Like Jeremiah and Jesus, we experience times in life that are filled with tension and difficulty. Yet following the example of St. Paul, we face these challenging moments with God’s grace as we embrace and live the love of Christ each and every day.
Mass Readings – 4th Sunday of the Year
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Study: Recall a time when you had to speak up in a difficult situation. How did you face it? What gave you strength to do it?
Pray: Ask the Lord for the grace to respond to challenging circumstances with love. Call upon the Holy Spirit for the gifts you need.
Serve: How can you support someone who is faced with a tough task right now? How can you help them?
Mass Readings – 4th Sunday of the Year
Let’s start with a quick recap of the readings this week:
The first reading, psalm, and Gospel all refer to moments that challenge us. The prophets encountered it, the Psalmist sings about it, and the Lord himself met resistance and opposition to the message he proclaimed. But note this: in spite of the difficulty they did it.
Sometimes saying what needs to be said is unpleasant and unwelcome. We might want to avoid it or wish someone else could do it, but there are times in life when it’s up to us to deliver a tough message. We know what needs to be said…and that it’s up to us to speak.
The key is how we say it. How does our intention, our desire, and our tone convey a tough message? The answer is found in the second reading: Love. The love of Christ guides and directs every aspect of our lives – including those times when we are called to speak about a difficult topic.
This notion of “what” and “how” shows up repeatedly in the spiritual life:
Our faith calls us to confront the reality of life, particularly when things are tough. We need not fear engaging a difficult situation; rather, we draw on the love of Christ to guide us – both in what we say and how we say it – trusting that the Lord will provide us with the grace we need.
Let’s face it: Life is tough! But when the going gets tough, the tough get going…guided by God’s love.
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Note: This post was first published on January 26, 2016.
The readings state plainly the hostility and difficulty we often find in lives. Sometimes the battle is outside ourselves, and sometimes it is within. Yet as we fight our battles, we constantly use our most powerful weapon: the grace we receive through our faith in Jesus Christ!
Mass Readings – 25th Sunday of the Year
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Mass Readings – Saturday of the 5th Week of Easter
Chosen by God does not mean that life will be easy; on the contrary, it will be hard! We know from experience that there are times when we pay the price for doing the right thing, and as we follow Jesus Christ we know that we will meet opposition and difficulty…yet with the Lord’s grace we will be given what we need to keep going.
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter
Paul & Barnabas faced tremendous challenges, even as they spread the Gospel in amazing ways. It’s a good reminder that we, too, will face adversity as we live our faith in the world today.
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Mass Readings – Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent
God’s promise to Abraham is transformed and renewed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we look to our challenges and trials today, may we build upon the foundation of faith that we have received and offer our lives in service to the Lord.
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Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 4th Week of the Year
In the Book of Hebrews we are reminded to treat our trials as discipline, something that Jesus encountered when he preached at Nazareth. As we live our faith today may we consider our struggles and difficulties as “homework for holiness” through which God strengthens our faith and renews us in grace.
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