rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

May Your people exult for ever, O God – Here is the goal of our entire existence. We want to rejoice forever in God and in the eternal life He gives us with Him.

renewed youthfulness of spirit – It is so easy to feel tired and rundown, depressed and old, especially when we live in such a world as ours has become. Yet this is not God's desire for us. Jesus once told the disciples, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Children are often innocent, open, honest, filled with wonder, willing to be led, and unconditionally loving. We, too, must strive for this kind of youthfulness, putting aside our worry and cynicism, our anger and anxiety, and allowing ourselves to lean back in our Father's arms in peace.

rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption – God has made a covenant with us. He has adopted us as His own children, creating a family bond with us. We entered into this covenant when we were baptized, and we renew it every time we receive the Eucharist. When we fail and break the covenant bond we have with God, He restores it for us by His mercy. He fills us with a share in His glory. He illuminates us with His light. How can we not rejoice?

we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection – But God isn't finished yet! At the end of time, He will rejoin our risen bodies to the our souls. Hopefully, we will have been waiting in Heaven, confident in God's promises and already enjoying God's infinite love.