Catholic Daily Reflections

By: My Catholic Life!
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  • Summary

  • My Catholic Life! presents the beauty and splendor of our Catholic faith in a down to earth and practical way. These daily audio reflections come from the "Catholic Daily Reflections Series" which is available in online format from our website. They are also available in e eBook or paperback format.

    May these reflections assist you on your journey of personal conversion!
    Copyright My Catholic Life! Inc.
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Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
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Episodes
  • Tuesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time - You are Invited

    Tuesday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time - You are Invited
    Nov 4 2024
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    “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.” Luke 14:16–18

    Do you ever excuse yourself from the will of God? Do you pass up His invitation to feast at the table of His great dinner? More than anything else, the invitation God has given us to this “great dinner” is the invitation to participate in the Holy Mass and to pray. The fact that some would regularly excuse themselves from such an invitation shows that they do not understand that to which they have been invited. Others attend physically, but interiorly they are far from the feast that they attend.

    In this parable, one after another of the invited guests did not come. So the man throwing the dinner sent out an invitation to “the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.” This is a reference to those Jews of Jesus’ time who recognized their need for the gift of salvation. They are those who were aware of their weaknesses and sins and knew that Jesus was the answer.

    After the poor, crippled, blind and lame came to the feast, there was still more room. So the man sent his servants to invite those from “the highways and hedgerows” which is a reference to the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles who were not of Jewish origin.

    Today, this feast continues to be offered. There are many lax Catholics, however, who refuse to come. There are those who find that life is too busy for them to make time for prayer and for Mass. They are those who are so caught up in worldly pursuits that they see little personal benefit in devoting themselves to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

    If you wish to be among those who attend the feast of our Lord, you must work to identify yourself with the poor, crippled, blind and lame. You must recognize your brokenness, weaknesses and sins. You must not shy away from seeing yourself this way because it is to those that Jesus sends a desperate invitation. His desperation is an all-consuming desire for us to share in His love. He wants to love and heal those in need. We are those who are in need.

    When we come to our Lord’s Feast through prayer, fidelity to His Word, and by our participation in the Sacraments, we will notice that He wants others to join us for His feast. Therefore, we must also see ourselves as those servants who are sent forth to the highways and hedgerows where we will find those who do not follow God’s will. They must be invited. Though they might not feel as though they belong, God wants them at His feast. We must do the inviting.

    Reflect, today, upon two things. First, reflect upon any excuse you regularly use when God invites you to pray, to deepen your faith, and to participate in the Eucharist. Do you respond immediately and with eagerness? Or do you excuse yourself more often than you want to admit? Reflect, also, upon the duty given to you by God to go forth to the most lost souls so as to invite them to God’s feast. Our Lord wants everyone to know they are invited. Let Him use you to send forth His invitation.

    My generous Lord, You have invited me to share in the glory of Your great Feast. You invite me every day to pray, grow strong in my faith, and to share in the Holy Eucharist. May I always respond to You and never excuse myself from Your invitations. Please also use me, dear Lord, to send forth Your invitation to those most in need. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.com
    Copyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

    Featured images above: Parable of the wedding feast by Andrey Nikolaevich Mironov, via Wikimedia Commons
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    5 mins
  • Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time - The Reward of Eternal Glory

    Monday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time - The Reward of Eternal Glory
    Nov 3 2024
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    “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” Luke 14:12–14

    Is Jesus telling us that it is sinful to invite friends and family to a dinner party? Certainly not. He is teaching us about something much deeper. Throwing a dinner party for others is good when our motive is love. But if the goal of the dinner, or any other act of charity, is vainglory, then the vanity we achieve from such an act is the payment we will receive. Sadly, the “payment” of vainglory is sought and obtained by many in various ways. Jesus’ lesson teaches us that our only motive for the good we do should be the humble and hidden motive of loving service.

    As a result of the temptation to pride, we can easily find ourselves being inordinately concerned about what others think about us. Holding a lunch or dinner for friends, family, and your wealthy neighbors is simply an illustration of the sin of pride at work. Within this context, Jesus is speaking about a person who performs some act for the sole purpose of building up their self-image and obtaining praise and flattery from others. This form of “glory” is truly vain in that it is not only worthless to the good of the soul, it is also damaging.

    Why do you do what you do? Are your good actions done so that others will see and praise them? Do you go out of your way to show people how good you are? Are you overly concerned about the opinions of others? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you might be struggling with pride more than you realize.

    On the contrary, are you content with doing some good deed that is hidden from the eyes of others? Can you take delight solely in helping others, even if no one knows about it? Are you motivated to serve and give of yourself for the exclusive reason that you want to make a difference in the lives of others? This is what Jesus means when He says you should hold a banquet for the poor, crippled, lame, blind, and everyone who is unable to repay you. In other words, when you are not able to receive the “reward” of vainglory, that is good. That must be your goal.

    Reflect, today, upon how strong your desire is for notoriety. Consider some scenario where you worked hard day and night for some time to do some good work. Imagine that the good work accomplished great benefits for others. Then imagine that no one knew you were behind that good work and, therefore, you received no gratitude or acknowledgment. How would you feel? Ideally, you would rejoice for two reasons. First, you would rejoice that you were able to serve and make a difference. Second, you would rejoice that God and God alone was aware of your act of charity. When God sees our goodness and selfless service, He puts Himself in debt to us in a certain sense. The “debt” that God takes on is His gratitude and love which are expressed to us through eternal rewards of His making. Seek to obtain these eternal rewards by striving to serve in the most hidden and humble ways possible. Those rewards infinitely surpass the fleeting rewards of vainglory.

    Most glorious God, You came to earth to suffer and die. In that act of perfect love You brought about the greatest good ever known. You offered this holy service of love in the most hidden and humble of ways. As a result, You are now glorified forever. Help me to share in Your acts of humble and hidden service so that I, too, may one day share in the glory of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.

    Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

    Featured image above: Jesus, under the tree By Left, via Adobe
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    6 mins
  • Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) - Seekers of Truth

    Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) - Seekers of Truth
    Nov 2 2024
    Read OnlineThe scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:32–33This scribe got it. He posed a question to Jesus after Jesus was challenged by some of the Sadducees who did not accept Jesus’ teachings about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees were trying to trip Jesus up, and this scribe listened carefully to Jesus’ answer and found it to be well said. Therefore, this scribe asks Jesus his own question. He doesn’t ask this question in an attempt to trap Jesus, but because he appeared to sincerely want to hear Jesus’ answer. So he asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” To that question, Jesus gives a summary of the whole law of God saying that we must first love God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and then love our neighbor as ourselves.We must all try to imitate this scribe. It was risky for him to show support of Jesus. Many of the other scribes were quite hostile toward Jesus. Therefore, by openly expressing His agreement with what Jesus taught, he was putting himself at risk of being criticized. But it appears he was not concerned about that. He was a seeker of truth, and Jesus ended up paying him a huge compliment by saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”In our growingly secular world, there are many truths of God that are being openly questioned and challenged. Agreement on what are the moral truths is becoming more of the exception than the norm. As a result, we will all find ourselves experiencing hostility from the world simply by being seekers of the truth. Many people even find that a mere refusal to openly support objective immorality will make them a target of the secular world.Are you a seeker of truth? Do you recognize the holy truths of God when you hear them? If so, do you have the courage you need to pursue those truths and articulate them in accord with the mind of God in the presence of others? Evangelization is different from proselytism. Proselytism is a hostile and forceful preaching of the truths of God. It is argumentative and lacks basic respect for the freedom and dignity of others. Evangelization, on the other hand, is an essential practice that every follower of Christ must engage in. At the heart of evangelization is an honest and humble seeking of the truth in every situation. One who evangelizes does not attack another. They do not criticize and condemn. Instead, they seek to understand the full truth themselves and then openly share that truth with those who are open to it.In many ways, this scribe did just that. He listened, understood, inquired, and then freely shared his faith in what Jesus said. Those who listened to him, especially other scribes, might not have agreed with his conclusions. They might have even criticized him among themselves. But the witness of this scribe might have opened the minds and hearts of others who were listening. Some would have sensed his openness, his understanding, and his joyful response and allowed his conversation with Jesus to affect them for the good. Thus, by openly seeking the truth, this scribe also evangelized others and Jesus praised Him for his good work. Reflect, today, upon the way that you share your faith with others. Are you one who tends to be argumentative and condemning? Or do you allow the joy of your own discovery of the truths of God do the evangelizing? Be a seeker of Truth. Do so openly and with joy. If you do, others will discover in you the truths of God that they need and will be invited to imitate your truth-seeking in their own lives. Lord of all Truth, in You and You alone will we discover the truths that set us free. Give me the grace and courage I need to always seek out the truth You teach. As I discover and understand all that You teach, help me to express my discoveries with joy and enthusiasm so that others will also be drawn to You. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ preaching - unfinished by Richard Parkes Bonington, via Wikimedia Commons
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    6 mins

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Hopeful for prayer 

I really appreciate this podcast providing short reflections on topics that I can take to prayer each day. Thank you! 

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