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Church Garden

Daily Reflection

Revelations 14:1-5 Psalm 24 Luke 21:1-4 Our Church today celebrates the Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria. She was born in 287 and was martyred on November 25, 305. She was born to a wealthy family in the midst of Christian persecutions. St. Catherine had the courage, or audacity depending on how you want to consider it, to go to emperor Maxentius and try to end the persecutions. Rather than kill her, Maxentius ordered fifty of his orators and philosophers to debate her. She did a tremendous job with the gifts of the Holy Spirit leading her on, that she could not be defeated in arguments. Many pagans were converted, including the wife of Maxentius. Because she continued to win the arguments, Maxentius gave up and had her tortured and killed. Catherine was to have been executed on something called the breaking wheel – an extremely painful way to die. When Catherine touched it, the breaking wheel, it shattered into pieces. After that, Maxentius had her beheaded. St. Catherine beautifully reflects today’s gospel. Jesus notes the widow who put two small coins in the collection basket. That woman was doing something incredible: she was trusting God would take care of her. When we give all we have and are to God in support of His mission, He blesses us more than we will ever see in this world. As we head into Advent, it is important to remember the greatest gift we can give to God is trusting in Him so much that we will give Him our whole livelihood to help accomplish His mission. So, where can you give more of yourself this Advent? Time? Talent? Possessions? It’s a beautiful day! Go smile at God today!

November 25

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How would you respond if someone predicted that your home, land, or place of worship would be destroyed? What if the person making the prediction was someone who had already performed many miracles, rewarding people for their “faith” in him? That’s what happened to the people in today’s Gospel. Given their perspective, rather than our 20/20 hindsight, we shouldn’t be surprised by their concern for when the destruction would happen and how they could know ahead of time. They were living in the present as if that was the only thing that mattered. But Jesus is trying to prevent them, and us, from focusing their/our energy on worldly matters. He desires that we focus on His love for us. He desires us to be with Him for all eternity. He offers us a greater joy than we can ever experience here on earth. He offers us eternal life with Him in heaven. That is the goal on which we should spend our time and energy. Jesus tells the crowd of the pending destruction of the Temple, and of the entire world. He is trying to point them to His Kingdom, a spiritual world that will not pass away. Only their faith in Him can lead them to a world that will not pass away. Two thousand years later, we still do not know when the final destruction of this world will take place. But we do know that our spiritual home is already available to us. What is required of us is the same as for the crowds at the Temple: faith and trust in the love and mercy of God. God has the power over everything, especially the things we cannot control. Our faith and trust in Him can remove our fear and bring us hope for the future, our eternal future. Given this promise of hope, let us seek the love and mercy Jesus offers, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, teach us, and lead us to live with eyes focused on the eternal joy to come. Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection Do you know the peace and security of a life submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ?

November 26

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Today’s gospel reading is set shortly before Jesus undergoes His passion. In this setting Jesus speaks to his disciples about their own passion. He tells them that they will be seized and persecuted, handed over to the authorities and imprisoned, all because they bear the name of Jesus. Those words of Jesus have come to pass throughout the history of the church. Indeed, people are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus today in huge numbers. Although, we are not being persecuted for our faith here at home, it is more difficult to be a believer in today’s world than in the more recent past. Jesus assures us that He Himself will be with us when we find ourselves facing opposition and hostility and are tempted to discouragement. “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.” (Lk. 21:15) The Lord is with us to support us. The trials and tribulations that come our way are an opportunity for us to bear witness, to give testimony to our faith. Our testimony comes not from our own strength but in the strength the Lord gives us. Jesus ends today’s Gospel with a message of hope. “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (Lk. 21:17-19) It was St. Mother Teresa who said that, in calling us to share in his work, the Lord does not ask us to be successful, but to be faithful. Our perseverance in faith will give witness to the power of faith in Christ. As we show that we are not living to fit in with the world around us, that our focus is on the rewards promised for eternal life, others will notice our authentic love of Christ and our unwavering hope for the future. This will be the testimony that will attract others to want to learn more about our Lord and Savior. Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection What have I suffered in my life because of the name of Jesus?

November 27

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Sirach 50: 22-24 Psalm 145 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9 Luke 17: 11-19 Happy Thanksgiving! It is going to be a great day! I personally have always tremendously enjoyed Thanksgiving, and this year will be no different. One of my blessings is the opportunity to journey with people who struggle. The things people are going through are intense, with health challenges, and job search, and family stresses. However, when I ask them to spend an hour doing absolutely nothing but listing the things for which they are grateful – wow! The stuff is incredible when they sit back and reflect! In our gospel reading today, it was very evident what the suffering of the lepers entailed. They were unclean both in physical terms and ritually. They were abandoned to live amongst themselves and were not permitted to get anywhere near a Jewish priest or the temple. Now, Samaritans and Jews did not intermingle and yet here, in the midst of suffering, they are all the same. They are all in need of help. When Jesus heals them, He does not separate them by Jew or Samaritan – He just hears their cries and answers their prayers. Isn’t it great that Jesus does not look at us as who we are, or where we have been, but rather where we can go and what we can do? Jesus instructs the healed lepers to go show themselves to the priests so they can again be ritually clean, they do this to carry forth the mission of Christ. All Jesus wanted in return was a “thank you”. Brother David Steindel-Rast, a Benedictine monk who established the Gratefulness Project several years ago, wrote “The root of joy is gratefulness. It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” This year, give God a great big ‘ol smile, regardless of what is happening in your life, smile at Him and say “thank you”. He loves you so very much, and we so often forget that, but when we say “thank you” it again reminds us how much He loves us. It is a fantastic day! Smile at God today!

November 28

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In the Gospel, Jesus invites his disciples to consider the fig tree and how their buds burst open and indicate that summer is near. In like manner, Jesus says that there are things that will happen that will indicate that the time of Jerusalem’s fall is near. Jesus also tells us that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” When Jesus says that “heaven and earth will pass away,” this is not just a reference to the end of time. It is also a reference to the destruction of the Temple. This is because the Temple in Jerusalem was considered a microcosm of the universe. The sanctuary of the Temple represented heaven. In fact, the veil of the Temple had images of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The courts of the Temple represented the earth. When Jesus promises that heaven and earth will pass away, he is predicting the destruction of the Temple. Jesus not only predicts the destruction, but he also says exactly when it will happen, namely, before “this generation” passes away. Now, a generation, in the bible, means forty years. Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30 on the 15th day of Nisan, which was after the evening Passover and was the day of preparation before the Sabbath. The Romans began to lay siege to Jerusalem in A.D. 70, three days before the Passover. In this way, the forty years were completed, the microcosm of the universe was destroyed, and yet Jesus’ words remain. Jesus’ words always have, and always will, stood the test of time. His words are eternal, and therefore we should place our trust and hope dedicated to living a life in imitation of Jesus. While we wait for the Lord's physical return in glory, we know His presence is with us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts. The Lord Jesus comes daily and frequently to those who long for Him and He speaks tenderly to our hearts like a lover who whispers in the ear of the beloved. His Word shows us the way to the Father gives us the hope of eternal life. Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection Do you recognize God’s presence within, and do you listen to His word? Sources for today’s reflection: https://epriest.com/reflections/view/2897 and https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=nov29

November 29

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Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle Rom 10:9-18 19:8, 9, 10, 11 Mt 4:18-22 “Come after me, and I will make you Fishers of Men.” What was it about Jesus’ demeanor and words that were so compelling that two fishermen dropped the tools of their trade and followed him, no questions asked? In the Gospel today, we can picture Jesus, walking along by the Sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers engaged in their everyday business, then he throws out an invitation, calls two hardworking tradesmen, to follow him, and become fishers of men. And they follow him. At once. Leaving their nets. Jesus calls them with authority, they could have ignored the call. He calls them into mission, they could have rejected the ask. But they didn’t. Thankfully. Even though they may not have had any idea what being ‘fishers of men’ would entail, they trusted that Jesus would provide the means. As we are occupied with many responsibilities and distractions, Jesus walks alongside us, too, in our daily lives, and he calls us to engage with his mission, trusting that he will provide all that we need. We are most likely not being called to the radical response of Andrew and Simon Peter, that is, leaving our careers and families – although some are – but we are still invited to enter the mission. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Andrew, and Peter, along with the other Apostles, are commissioned to go out to all the world and make Disciples. They are sent to testify to the truth; the truth that is Jesus Christ. The Apostles are sent to be fishers of men who will believe because of their witness. In the first reading, we hear the question that St. Paul poses to the Romans: ‘And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?’ And Paul goes on to tell us that: ‘...faith comes from what is heard.’ We have heard and believed because of Simon Peter, Andrew, the Apostles, the saints and multitudes of others that have gone before us. Who will hear and believe because of us? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News.

November 30

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