July 8, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Mark the Ascetic

July 7, 2017

IN GOD I TRUST

2 Maccabees 8:18

“For they trust in arms and bold acts,” he said, “but we trust in Almighty God, who with only one nod is able to overthrow both those who come against us and the entire world.”

Personal Challenge

Why is it that the only time that we call out to God to help us is when we are in the midst of a crisis? Basically, it is our personal, or collective, pride that keeps telling us that we can manage this on our own. Oh, how much we miss out on in our lives by leaving God out of our everyday activities. Oh, how many crises we could avoid by calling out to Him for every decision and every action. Here in the Maccabees passage, they make sure that everyone knows that their entire hope and trust is in their Almighty God. They know that He can be their helper and their protector, as those who are attaching them put their hope in their weapons, their past experiences, and their own pride. May I learn from this group of people how to always involve my Almighty God in my every decision and action.

July 6, 2017

WORKING IN THE HARVEST

Luke 10:2

Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

Personal Challenge

I do not believe that God only wants us to pray that He will send someone else to do His harvesting in the world. He wants us to be willing to go as one of His laborers if He calls us. Our prayers should be for those who are being harvested, the harvesters, and ourselves so that we know what role He would have us fill in the building of His kingdom. Glory be to God?

July 5, 2017

GIVING THANKS

Psalms 86:12 (85:12 LXX)

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
And I shall glorify Your name forever;

Encouraging Words

My God is so good to me. He is so good to His Church. He is so good to all of man­kind, He deserves our thanks and our worship and yet He leaves it up to us to exercise our free will and to worship Him. I choose to give my thanks to Him as the psalmist did. I choose to glorify His name as the psalmist also did. Thank You, O Lord, my God!

June 19, 2017

STANDING FIRM

2 Maccabees 6:24-28

“For to pretend such things,” he said, “is not worthy of our time of life, lest many of the young should suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year has gone over to a foreign religion, and because of my pretense for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they should be led astray through me, while I earn only pollution and defilement in my old age. For even if for the present I should avoid the punishment of men, yet whether I live or die, I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age, and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and bravely for the venerable and holy laws.”

Personal Challenge

Eleazar was a 90-year-old Jewish leader. He was well known and well respected in his community by both Jews and Gentiles. In this part of Maccabees, the king that has conquered the Jews is forcing people like Eleazar to do things that are clearly against their beliefs and their practices. Just prior to this passage, the Gentile leaders that know and respect Eleazar are telling him to just to pretend to do what the king is demanding of him and then he will survive. He makes it clear that doing the right thing for God, before the people around him, is more important than life itself. As a follower of Christ, a leader of the youth in my parish, and most importantly a husband, a father, and a grandfather, would I be this strong in a time of persecution? Only my God knows. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 18, 2017

TAKING UP OUR CROSSES

Luke 9:23-24

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."

Personal Challenge

If the cost of following Christ is denying myself and taking up my cross daily, then what does that really mean that I need to be doing? This is not an easy question to answer. God has created each one of us to be in His image and yet unique. As unique individuals, this means that we each have our own unique cross that we must bear. For some, the cross may be dealing with a lifelong or terminal illness. For some, it may be a passion or desire that we must struggle with on an ongoing basis. In all cases, what we need to take up this cross, willingly and with God's help and pursue Him as our only source of power to follow Him and become more like Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 17, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Mark the Ascetic