Faithful

Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church


And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater. If then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon; who will trust you with that which is the true? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's; who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Now the Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said to them: You are they who justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is high to men, is an abomination before God.
Luke 16:9-15 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer

Dear Father you are the beloved spouse of my heart. It is you whom I long for and wish to serve. If I cannot be honest in this then I fail you. You are the desire of my heart where money cannot buy your friendship or give me peace. It is loving you and giving you my all that I find true friendship and peace with you, for you are by my side. Money doesn't give happiness it only brings fleeting moments, but with you dear Beloved One happiness is joy. When I hear your Word spoken I find joy, when I see you raised at that moment at Mass, I know love for then I behold you in all your glory. That is my treasure, my true happiness. May I come to full unity with you Beloved and never be parted. Amen

Herod's Doubt

Now Herod, the tetrarch, heard of all things that were done by him; and he was in a doubt, because it was said By some, that John was risen from the dead: but by other some, that Elias had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said: John I have beheaded; but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.
Luke 9:7-9 (Douay-Rheims)

Prayer

Dear Father I pray to you for the doubt that occasionally bombards my soul. I have read of Herod's doubt and found myself thinking also about Jesus and his own death and resurrection. How I tend to doubt the very mystery of His rising. Yet I know deep in my heart the truth of it all. That Jesus died to save me from a fate worse than death. Can I see the example that is set before me to put my complete trust in Jesus. To know that John came before to announce His coming, it's no wonder that Herod was doubtful. After all he too wanted to see with his own eyes that John was dead. In a way don't I also want to see Jesus, to know that he is alive and not dead. In the beauty of your love dear Father, you have shown me how truly alive Jesus is in the Eucharist. Where the Lamb has shed his blood to free us. May I come to understand the power of your divine love for me in the Eucharist where you speak to my heart. Amen

Who Do We Serve

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Matthew 6:24-34

Prayer

Dear Father what need do we have of worrying when you take care of all that is in this world, whether it be good or bad. We are given something to think about. Yet we in our human nature use mammon for many things beside what is needed for life. We worry about where it will come from, if we will have enough. Our future depends on it for retirement. We are being told we cannot serve two masters. We are slaves to mammon all the while serving God. Which one is the most important in our life, God or mammon? May we serve God first and keep him first in our life, where in due course of time all that we need will be taken care of. It is with unconditional love and complete trust in God that we serve and honor him not mammon. Amen

Memorial of Saint John Neumann

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God.
1 John 3:21

Reflection:
Ever wonder about the times when we think we are bad, when we know we've done something wrong, how instinctively we condemn ourselves. And those times when we do everything right.

When I am speaking to others and it doesn't come out right, there are times when I begin to reflect on what was said, and it's those times when I condemn myself for not speaking clearly. At those times I have no confidence in God. How easily it is to condemn ourselves. It is only when we truly commit error that our hearts condemn us.

For me my conscience has been conditioned to keep my eye upon God, so everything is under watch for me. You know when you love God we do all that is in our power to keep that love alive, and we do everything to keep our hearts on the path that gives us the constant confidence in God we always should have. When we love our neighbor, we trust in him who made us.