Taking Us By The Hand

"Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him and the boy stood up." - Mark 9:27

I've been going through a dry spell with God lately. I just keep feeling like I don't do enough for Him, I'm not good enough and don't deserve Him. I'm too much of a sinner. I told a friend of mine yesterday that when I feel like this, I usually try harder to pray more and more and end up getting angry with myself because I become distracted and lose interest in praying altogether. But this morning, I read this verse from the gospel according to Mark and it really spoke to me. I realized that I am trying to do too much - doing too much for God is good, but I was missing something very important… God. I was depending on myself rather than on God to do the work, as if I was so powerful and didn't need Him. Jesus lifted this boy up with His hands and that's the only way I can get out of this dry spell, by praying with patience and waiting for Jesus to pick me up. I can fuss about this all day, but until He picks me up, I'm not going anywhere.

The big idea here is that we really need to learn to become solely dependent on God and learn to get rid of our self-reliance. Every time God wills it, He gives us the grace to accomplish something new, and no matter how hard we try, unless Jesus gives us His hand, we just aren't capable of doing it on our own. As of today, I am at peace about myself because I'll just rely on Him instead of beating myself up about things, and I'll rely on Him to bring me forward when I'm ready.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, please give me Your hand. I am a small little thing before You, a horrible sinner that would fade away if You ever left me. I recognize that You are the Lord of my life and I count on Your Divine Providence for everything. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Help The Call To Sinners

"When Jesus heard this He said, 'Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and find out what this means: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.'" - Matthew 9:12

One of the ugliest things people can do is refuse to go to church or a religious event because of who else is attending. I have heard people say they don't go to church because there are worse sinners inside than outside. They feel holier than the people in the church because they perceive their own sins to be nothing in comparison. People that think like this are so wrong! If we see "bad people" in the church, let's give thanks to God that they are at least trying to change, even if we see them sinning the moment they walk out! Afterall, how many times haven't we fallen? As Jesus told the Pharisees when they complained about Him visiting a tax collector, He came to call the sick. It is not our business who God calls or who God forgives. He sets each of us on our own paths to salvation. For our part, we need to support sinners on the road to salvation. Glory to God who is on the verge of receiving a new soul! We should never criticize who is looking for God because what is in their hearts is only known by God and no one else. Worry only about yourself and making sure you are right with the Lord.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, show me how to be merciful as You are merciful. Blind me to the sins of others and give me only admiration for the souls that decideto seek You, despite their weaknesses and shortcomings. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Who Are You?

"Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and other sinners joined Jesus and his disciples." - Matthew 9:10

A common saying is tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are. I've never believed in that much but there is some truth to it. We tend to have similar behaviors, beliefs and interests as our friends. However, it does happen that a lot of times, we end up adopting the same behaviors, beliefs and interests as our friends if our friends are very influential people. If our friends are smart, outgoing, and love having fun in good way, then that's a great thing to look up to people like that. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, the opposite occurs. We become friends with people that influence us in a bad way, and we end up falling into the same vices as other people. We lose our integrity, who we really are because we weren't strong enough in ourselves to hold firm to how we were raised and what we believe in.

Take a look at Jesus' life. He hung out with sinners. In this verse, He was having dinner with sinners. But instead of this being a bad thing because where Jesus could have fallen into their ways, He met with them, spent His time with them and they became tranformed for the better. Jesus spent time with Matthew, a tax collector who was seen as evil, and Matthew became a better person. Jesus spent time with Mary Magdalene, who was said to have 7 demons, and she came out a better person. In none of these cases did Jesus compromise who He was and what He believed in, instead, He did not waiver and served as the catalyst for a positive change in His friends.Today, think about who you are with your various groups of friends. Who are you most yourself around and who do you compromise your values and beliefs for? Realize that when you compromise your values to adapt yourself to someone else, you are wrong. Take Jesus as an example and be one, strong person around everyone you're with, or else, not even you know who you really are.

Today's Prayer:
My God, search my heart and show me if I am compromising myself around others. Help me to be true to myself and to You. Help me to influence others for good, instead of letting me be influenced by sin. In Your Name we pray, amen.

For All Have Sinned

"Because all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

When I think about this verse, I think about Jesus sitting on the ground, playing in the dirt, while telling the crowd, "He who is without sin may cast the first stone." Although it's not mentioned in the bible, historians say that He was actually writing down the sins of some of the people for them to see. The point is that some of us start to feel really righteous about how "holy" we are and this is the opposite of righteousness. In fact, the holier you become, the more humble you become. No one has the right to put anyone down because of their sins. As Saint Paul says here, ALL have sinned and ALL fall short of the glory of God. No one can say they are blameless and if they do, they only seek their own glory. The truth is that we are all very sinful and this is something we have to admit to ourselves. Just as Jesus wrote down the individual sins of the men that wanted to stone the adulterous woman, so God writes our sins in our hearts so that we should never feel boastful or righteous but every day seek to be humble and atone for our sins.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, forgive me for the times I looked not upon my own sins but those of others. In doing this, I know I was not humble and instead acted like a judge. I recognize that I am a sinner and need Your light to guide me to paths of righteousness. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Sinners In The Church

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. He teaches about a King who wanted to celebrate the wedding of his son. He invited the most prestigious guests, but they refused to attend after multiple invitations. Jesus says of the king, "then he said to his servants: 'The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go, then, to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.' The servants went out at once into the streets and gathered everyone they found, good and bad alike, so that the hall was filled with guests."

I have a tough time when people tell me they don't go to church because they don't do anything bad and don't see why they need to go. It's always worse when they add "I see the people that go to church and they're all bad people! I know who they really are!" First of all, ALL of us are sinners and therefore there is not one among us that has the right to pass that kind of judgment upon anyone else. And second of all, if this is your attitude about why you don't go to church, then guess who the guest was that refused to attend the wedding banquet?

God has called each and every one of us to enjoy His banquet and many of us fail to attend but instead put those down that do attend. "Oh, so and so is doing this, I don't know what he's doing in a church," or "I'm not even half as bad as the people there, so why should I go?" This is just like when the pharisees got angry and they complained about Him eating with sinners - Jesus didn't come for the healthy. He came to heal the sick and if you feel that you're not a sinner and feel yourself more righteous than others, you better take a closer look at your life for I don't know a single person that does not need healing from Jesus Christ.

Everyone that attends church, whether good or bad, whether honest or a total hypocrite, is there because God invited ALL to attend. He knows what He's doing and He knows what He has planned for everyone in there, and I'll tell you one thing, you may feel like a better person than the people in there, but God is more likely to work in those that make the effort each Sunday than in those that don't. Don't worry about anyone else in there, only yourself and where you stand with God.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, please grant that I may not pass judgment upon anyone else, especially those that go to mass to find You. Forgive me for my shortcomings and help me see everyone as You see them. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Lend When There Is Nothing to Receive

"Do to others as you would have others do to you. If you love only those who love you, what kind of graciousness is yours? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do favors to those who are good to you, what kind of graciousness is yours? Even sinners do the same. If you lend only when you expect to receive, what kind of graciousness is yours? For sinners also lend to sinners, expecting to receive something in return. But love your enemies and do good to them and lend when there is nothing to expect in return. Then will your reward be great and you will be children of the Most High. For He is kind towards the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." - Luke 6:31-36

What a hard thing to do! I could think of a couple of people right now that I'd rather be really mean to, but Jesus is calling me to do good right now as He is calling you.

We all know how you have to love your enemies and turn the other cheek but I want to focus on another message in this passage - "lend when there is nothing to expect in return." This doesn't necessarily mean to give something material, but it means to give of yourself. Maybe do a favor to someone in need or listen to them when they need help.

I know many of us need someone to lend to us, help us, but the best way to receive really is to give. By "lending" to someone, you're doing God the favor of helping out one of His children, and in the same way you helped them, God will make sure that someone helps you in your time of need. As the scripture says, even sinners help others, so what makes you any different from someone who doesn't believe in Jesus if you help only those who will help you in return?

For the love of God, step outside of your world today, out of your troubles and the things you want and look around you. Who do you see around you that could use some help from you today? Does your mom need some help with the dishes? Does the old lady crossing the street need your help? Maybe someone just really needs to be told that you appreciate them. I'm sure that if you look, there is something small that you can do that will mean a great deal to someone else! People always ask God for help or for a miracle, but God works through you and I to provide those miracles. I heard someone say recently that we need to be other people's miracles, so please open yourselves so that God can create miracles through you.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, I know that I can be so selfish and only think about what I want and what I need, but please help me to see outside of myself to the people around me that I am able to touch. Put love in my heart so that I am able to please you by giving of myself to others. In Your name we pray, Amen.