Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
TUESDAY, November 23rd Lk. 21:5-11 Jesus said, “See that you do not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them!”
Jesus is talking about the approaching end times in today’s Gospel. Jesus gives us graphic images! “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified…it will not immediately be the end.” Then he describes the actual end times. Scary! Read it again!
In the month of November, we have been praying for the Souls in Purgatory. We have also been talking about the Last Things – death, judgment, and the possibility of Purgatory or hell. Today let us look at Heaven.
TEN ARROWS TO LAUNCH US TO HEAVEN by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
We offer you ten short counsels to help you in your daily battle to arrive at spiritual maturity and eventually in the loving embrace of your Heavenly Father. Prayerfully meditate upon these ten fiery arrows that if used well, launched at the proper time and place, can serve to raise you up on high.
1. HEAVEN!
I was brought into this world by the loving Hand of God to end up forever in the loving Heart of God for all eternity. Every day I should spend time in prayer reflecting on who God is, why He created me, and how to draw closer to Him and to my eternal destiny—heaven!
2. REFUGES IN THE STORMS OF LIFE.
In the spiritual life there are moments of calm, but also many storms. Jesus frequently reminded St. Faustina to prepare for battles. In the midst of the storms and battles of life, we must find some secure places to seek refuge. There are two: the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. May our constant prayer be: “Jesus I trust in you; sweet Heart of Mary be my salvation!”
3. KRYPTONITE IN YOUR LIFE.
Be constantly vigilant in your spiritual life. The devil is on the prowl, seeking to attack and kill. St. Peter says that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour; resist him solid in the faith. Do you know your kryptonite, your major weak point? Ask the Holy Spirit, as well as your Confessor or spiritual director to point it out to you! Ignorance of our weak point enhances the work of the devil!
4. BE SLOW TO SPEAK AND QUICK TO LISTEN.
This is the excellent advice of the Apostle St. James. Pope Francis reminds us time and time again to avoid all forms of gossip and sins of the tongue which can kill. Read and meditate on St. James Chapter Three—one of the best chapters in the Bible highlighting the damage that a loose tongue can cause!
5. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.
It can be very easy at times to manifest patience, kindness, and even exquisite charity to strangers or to our work companions or associates. However, once at home, we can be transformed into devils! Never forget: Charity begins at home with the members of our family! Therefore, every day try to do an act of kindness for some family member.
6. MERCY IN ONE OF THREE WAYS.
Jesus insisted in the Diary of St. Faustina living out charity, encouraging us to carry out at least one act of mercy every day. Jesus outlines three ways that mercy can be manifested: 1) Words of kindness; 2) Deeds of kindness; 3) Prayers for someone. Why not decide today to be a messenger of God’s love and mercy every day?
7. NEVER GIVE UP.
The Bible reminds us that even the just man falls seven times a day. We were born sinners, we are sinners, and we will die as sinners. Despite our human frailty and weakness we should never give up or lose hope, but rather upon falling, humbly admit our fall, repent, and begin again! Remember the consoling words of the Psalmist: “God is slow to anger and rich in kindness.” (Ps 145:8) We tend to be quick to anger and slow to forgive. God is the exact opposite. When we repent and turn our hearts back to God, our merciful and loving God forgives us in a heartbeat, a blink of the eye, a split second. How great is our God! We can either be like play dough that falls and remains flat on the ground; or we can be like a super-ball that hits the ground and bounces even higher. Which one are you like: the super ball or the play dough? It is your choice after all!
8. PERMANENT FORMATION.
Get in the habit of good spiritual reading. The human mind is like a garden! A garden that is not cultivated will eventually be filled with weeds that choke out the plants and flowers. Whereas the habit of solid, methodical and constant spiritual reading nourishes the mind with holy and noble thoughts, which in turn lead to noble affections of the heart, which finally culminate in noble actions that we call virtues! This in turn will set us on the highway to holiness with the final result of eternal beatitude in heaven for all eternity! There is a saying, “You are what you eat.” There is truth to this! But even more we can say we are what we think! Good reading helps us know and love Jesus all the more! Jesus said that we should love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength!
9. LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
“Living in the Presence of God” — the spirituality of Brother Lawrence who insisted that holiness could be achieved by living out this one concept—being aware of and living constantly in the presence of God. Before carrying out a questionable action, why not ask God if this would be pleasing to Him? St. Teresa of Avila, woman Doctor of the Church, asserts that one of the primary reasons we give in to sin is because we become oblivious to or simply forget the presence of God! St. Paul, in his discourse to the Athenians, quotes a Greek poet: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) God is never far from us, but we often distance ourselves from Him.
10. OUR LADY, UNDOER OF KNOTS.
Recently there has been a growing interest and trust in Mary under this somewhat surprising title: “Our Lady Undoer of Knots”. Our life can prove to be a complicated, messy, dirty, bumpy, valley of tears! We may find ourselves in economic, social, moral or psychological situations that are so complicated, so knotted up—that it seems literally impossible to find a solution! Why not turn to Mary? The first Miracle that Jesus worked was accomplished in the context of a very knotty and embarrassing situation—a wedding couple must have miscalculated the number of guests because they ran out of wine. This unfortunate circumstance would bring the festivities to an end, the party would be over! Our Lady gently turns to Jesus saying: “There is no more wine”… then she tells the servers, “Do whatever He tells you!” Jesus heard His Mother’s request and untied the wedding knot! He turned water into wine and the best of wine! Today, why not give Mary your knots so that she can undo them and give you freedom, the freedom of the sons and daughters of God!
