Thursday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
In today’s reading, St. Paul tells us the following: “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with Him. But if we deny Him, He will deny us. If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself.”
What St. Paul says can be both scary and comforting. If we deny Christ, He will deny us. But if we remain faithful until the end and give it are very all for eternal life, then we will see the Lord face to face and reign with Him and all the angels and saints in heaven.
But how do we do this? In St. Mark’s Gospel, the scribes asked Jesus which is the first of all commandments and Jesus replied “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I do this by giving miraculous medals to people I meet, just as my namesake, St. Maximilian Kolbe, did. This is one way I try to show that I love God and neighbor, because, “no one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” It brings me out of my comfort zone and to help share God’s message with others.
In the past couple of days, I have asked you to set time aside to pray or put in extra effort to spread the Good News. Now I ask you, have you actually done it. Examine yourself to see if there is any room for improvement. If you are busy, then take three minutes after reading this. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Here is a prayer I suggest to help: “Come Holy Spirit, help me make room in my life for Jesus and help spread the gospel to whomever I meet, no matter if it is family or friends or even strangers.”
Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources