Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
MONDAY, July 12th Mt. 10:34 – 11:1 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
- This is the greatest Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” (Lk. 10:27)
- We belong totally to God who created us out of love and keeps us in being, who gives us every good thing, forgives every repented sin, and desires only that we love Him in return, and love our neighbor as He loves us, even those who persecute us!
SANCTITY IN THE SMALL THINGS… by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
As Jesus watched at the entrance of the Temple the money being thrown into the treasure-box, He did not pay so much attention to the rich and their large sums that they threw in. Indeed, they wanted to be seen and applauded for their abundance given ostentatiously.
Then a poor widow threw a few small coins in the treasure box barely amounting to anything! This was the person that Jesus looked at with great love and approval. Why? Not for the economic substance of her offering—it was barely anything. Rather, Jesus read the depths of her heart. She was giving generously all that she had to live on.
The message is the following: man sees and judges from mere appearances, but Jesus reads the inner movements of the human heart. What often is worthy of praise in the eyes of the world, Jesus despises. On the contrary, what the world deems as insignificant, Jesus highly approves and praises.
Saint Therese and her Little Way can be our way and the path to holiness! Holiness does not depend simply on the greatness of the action, but rather on the intensity of love that accompanies the action.
In other words, the secret to holiness is trying to do the ordinary things of daily life with extraordinary love. That is the key! So much so that Saint Therese was known to say: “Pick up a pin for the love of God and you can save a soul.” Picking up a pin, physically speaking is no big deal! However, if this action is done for the intention of pleasing God and with great purity of intention, then indeed, it has infinite value in the eyes of God.
Most of us are not involved in monumental and monolithic activities that will make the front page of the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. On the contrary, many of our actions are the most ordinary and mundane. But they can have infinite value if we know the secret of offering them up to God to repair for sins and save souls!
Most of the normal activities of a homemaker do not make the newspaper or the 6:00 p.m. news. Sweeping the floor, taking out the garbage, buying, preparing, serving meals and then after cleaning the pots, pans and dishes—all of these are the glorious routine of thousands of home-makers and Moms.
If the Mom does all this with an attitude of complaining, with a scowl on her face and playing the role of a poor victim, then her merit in the eyes of God is reduced to almost nothing.
However, if the Mom rises in the morning and offers her day to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, willingly offering everything she does during the day to please God, to sanctify her family, and to save souls, then her actions have great value.
The same holds true for the Dad in the family! His daily offering includes his daily work to provide for the needs of his family— food, shelter and clothing. The parents are called to raise their children together; in unity there is strength!
What can be of infinite value for the sanctification of our daily actions are two specific intentions and actions. We do our actions through the powerful intercession of Mary, “God’s masterpiece of creation,” uniting our actions to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
First, the importance of going to Jesus through the intercession of Mary. Mary is the short-cut to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Louis de Montfort paints this image. A poor man wants to give a bruised apple to the King. No way will the poor man have access to the King; much less will the King receive the apple, especially a bruised apple. However, if the poor man knows the Queen and she has a real affection for this poor man, then the Queen will take the apple, clean it, polish it, and place it on a golden platter, next to a beautiful rose. The King, loving the Queen, receives the apple most willingly; not because of the quality of the apple but because of the Queen who gave him the apple.
It must be the same for us! Our actions are like the apple. In and of themselves our actions are often tainted and spoiled by our enormous self-love and egotism. However, if we can give ourselves and our actions to Jesus through the hands and heart of the Mary, who is Queen of heaven and earth, then the King, who is Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords—will not refuse it. In other words, Mary can help to ennoble and sanctify our smallest actions, making them pleasing to Jesus.
Second, the importance of uniting our actions and intentions with those of Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every Holy Mass that is offered has infinite value. Why? For the simple but profound reason that Jesus is offering Himself as a Victim of expiation to the Father. The Father looks at His Son and says: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And the Father can deny His Son nothing!
How is this translated from the mystical to the practical? Not too complicated! Make every effort to attend daily Mass as often as possible! Go to Mass, but arrive early before Mass starts. Give yourself a good 15 minutes.
Now open up your heart to the fullest with infinite trust in Jesus, His love for the Father, His love for you, and His love for the entire world. In opening your heart, place all that you are and will be on the altar before Mass starts. Place your day and your activities on the altar, absolutely everything—hold nothing back! Your job outside the home, your cooking and cleaning, your battle with a teenage son or daughter, your struggles with your spouse, your fear of the future and insecurities in the present, your headache and clouded mind!
The key is that you want to place yourself and your entire life on the altar even before Mass starts. You are offering yourself and all that you have been, all that you are, and all that you will be as an offering to the Lord in the course of your day. Every minute detail of who you are and what you are about, what you desire for yourself and your family, is of infinite importance to Jesus. Nothing escapes the loving eye of Jesus. He knows the numbers of the hairs on your head and when one falls to the ground! (cf Mt. 10:30) The Lord Jesus indeed cares for the whole world, but for each and every one of us individually.
Then while Mass is being offered, especially during the Consecration of Jesus’ Body and Blood, all that you have placed on the altar is being lifted on high to the Majestic Throne of the Eternal Father who sees you through His beloved Son in whom He is well-pleased. To this Son, He can deny nothing.
Even more important, receive Holy Communion into the depths of your soul. If you are well-disposed with a heart burning with love for the Lord Jesus, there will be an explosion of graces. Your smallest of actions will have infinite value because they have been offered to the Eternal Father through the loving Heart of Jesus.
In sum, let us learn the art of sanctity. It is not so much in the greatness of the action, but in the purity of intention. However of paramount importance is learning to offer ourselves to God through the pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through Jesus, the spotless Victim offered to God the Father in the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as frequently as possible, if not every day!
