Prayfor2: Recent Episodes
Prayfor2
2 minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church.
Sharing the truth in love, with head and heart, faith and reason.
Some of Jesus’s encounters can seem a bit harsh. Take his interaction with the Canaanite woman from the Gospel of Matthew.
“Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”
What should we take from this? I’d suggest it’s that God doesn’t always answer our prayer immediately. It was her third plea that was heard. We’re called to not only ask boldly, but to also persist in prayer. The answer may be, “yes,” it may be, “no,” but most often, it’s, “not yet.”
Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. Grant us the faith of the Canaanite woman, helping us to persist in patience in our prayer, trusting you hold what is best for our life. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app. Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus Christ, God made man, was a great story teller. There are over 30 unique parables documented across the four Gospels. The science of story telling has shown that stories are more relatable than a lecture. Jesus, being the Divine Psychologist, understood this, and used it often during the three years he was with his disciples.
Today, let’s listen to the Parable of the Sower from the Gospel of Matthew.
”That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Let’s Pray.
Jesus our Savior. You sow many seeds of grace in our lives, including through your parables. May our hearts be rich soil for the truth of your love to spring forth and bear good fruit.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
It’s important to remind ourselves that Jesus wasn’t a meek and mild pacifist. As the Way, the Truth and the Life, His word was likened to a sword, challenging us to admit our shortfalls and work to change. And humility and change don’t come easily for any of us.
Listen to this instruction from the Gospel of Saint Matthew.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. …He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. In the book of Hebrews, we again hear of the sword of truth. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him.”
Let’s Pray.
Jesus our Messiah. You brought the fullness of truth to humanity. May we receive the sword of truth with humility, working in grace to make the changes necessary to live a life more fully in you.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
The Bible says to, “fear not,” but also says “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So which is it? In its proper context, “fear of the Lord” is a sense of awe and wonder about a God that not only created all, but is love itself. And he’s a God that knows and cares for you intimately.
According to scripture, God knew you before you were born, counts every hair on your head, and holds you in the palm of his hand. And in love, you were created to reflect His love into the world. Let’s listen to Jesus imploring us to “fear not,” in the Gospel of Matthew.
“So have no fear; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Let’s Pray.
God our loving Father. You created all, including us. Help us to fear not, and grant us the eyes to see you with awe and wonder – for the magnificence of your boundless creation, and for your intimate love of us.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus also left us an enduring gift – his very body under the appearances of bread and wine. Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
Let’s Pray.
Jesus our Redeemer. Thank you for the life giving strength you give us in the Eucharist – your body, blood, soul and divinity. May it continue to be manna in our earthly desert, and strength for our journey. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com or the Redeemer Radio app.
Mary Undoer of Knots is prayer devotion based on a second century quote from Saint Irenaeus. He said, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.”
Pope Francis has a special devotion to an image of Mary Undoer of Knots, where she is holding a white ribbon, knotted on one side and completely smooth and untangled on the other.
Today, let’s pray a prayer he wrote in her honor:
“Holy Mary, full of God's presence during the days of your life, you accepted with full humility the Father's will, and the Devil was never capable to tie you around with his confusion.
Once with your son you interceded for our difficulties, and, full of kindness and patience you gave us example of how to untie the knots of our life. And by remaining forever Our Mother, you put in order, and make more clear, the ties that link us to the Lord.
Holy Mother, Mother of God, and our Mother, to you, who untie with motherly heart the knots of our life, we pray to you to receive in your hands our intentions, and to free the knots and confusion with which our enemy attacks.
Through your grace, your intercession, and your example, deliver us from all evil, Our Lady, and untie the knots that prevent us from being united with God, so that we, free from sin and error, may find Him in all things, may have our hearts placed in Him, and may serve Him always in our brothers and sisters.
Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com or the Redeemer Radio app.
One of the mysteries of Christianity is that God chose to reveal Himself as a Trinity - one God in three persons. It can be confusing - the Islamic religion even mistakenly believes Christianity advocates three Gods, when in fact we believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit as three distinct persons, but as one God.
Why do you suppose God did this? It is because in His very nature, God is love. And love necessarily involves more than one person – a lover requires a beloved. God the Father perfectly loves Jesus the Son as a total act of self gift, and Jesus reciprocates that perfect love to the Father. And the Holy Spirit is that perfect love between the Father and Son, sent out into the world to enliven our souls to share God’s love with others.
Saint Paul captured this in his second letter to the Corinthians:
“Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Let’s Pray.
Oh most Holy Trinity. You revealed yourself to be one God in three persons to demonstrate your perfect love as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Help enliven our hearts to share that perfect love as a self gift to others.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com or the Redeemer Radio app.
Who is my neighbor?
A lawyer posed this question to Jesus after being told to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus’s response, from the Gospel of Luke, is the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who stripped and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Let’s Pray.
Jesus our Light. You call to see you in every person. Help us to love you with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
The Holy Spirit is probably the least appreciated person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the perfect love between the Father and Son, sent into the world to enliven our hearts. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at our baptism, are strengthened at our confirmation, and are living temples of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’s resurrection on Easter, as recounted in the book of Acts: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they said, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” Let’s Pray. Come Holy Spirit, come. Fill the hearts of your faithful. Enkindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be renewed. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, on Soundcloud, YouTube, or the Redeemer Radio app.
The Christian story is without parallel.
Jesus Christ entered the world to redeem mankind from its sin and model a perfect way of life. But we aren’t to simply imitate him – we are to become Him.
We are called put off the old self, and put on a new life in Christ, as Saint Paul wrote to the Colossians.
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above…not things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you….
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Let’s Pray.
Jesus our model and Redeemer. Help us to cast of the old self, and put on the new life in Christ.
Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
Veni, Sancte Spiritus, or Come, Holy Spirit, is a prayerful hymn attributed to 13th century writer Stephen Langston, Archbishop of Canterbury. Also called the Golden Sequence, the hymn was added to the Roman Missal in the 16th century, and is sung at masses around the feast of Pentecost.
Let’s pray it today, inviting the gift of the Holy Spirit to flow through us, rekindling the fire of God’s love in our hearts.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below; In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill! Where you are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away: Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray. On the faithful, who adore And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend; Give them virtue’s sure reward; Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, encouraging you to make these two minute reflections part of your daily prayer habit. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, on Soundcloud, YouTube, the Redeemer Radio app.
The ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven is a linchpin in salvation history, and the very first anecdote after the Gospels in the book of Acts. “I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this…he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven…behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Let’s pray. Jesus our Redeemer. You came into the world as love in the flesh. And you rose into heaven, redeeming us as love divine. May we see your ascension as trailblazing our path to our eternal home. Amen. This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com or the Redeemer Radio app.
One of the many reasons I became Catholic out of all the Christian churches was that it aligned with how the earliest church believed and prayed.
The mass was documented in 155 AD by Saint Justin Martyr in, “The First Apology.”
“On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read.... When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray. On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent. The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.”
Let’s Pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. You gave us the Church to guide us in truth, and the mass as a communal celebration of our faith. May the mass enliven us in hope as we are sent forth to share your truth in love.
Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or the Redeemer Radio app.
How do you ask forgiveness when you’ve really done something wrong?
Consider the prayer of Psalm 51, where King David asks for forgiveness after his affair with Bathsheba.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment. Behold, you desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones which you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise.”
Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, on Soundcloud, YouTube, or the Redeemer Radio app.
I often think about what the Apostles felt like in the weeks after Jesus’s resurrection. Waking up each morning with nervous excitement, having such incredible news to share, wondering where to begin.
The Acts of the Apostles is the first book after the Gospels, documenting the good works of twelve ordinary men in those first months. Let’s listen to one encounter:
Peter said to the Jewish people, “Let all the house of Israel know that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said …, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to /you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” How did the Apostles begin? And how would they tell us to begin? Do the next good thing. Do the next true thing. Do the next beautiful thing. Do the next sacrificial thing. Do the next faithful thing. Do the next hopeful thing. Do the next loving thing. Let’s Pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. You sent twelve ordinary men with nothing more than their encounters with you, and they changed the world. Help us to do the next good thing you place on our hearts as we share your sustaining love, joy and peace. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
When Jesus Christ came into the world as messiah and savior, He very easily could have divinely snapped His fingers and appeared. But he chose instead to be born of a woman, the virgin Mary. And Mary plays a significant role in the Church, both as His biological mother, and our spiritual mother.
The Hail Mary is an ancient prayer that honors her role in salvation history, and is rooted in the Gospel of Saint Luke.
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you”
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechari′ah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Let’s Pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, encouraging you to make these two minute reflections part of your daily prayer habit. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, on Soundcloud, YouTube, or the Redeemer Radio app.
Father of Grace and Mercy.
For a long time, I had no idea where I had come up with this introduction to prayer. It was something that just felt comfortable, and helped me start the process of praying, much like the leg kick of a baseball player helps trigger their swing.
I even had a friend come up and thank me – his Dad has asked him to pray with him, and he had no idea of how to start. All he could think of was, “Father of Grace and Mercy,” and the rest came rolling out.
Like all good things across the 2000 year history of the Church, there are very few original ideas left, and this was no exception. A quick Google search found the phrase in Psalm 145,
“The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.”
It’s also found in the Psalm 86, the book of Jonah, and the book of Joel:
“Yet even now,” says the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.”
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Help us to honor every good gift of grace and the relentless love in your boundless mercy. Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
It was Wednesday, March 11, 2020.
My daughter and her boyfriend are huge Butler basketball fans, and we planned a Spring Break adventure to New York City for the Big East Tournament.
Butler was to play Providence Thursday afternoon. We left around 5, hoping to drive halfway to DuBois, Pennsylvania, and the rest of the way Thursday morning.
News of the Coronavirus was building, and the idea of “social distancing” had just entered our conversation.
While the outbreak was declared a global pandemic that morning, there were only 1000 confirmed cases in the US - 216 in New York - so we ventured off trusting that God’s Providence, and the news from Twitter, would guide us.
At 6 o’clock, the Big 10 Tournament announced they wouldn’t allow spectators in Indianapolis, then the ACC did the same for Greensboro, North Carolina, but no word from the Big East.
Next, the NBA announced it was suspending its season. Then the president announced a travel ban from Europe. Finally, Tom Hanks and his wife were announced as testing positive. The floodgates had opened.
We arrived at the hotel around 11, and over Domino’s pizza, I asked them to discuss what they wanted to do in the morning. It didn’t take long – we all felt like God was guiding us to head back home. Little did we know how radically life was about to change.
Let’s Pray – God our loving Father. Your word is a lamp for our feet, and a light for our path. Thank you for your loving Providence as we continue to weather the storm of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Amen.
This is Mike (and Maggie) Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Much is made of the betrayal of Judas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Today, let’s listen to John’s gospel account of the Last Supper, where Jesus calls out someone else who will deny Him.
“When Jesus had spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke…
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified…Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
Simon Peter said, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward.” Peter said, “Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times.”
If we’re honest with ourselves, we recognize we all betray and deny Jesus, just like Judas and Peter. And yet he’s always willing to welcome us back with open arms, if we simply admit our mistakes and resolve not to repeat them.
Let’s Pray – Jesus our Redeemer. We often feel hamstrung by our sin, betraying you and the way you created us to thrive in this life. Help us to be conscious of our faults, that they would spur us to reconcile with you and your love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.
I’ll bet I have that song in your head now.
If you try to find this specific passage in Scripture, you’ll go on a wild goose chase. It’s actually a combination of several verses, with most of it is captured in an Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy.
“Then Moses summoned Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers…It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.””
In the wake of the Coronovirus pandemic, and frankly anytime we’re prone to worry, it’s essential to remind ourselves of the reason for our faith. God holds us in His love regardless of what happens, and won’t fail or forsake us.
And the Divine Physician tells us no less than 365 times in the Bible to, “Be not afraid,” and “Fear not.” It’s almost like we need to be reminded of it each and every day of the year.
Let’s Pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. Help us be strong and of good courage. Grant us the grace each day to not be afraid. Let us rest in the hope that you go before us always, and that by following you, you will give us rest. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church. You can find them anytime at Prayfor2.com, Soundcloud, YouTube or the Redeemer Radio app.
Why should we pray?
Because it’s healthy for us to communicate with the author of our life. In return, we open the tap of grace that God wants to pour into our lives, far beyond the small measure we give Him.
It’s like the widow that the prophet Elijah visited in the Old Testament book of 1st Kings.
“Elijah called to the widow, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said, “Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” She went and did as Elijah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail.”
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Help us recommit to prayerful conversation with you. May you bless our small cake of sacrifice with your loving grace that will not be spent, and will never fail. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. You can find them at Prayfor2.com, and on the Redeemer Radio app.
As we walk together through the Coronavirus outbreak, it’s essential to approach it with prudence and courage, based on the promise that God takes care of his people. For every challenge we encounter, our loving father delivers us through it.
Said another way, for every trial, there is consolation.
Today, let’s pray from Psalm 34, titled, “Praise from Deliverance from Trouble,” trusting that God will provide deliverance through these troubling times.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. You bear us in love as our great protector and deliverer. Help infuse us with faith to be prudent and courageous through our fear. May we continue to bless you at all times, knowing that you are good, and trusting that through every trial there is consolation. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Prayfor2, two minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church. You can find them anytime at Prayfor2.com, Soundcloud, YouTube or the Redeemer Radio app.
Saint Paul said that love is patient, love is kind. But have you have thought of love as a mighty power?
Today, let’s pray on a passage from Thomas A’Kempis’ book, “The Inner Life.”
“Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good; Love alone lightens every burden, and makes the rough places smooth. It bears every hardship as though it were nothing, and renders all bitterness sweet and acceptable.
The love of Jesus is noble, and inspires us to great deeds; it moves us always to desire perfection.
Love aspires to high things, and is held back by nothing base. Love longs to be free, a stranger to every worldly desire, lest its inner vision become dimmed, and lest worldly self-interest hinder it or ill-fortune cast it down.
Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth; for love is born of God, and can rest only in God above all created things.
Love flies, runs, leaps for joy; it is free and unrestrained. Love gives all for all, resting in One who is highest above all things, from whom every good flows and proceeds. Love does not regard the gifts, but turns to the Giver of all good gifts.
Love knows no limits, but ardently transcends all bounds. Love feels no burden, takes no account of toil, attempts things beyond its strength; love sees nothing as impossible, for it feels able to achieve all things. Love therefore does great things; it is strange and effective; while he who lacks love faints and fails.” Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Find them anytime at Prayfor2.com, and the Redeemer Radio app.
The Righteousness of Faith - Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 (290) 2/15/2020
Saint Paul went to great pains to explain to the new followers of Jesus Christ that it is our faith working in love that saves us, not our works by themselves. We don’t save ourselves – it is God who saves us. It reminds us that everything is a gift from Him, including the invitation to freely accept His love, His grace and His mercy.
It reorients our focus from self to God - from self-reliance to reliance on Him.
Let’s listen to Paul’s letter to the Romans:
The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, “So shall your descendants be.” That is why his faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness.”
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Help lead us to a life that acknowledges everything is a gift from you. May all see the righteousness of our faith, working in love, giving glory to you. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
As an agnostic and a sociologist, I always had a yearning for the truth. I just didn’t know where to find it when it came to faith.
My path paralleled that of the author G.K. Chesterton, who discovered the teachings of Jesus and His Church validated what he had seen in the natural order of the world, and documented it in his book, “Orthodoxy.”
Many struggle with the life and teachings of Jesus, who wasn’t just a prophet or messenger – he claimed to be God. Those in authority during Jesus’ life knew their power was threatened and wanted him killed. Thomas Jefferson famously cut the stories of Jesus’s miracles out of his bible.
It can all seem too fantastic to believe.
Unless it’s true.
And it is. As he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
Let’s listen today to a reading from John’s gospel, On the last day of the feast, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”
Let’s pray. Jesus the Christ. No man ever spoke like you. Help us to accept your hard truths, knowing they rest in your overarching love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Everything has its time.
During Lent, it is our time of reflection and penance. We spiritually spend time in the desert as Jesus did to take an inventory of where are not doing well, and actively work to be better. We make sacrifices, working to eliminate vices and build virtues in their place.
Today, let’s recognizing this special time in the Church year with an Old Testament reading from Ecclesiastes:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Help us to see that everything has its time. May this time in the spiritual desert of Lent help clean the darkness of our soul, that we may more brightly reflect the light of your love into the world. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Sacrifice.
There is a nearly universal tendency in all faith traditions to give something back to God. It’s our way of acknowledging everything is a gift. The least we can do is offer something back, not because God has an ego and needs it, but because we need it to ground ourselves in humility and self-gift.
Today, let’s listen to the Old Testament prophet Hosea, discussing repentance - a sacrifice that is truly pleasing to God.
Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”
What shall I do with you, O E′phraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Grant within us a contrite heart, one that acknowledges our failings and turns to you for forgiveness. Stir within us a desire for steadfast love of you and our neighbor. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Many of us will try to eliminate a bad habit or sin during Lent. Maybe it’s being lazy. Maybe it’s eating too much. While that’s all well and good, if we don’t actively work build a good habit in its place, studies show we will likely fall back into the bad habit.
Saint Peter, one of the twelve disciples, and designated by Jesus Christ as first pope of the Church, said this,
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today, let’s pray to make this our best Lent ever. Let’s pray that God would help us root out the sin or vice that plagues us, and plant a virtue to grow and flower in its place.
Lord, take away my pride and replace it with humility Take away my envy and replace it with kindness. Take away my anger and replace it with forgiveness. Take away my sloth and replace it with zeal. Take away my lust and replace it with purity. Take away my gluttony and replace it with self-control, Take away my greed and replace it with generosity. And loving Father, take away my doubt, fear, and hatred and fill it with faith, hope and love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
These central tenants of Lent redirect our focus to our relationship with God, the discipline of sacrifice, and being a gift of self.
All three are addressed by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew,
“When you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites; they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, don’t look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Please bless our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, that we would be more loving and sacrificial. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Find them anytime at Prayfor2.com, and the Redeemer Radio app.
Where does the Catholic Church get its authority?
From Jesus Christ. He gave his apostle Peter, or Rock, that authority to bind and loose while instituting the Church in the gospel of Matthew:
“And so I say to you, you are Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The Church is later described as the body of Christ, with Christ as the head, meaning one cannot exist separate from the other. Trying to be a follower of Jesus apart from the Church is essentially spiritual decapitation, as he promised to be with His bride for all time.
Listen to Jesus, confirming this promise while sending his Apostles out as the newly formed Church:
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Let’s pray – Jesus our Redeemer – you created the Church on the rock of Saint Peter. May we trust the necessity of authority in preserving the unity of the Church as the body of Christ, with you as the head. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2 - to them anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Is there a more common stereotype than, “Catholic guilt?”
We are actually called to a life of joy, lived in the truth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we live in an era of relativism, where truth is said to be a personal choice, or outright denied. C.S. Lewis even said, “When you hate the truth, the truth sounds hateful.”
Guilt, and a conscience properly formed in truth, are the core of our spiritual nervous system.
Guilt is like putting your hand on a hot stove – you quickly become aware something is wrong, and are compelled to do something about it. God doesn’t want you to keep your hand on the stove, just like he doesn’t you wallowing in guilt.
Listen to David writing in Psalm 32… Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit.
Because I kept silent, my bones wasted away; I groaned all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer heat. Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, “I confess my transgression to the LORD,” and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy – you long to free us from guilt and shame. Help us appreciate guilt as a call to action, a spiritual hot stove that inspires our repentance and return to the truth of your love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2 - two minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Love is all you need.
John Lennon’s song may not have been theologically complete, but it was on the right path. Love is PRIMARILY what you need.
Why?
Because God IS love – it is His very essence, and because you are created in His image and likeness, it is part of your very essence. You are happiest when recognizing that you come from love, and that your purpose in life is to love, sacrificing self-interest and becoming a self-gift.
As essential as the theological virtues of faith and hope are, they are both meant to point us to the ultimate, which is love - the Divine nature of God Himself. Listen to Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, interchanging the words God and Love…
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails….So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy, you are the author of love. Help us rest in the beating heart of your love, while inspiring within us action to share your love with all we encounter. While love may not be all we need, help us recognize the primacy of your Divine love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2, offering two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Why do I have to confess by sins to a priest…why can’t I just confess directly to God?
This is a common objection to the sacrament of confession. The answer is that Jesus, being the Divine Psychologist, knew this would not satisfy our human nature. He knew that we would need to be fully accountable – taking responsibility that we had done wrong, and making a full account of it.
He also knew that we would need a person to person encounter to share that, and to know we were forgiven. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, delivers words of forgiveness that we need to hear.
Confession was not an invention of the Church. It was a foundational gift of Jesus Christ, given in an appearance to His apostles after his death and resurrection in John chapter 20…
“Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy – you gave us the gift of confession as the Divine Psychologist. Help us to recognize how healthy it is to be cleansed from the bonds of guilt and shame, and freed to become the very best version of ourselves – the person you uniquely created us to be. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2, offering two minute prayer reflections on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Many try to reduce Jesus Christ to a, “great moral teacher” to escape the magnitude of His divinity, and the demands of his teachings. But Jesus claimed to be much more than a great moral teacher – he claimed to be God.
Let’s ponder this with C.S Lewis, from his book Mere Christianity,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. Let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, …I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”
Let’s Pray – Jesus our Redeemer – Thank you for breaking into our human world not as a liar or lunatic, but as the Way, the Truth and the Life – our God and our loving Lord. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2 - two minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
EYES UP Matthew 14: 22-32 1/22/2020 (287)
Is there anything more frustrating than falling into recurring sin? Why do we ebb and flow in the spiritual life?
There is a clue in the Gospel of Matthew, where we see Peter ebb and flow in dramatic fashion.
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side…When evening came, the boat was being tossed about by the waves…. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him they were terrified. “It is a ghost.” At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter replied, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter takes a leap of faith, trusting Jesus will support him. But as soon as he takes his eyes off Jesus, he begins to sink. We thrive in the spiritual life when our eyes are up, fixed on Jesus. We fall when we lose sight of him.
Let’s pray – Jesus our Redeemer. Help us to keep our eyes up and fixed on you, that we might abide in your love and the thrive in the life of holiness you designed us for. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly. You can find Pray For 2 at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
BLESS THE LORD O MY SOUL - PSALM 103 - 1/23/2020 (290)
I was recently given Psalm 103 as a penance after confession as a way to dwell in the God’s rich mercy.
Today, let’s pray this psalm of gratitude:
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more…. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Amen.
This is Mike Kelly. You can find Pray For 2 at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
BELONG BELIEVE BEHAVE Matthew 11:28-30; Revelation 22:17 (292) 1/24/2020
How do we join a new group? Typically, we receive and accept invitation to belong. Second, there is recognition of shared values, or belief. Finally, we modify our actions to align with the group, or behave.
Belong, believe, behave.
For someone newly approaching faith communities, it can feel like this order is mixed up. It may feel that I have to believe or behave a certain way before I can belong. Even worse, I may see hypocrisy in how those who belong and claim to believe actually behave, and be driven away.
The beauty is that Jesus invites all. He famously derided the rich and powerful, instead seeking out and inviting the outcasts - the materially and spiritually poor. And the Church he founded is a meant to be hospital for the broken, not a museum for the perfect, including the hypocrites.
And all – including you - are welcome.
Let’s listen today to couple of these invitations.
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.”
Jesus, in the Gospel of Matthew, says,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Let’s pray – Jesus our light. You say, “come.” Help us accept this free invitation. May we all know that we belong in your love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at Prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
All people sin. But at the same time, you are not defined by your sin. That is secondary. Your primary identity is a beloved son or daughter of God, the creator of the universe and father of all. Accepting Jesus’s free gift of grace reconciles you from your sin.
So I want to caution you about calling yourself a sinner. The devil, the great accuser, wants you to fall into the trap of identifying with and wallowing in your sins. But Jesus Christ came into the world precisely to liberate you from them. And He gave the Church the gift of the Sacrament of confession so when we fall into sin, we can again be reconciled.
Saint Paul went to great pains to explain this to the Romans,
“as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Let’s pray – Jesus our Redeemer. You came to call sinners to a new identity, that of a beloved son and daughter of the father of Love. Help us accept your grace to reconcile in you, that we would bask in the light of your mercy, granting us the freedom us to be all you designed us to be. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Most of us think of an epiphany as an enlightening revelation or discovery – an “aha moment.” In the Church, it means manifestation, as in the Christmas story of Jesus, where he became present to the Magi, and they recognize Him as the promised Messiah and Savior of the world.
Today, let’s pray with the Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah, where the Messiah is predicted. See if you recognize some of the elements of the Epiphany story that will take place hundreds of years later.
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Mid′ian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
Let’s pray – Jesus our Messiah. You are our epiphany – God made manifest in the world. May the light of your love and truth be a revelation in our lives. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Why did Jesus enter into the world?
The simple answer was to say, “I love you.” Jesus loves you right where you are, but he also loves you too much to leave you there. This great light appeared in the darkness to shower grace into our sinful nature, but only if we are willing to accept that grace.
Listen to the prophet Isaiah, talking about this coming Savior nearly 700 years before his birth on Christmas.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Mid′ian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.
Let’s pray – Jesus our Savior. You came to say, “I love you.” Help us to welcome the light of that love into our hearts. Help us to thrive in your grace as we continue to strive toward a life of holiness. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Shepherds, wisemen, or magi?
Whichever you call them, their story in the Gospel of Matthew is an intriguing part of the Christmas narrative.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled…; and he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’”
Then Herod summoned the wise men …and he sent them to Bethlehem… they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was… they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Let’s pray – Jesus our Savior. May the light of your love inspire us like the star of the East, and may we be changed like the Magi by our encounter with you. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Many of us struggle with seasonal blues. There is the loss of the warmth of summer, and the winnowing daylight, hitting a trough on the Winter Solstice.
It is not a coincidence that Jesus was born on one of the darkest days of the year. The timing of Christmas is providential, warming our hearts in the middle of the dark and cold.
From the first words of the account of His life, Jesus is called, “the light of the world.” Like a match struck in a dark room, that relatively small amount of light can overcome what seems like an overwhelming amount of darkness.
Saint John began his gospel account this way,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Later, John would share,
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
This light wasn’t just a flash in the pan. Jesus promised to be with us until the end of the age, as an eternal and enduring light amidst our trials and darkness.
Let’s pray. Jesus our Redeemer. Thank you for your light amidst the darkness of the Christmas season. Help us rest in the peace of your enduring light. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
There are few more memorable opening lines in all of literature than the opening of the Gospel of Saint John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory… And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.”
Let’s pray. Dear Jesus – full of grace and truth. You are the Word made flesh, who came to dwell among us. Captivate our hearts with the wonder of your Christmas entry into the world. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Today, let’s imagine standing as a shepherd in the countryside of rural Judea 2000 years ago.
It’s pitch black, with only the occasional bleat of a sheep breaching the calm. Close your eyes and breathe in the smell of your flock, and the peace of the night.
Now imagine your fear when a bright light appears, surrounding a creature larger than you’ve ever seen. It assures to not be afraid, then shares the best news you will ever hear.
Picture yourself as the shepherd in this Christmas account of the birth of Jesus from the Gospel of Saint Luke,
“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
Let’s pray – Jesus our Redeemer. You break into the darkness as the light of the world. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
That’s the description many scholars use for the Old Testament book of Isaiah. It is rich in foreshadowing the coming of Jesus, and a staple of the daily readings in the Advent season.
Today, listen to the excitement and urgency of this prophet. He can barely contain himself, comparing the coming of Jesus and the Kingdom of God to the vindication of the city of Jerusalem.
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
Let’s pray – Jesus our Redeemer. You sent prophets like Isaiah to foreshadow your coming into the world. Bless our Advent, as we prepare for your vindication to shine forth like the dawn. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at prayfor2.com, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Do you ever think of Christmas as adoption day?
When God sent His son, Jesus Christ, into the world, He began the reconciliation of
humanity to Himself. This relationship had been severed by the original sin of Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Through the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we
were redeemed, making us adopted sons and daughters of God the Father.
Listen to Saint Paul, writing to the Church in Ephesus, speak of our adoption.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us…In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.”
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You sent your son, our beloved Lord and Redeemer, into the world to reconcile us to you. Bless our Advent preparations as we await this ultimate gift, the gift that arrived on our adoption day. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
“Give me a sign!”
Is there a person out there that hasn’t questioned God by asking for a sign to prove he exists and loves us?
Jesus even called us out in the Gospel of Saint John, saying,
“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
The irony is that Jesus Christ was, and is, the ultimate sign of God’s existence and love for us. Not content to be remote or distant, Jesus not only came into the world, but continues to enter into us in the Holy Eucharist at every mass.
As we continue our Advent preparations for Christmas, let’s listen to the sign given to Ahaz in the Old Testament book of Isaiah,
“Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel (meaning God with us).”
Let’s pray. Jesus our Savior. We ask for signs to affirm our belief in you. Help us to recognize with new eyes that you are the greatest sign of God’s love for us. May we trust in faith and rejoice in hope this Advent season, knowing you are truly Emmanuel - God with us . Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Today, let’s pray from Isaiah 11, a passage rich in hope, prefiguring the coming of Jesus.
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
This is Mike Kelly. You can find Pray For 2 at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Jesus Christ carries many titles – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the World. Another role prefigured in the Old Testament book of Isaiah was a unifier of nations – the Prince of Peace.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Listen to Saint Paul imparting the spirit of this Prince of Peace as he writes to the Romans…
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name.””
Let’s pray. Dear Jesus – you came into our world to be a unifier of nations, the Prince of Peace. Help us to Welcome one another, as you welcomed us, for the glory of God. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly. You can find Pray For 2 at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Mary’s fiat, her “yes,” where she accepts the message that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the child of God, Jesus Christ, is memorialized in the Gospel of Saint Luke.
Today, I’d like to propose that Joseph also had a fiat, when he honorably accepted the Mary’s pregnancy.
Listen to the account in Matthew,
“The birth of Jesus Christ took place this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.”
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You challenged Mary and Joseph with the miraculous pregnancy of Jesus. Help us to recognize both of their fiats, as they provide models for the “yes” you call us each to in following you in faith.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
The season of Advent is a season of waiting. For kids, it’s the seemingly never-ending wait for acres of presents under the tree Christmas morning.
But it’s primarily about preparing our hearts, waiting for the breach between Heaven and Earth, where God took form in human flesh, to dwell among us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Waiting builds up the virtue of patience. I laughed when I first heard someone caution, “Be careful about praying for patience, because God may just give you the struggles that are necessary to build patience!”
Listen to Saint James urging us to be patient in waiting on the coming of Jesus,
“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors. As an example of suffering and patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Shine the light of your love on our Advent preparations, as we patiently wait for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help renew within us a sense of awe and wonder that you would become one of us. Build within us a joyful anticipation as we exercise the virtue of patience. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
John the Baptist calls out the Pharisees and Sadducees for not bearing good fruit,
foreshadowing Jesus’s talk on the vine and branches. Both use trees and plants as
analogies for our works of faith. Both share the same dire warning for those that don’t
bear good fruit.
John The Baptist said,
“Bear fruit that befits repentance… Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Jesus said,
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.”
When I hear someone say they need to find themselves or their purpose in life, I want to
jump on a couch like Tom Cruise and say, “Your purpose is to discern and cultivate the
gifts and talents God has uniquely gifted you, and give those to others in loving service!
Go bear good fruit!”
You were made to be a gift. This is where you will find deep, sustained joy, even amidst
evil and suffering.
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You designed us to be gifts of self, each with a unique set of gifts and talents. Help inspire us to bear good fruit in you – our faith working in love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
The Advent season reawakens us to a name originally introduced in Isaiah - Emmanuel, meaning, “God is with us.” The Creator of the world didn’t dispassionately spin the world into existence, step back, then wish us the best of luck. He so intimately knows and loves us that he chose to become one of us.
Listen to the Gospel of Matthew…
“The birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit…An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el”(which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.”
Let’s pray. Dear Emmanuel - God with us. Help us to appreciate the intimate love you have for us, taking on human flesh to enter our world, and continuing to do so through communion in the Holy Eucharist. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly. You can find Pray For 2 at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio ap
Why God?
This is a very natural and common reaction along our road of faith, questioning or even blaming God for our trials and afflictions.
Why would you take my child from me? Why do you allow war? Why did you let me fail?
In cases where it’s because of our own decisions, Proverbs even says,
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,his heart rages against the Lord.”
Job is a famous Old Testament figure that suffers many afflictions. Listen to Him speaking to God,
“I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.”
While it is a very healthy process to question God and our faith, we must always lift our eyes to a more universal truth – that God is love, and that all of His creation falls under that loving umbrella.
We trust, in faith, that any suffering we endure must be part of a greater good, whether building up our own patience and resolve, or the good of the greater body of Christ.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. We are fragile vessels that are prone to question our faith and want to blame you in our affliction. Help remind us of your overarching love, that we would endure through trials knowing they are part of your bigger plan of love for our lives and all of humanity. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
One of the arguments proponents use is that Jesus doesn’t say anything against gay marriage. Homosexuality is discussed both prior to Jesus in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, and after in New Testament letters of Saint Paul, among many other sins.
What does Jesus say about marriage?
“Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’. So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Marriage, designed by God, is the perfection of the bond between one man and one woman, until death, for benefit of the individuals and the natural procreation and raising of children. The perfection of the bond between those with same sex attraction is Christian friendship.
That said, we as the Church need to recognize that those with same sex attraction are beloved brothers and sisters, created in the image and likeness of God. We are to treat them as Christ in our midst - that is loved and welcomed.
We all have our sins we struggle with in life. Our challenging task is accompanying and loving one another without judging, while simultaneously holding another to account to truth as we grow in faith.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You created marriage. Help us to recognize the wisdom in your creation, while seeing and loving our brothers and sisters with same sex attraction as you do. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Have you ever thought of Mary Poppins as a Catholic Theologian?
Saint John revealed that, “God is love” and Jesus Christ called himself, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” so our call to share the truth in love is full of divine implications.
Jesus routinely conveyed the loving mercy of His Father. He was also fearless in sharing hard truths. A deeper dive reveals an intriguing underlying pattern.
In many of his encounters, including the woman caught in adultery, Jesus initiated non-judgmentally. He pointedly challenged her accusers that the one without sin could cast the first stone against her, and they all left. It was only after engaging her as a beloved child of God, saying He did not condemn her, that He finished with truth – “go and sin no more.”
Jesus shares the truth in charity, but leads with love.
Where does Mary Poppins factor into this? She famously sang, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” The sugar is the sweetness of love. That helps us to swallow the medicine of what can be bitter truth. Don’t you find it easier to accept hard truth when you first trust the person sharing has your best interest at heart?
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You sent your son into the world to reveal your divine truth, and shine the light of your merciful love into our hearts. Help us heed you call us to share the truth in charity, while also modeling the example of Jesus as we lead with love. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Have you heard the story of the man living in a house facing an imminent flood? An authority drives by to recommend the homeowners evacuate. The man responds, “I have faith that God will save me,” and ignores the ride.
The floodwaters begin to rise, forcing the man to the second floor of the home, and authorities send out a rescue boat. The man again declines, exclaiming, “I have faith that God will save me!”
The waters continue to rise, forcing the man to his roof. A helicopter flies by and beckons him to hop in. The man again responds, “I have faith that God will save me!”
The waters soon overcome the house, and tragically, the man drowns. He is taken to the judgment seat, where he is incredulous. “I am a man of great faith in God – why didn’t He save of me?!” The judge responds, “Well we sent a car, and a boat, and a helicopter…”
The moral of this tongue in cheek story is that God works through various means, including other people. Jesus draws us together into the body of Christ, as a community, the Church. We are designed to bear one other’s burdens, and to lift one another in times of trial.
Some disparage the Church as, “a crutch,” but like the man in the story, we ignore these gifts God to our peril.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You call us to faith in you. Help us recognize the many ways you answer that faith, including through the community around us. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
I once heard a non-Catholic ask a priest why they couldn’t receive communion.
While we encourage Christian unity, Scripture sets a very high bar for communion. In saying, “Amen,” and accepting the Eucharist, we profess to believe all the Church teaches, and that our soul is in a state of grace, that is, not in a serious state of sin.
Saint Paul shared this on the gravity of receiving communion…
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,
“This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.”
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy – you gave us the Eucharist as the new manna from heaven. Help ignite within us a renewed respect for the gravity of communion. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
ZEN BEGINNER’S MIND = COME TO ME WITH THE MIND OF A CHILD
As I came into the Church, I was intrigued by the overlap between beliefs of Christianity and other religions.
When Jesus said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” it reminded me of the concept of “Beginner’s Mind” in Zen Buddhism. Each encourages a childlike humility, full of faith and wonder.
In the gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus, said,
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This discovery validated the Church’s teaching that God revealed much through the natural order and natural law. These truths are true no matter your religion or social construct.
But the fullness of truth is found in the Catholic Church, where the truths of natural law are combined with divine revelation – God speaking through human prophets via the Holy Spirit. Those two, combining faith and reason, paint the full picture of truth, shared in the love of the Tradition and teaching authority of the Church.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You shine the light of your love through the pillar and bulwark of truth, the Catholic Church. Help us to approach all you reveal like a child, with a beginner’s mind, full of humility, awe and wonder. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
How do we discern the will of God? Saint Paul told the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect
A simple formula for discernment is ask, test and trust.
First, ask. The book of James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously…and it will be given him”
Second, test. In Thessolonians it says, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit, … but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Finally, trust. In Proverbs, we hear, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
By first asking God, we recognize that there is a God, and we are not Him. By testing, we focus on good choices. In trusting, we remove our human anxiety, freeing us recognize God’s loving will.
And the best way to do this is by journaling. By documenting your cycles of asking, testing, and trusting, you will see patterns of the Spirit guiding you.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. In your love, you give us free will to pursue our own path in life. Help us to ask, test and trust, that we may discern well the path you have designed for us. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
The Church recently recognized John Henry Newman as a canonized saint of the Church. A brilliant 19th century poet and author, Newman was an Anglican convert to Catholicism from England. While we believe that there are many people in heaven, the canonization process recognizes those who lived lives or heroic virtue in this life, and are interceding on our behalf to Jesus in heaven.
Today, let’s dwell in the prayer of this newly recognized saint…
God had created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created be for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about. Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
You are the light of the world. Jesus figuratively passed His torch to us in the Gospel of Matthew,
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Today, let’s pray a prayer alternately known as The Radiating Christ Prayer or the Fragrance Prayer by Saint John Henry Newman… Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine. It will be you, shining on others through me. Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example. Amen. This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Peace be with you. Peace means so much more than a lack of conflict. It’s rooted in the Jewish word, Shalom – which means both hello and goodbye, but is also meant to convey a wish for harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility to the hearer. It is a very holistic, and hence holy, expression of faith, hope and love.
Today, let’s dwell in the richness Jesus meant to convey when He said, “Peace be with you,” to “Doubting Thomas,” in the Gospel of John.
Thomas (who was called Didymus, the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy – you sent us Jesus to bring your Kingdom of peace into the world. Help us to dwell in your wish for our harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility, as we hear you say, “peace be with you.” Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
What is your image of God? In taking with a good friend, he shared that it’s hard to relate to God because we have no image of him. God revealed himself to many in the Bible, but typically cloaked himself, as He did to Moses in the book of Exodus.
Moses …came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. .. God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Why does God have to cloak Himself? Because infinite love is that overwhelming. Imagine God as pure white light, a light that would annihilate us. Then picture it striking a prism and splaying out into various colored beams. The beams are created nature, divine revelation, the Church, prayer, the Sacraments, and His son, Jesus Christ. He cloaks Himself in various physical forms that appeal to our physical nature without overwhelming us, each their own beautiful and unique way of revealing and conveying His love.
Let’s Pray – God our loving Father. Help us to encounter you in the many ways you reveal yourself to us, and help us to trust in the blinding power of your infinite love. Amen
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
God calls us to comfort the mourning. When the sister of one of our small Christian Community members passed away, we struggled with how to comfort them.
We discovered a video on an ancient Jewish tradition called “Sitting Shiva,” which seemed to share the Latin root of, “compassion” which means, “to suffer with.” The intent is to sit with the mourning person, with no expectations for conversation, but to simply be present and suffer with them.
Eight of us crowded into our small front room. We watched the video, then said we are going to sit shiva with you. Our friend smiled, shook his head and laughed, and then the words came rolling out. He laughed, and cried, sharing stories for nearly an hour and a half.
This spiritual warrior of a man, who had put his entire family on his back during the funeral, was finally allowed to mourn himself. Our group still sees that as one of our favorite meetings – not for what we put into it, but for allowing the Holy Spirit to move through our silent support.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Father of Grace and Mercy – Help us to set aside our fears and sit shiva with those who mourn. Allow us to be channels of your peace, even in our silence. Amen.
This is Mike Kelly with Pray For 2. Listen to them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
There are multiple translations of the Bible, largely because the original texts were written in Hebrew and Greek. Some words carry added meaning that English can’t fully articulate.
One such word in Old Testament Hebrew is the word chesed, used in the prayer of Psalm 118. The word has been translated as love, as mercy, but the most thorough may be, “steadfast love.” It reflects the covenantal relationship God has with us – we are family, and there is an enduring loyalty in God’s love and mercy.
Let’s pray the Psalm today, reflecting on the Divine Mercy and steadfast love of God.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say: his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say, his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the LORD say, his mercy endures forever.
In danger I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is with me; I am not afraid; what can mortals do against me?
I was hard pressed and was falling, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
I thank you for you answered me; you have been my savior…. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his steadfast love and mercy endure forever. Amen
As an agnostic, I questioned a lot. I believed there had to be a creator - the world seemed far too complex, with too many contingencies, to be an evolutionary accident. But it felt like this creator had spun the world into existence, threw up his hands, and wished us all best of luck in sorting life out. God seemed far off and unapproachable.
As I came to faith, I realized that not only is God approachable, He is also an intimate and loving Father that longs for relationship with you and me, His beloved creations.
God listens. He responds. Maybe not immediately, or in the way we would hope, but He is not remote or aloof. He loves you deeply, and has a loving plan for you and your life.
Let’s listen to how God, who is love, encourages us to approach Him, in the gospel of Saint Matthew:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy – you thirst for your children to approach and know you. Help us to rest in the comfort of your love, and grant us the confidence to ask, seek and knock, knowing the door of your love will be opened to us. Amen.
Diversity. There is virtue in diversity when we recognize the dignity of every human person, and our unity as members of the one body of Christ. But diversity has increasingly been used to demonize and divide.
As Bishop Robert Baron said, “The demonic power is always one of scattering. It breaks up communion. But Jesus, as always, is the voice of communion, of one bringing things back together.”
Saint Paul addresses our diversity in both his letter to the Romans and his first letter to the Corinthians…
For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Today, let’s pray that our diversity leads us to unity, as members of the one body of Christ, using Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians….
I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Amen.
I remember my daughter, who was in first grade, running home with a picture she had colored. It was wonderfully messy, yet I appreciated it for the joy she had put into and the love with which she shared it.
I think God views our acts of faith like that first grader art project. As we pray this famous prayer from Thomas Merton, dwell in the mind and heart of God. Picture Him smiling down on you like that proud parent, not because you’re perfect, but because you are loved.
My Lord God I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.
There’s a hole in your bucket, dear Liza. This line from a children’s song published in Germany circa 1700 is a great analogy for our spiritual life. While are faith is often strong, we hold it in a fragile vessel that leaks. And if we don’t routinely seek to replenish our faith, our bucket can run dry.
This points to the genius of the sacraments. Our physical encounters with the grace of God refill our buckets, to the point that it overflow out onto others. God pours out that grace into us, and we channel that grace on to others.
Listen to Saint Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians,
For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of [Jesus] Christ. But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy. You gave us the sacraments as strength for our journey, and a way to tap into the grace you want to pour into our hearts and through our actions. Help us to recognize the hole in our bucket and plant within us the desire to seek you frequently through your sacraments. Amen.
It is better to give than receive. Do you remember where that is in the Bible? It’s a trick question – it’s actually a quote of Saint Francis of Assisi. But the concept is very much rooted in Scripture.
Listen to this from the book of Proverbs:
One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. A liberal man will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
And this from Saint Paul's second letter to the Corinthians:
Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. God made us for love and to love. We do that most effectively when we sacrifice self interest and become a self gift. Yes, it is enjoyable to receive gifts and to have our love reciprocated. Yet think back to your childhood and Christmas time, when you matured from wanting presents to the joy of watching others open your gifts. Cultivating a giving heart is at the root of a new life in Christ.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy – you made us in love to love one another. Help us to recognize our unique gifts and talents, and plant within our hearts the grace to give those gifts to others in love, knowing it is truly better to give than to receive. Help us to sacrifice self interest and become a self gift, loving one another as you have loved us. Amen
There is a popular notion that most people go to heaven, yet Saint Matthew describes the path to heaven as a “narrow gate”, and that the road to destruction is wide.
And yet we know that God desires all to return to heaven.
In Saint Paul's first letter to Timothy, he says God, “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.”
This is echoed by John, “Christ died in expiation for the sins of the whole world.” No one is irredeemable. We also know God doesn’t punish those, who through no fault of their own, know nothing of Him.
Does Hell fit what we know of a just and merciful God? We know He gives us free will to choose the good of this world and the rewards that follow, or to choose the bad, with its raft of consequences.
Because of Gods tendency toward mercy, you could say that the only people in Hell are those that choose to be there, declining Gods loving invitation to heaven. If we don’t choose to accept his mercy and heaven, we may effectively choose Hell.
Let’s pray today for all Souls, but especially those that don’t know God, along with those angry or dispirited with Him. May the light of love and truth break into their lives. Let all choose true love and the eternal joy of heaven. Amen.
Why do Jesus and Saint Paul make such a big deal about those who followed the law versus those who professed faith? Because those following the law thought it was their works and actions earning them salvation instead of recognizing it as a free gift from God.
And yet, our faith must work in love, as Saint Paul shared in his letter to the Galatians. Saint James even went so far as to say that, “faith without works is dead.” It’s not faith or works that saves us, it’s faith AND works.
We can think about faith and works using another analogy of Saint Paul’s – running a race. Initially, we stand outside the racetrack. God gives us a free ticket to enter the race – a ticket we did nothing to earn, but that are free to accept in faith. Once we enter, we have to run the race, and run it well to keep the faith.
Let’s pray Saint Paul’s second letter to his student Timothy in hopeful anticipation that we run our race well, with our faith working in love.
“For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.” Amen
My son and I were filling out our March Madness brackets, and we looked up the odds of achieving a perfect bracket. A Duke math professor calculated the odds at 1 in 9 quintillion, which is 9 followed by 18 zeros. Would you believe that the odds of you existing are even more improbable?
A Harvard professor calculated the odds of your mother meeting your father at 1 in 20,000, and staying together long enough to marry and have children at 1 in 2,000.
Mom has 100,000 eggs and Dad produces 4 trillion sperm during their reproductive years, so the odds of the one egg and the one sperm meeting that resulted in you are 1 in 400 quadrillion.
Add that to the odds of your parents meeting and staying together, and your improbable existence is 1 in 1.6 septillion, or 1 followed by 25 zeros. Said another way, you are 170 million times more likely to fill out a March Madness bracket that to exist! And that’s only considering one generation!
Let pray today from Psalm 139, marveling at the miracle that each of our lives is.
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!
My very self you know. My bones are not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me unformed; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. Amen
Today, I’d like you to impart a sense of urgency around both forgiveness and the sacrament of confession. Too often, we choose to dwell in unforgiveness and unforgiven sin. Jesus was clear about reconciling quickly in the Gospel of Matthew…
You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
While recognizing forgiving and asking for forgiveness are hard, reconciling quickly is part of healthy Divine psychology. We should act with the urgency we do when our car is about to run out of gas. Commit to confession as soon as fall you into serious sin. And forgive others quickly, especially when you don’t feel like it – it is healthier for you and for the other person.
Let’s pray – Loving Father, help us to tap into your forgiveness in the Sacrament of confession, and help us to emulate your unyielding mercy by forgiving others quickly. Before we bring our gifts to you, let us to go first and be reconciled. Amen.
Following the daily readings of the Church a part of your daily prayer effectively makes you a member of the world’s largest book club. No matter where you go in the world, in solidarity you would hear the same readings on any given day.
Like a good detective novel, the daily readings of the Church show the ties between the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament is peppered with clues of a coming Messiah who will save the world, which we see fulfilled in the New Testament by the coming of Jesus Christ, the son of God.
The daily readings of the Church also allow you to read nearly the entire bible over three years, and do so in context. It is truly one of the most underappreciated gifts of the Church.
Scripture? All of scripture is divinely inspired and fruitful for teaching? Word of God sharp like two edged sword, separating Bone from marrow?
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy. You sent your Holy Spirit to inspire the authors of the scriptures, and the Church to discern the bible. Help us to appreciate the genius of the daily readings – the world’s largest book club - in coming to know, love and serve you more effectively. Amen.
Seven is a sign of perfection in the bible, and the seven words in Psalm 46:10 might be a perfect prayer.
Be still and know that I am God.
Let’s pray this in a new way today, beginning with the first word, and building from there.
Be…In a world that emphasizes doing, Lord help me simply be, so I may dwell in your grace, your mercy, your love.
Be still…Heavenly Father – You speak most clearly in silence. Help us quiet the noise, that we could hear your still small voice.
Be still and know…You are the Father of Wisdom – give us eyes to properly apply the knowledge of the true, good and beautiful in discerning your will.
Be still and know that I AM…You described yourself to Moses as the great, “I AM.“ Inspire in us a renewed sense of awe and wonder of you as our Divine Creator.
Be still and know that I am God…Father of grace and mercy, you are love itself. We thank you for every good grace you afford us – help us to shine the light of your love into the world. Amen.
Imagine being torn in half. If we believe scripture, that is precisely what happens during divorce. Because a man and woman are brought together in the sacrament of marriage and become one flesh, the act of divorce tears that one flesh in half. Divorce is not a separation. It is a mortal wound to what God has united together. And it’s why we grieve a divorce like we do a death – because it is a death.
Listen to Jesus in October 7th’s gospel from Mark, with special attention to the one flesh of marriage.
“The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
Let’s pray - Father of Grace and Mercy – please give us a new reverence for marriage. Help us to honor that it is you that unites a man and a woman together, and respect the one flesh the sacrament creates. Amen
Pray For 2 offers a two minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
Disquieting. It’s the best word I can come up with to describe the effect the abuse crisis has had on my faith. Sin should disquiet us. It’s a rupture to the natural order of the true, good and beautiful. And yet it shouldn’t disquiet it so much that we lose our faith. Jesus created the Church to perfect love and truth, but uses imperfect souls to convey them. And In the calculus of the Church, grace outmatches the productivity of sin. We know how the story ends – love wins.
Listen to this reading from Paul to the Romans
“If, because of one mans’ trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those wo receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ…For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Father of Grace and Mercy – We stand disquieted by the abuse crisis within the Church. As unsettled as we are, please help us stand in the grace of faith. Remind us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. And help us be a channel of that grace. Amen.
Pray For 2 offers a two minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
I have to do something. After the initial grief and anger felt upon hearing of the coverup within the abuse crisis, I knew this was our call to action. The lay people of the Church can no longer sit back.
Each of us, as members of the one body of Christ - the Church – have a particular role. Each of us has specific gifts and talents that we are supposed to be using for the good of the whole, and God is prompting you now to use them. Whether that’s intercessory prayer, counseling victims, serving on an lay oversight board, writing letter to the editor - you are called to do something.
Listen to Saint Paul explain this critical role in his first letter to the Corinthians:
“…so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.”
Father of Grace and Mercy – The abuse crisis is a stark wake up call to the laity within the Church. Help us to prayerfully discern the role you are calling us to, and fill us with the grace to act on it. Lord, haunt us until we do – for the victims, for all of the good and faithful clergy, and for the unstaining of the good news of the Gospel. Amen.
Pray For 2 offers a two minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
The abuse crisis ripping through the Church should shake each of us to our very core. That some would not only use their position of trust within the Church to victimize others, but also cover up the abuse, should be unconscionable.
Positions of power and prestige will always draw some that look to exploit them. It is a stark reminder that we are all fatally flawed and in need of ongoing renewal in our savior, Jesus Christ.
But it is in the perfect, purifying love of Jesus that we find our faith. And in faith, our prayer should be that every single injustice is brought to light, so the victims can begin the process of healing, and that those that perpetuated it are brought to justice. We need to root out rot within the Church.
Listen to Jesus address his disciples in the Gospel of Luke:
There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. Our hearts are broken for all who have suffered. Shower the light of your love into their hearts, that they might know of our heartfelt sorrow as they begin to heal. And cleanse the Church of all that keeps it from being the beacon of hope and love you instituted it to be. Amen
We humans are funny creatures. We will complain when we don’t get enough information, and then when we do, we complain that it’s too much or too hard. God gave us plenty of clues of his existence, then revealed more through the prophets and his son, Jesus Christ.
And Jesus taught us THE way, THE truth, and THE life. He has given us the roadmap to joy and happiness, and yet how often do we toss it aside to chart our own course, often down a very destructive path?
Listen to Saint John’s reading from August 26th, contemplating how fragile our faith often is:
“Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the ones who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason, I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” As a result of this, many of the disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You teach us the path of joy and love through the Holy Spirit. Renew in our hearts the fire of your love. Give us the grace to correct course when we get off your path, trusting your infinite heart of mercy. Help us to trust that you have the words of eternal life. Amen
Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
Faith – it’s our trust that what God has revealed is true. But is faith simply an acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? No. That is the start of faith. A saving faith – one that will reunite us with God in Heaven one day, must be demonstrated by our works. It is not the works themselves that save us, but our faith working in love. Remember, we don’t do any of this on our own – we are working with every good grace and prompt that God gives us.
Listen to Saint James’s reading from August 26th,
Dearest brothers and sisters: all good giving and every perfect gift two-minute from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alternation of shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.
Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy. You give us every good gift to accept your love in faith. Help us to put that faith into action, loving one another and you loved us. Help us be your hands and feet in this world – as doers of the word, and not hearers only. Amen.
Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
I will admit it – there are many times I drive or walk by the person holding a cardboard sign asking for money.
It is a struggle when we’re racing around from activity to activity to see the Christ in the face of every person, but it is a common theme throughout the, and – we are called to take care of the poor.
Listen to the September 9th reading from Saint James:
“My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not two-minute choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in fath and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him”
Let’s Pray – Father of Grace and Mercy. You entrust us with caring for the poor. comes our busy routines to see the face of Christ in every person, knowing they too are your beloved sons and daughters, and trusting it is through your Providence that we encounter them. Help us to love all and you love us. Amen.
Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Jesus’s teaching on the Eucharist was difficult to comprehend, even to the original hearers. The original Christians were called cannibals for their belief in what Jesus emphatically and repeatedly said – that he was the living bread that comes down from heaven, and the bread he was giving was his flesh for the life of the world.
Listen to August 19th’s reading from Saint John’s “Bread of Life Discourse,”
Jesus said, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
Let’s pray – Jesus, our Redeemer. You enter into us through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, feeding us with nothing less than yourself. Let the bread and wine of the mass – your flesh and blood - be a catalyst for the ongoing transformation you continue to affect in each one of us.
Pray For 2 offers a two-minute prayer reflection on the daily readings of the Church. Listen to them anytime at Godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app
To someone outside the Catholic Church, our reverence for the Eucharist can seem odd. As Catholics, we believe the bread and wine offered at mass become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. They aren’t merely a symbol of Jesus, or the presence of Jesus within them, but Jesus Himself. The creator of the universe wants to be food for your earthly journey, and offers nothing less than Himself to fill every cell of our being, figuratively and spiritually.
Why do we believe this so fervently, to the point where we call the Eucharist the source and summit of our faith? Listen to August 12th’s gospel reading from Saint John as Jesus speaks with a crowd that had just seen Him feed 5000 people with a few fish loaves of bread:
“I am the bread of life. You ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy – you give us nothing less than yourself in the Holy Eucharist. Stir in our hearts a passion for this profound mystery as you seek to enter into us through the bread and wine at each and every mass.
The spiritual life is a lot like our physical life. We are either striving to move forward, or are regressing - there is no staying the same. Just as our muscles atrophy without work, our spiritual muscle weakens if it’s not exercised. It’s why we say that we “practice our faith.”
In the August 5th reading, we hear Saint Paul invite the Ephesians to a renewal of themselves, much like we do when we begin an exercise program. Just as we have to get off the couch and commit to a new pattern of life when we work out, we commit to a new spiritual pattern of life as imitators of Jesus.
“Brothers and Sisters – I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned in Christ,…, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life; corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”
Let’s pray - Father of Grace and Mercy. You love us right where we are. But you also love us too much to leave us there. Thank you for the open invitation to renewal – to get off the spiritual couch, to leave our past failings behind, and be renewed in you. Help us strengthen our spiritual muscle as we practice our faith in you.
I often think about how to engage someone who has very little knowledge of God. In our zeal to share His love with others, we can often begin too far in the weeds, without first painting the big picture. It’s why I like to start with the fact that God is love. Our faith isn’t blind allegiance to something we hope to be real – it is a rational assent based on what is revealed in natural law and through the many prophets of the Bible.
And our faithful assent is first made by trusting that God not only loves us, but is love itself. Under that umbrella, all the rest makes sense, and it is why we can find peace even in the most trying circumstances.
Let’s pray Psalm 23 from the daily reading on July 22nd, with an ear for the peace the writer has found, faithfully resting in the love of God.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In verdant pastures he give me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshed my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.”
Have you ever seen the man in the moon? Many of us have spent time gazing upon the moon. We marvel at brightly it shines in the night sky, and how there almost seems to be a face smiling down on us.
Now think back to when you discovered that the moon wasn’t providing the light, but merely reflected the light of the sun. Didn’t that make you appreciate the sun all the more?
As we listen to July 29th’s reading from Saint Paul to the Ephesians, listen not only to the prose of this great saint, but also how well he reflected the light of Jesus.
“Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worth of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Let’s pray. Father of Grace and Mercy. You are the loving creator of all – the sun, the moon, and the stars. You call us to love one another as you have loved us – being light in the darkness. As we ponder the depths of these summer nights, may the moon inspire us to reflect the light of your love onto the world. Amen.
One of my favorite books of the Bible is James. He doesn’t pull any punches and tends to hit you like a spiritual 2x4. Let’s ponder this little slice of shock and awe from May 22
“So submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.”
Now, does this mean we’re supposed to mope around like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh? No – we know that joy is nothing short of a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John, Jesus even says, “I give you my joy so that your joy may be complete.”
What James is saying it that our sin is lamentable and not something to gloss over. The gravity of, “being of two minds” should weigh on us, especially when we choose to avoid confession and lug sin around unnecessarily. Drawing close to God means trusting that His way and His will for our lives truly is what’s best for us.
Let’s pray – Merciful father…you give us the free will to choose your love, or to turn away. Help us to see the wisdom in your paths. Help us to draw close to you, trusting in faith that you will draw close to us. Amen.
The Sunday reading on May 27th from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans is full of hope,but sneaks a subtle condition toward the end that we need to keep in mind.
Brothers and sisters: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Did you catch it? The good news is we are adopted sons and daughters of a loving father. The condition is that we also have to suffer with him. Think about how much of our world if oriented toward the avoidance or numbing of suffering. What if what we are medicating out way out of is the very thing that will sanctify us, humble us, and make us more loving in a sacrificial way?
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and mercy…your love is unyielding, and you call us your own through the redeeming power of your son, Jesus Christ. Help us to pick up our crosses daily, knowing that suffering is a very necessary part of our redemption, so that we may be also glorified with you one day in Heaven. Amen.
Today is Easter. There are any number of great teachers in the world. There have been many that have died for a noble cause. But there is only one person in history that not only did both of those, but also claimed to be God….and then rose from the dead to prove it.
Listen to the Gospel from Saint John, Chapter 20…
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
Jesus, our Redeemer – Alleluia…indeed you are risen! Amen.
Thank you for tuning in to Redeemer Radio for our Lenten reflections series. You can revisit them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Today is Good Friday, the most solemn day in history. Imagine being a disciple, spending 3 years side by side with Jesus, listening to this revolutionary teacher, this loving miracle worker. Think about this being the messiah you had been waiting for – the savior that would unite all nations, restore the temple, and be a truly noble king for all people.
And then consider the shock of seeing this savior, who you imagined being untouchable, unjustly tried and put to death. We know how the story ends three days later, but today, we feel the weight of his cross. Take time today to dwell in the injustice and suffering our Lord and Savior had to take on to redeem us, as we read from the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 19.
Aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Jesus Our Savior – You were pierced for our iniquities, and crushed for our sins. You bore the punishment that made us whole, and by your wounds we were healed. We thank you…we praise you….and we adore you. Amen.
Thank you for tuning in to Redeemer Radio for our Lenten reflections series. You can revisit them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Holy Thursday’s readings share Jesus’s Last Supper, where he institutes the Holy Eucharist. Jesus asks his disciples to do this in remembrance of Him. More than merely thinking back to something, remembrance means transcending time and space to be made present again at that event. The Jewish people believed that they were made present at the Passover event with their ancestors as they prepared to escape the tyranny of the Egyptians. The Last Supper is the new Passover, and in remembrance, we transcend space and time to be made present again at Jesus’s Last Supper at every mass.
Listen to Saint Paul’s 1st Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians:
Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Jesus our Savior – you offer nothing less than yourself in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Help our spirit of remembrance, appreciating that we transcend space and time to be seated with you at the Last Supper in every mass. Amen.
Thank you for tuning in to Redeemer Radio for our Lenten reflections series. You can revisit them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
One reason I stress making the daily readings a part of your prayer routine is that you start to see the New Testament prefigured in the Old Testament, and the Old fulfilled in the New. We can read the Old Testament very much like a detective’s mystery, filled with clues about how the story will end. There were at least 150 predictions in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in person of Jesus Christ – an almost impossible number mathematically. Unless, of course, you are the creator of the world!
Listen to this reading from Isaiah, Chapter 42. First, picture not knowing Jesus but anticipating a coming savior of the world. Then listen knowing the end of the story, and how brilliantly the prophecy describes the Jesus we know and love.
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Father of Grace and Mercy – you love us so very very much. Thank you for unveiling yourself to us across thousands of years and scores of prophets in the Old Testament. Help us to see your beautiful son in new ways – prefigured in the Old, and fulfilled in the New. Amen.
Thank you for tuning in to Redeemer Radio for our Lenten reflections series. You can revisit them anytime at godislove.blog, or on the Redeemer Radio app.
Faith or works? There often seem to be conflicting statements in Scripture regarding faith and works. Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.”
Yet listen to the very next line, “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” Our good works are part and parcel of a saving faith. After all, Saint James later added that, “faith without works is dead.”
Do your actions embody your faith in Jesus Christ? How often do they reflect the love of God?
Let’s listen to Jesus’s words in Friday’s reading from the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 10, where he challenges his disciples to judge Him by HIS works.
“If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
Let’s Pray - Father of Grace and Mercy – We recognize you are the Son of God by your works on behalf of the Father. Help us to reflect our faith in you through our works – may we be your hands and feet as our actions demonstrate your love. Amen
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
I love Holy week and all of the masses leading up to Easter. Unfortunately, Spring Break sometimes falls over this time, and our family has to endeavor to find a new Church home.
One Palm Sunday, when our four children were very young, we found ourselves at mass in a Florida strip mall. The church area tiny, so we were forced to sit out in the hall on folding chairs, facing a blank wall.
The Palm Sunday gospel is an extended reading that shares the passion and death of Jesus, and is rich in showing His sacrificial love – that is unless you’re wrestling four squirmy little ones. I hate to admit it, but I kept thinking, “Oh please, Father, make it a short homily.”
As the reading concluded, and we sat down on our slippery shiny seats, the priest said, I am going to give the world’s shortest homily. Prayers answered! He said my homily is all of three words, and comes from the 1st letter of Saint john.
God is love.
Here amid the 800,000 words of the bible were three that distilled who God is to His very essence. Love. Not the fuzzy feeling of attraction, but the willingness to give of yourself for another.
Dwell in that today – God, is love.
Let’s Pray - Father of Grace and Mercy – as we reflect on your passion and death the Palm Sunday and Holy week, help us to see that you are love itself, and that love in it’s very essence is sacrificial. Amen.
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
In Wednesday’s reading from gospel from John, chapter 8, we hear the famous line, “the truth will set you free.” Jesus doesn’t claim to be a way, or a truth, or a life, but THE way, THE truth and THE life.” The fullness of truth is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and is a free gift to all. And living in THE truth leads to true freedom, in so much as we actively choose to live in the word of truth each day and each moment. Listen to Jesus speaking to the Jews who had believed in him,
"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, `You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Let’s pray – Father of Grace and Mercy – You love us so relentlessly that you thirst to set us free from the slavery of sin. Help us to accept your word as truth, so we would repent and turn into the arms of your love and mercy. Give us the grace to know that your truth truly sets us free. Amen.
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
While many of our efforts throughout life concentrate on seeking happiness, most of us realize happiness is always fleeting and is are often contingent upon our mood and surroundings.
God promises us something much more permanent through a new life in Christ – the gift of joy.
Joy is the anchoring, sustaining a sense of peace we encounter knowing we abide in the heart of love itself as adopted sons and daughters of God. Jesus, addressing his disciples in John 15, goes to far as to say, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Listen to Monday’s first reading from the book of Isaiah, chapter 65
"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress
You were created to be a joy. Do you cultivate a heart of joy, keeping the garden free of the weeds that would choke it out?
Father of Grace and Mercy – thank you for the gift of joy. Let that gift root deeply into our souls, that we would both abide in it no matter our trials, and radiate it out to all we encounter. Amen.
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
Fasting is one of the three pillars of our Lenten journey, along with prayer and almsgiving, or charity. Fasting by itself is healthy – eating less is healthier, and can heighten our other senses.
But the real benefit of fasting is helping us to detach from things of the world that consume too much of our time and attention. Whether that’s social media, texting, TV, alcohol, or food, Lent spotlights unhealthy attachments and encourages healthy detachement.
Listen to Sundays reading from Saint Paul to the Romans, highlighting this healthy detachment from things in the flesh,
Brothers and Sisters - those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.
Father of Grace and mercy – you know what’s best for us because you designed us. Help us remember that while we in the world, we are not of the world, and that our fasting leads to a healthy detachment from the things of the world. Amen.
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
While many of us shudder at the thought of going to confession, I’d like to you to contemplate it in a new way. This Sunday we hear from the Gospel of Saint John Chapter 11, relating the story of raising Lazarus. His sisters take Jesus to the tomb, where their brother Lazarus has already been dead four days. Jesus famously brings Lazarus to life, but listen what he adds at the end.
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that you hear me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that you did send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him;
Jesus doesn’t just want to give you new life – he wants to unwrap you from the bondage of sin. Freed of that constraint, you are free to live a life of true and holy freedom.
Father of Grace and Mercy – You are the ultimate emancipier – freeing us from the bondage and death of sin. May we approach confession confident that you want nothing more than to say, “unbind them, and let them go!” Amen
Tune in to Redeemer Radio for more reflections as we walk through this Lenten season together or pray with them anytime on the Redeemer Radio app.
I recently drove an older woman home, and asked what has kept her from growing in her faith. She’s incredibly intelligent, and has a sharp wit, with an even sharper east coast accent. She responded, “angah!”
She admitted accumulating and holding onto anger for years, which had become a wedge between her and God.
Harboring anger is like wishing ill upon another person and drinking the poison yourself. And while our anger is often justified, we are called to something higher than justice – we are called to be merciful.
Listen to Tuesday’s first reading from Deuteronomy, Chapter 3.
“Do not let us be put to shame, but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.”
The writer is asking God not to give them what they deserve, but rather to forgive them in spite of what they deserve.
Do you have trouble letting go when someone wrongs you? What is the first step you need to root out anger from your heart? Who do you need to forgive today? Pray with me for the grace to take that first step.
Father of grace and mercy – you are truly right and just, and yet you set the bar even higher by asking us to be merciful. Help rid our hearts of the poison of anger and unforgiveness. Help us to see others as you see us – as flawed yet beloved sons and daughters of you our loving Father. Please forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Grant us your heart of love and mercy. Amen
Are you darkness or are you light? Do you light other’s candles, or do you snuff them out? Jesus Christ has always been a polarizing figure precisely because he cuts to the very heart of our humanity. He’s compared to a sword so sharp it separates bone from marrow. We are given stark choices – follow God and be light or deny God and be darkness.
Listen to Saint Paul share this contrast with the Ephesians in Chapter 5 of this Sunday’s readings.
Brothers and sisters: once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
Notice Paul doesn’t say we were once IN darkness and are now IN light, but rather, we were once darkness itself, and are now light in Christ.
Father of Grace and Mercy – we were once darkness, and are now light in you and through you. Help us be fed by your brilliance, so we may be light amid the darkness. Amen.
Almsgiving is one of the pillars of our journey through Lent. What is at the heart of Almsgiving? Charity, or said another way, love. We come to realize how good we have it with the love that God pours into us, that we naturally spill that love back out onto others.
And our love should always find preference in the poor – those who shoulder a heavier worldly burden on behalf of the whole of the body of Christ. Our alms can be financial – say donating your daily pocket change to a rice bowl, but it can also be lifting the poor in spirit through affirming words and deeds.
Listen to Jesus distill the hundreds of Jewish laws down to two, centered on almsgiving, in Friday’s gospel from Mark chapter 12:
"Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is… you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Let’s pray - Father of Grace and Mercy – You pour your love into our hearts through your Spirit. May we recognize the immensity of your love for us, so we would be compelled to pour that love out to others in our almsgiving this Lent. Help us to love one another as unconditionally as you love us. Amen.
Our 40 days of Lent are supposed to mirror Jesus’s time in the desert, a place of physical desolation and sacrifice that heightens our awareness of our reliance on God for all.
In Sunday’s first reading from Exodus, Moses and his people are in the desert, and aren’t happy about it.
“But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?"
Don’t we all feel like that during Lent? We can be tempted to think our sacrifices are trivial, and more trouble than they are worth.
Yet we trust that our time in the desert bears good fruit. The thirst we feel for what we give up points us toward a thirst for what is eternal.
Listen to Jesus’s encounter with the woman at the well in the gospel of John chapter 4.
“Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
Father of Grace and mercy – help us to embrace our Lenten walk in the desert. May our spirit of fasting be joy filled, thirsting for things of heaven in lieu of those of this earth. Amen.
A common element of the daily readings is a thread that ties the Old Testament, Psalm and Gospel readings together. The thread in Saturday’s Lenten readings is mercy.
Our relationship with God often looks like a pendulum – we swing into His love, then swing away. Back and forth we go – accepting, defying, and reconciling.
What does any good parent or coach do when we swing off course? Gently correct us – sharing truth in love. If God wasn’t love, he would let us continue to drift away.
Listen to the Old Testament reading from Micah….
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance. …. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger for ever because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Father of Grace and mercy – like a pendulum, you know we drift…back and forth….in and out of your merciful embrace. Help us to see the grace of your guiding staff, correcting our momentum back into the heart of your love. Thank you for your unending love and mercy – the fount of unending water that quenches our eternal thirst for you. Amen.
In Matthew 6 we hear the only prayer attributed to Jesus in the Gospels – the Our Father. Jesus doesn’t pray to “my Father”, but rather “Our Father”, because our relationship is never about just, “me and Jesus.” Our Father is the loving, agape Father of the whole body of Christ. We are organically bound even in our prayer.
I hope you will hear another line in a new way – “Give us this day our daily bread.” Many of us are mired in the guilt of past, anxiety about the future, or both.
But God doesn’t ask us to relive the past or shoulder the obligations of the future. He just asks us to live this moment, giving us the grace we need for each moment in that moment. We are given each day precisely the type and amount of grace we need for whatever God will put before us.
"This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Let’s pray….Father of Grace and Mercy – Our Father – hallowed be thy name. Help us to shed the guilt of the past and the anxiety of the future, so can be fully present to all we will encounter this day. Give us this day our daily bread.
Today’s Lenten reflection on the daily readings is on the Commandments. In Monday’s reading from Leviticus 19, Moses is given the 10 commandments, and in Saturday’s first reading from Deuteronomy 26, we hear that, “you are to be a people peculiarly His own, provided you keep all his commandments.”
Many of us bristle at commandments, thinking they infringe upon our freedom. We can even fall into the trap of thinking religion is all about rules, when it is about a loving relationship.
And yet, like the banks of a river, God’s commandments shape and guide us, allowing us to thrive as we were designed to. After all, a river without its banks is a puddle. It loses all of its purpose and power. Do we trust that God’s commandments guide us to true freedom and happiness?
Saturday’s prayer from Psalm 119 can help us open our hearts and minds to accepting His commands,
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart… You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances. I will observe your statutes; O forsake me not utterly!”
The daily readings of the Church help us read the whole bible over a three year period, and provide both context and inspiration along our earthly journey with God.
Consider making the daily readings part of your prayer life.
I will trust in you. Especially when we are struggling, these words can be especially hard to say. We can lose sight that even our sufferings are part of God’s overarching plan of love, for God is love.
As we work through Lent to grow in relationship with God through prayer, know that it is a true act of trust in faith, aspiring in hope, when we reach out to God in our struggles.
In this third week of Lent, we hear on Wednesday from Psalm 31,
“But I trust in you, O LORD, I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors! Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!”
There is also a current song by Lauren Daigle, called, “I Will Trust In You.” As we work to improve our prayer through Lent, pray this with me,
“When you don’t move the mountains, / I’m needing you to move / When you don’t part the waters / I wish I could walk through / When you don’t give the answers / As I cry out to you, / I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you.” / Amen.
As we journey through Lent together in prayerful reflection, picture the daily readings as a love letter from God. The words transcend centuries to speak directly to you each and every day. Praying the readings will help you know the heart of God, and His unfathomable love for you, even in the midst of struggles. The daily readings help us to say, “Lord, I trust in you.”
If there is one universal throughout Christianity, it is our struggle with prayer. How do we effectively approach the very Creator of the Universe?
We have been gifted within the Catholic tradition with 2000 years of the most beautiful and profound prayers ever composed. And central within that treasury are the Psalms of the Old Testament.
The psalms are 150 prayers composed by David to God the Father – ranging from gratitude to laments. The Psalms are also central to the Divine Office that the clergy prays daily. But perhaps most significantly, these are the prayers that Jesus would have learned to pray living as a Jew is his day.
Let’s reread one of the most familiar Psalms, Psalm 23, featured on Thursday this second week of Lent. Instead of just reading it, let’s PRAY it, picturing Jesus right beside us and praying along with us.
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Amen.
Lord it is good that we are here.
We reflect today on the Gospel of Mark for second Sunday of Lent, which features the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus.
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." He did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."
The more we encounter scripture, the more lines we may have overlooked emerge like wood grain after a coat of stain. Awestruck by the majesty of Jesus being physically transfigured, Peter says “Lord, it is good that we are here.”
Can you picture some of your favorite times with friends, maybe enjoying a glass of wine, laughing together, and mentally stepping back and relishing the moment?
It is very much how we should encounter Mass – together as the body of Christ, transcending space and time to be made present again at the last supper, at the foot of the cross at Calvary and at the empty tomb. Lord, it is good that we are here!
We are family. God adopts us as family through a covenantal promise, and covenant is the theme of the daily readings for the first Sunday in Lent.
God sets the stage, speaking to Noah after the flood in Genesis 9.
“"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
David, the writer of the psalms, picks up on our response in the prayer of Psalm 25, saying, ‘Your ways oh Lord are love and truth to those who keep your covenant.”
He prays to God for guidance in holding up our end of the bargain, “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.”
God, in His grace, always initiates the relationship with us, as He did with the covenant with Noah. God is the hound of heaven, ever at our heels, but He doesn’t force Himself upon us. Love must be freely given and freely received, or else it is coercion. We are free to accept or reject his invitation.
Father of grace and mercy – you shine your light into our hearts with the covenantal promise of adoption into your family. Help us to know and accept your ways; teach us your paths. May we cherish that we are family. Amen
Lent focuses us on three primary elements – prayer, fasting and almsgiving, or charity. In the readings for the first week of Lent, there is a focus on fasting, and in particular, our spirit of fasting. Listen to God speaking in Friday’s reading from Isaiah 58
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.”
Why do we fast? I’ll never forget an evangelical friend of mine going through RCIA and being introduced to the idea of fasting. He quickly realized, “I am really good to myself.”
In our culture, we rarely think to deny ourselves anything. And yet it’s probably more important now with so much available to us. Jesus asks us to take on his sacrificial nature and fasting helps us exercise and develop that faculty.
Let’s pray – Father of grace and mercy, help the spirit of our fasting by uniting our hearts to the sacred heart of Jesus and His sacrificial love. Amen.
Ash Wednesday begins our 40 day season of Lent. We reflect on various themes through the daily Mass readings, one of the greatest yet most underappreciated gifts of the Church
Today let’s reflect on the word, “repent,” which means, “to turn away from.” We hear it as we receive the ashes, “Repent and believe in the gospel.”
Repentance acknowledges in humility that we don’t have it all figured out, and that we occasionally fall short of who we were designed to be. But rather than sweep it under the rug, we are challenged to take responsibility and work to correct it.
Unfortunately, it can be one of those fire and brimstone words that cause many of us recoil. But I want to challenge you to hear it in a much more loving tone – that of a parent gently imploring a wayward child back on to the path.
Listen to how our loving Father communicates this yearning in today’s first reading from Joel.
"Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.”
Take a moment now to pause and listen for your beating heart.
Know that nothing short of love itself enlivens your very being and wants nothing but the best for you. And this loving parent is inviting you to turn around, own your sins, and be welcomed back into His loving embrace.