“Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:25-26

That’s a scary thought! At first, this story could be seen to portray a complete lack of mercy. “You will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” But in fact, it’s an act of great love.

The key here is that Jesus wants us reconciled to Him and to one another. Specifically, He wants all anger, bitterness and resentment removed from our souls. That’s why He says to “Settle with your opponent quickly on the way to court with him.” In other words, apologize and be reconciled before you find yourself before the judgment seat of divine justice.

God’s justice is completely satisfied when we humble ourselves, apologize for our faults, and sincerely seek to make amends. With that, every “penny” is already paid. But what God does not accept is obstinacy. Obstinacy is a serious sin and one that cannot be forgiven unless the obstinacy is let go of. Obstinacy in refusing to admit our fault in a grievance is of the greatest concern. Obstinacy in our refusal to change our ways is also of great concern.

The penalty is that God will exercise His justice upon us until we finally repent. And this is an act of love and mercy on God’s part because His judgment is focused especially upon our sin which is the only thing standing in the way of our love of God and others.

Paying back the last penny can also be seen as an image of Purgatory. Jesus is telling us to change our lives now, to forgive and repent now. If we do not, we will still have to deal with those sins after death, but it’s much better to do so now.

Reflect upon what it is that you have to “settle with your opponent” today. Who is your opponent? Who is the one you have a grievance with today? Pray that God will show you the way to being freed of that burden so that you can enjoy true freedom!

Lord, help me to forgive and to forget. Help me to seek anything that keeps me from fully loving You and all my neighbours. Purify my heart, oh Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.

“Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”   Matthew 5:18

This is an interesting statement from Jesus.  There are many things that could be said about it regarding the law and Jesus’ fulfillment of the law.  But one thing worth reflecting upon is the great lengths Jesus goes to identify the importance of not only one letter of the law, but more specifically, the smallest part of a letter.

The ultimate law of God, as brought to fulfillment in Christ Jesus, is love.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength.”  And, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  This is the ultimate fulfillment of the law of God.

If we look at this passage above, in light of the perfection of the law of love, we can hear Jesus saying that the details of love, even the smallest detail, is of grave importance.  In fact, the details are what makes love grow exponentially.  The smaller the detail one is attentive to in love of God and love of neighbor, the greater is the fulfillment of the law of love to the greatest degree.

Think, today, about those whom God has put in your life to love.  This would especially apply to family members and especially to spouses.  How attentive are you to every small act of kindness and compassion?  Do you regularly look for opportunities to offer an encouraging word?  Do you make an effort, even in the smallest of details, to show you care and are there and are concerned?  Love is in the details and the details magnify this glorious fulfillment of God’s law of love.

Lord, help me to be attentive to all the big and many small ways I am called to love You and others.  Help me, especially, to look for the smallest of opportunities to show this love and thus fulfill Your law.  Jesus, I trust in You.

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:13a &14a
Salt and light, that’s us. Hopefully! Have you ever pondered what it means to be salt or light in this world?
Let’s start with this image. Imagine you cook some wonderful vegetable soup with all the best ingredients. It slowly simmers for hours and the broth looks very tasty. But the one thing you are out of is salt and other spices. So, you just let the soup simmer and hope for the best. Once it’s fully cooked you try a taste and, to your disappointment, it’s somewhat tasteless. So, you search until you find the missing ingredient, salt, and you add just the right amount. After another half hour of simmering you try a sample and are greatly delighted. It’s amazing what salt can do!

Or imagine going for a walk in the forest and getting lost. As you search for your way out, the sun sets and it slowly becomes dark. It’s overcast so there are no stars or moon. About a half hour after sunset you find yourself in complete darkness in the middle of the forest. As you sit there, you suddenly see the bright moon peek through the clouds. It’s a full moon and the overcast skies are clearing up. Suddenly, the full moon sheds so much light your way that you are able to once again navigate the dark forest.

These two images provide us with the importance of just a little salt and a little light. Just a little changes everything!

So it is with us in our faith. The world we live in is dark in so many ways. The “flavor” of love and mercy is also quite void. God is calling you to add that little flavor and produce that little light so that others can find their way.

Like the moon, you are not the source of light. You only reflect the light. God wants to shine through you and He wants you to reflect His light. If you are open to this, He will move the clouds at the right time so as to use you in the way He has chosen. Your responsibility is to simply be open.

Reflect, today, upon how open you are. Pray each day that God will use you in accord with His divine purpose. Make yourself available to His divine grace and you will be amazed at the way He can use the small things in your life to make a difference.

Lord, I do want to be used by You. I want to be salt and light. I want to make a difference in this world. I give myself to You and Your service. Jesus, I trust in You.

“How blest are…” –Matthew 5:3
The Beatitudes are eight circumstances in which we receive exceptional blessings. The Beatitudes are keys to living a life of blessing and of being a blessing (see Gn 12:2). Consequently, we may surmise that people would strongly desire to live the Beatitudes. Yet this is not the case.

Part of the problem is that few people know how great blessings are, because they do not understand well the meaning of blessings. Many people think that blessings are prayers for good things to happen. No, blessings are not prayers from us to God, but blessings are from God to and through us. Therefore, we are to bless only those whom we have been authorized by God to bless at the time and circumstances God has authorized. As we sing in the hymn, “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow,” all blessings come from God. Blessings are creations by God, for when God speaks He creates (see Gn 1:3ff; cf Heb 11:3).

So blessings (beatitudes) are very important. The blessings at the end of Mass and in the other sacraments have the potential to re-create the world. Parents deprive their children of new life if they would fail to bless them daily. For those who understand blessing, benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is recognized as God creating.

PRAYER: Blessings are creations of God. Live the Beatitudes.
PROMISE: Father, teach me the basics of life in You.
PRAISE: “Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream.” –1 Kgs 17:6
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A FAITHFUL GOD
“If we are unfaithful He will still remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” –2 Timothy 2:13
Which of us can honestly claim that we have been perfectly faithful to all the Lord’s commands? We all fall short; we are all sinners in some way (see Rm 3:23). The Good News is that God remains faithful to us, despite our sins and failings. Faithfulness is at the core of God’s very self.

God loves us unconditionally, even if we have completely turned our back on Him. “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Even should a mother forget her child (see Is 49:15), or a father disown his children, St. Paul tells us that God is faithful because it is impossible for God to deny what lies at the center of His heart: faithful love.

“There is no chaining the word of God” (2 Tm 2:9), and there is no chaining the love of God. Have you ever known a person who cannot seem to accept love? As impossible as it might seem for that person to receive any love, nothing is impossible for God. The stoniest heart is no match for the avalanche of God’s love. Jesus hung on a cross and accepted death out of a heart of unimaginable love for each human being. Therefore, have great confidence in the infinite power of the love of God. God’s Word breaks open hard hearts, and His faithful love melts them. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever” (Ps 136:1).

PRAYER: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, we Thee implore, that we may love Thee more and more.”
PROMISE: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” –Mk 12:30
PRAISE: Seeing Christ on the crucifix opened Mark to loving as Jesus loved.

LIGHT MY FIRE
“I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God…” –2 Timothy 1:6
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus speaks of flame when He references the burning bush (Mk 12:26). Moses saw an angel of the Lord appear to him “in fire flaming out of a bush” (Ex 3:2). That experience stirred into flame a blazing fire for God in Moses’ heart.

In our Baptism and Confirmation, we have been given gifts of the Spirit (Rm 12:6; Eph 4:8). Hundreds of millions of people on this earth have received incredible gifts from the Holy Spirit. Why then is the world in such a mess when the Spirit has given us so much help? Many have stifled (1 Thes 5:19) and saddened (Eph 4:30) the Spirit by living “at the level of the flesh” (Eph 2:3), and the flesh fights against the Spirit (Gal 5:17). However, the Holy Spirit also fights against the flesh (Gal 5:17), if only we give the Spirit permission.

Jesus came to light a fire on the earth (Lk 12:49), but many are afraid they’ll get burnt. When you’re tempted to douse the fire of the Spirit, God wants you to throw gasoline on it. When you’re tempted to put a damper on the Spirit’s fire burning in your life, God wants you to put a blowtorch on it.

Fr. Al Lauer, founder and longtime author of One Bread, One Body, once said: “The more I say ‘No’ to myself, the more I say ‘Yes’ to the Holy Spirit.” “My point is that you should live in accord with the Spirit and you will not yield to the cravings of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).

PRAYER: Father, may I not be so afraid of getting burnt that I fail to catch fire. Consuming Fire (Heb 12:29), melt my heart in Your love.
PROMISE: “God has saved us and has called us to a holy life.” –2 Tm 1:9
PRAISE: St. Charles Lwanga and his fellow Ugandan martyrs endured cruel and sinister punishment imposed by the vicious King Mwanga. Pope St. Paul VI canonized them in 1964.

IMAGE-CONSCIOUS
“Whose head is this and whose inscription is it?” –Mark 12:16
The Pharisees and Herodians were able to identify the owner of the Roman coin because of what was stamped on it. The seal on the coin marked it as belonging to Caesar.

When we were baptised  into Christ, we too were stamped with an image, “sealed” with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22). We were “formed anew in the image of [our] Creator” (Col 3:10), and now we “share the image of His Son,” Jesus (Rm 8:29). God marked us with His own seal to identify us as His property (Rm 14:8). Isn’t this amazing? The same God Who forbade the making of any graven images out of concern for our falling into idol worship (see Ex 20:4) has now engraved His very own seal upon us (Eph 4:30).

Are you aware that you are marked with the seal of God? Can others tell to Whom you belong merely by looking at you? You can polish up your image. Concentrate on your Owner and gaze “on the Lord’s glory.” Then you will be “transformed from glory to glory into His very image by the Lord Who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).

PRAYER: Father, may all who see me think of You.
PROMISE: “What we await are new heavens and a new earth where, according to His promise, the justice of God will reside.” –2 Pt 3:13
PRAISE: Emperor Constantine had great respect for Sts. Marcellinus and Peter. He buried his mother, St. Helena, in the basilica that had been erected over their burial crypt. These two saints were such powerful witnesses that they converted other prisoners and their jailer before their deaths.