Prayer to St. John Paul II: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, October 22, 2022

Oh, St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing! Bless the church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading it along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream again, help them look up high again to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.

May you bless families, bless each family! You warned of Satan’s assault against this …

Accepting Jesus Changes Us Forever / Aceptar a Jesús nos Cambia Para Siempre

In the seventh grade, I did my first large paper on the weather. To this day I can recall how to forecast the weather from simple observation. Before the days when we could switch on the morning news to find out the weather or check a weather app, our ancestors used their senses. For example, the leaves of maple and oak trees react to the sudden increase in humidity prior to heavy rain and often turn upward. When the wind is switching back and forth, leading clouds to move in different directions across the sky, we can be sure that weather changes are on the way. 

Of course, we all know the rhyme: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s take warning.” 

Despite the fact that we often bemoan how inaccurate the weather reports can be, we still check the weather regularly and make our decisions about travel and clothing accordingly.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus spoke some direct and challenging words to the crowds. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Was Jesus trying to shake up the crowd so they would learn more and think about things more clearly? Even though I remember some of that science paper from seventh grade, I am famous for going out ill prepared for the weather. I forget to bring an umbrella. I put on a sweater instead of a coat. You get the idea. Is this because I don’t have any idea how to look out the window, check an app, or find the 10-day weather forecast online? I know how to do all these things. I’m just lazy and don’t really care that much about the effects of the weather on my plans. 

Jesus, in the same way, didn’t diagnose the crowds as not understanding what was happening “in the present time.” It’s not that the people couldn’t figure out that Jesus was the Messiah, that all the prophecies pointed to him, that he spoke with an authority that even the religious leaders didn’t have. Instead, Jesus called them “hypocrites.” We call someone a hypocrite who knows what is right or true but lives in denial of what they know to be right and true. Jesus was saying to them that just as they could interpret the signs of the earth and sky and forecast the weather, they did understand that he had come from God (so much so that the leaders determined very quickly they needed to kill him). They understood, but they were not willing to acknowledge and to accept he had been sent by God. To accept Jesus as the Messiah, to sit at his feet as Mary, to follow him closely as the Twelve, to be personally transformed by his parables and teachings and invitations to conversion like Zacchaeus would change them forever. This they could not accept.

There is certainly not much damage from walking in the rain without an umbrella or getting chilly because I didn’t check out how cold it really was outside. More serious, however, is not living what I know, acting on what I believe, choosing what has been chosen by God for me. The rest of this Gospel reading clearly lays out the risk of hypocrisy, of being too lazy to care about living the Gospel, of being too absorbed with the things of this earth that the Lord takes second place in our interests and in our love.

I don’t believe Jesus spoke these words to the crowd with harshness or anger. The heart of the Master was too great, his love for them and for us was a love that led him eventually to the cross for our salvation. I hear in his words a determined effort to make them see what is right before their eyes. How many times Jesus has to shake us up, remind us of what we know, and then prod us forward to accept what he is revealing to us that we might allow our lives to be changed. 

Jesus, I commit my entire self to you, every moment of my life, every breath, every thought, every desire, every word, every action. Break through my ignorance, my blindness, my unwillingness. Attract me so strongly to yourself that in a short time I will find myself renewed, created anew, transformed in surprising ways. Amen.

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En séptimo grado, hice mi primer ensayo largo sobre el clima. Hasta el día de hoy puedo recordar cómo pronosticar el clima a partir de la simple observación. Antes de los días en que podíamos ver las noticias de la mañana para averiguar el clima o consultar un app meteorológica, nuestros antepasados ​​utilizaban sus sentidos. Por ejemplo, las hojas de los arces y los robles reaccionan al aumento repentino de la humedad antes de las fuertes lluvias y, a menudo, se vuelven hacia arriba. Cuando el viento cambia de un lado a otro, haciendo que las nubes se muevan en diferentes direcciones a través del cielo, podemos estar seguros de que los cambios climáticos están en camino.

Por supuesto, todos conocemos la rima: “Cielo rojo en la noche, alegría del marinero. Cielo rojo por la mañana, advertencia para el marinero”.

A pesar de que a menudo nos lamentamos de lo inexactos que pueden ser los informes meteorológicos, seguimos comprobando el tiempo con regularidad y tomamos nuestras decisiones sobre viajes y ropa en consecuencia.

En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús pronunció algunas palabras directas y desafiantes a la multitud. “Si saben interpretar el aspecto que tienen el cielo y la tierra, ¿por qué no interpretan entonces los signos del tiempo presente?”

¿Estaba Jesús tratando de agitar a la multitud para que aprendieran más y pensaran las cosas con más claridad? Aunque recuerdo algo de ese trabajo de ciencia de séptimo grado, con freceuncia salgo mal preparado para el clima. Me olvido traer un paraguas. Me pongo un suéter en lugar de un abrigo. Entiendes la idea. ¿Se debe a que no tengo idea cómo mirar por la ventana, consultar un app o encontrar el pronóstico del tiempo de 10 días en línea? Sé cómo hacer todas estas cosas. Soy floja y realmente no me importan mucho los efectos del clima en mis planes.

Jesús, de la misma manera, no diagnosticó que las multitudes no entendieran lo que estaba sucediendo “en el tiempo presente”. No es que la gente no supiera que Jesús era el Mesías, que todas las profecías apuntaban a él, que hablaba con una autoridad que ni siquiera los líderes religiosos tenían. En cambio, Jesús los llamó “hipócritas”. Llamamos hipócrita a alguien que sabe lo que es correcto o verdadero pero vive negando lo que sabe que es correcto y verdadero. Jesús les estaba diciendo que así como podían interpretar las señales de la tierra y el cielo y pronosticar el clima, entendían que él había venido de Dios (tanto que los líderes determinaron muy rápidamente que tenían que matarlo). Ellos entendieron, pero no estaban dispuestos a reconocer y aceptar que había sido enviado por Dios. Aceptar a Jesús como el Mesías, sentarse a sus pies como María, seguirlo de cerca como los Doce, dejarse transformar personalmente por sus parábolas y enseñanzas e invitaciones a la conversión como Zaqueo los cambiaría para siempre. Esto no lo podían aceptar.

Ciertamente, no hay mucho daño por caminar bajo la lluvia sin paraguas o tener frío porque no verifiqué el frío que realmente hacía afuera. Más grave, sin embargo, es no vivir lo que sé, actuar según lo que creo, elegir lo que Dios ha elegido para mí. El resto de esta lectura del Evangelio expone claramente el riesgo de la hipocresía, de ser demasiado perezosos para preocuparse por vivir el Evangelio, de estar demasiado absortos en las cosas de esta tierra que el Señor toma un segundo lugar en nuestros intereses y en nuestro amor.

No creo que Jesús haya dicho estas palabras a la multitud con dureza o enojo. El corazón del Maestro era demasiado grande, su amor por ellos y por nosotros fue un amor que finalmente lo llevó a la cruz por nuestra salvación. Oigo en sus palabras un esfuerzo decidido por hacerles ver lo que está justo delante de sus ojos. Cuántas veces Jesús tiene que sacudirnos, recordarnos lo que sabemos y luego impulsarnos a aceptar lo que nos está revelando para que podamos permitir que nuestras vidas cambien.

Jesús, te entrego todo mi ser, cada momento de mi vida, cada respiro, cada pensamiento, cada deseo, cada palabra, cada acción. Rompe mi ignorancia, mi ceguera, mi falta de voluntad. Atráeme tan fuertemente hacia ti que en poco tiempo me encuentre renovada, creada de nuevo, transformada de maneras sorprendentes. Amén.

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Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes

Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is an author and offers online evangelization as well as spiritual formation for people on their journey of spiritual transformation and inner healing. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com My Books: https://touchingthesunrise.com/books/
Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ HeartWork Spiritual Formation Group: https://touchingthesunrise.com/heartwork/

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St. Hilarion: Saint of the Day for Friday, October 21, 2022

Abbot and disciple of St. Anthony the Great, companion of St. Hesychius. He was born in Tabatha, Palestine, and was educated in Alexandria, Egypt. He stayed with St. Anthony in the desert there before becoming a hermit at Majuma, near Gaza, Israel. In 356, Hilarion returned to St. Anthony in the Egyptian desert and found that his fame had Spread there too. He fled to Sicily to escape notice, but Hesychius traced him there. The two went to Dalmatia, Croatia, and then to Cyprus. Hilarion …

Have I Come to Establish Peace on the Earth? / ¿He Venido a Establecer la Paz en la Tierra?

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

The angels sang at Jesus’ birth: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). When we celebrate the Feast of Christmas, the birth of the Incarnate Word, God-with-us, we depict it with beautiful nativity scenes, a lone star radiant in the peaceful night sky, simple shepherds worshipping the newborn King of kings and Prince of Peace laying in a manger. It is only those who participate at Mass on weekdays who immediately get plunged in division. Starting on December 26, the Mass celebrates a number of individuals who paid the price for their faith in Christ with their very life. Saint Stephen is martyred, the Holy Innocents are silent witnesses with their death to the birth of the Son of God, and Saint Thomas Becket who engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church is murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral.

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be invited to martyrdom either through the giving of one’s life for one’s belief in Christ or through the living of one’s life out of one’s belief in Christ and adherence to his teaching. 

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

This word of the Savior is foreboding. This division sets people against one another. It certainly is easy to brush this aside as we hear the examples given by the Lord himself: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother and so forth. Someone who has followed her faith at the cost of acceptance within her own family, however, will not read those lines so glibly. I’m thinking of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City to a prominent Episcopalian family on August 28, 1774. After seven happy years of marriage to William Magee Seton, her husband became very ill with tuberculosis. She travelled with him to Italy hoping to find a cure, but he died there in 1803. While in Italy, Elizabeth discovered Catholicism through the kindness of friends who offered her comfort as she grieved her husband’s death, inviting her to Mass with them. A year later in New York, Elizabeth officially converted to Roman Catholicism. Her choice to convert resulted in three years of financial struggle and social discrimination. She opened a boarding house for boys, but when the students’ parents discovered that she was Catholic, they removed their sons from her house. Two years later, she was invited to move to Baltimore with her family and to open a school for girls. Women began to join her work and, after moving to Emmitsburg, Maryland, she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first congregation of women religious in the United States. 

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

Each of us is called to this living martyrdom, for the Lord we follow died, out of amazing love for us, on the Cross. We are worth that much in God’s eyes that he calls us to a heroic living (and sometimes dying) in imitation of our Savior. This division to which Jesus calls us may be as simple as not contributing to slander or it may be as consequential as walking away from a potential financial windfall that is at the expense of some group “on the peripheries.” It could be quiet decisions made in private or could entail very public statements. I think of Saint Francis of Assisi who renounced his wealth and his inheritance to follow the call of God to rebuild his Church. Summoned by his father before the Bishop to account for bolts of cloth he had sold for the poor, Francis famously removed his garments and gave them to his father saying, “Until now I have called you my father on earth. But henceforth I can truly say: Our Father who art in heaven.”  Francis renounced the considerable wealth of his family to embrace the life of poverty and joy to which he was called.

Today you may wish to consider: Where does the division established by Christ cut through your career? Your relationships? Your life as a Christian? 

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¿Piensan que he venido a establecer la paz en la tierra?

Los ángeles cantaron en el nacimiento de Jesús: “¡Gloria a Dios en el cielo, y en la tierra paz a los hombres de buena voluntad!” (Lucas 2:14). Cuando celebramos la fiesta de Navidad, el nacimiento del Verbo Encarnado, Dios-con-nosotros, lo representamos con hermosos belenes, una estrella solitaria que brilla en el cielo nocturno pacífico, simples pastores adorando al recién nacido Rey de reyes y Príncipe de Paz recostado en un pesebre. Son solo aquellos que participan en Misa entre semana los que inmediatamente se sumergen en la división. A partir del 26 de diciembre, la Misa celebra a un número de personas que pagaron el precio de su fe en Cristo con su propia vida. San Esteban es martirizado, los Santos Inocentes son testigos silenciosos con su muerte del nacimiento del Hijo de Dios, y Santo Tomás Becket, quien se enfrentó a Enrique II, Rey de Inglaterra, por los derechos y privilegios de la Iglesia es asesinado por seguidores del rey en la Catedral de Canterbury.

Ser un discípulo de Jesús es ser invitado al martirio, ya que sea dando la vida por la fe en Cristo o viviendo la vida por la fe en Cristo y la adhesión a sus enseñanzas.

¿Piensan que he venido a establecer la paz en la tierra? No, te digo, sino más bien división.

Esta palabra del Salvador es premonitoria. Esta división pone a las personas unas contra otras. Ciertamente es fácil dejar esto de lado cuando escuchamos los ejemplos dados por el mismo Señor: padre contra hijo e hijo contra padre, madre contra hija e hija contra madre y así sucesivamente. Alguien que ha seguido su fe a costa de la aceptación dentro de su propia familia, sin embargo, no leerá esas líneas con tanta ligereza. Estoy pensando en Santa Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley nació en la ciudad de Nueva York en el seno de una familia prominente episcopal el 28 de agosto de 1774. Después de siete años de un matrimonio feliz con William Magee Seton, su esposo se enfermó gravemente de tuberculosis. Viajó con él a Italia con la esperanza de encontrar una cura, pero se murió allí en 1803. Mientras estaba en Italia, Elizabeth descubrió el catolicismo gracias a la amabilidad de amigos que le ofrecieron consuelo mientras lloraba la muerte de su esposo, invitándola a Misa con ellos. Un año después, en Nueva York, Elizabeth se convirtió oficialmente al catolicismo romano. Su decisión de convertirse resultó en tres años de lucha financiera y discriminación social. Abrió un internado para niños, pero cuando los padres de los estudiantes descubrieron que era católica, sacaron a sus hijos de su casa. Dos años más tarde, la invitaron a mudarse a Baltimore con su familia y abrir una escuela para niñas. Unas mujeres comenzaron a unirse con ella en su trabajo y, después de mudarse a Emmitsburg, Maryland, fundó las Hermanas de la Caridad de San José, la primera congregación de mujeres religiosas en los Estados Unidos.

¿Piensan que he venido a establecer la paz en la tierra? No, te digo, sino más bien división.

Cada uno de nosotros está llamado a este martirio viviente, porque el Señor al que seguimos murió en la Cruz, por amor asombroso hacia nosotros. Valemos tanto a los ojos de Dios que nos llama a una vida heroica (y a veces a una muerte) a imitación de nuestro Salvador. Esta división a la que Jesús nos llama puede ser tan simple como no contribuir a la calumnia o puede ser tan importante como alejarse de una posible ganancia financiera inesperada dañando a algún grupo “en las periferias”. Podrían ser decisiones tranquilas tomadas en privado o podrían implicar declaraciones muy públicas. Pienso en San Francisco de Asís que renunció a sus riquezas y a su herencia para seguir el llamado de Dios a reconstruir su Iglesia. Convocado por su padre ante el obispo para dar cuentas de los rollos de tela que había vendido para los pobres, Francisco se quitó la ropa y se la dio a su padre diciendo: “Hasta ahora te he llamado mi padre en la tierra. Pero desde ahora puedo decir con certeza: Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos”. Francisco renunció a la considerable riqueza de su familia para abrazar la vida de pobreza y alegría a la que fue llamado.

Quizás podrías considerar hoy: ¿Dónde afecta tu vida profesional la división establecida por Cristo? ¿Tus relaciones? ¿Tu vida como cristiano?

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Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes

Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is an author and offers online evangelization as well as spiritual formation for people on their journey of spiritual transformation and inner healing. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com My Books: https://touchingthesunrise.com/books/
Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ HeartWork Spiritual Formation Group: https://touchingthesunrise.com/heartwork/

Feature Image Credit: remehernandez, cathopic.com/photo/9804-oracio

St. Paul of the Cross: Saint of the Day for Thursday, October 20, 2022

St. Paul of the Cross was born at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa, January 3, 1694. His infancy and youth were spent in great innocence and piety. He was inspired from on high to found a congregation; in an ecstacy he beheld the habit which he and his companions were to wear. After consulting his director, Bishop Gastinara of Alexandria in Piedmont, he reached the conclusion that God wished him to establish a congregation in honor of the Passion of Jesus Christ. On November 22, 1720, the bishop …

Apostle’s Creed (A Prayer of Faith): Prayer of the Day for Thursday, October 20, 2022

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth;
I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord,
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the …

Jesus is Coming, Look Busy / Ya Viene Jesús, Luzca Ocupado

Jesus is coming but we do not know when. And our goal as Christians is not to simply “look busy” but to be about the work that is ours. Many years ago I heard the acronym for ‘busy’ – Being Under Satan’s Yoke. It can be true that our busyness is more about the need to do something to fill our time and look productive rather than focus on what is truly important. 

St. Paul gives us a glimpse into what is important in the First Reading when he tells us we are co-heirs and co-partners, that we have the promise of Jesus Christ and are meant to share His Gospel. What does that mean that we are co-partners? It means we do not walk our faith adventure alone. We walk with a Trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Spirit who are not up there somewhere but right here, with us in our daily life, full of joys and struggles. We walk with all the saints, named and unnamed, who have gone before us. We walk with our fellow believers in our family, friends, and community. We are not meant to go through life alone. We are meant to be in community. And we are meant to serve. 

Just as the servants had a responsibility to their tasks, so do we. Once you heed the call to be a Christian, you respond by doing the will of God. We do the tasks that are in front of us faithfully and with purpose. We have all been asked much and as Jesus tells us, much will be expected of us. This is our reminder, our marching orders, to live responsibly so that when Jesus comes, we are ready. 

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Jesús viene pero no sabemos cuándo. Y nuestra meta como cristianos no es simplemente “lucir ocupados”, sino trabajar en lo nuestro. Hace muchos años escuché el acrónimo de “ocupado” en inglés como: estar bajo del yugo de Satanás. Puede ser cierto que nuestro ajetreo se trata más de la necesidad de hacer algo para llenar nuestro tiempo y parecer productivo en lugar de centrarnos en lo que es realmente importante.

San Pablo nos da una idea de lo que es importante en la Primera Lectura cuando nos dice que somos coherederos y copartícipes, que tenemos la promesa de Jesucristo y estamos destinados a compartir Su Evangelio. ¿Qué significa eso de que somos copartícipes? Significa que no caminamos solos en nuestra aventura de fe. Caminamos con un Dios Trinitario, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo que no está allá arriba en algún lugar sino aquí mismo, con nosotros en nuestra vida diaria, llenos de alegrías y luchas. Caminamos con todos los santos, con nombre y sin nombre, que nos han precedido. Caminamos con nuestros hermanos creyentes en nuestra familia, amigos y comunidad. No estamos destinados a pasar la vida solos. Estamos destinados a estar en comunidad. Y estamos destinados a servir.

Así como los sirvientes tenían la responsabilidad de sus tareas, nosotros también. Una vez que escuchas el llamado a ser cristiano, respondes haciendo la voluntad de Dios. Hacemos las tareas que están frente nuestro fielmente y con un propósito. A todos se nos ha pedido mucho y como nos dice Jesús, mucho se esperará de nosotros. Este es nuestro recordatorio, nuestra orden de marcha, vivir responsablemente para que cuando venga Jesús, estemos listos.

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Deanna G. Bartalini, M.Ed.; M.P.A., is a certified spiritual director, writer, speaker and content creator. The LiveNotLukewarm.com online community is a place to inform, engage and inspire your Catholic faith. Her weekly Not Lukewarm Podcast gives you tips and tools to live out your faith in your daily life.

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Sts. Isaac Jogues and Rene Goupil: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, October 19, 2022

In 1642 the Huron country was in great distress. Harvests were poor, sickness abounded, and clothing was scarce. Quebec was the only source of supplies, and Isaac Jogues was chosen to lead an expedition. It reached its objective safely and started back well supplied with goods for the mission, but the Iroquois, the bitter enemies of the Hurons, and fiercest of all Indian tribes, were on the war-path and ambushed the returning expedition. The story of the ill-treatment and torture of the …

Prayer for God’s Guidance: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Father in Heaven,
You made me Your child
and called me to walk in the Light of Christ.
Free me from darkness
and keep me in the Light of Your Truth.
The Light of Jesus has scattered
the darkness of hatred and sin.
Called to that Light,
I ask for Your guidance.
Form my life in Your Truth,
my heart in Your Love.
Through the Holy Eucharist,
give me the power of Your Grace
that I may walk in the Light of Jesus
and serve Him faithfully.