“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high?… You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6: 6.8)
Three different requirements cover all our activities and attitudes: if you do something—do it right, your relationships should be based on goodness (Micah “chsd” has several meanings: goodness, kindness and even mercy) and wherever you go – walk with God. Humbly.
“Amen, I say to you: That you who have left all and followed me will receive a hundredfold and posses eternal life.” (Communion Antiphon)
“And in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (Mt 12: 21)
Sometimes we forget how strong His name is: it can fill us with courage, hope and love. How often have I met dying people whose only relief was repeating His name over and over again.
“He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Communion Antiphon)
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).
God never gets bored with telling us how important we are for Him. His invitation and care for us bring a huge relief to us whenever we experience fatigue and being burdened. “Come to me” solves everything.
“The sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for her young: by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise”. (Communion Antiphon)
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike” (Mt 11:25).
As ‘time management,’ also ‘human resources management’ is different in God’s world. Not the wise, not the learned, but the childlike are important. Little ones know the difference between God and themselves. Respecting God doesn’t limit our own dignity.
“Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father” (Communion Antiphon).
“But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation” (Is 7:9).
Our perspective for time and God’s perspective are different. God can patiently wait long enough for our conversion; when we wait for something, we expect it to happen immediately. Everyday readings give us an excellent opportunity to hear Our Lord’s voice and to change our expectations.
“I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will appoint a shepherd to pasture them, and I, the Lord, will be their God” (Entrance Antiphon).
“Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Is 55:10-11).
We are invited to be “fertile and fruitful.” In different ways, but still it is our vocation: for couples, the unmarried and the consecrated. When we open the daily readings to listen to Him, we change our life into fertile and fruitful. He only expects from us that we will open our hearts for Him and He will bring a word for me, which is able to change my life totally.
“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will have life for ever” (Gospel Acclamation).
“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Mt 10: 19-20).
God takes care for us in every condition, in every situation. Especially when we are on our mission to proclaim the Gospel. “Spirit of our Father” will speak through us. The more we pray to the Holy Spirit, the more we are connected, the more we are open and sensitive to His suggestions.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to all truth and remind you of all I told you” (Gospel Acclamation).
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest’” (Mt 9: 37-38).
Our Lord’s request is still valid; we urgently need “laborers for his harvest.” The number of vocations has decreased. Our Lord gave us the solution: “ask the master of the harvest.” Because the vocation to the priesthood is to serve to the community, so the community is responsible for asking.
“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me” (Gospel Acclamation).
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8: 13).
St. Paul often uses these opposites: in the spirit—in the flesh. The first calls us to life, to eternity, to everlasting communion with God—the second calls us to the world, to life from my perspective and focused on my pleasure. His conclusion is so sharp: “you will live”—“you will die”.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed the man who seeks refuge in him” (Communion Antiphon).
“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Mt 9:15).
The best advice for moments when we feel like we have lost contact with Our Lord: “the bridegroom is taken away.” Fasting helps us gain a better perspective on our daily needs and moves us faster and closer to Him. When we fast, our spirit grows. It reminds us about our final home, how to get there and what kind of life waits for us.
“Blessed is the servant whom the Lord finds watching when he comes. Amen, I say to you: He will put that servant in charge of all his property.” (Communion Antiphon)
