Saturday, August 27, 2022

Gospel Acclamation: Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Take My yoke upon you, says the Lord, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

It's easy to misunderstand this beautiful command from our Lord, especially when our modern perspective fails to grasp the depths of its meaning. We may automatically cringe at the word “yoke,” for instance, associating it with a burden and a loss of freedom. But here it actually refers to a partnership and to support. Our Lord joins us to Him, and He bears our burdens with us. The weight becomes significantly lighter when Jesus is carrying it, too, supporting us and keeping us going when we might otherwise have sat down and given in to despair.

When we are yoked to our Lord, we can truly learn from Him. He sets an example for us that we may model our lives after His own. He is meek. Here is another word that is often misinterpreted these days. We might think it refers to weakness and the inability to influence others. This is not true, though. A preacher once said that meekness is simply strength under control. Jesus' power is beyond our understanding and imagination, yet He humbles Himself to reach down to us. He even gives Himself to us in the Eucharist, hiding Himself there that He may come to us in a way we can accept.

Why, then, should we ever hesitate to take Jesus' yoke upon our shoulders? Why should we not allow Him to walk with us, carry our burdens with us, and give us true freedom? Why should we fail to imitate His meekness and humility by which Jesus reaches down to us to bring us up to Him?

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Gospel Acclamation: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through Me.

Jesus' words in today's Gospel Acclamation are words that we could meditate on for our whole lives without reaching their depths. Jesus does not say that He shows the way (although He does). He says He is the way. Jesus does not say that He tells the truth (although He does). He says He is the truth. Jesus does not say that He gives life (although He does). He says He is the life.

These are statements that only God can make. Only the divine Being, the One Who is Being, can equate Himself with the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is declaring His divinity here, clearly and forcefully.

And Jesus adds that the only way to go to the Father is through Him. Only Jesus can get us home to Heaven, for He is the One Who died for us on the cross to open the way to Heaven. He is the One Who has freed us from our sins. He is the Son, and we are sons and daughters only in the Son. Jesus brings us to God the Father, and He is the only One Who can do that.

So we must cling to Jesus and accept Him as the way, the truth, and the life, the One Who can lead us home to the Father. 

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Gospel Acclamation: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

My sheep hear My voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow Me.

We are the Lord's sheep, His people who have entered into a covenant with Him and whom He cares for and protects constantly. Sheep know their shepherd, and they follow him. But do we know our Shepherd and follow Him? Or do we try to strike out on our own and get tangled up in all kinds of trouble that we could have avoided if only we would have followed our Shepherd?

We often seem to get ourselves firmly stuck in the mire of sin, chased by predators who want to corrupt our minds, and floundering around in anxiety. Yet if we want to avoid these things, all we have to do is follow our Shepherd. It's simple, but it isn't easy. Sheep aren't the brightest of creatures and, often, neither are we. We are easily distracted and influenced by the world, the flesh, and the devil. And we run away from our Shepherd.

Yet Jesus knows all this very well. He knows us perfectly, inside and out, better than we know ourselves. He sees all our faults, all our stupidity, and all our sins, yet He loves us anyway. He also sees our potential, for He has created us for eternal life. And He will lead us all the way to Heaven if we just listen to His voice and follow Him.

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Gospel Acclamation: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

We are fragile creatures. Our lives can be over in an instant. Illness and accidents are constant threats. Yet many people behave like they are invincible, like death will never catch up with them. They ignore the eternal to focus on the temporal. They spurn the things of Heaven for the things of this world. They think they are living good lives, successful lives, rich lives, but really, they are living empty lives.

Jesus tells us to stay awake and be ready. We never know when He will come to get us. Then our earthly lives will be over, and we will stand before Him. Jesus loves us, but He will not force Himself on us. He will judge us on how we have lived...with Him or without Him.

So we must stay awake and be ready through prayer, the Eucharist, Confession, and study. We must get our priorities in order and concentrate on eternal life rather than temporal distractions. In everything we do, we must put God first so that we are ready when He comes for us, ready to stand before Him in love and joy.