Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

Today's Mass Readings

So often in prayer, when we read a beautiful scripture passage, or a touching reflection in a spiritual book or saint’s journal, our soul is enriched by the words that are so clearly called forth by the Holy Spirit. We may feel inspired to follow the words we read at that moment because, in our heads, we see no other way to live than by these words. The words taste so sweet.

But as we go on living our day-to-day lives, we encounter moments in which we can choose to live by the words we have read or not to do so. But the problem is that we no longer taste the sweetness of those words; they have already been digested. It is much easier to receive the words and commands of God than to fulfill them and carry them out. This is because the commands of the Lord are difficult to live by. It doesn’t always taste “sweet” when we choose to go against our earthly desires in order to follow the seemingly “sour” words of the Lord. We are creatures of the present; we enjoy what tastes the sweetest in our present moments. As we read scripture, those verses seem like the sweetest thing. But when we face temptations to deny the Lord, Satan makes those temptations seem very sweet as well.

So, we often fail to live out the words of the Lord. We fail to remember His sweetness. How can we seek to quell our sweet tooth? Let us look at Christ in the gospel today. Jesus walks into the temple, the house of prayer, and finds it has become like a market. So, he stands up against these people. He continues to preach against what the culture around him is living by. Jesus’ choice probably did not taste sweet to him at that moment because a multitude of people wanted to kill him for what he said. It must have tasted very sour to preach the truth to those who refused to listen to it. We learn from Jesus that we cannot make our decisions based on what tastes the sweetest in the present moment. Sometimes the path of love will taste sour; it will be painful. But that pain is what leads us to a deeper love and connection to Christ.

Reflection by Caleb, seminarian