The Handmaid of The Lord

"His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you.'" - John 2:5

Growing up Catholic, I prayed to the Virgin Mary as a little girl. I always understood her to be my mother too since she was Jesus' mother, and like a good mom, she brought me closer to her son. Now that I'm older, I see her as an amazing role model for my faith. Her words are seldom mentioned in the gospels, but whenever she did speak, the words backed up her exceptional obedience and confidence in the Lord. When the angel Gabriel saluted her and told her about God's plans for her, she said in complete obedience and trust, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said." This young woman, probably only 15 at the time, faced dishonor, bringing shame upon her family and fiancee, and death, yet her faith and humility before God was greater than everything else! Sometimes when I'm on the train and begin to pray, I get a bit embarrassed if someone sees me doing the sign of the cross… look at how far I am from her rock solid faith! And more importantly, Mary understood that all things God brings us is for our ultimate good, no matter how devastating, impossible, or burdensome they may seem to our limited human understanding. How many of us would say no to the angel because we're worried about how things are going to work out and what people will think of us? We hardly ever look beyond the inconvenience to ourselves and never accept in faith that what God asks of us or brings into our lives is actually to do something amazing for us. The Virgin Mary looked beyond herself and all the obstacles. She had tremendous faith and obedience to God at a young age, faith that literally bore fruit to the light of the word, Jesus Christ, our Savior!

Therefore, whether we're Catholic, or any other Christian denomination, let us take Mary as a role model for our faith, she who tells us as she told the servants at the wedding at Cana, "Do whatever He tells you."

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, only a woman of exceptional faith, virtue, love, and obedience could You call Your mother. Allow us to model our faith and acceptance of Your Word after hers. Help us to see that all You ask us to do is for our good. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Our Mothers and Fathers

"Whoever honors his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself." - Sirach 3:3-4

I've been thinking about my parents a lot lately. They're very old school and sometimes treat me like I'm 10 years old instead of in my 20's. Sometimes they frustrate me and I want to explode, but I never really do. What stops me from ever being disrespectful is the fact that they are the parents that God gave me. Our God is a god that honors authority and honors obedience and the best way for me to obey God is to obey my mother and father.

Our relationship with our parents can be very similiar to how we interact with God. God intended for us to be fully obedient children to our parents and to Him. If you want to be a good servant of God, you must be a good son/ daughter. There are of course, parents that don't take care of their children as they should, and when this happens, you still have a parent in Heaven - the Lord Almighty whom you should love, honor, and obey.

Today's Prayer:
Father in Heaven, help me to honor and obey my mother and father just as I should honor and obey you. Please give me the patience and strength to fulfill your commandments as you desire. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Is He Your Lord?

"Why do you call me: 'Lord! Lord!" and not do what I say?" - Luke 6:46

Jesus asked this strong question of the pharisees who went to go see Him preach. If you call someone your Lord, then you fully acknowledge that you are inferior to them and accept to do their will. Jesus addressed a crowd of people that professed with their mouths that He was their Lord but their actions were the complete opposite. Are we guilty of this? I think we can all say that we believe in Jesus Christ - but is He really our Lord? Servants know the will of their master, so we do know what His commandments are, but do we follow them? Examine yourselves, are you striving to love others? Or do you living according to "an eye for an eye?" Have you done your best to help someone today? Or have you brushed someone aside because you were too busy? Have you tried to have patience today? Or have you instead lost your temper and offended someone? Most importantly, have you even spent time talking to your Lord today? Or have you not found time because of all the other things you decide to fill your life with? Everything you do is a decision between what's right and what's wrong. The difference between the two you do know very clearly, especially if you profess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord. And if you say that Jesus is your Lord, and do not do what you know is right, then you are a hypocrite. When you lie, cheat, steal, and offend (in any degree), conscious of what you are doing, Jesus Christ is NOT your Lord. He IS your Lord if you try your best to follow His path, even if at times you do fail. This is why Jesus also says that not everyone who calls Him Lord, as those who consider themselves to be righteous do, will see the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, show me the areas in my life where I am being a hypocrite and help me to do Your will. Where I lack in love, please allow it to grow so that I can be Your true and faithful servant. In Your Name we pray, Amen.