Tag: Rosary

How often do we decide that a particular rule or law doesn’t apply to us? When we drive faster than the speed limit or leave our phones on when we’re on a plane or in a theater, we are really saying, “That law doesn’t apply to me.” To whom are you willing to be obedient? We are allergic to the very word. It seems we are obedient only to our own desires. No wonder we have such a hard time surrendering in obedience to the will of God. The word obedience comes

from the Latin word obedire, which means “to listen deeply.” By listening deeply we can see the wisdom of God’s way.

Today: Pray two decades of the Rosary today.

Think about when your wallet or your keys go missing. You panic at the possibility that they are lost or stolen, but most of the time you have just misplaced them. These are just things. And yet, so often we lose Jesus in our own lives and don’t even notice. It might be days or weeks before we realize that we have lost him.

Today: Reflect on a time in your life when you lost Jesus. How did it affect you? How did you find him again? Do you need to find Jesus in your life now?

Everyone needs the kingdom. It’s a place; it’s a person; it’s a worldview; it’s the question and the answer; it’s the ultimate system of values. And it is to be sought unrelentingly. Jesus came to reveal the kingdom of God to us so we could live loving and just lives in the eyes of God. He stays at our side, encouraging and challenging us, so that we can live up to the promise of baptism, live more loving and just lives, and in the process make our tiny corner of the world more loving

and just. Jesus invites us to live in this world in a kingdom way.

Today: Think about your own life. Are you making the world more like the kingdom of God? How are you proclaiming the kingdom of God in your own life?

Stay awake. Jesus says it three times in the garden. But we cannot. I still fall asleep today. Sometimes I fall asleep when I am praying. I fall asleep in other ways too. Some days I fall asleep in my marriage, or as a parent. There are times when I have been asleep for weeks or months with regard to physical fitness. It’s so easy to take a nap from financial responsibility. God instructs us, as pilgrims who are just passing through this place we call earth, to

stay awake and be constantly vigilant and attentive to what matters most, rather than letting what matters least take over our schedules and lives.

Today: Pray five decades of the Rosary.

While we each have an overwhelming desire to be treated as a unique human being, we often ignore other people’s humanity and treat them according to the function they play in our lives. Do you treat the person who serves you at a restaurant as a person or as a server? Ever wonder what is going on in that person’s life? His grades might be suffering because he has to work so many hours just to pay for school and doesn’t have enough time to study. She might have just had a miscarriage. He might have just found out that his dad has cancer. But most of all, like we all do from time to time, she might just

be having a bad day for no particular reason.

Today: Consider this: Who is the one person you have loved more than any other in your life? Jesus loved the man who scourged him more than that. Jesus loved that man more than you and I have ever loved anyone.