Wednesday - February 23, 2022
Sometimes, in prayer, God communicates to the soul, all at once, His treasures of lights and heavenly graces. Imagine that you have in your hand a golden dish, that you pour into it the extract of the rarest and most exquisite perfumes, and that you steep into it a fine cambric handkerchief; this handkerchief will yield a delicious and inexplicable odor, composed of all the perfumes. It is thus my soul feels when I receive those intimate and hidden communications.
-- St. Paul of the Cross
TODAY'S READINGS
MEMORIAL OF SAINT POLYCARP, BISHOP AND MARTYR
Lectionary: 343
Jas 4:13-17
Beloved:
Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,
spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”–
you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”
But now you are boasting in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin.
Responsorial Psalm 106:3-4, 35-36, 37 and 40
R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Alleluia Jn 14:6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 9:38-40
John said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”
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DO YOU LIVE IN THE NOW OR NEVER?
The only time we have is now. The past is gone and can now only be used as an instruction manual on how to live today. The future is only a guess, even when the Lord has revealed some of it to us. But my-oh-my how we try to get out of the present!
If we are not living in the now, we are living in the never because now is all we've got.
To let go of the past, we need to forgive ourselves and whoever else has hurt us. To let go of the future, we have to pray for it and let God be in charge of it. Whatever is going on now in your life, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant, it is a stepping stone that will take you to the future, but it is not the future.
What are you doing with today's stepping stone? Stubbing your toe? Or are you making the most of each now moment? Are you using it to honor God? Will it make a difference for all of eternity?
The message in today's first reading is a good cure for procrastination: "You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears." How humbling to realize this!
If we see ourselves as a mere puff of smoke (there's not much to see, huh?), we understand how important it is to do all that God calls us to do, commands us to do, shows us to do. We understand how important it is to not waste precious moments lingering in unholiness or unhealthy mental attitudes. We understand that we should not wait another day to get to the Sacrament of Reconciliation or to find the spiritual director we need. We understand how important it is to touch others' lives in a way that reveals God's love.
There is no room in Christianity for mediocrity. One of the deadliest sins is sloth, i.e., laziness. Do you know why this is a mortal sin, a sin that destroys our souls? Sloth -- apathy -- doing nothing when something needs to be done -- fear that paralyzes us -- procrastination of works of mercy -- delaying our vocation -- reluctance to repent: These are all weapons that the Enemy uses to keep us from experiencing and enjoying the love and purposes that God has for us. These are all spears that pierce our souls with poisoned tips.
We only have now to avail ourselves of God's love. If we're procrastinating anything that God wants us to do right now, we are now shutting ourselves off from God. "When one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin," said St. James. What is God asking you to do right now?
Today's Prayer
My God, help me to be aware that I only have this day and moment to live. I ask You to help me live one day at a time, and may each day be a praise to Your love that saved us. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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