Mark 1-4

Selected Lectio Reading:

Mark 4:35-41


Meditatio/Reflection:

A couple of years ago, I led the March for Life trip to Washington, D.C. for a group of seniors.  One of the evenings we were reflecting on our experience at the march.  The discussion turned to what we can do about life issues, especially because they seem so much bigger than us.  I brought up this story, and how we can look to Jesus' disposition on the boat which was about to capsize.  He is sleeping.  He is at peace.  Even in the midst of the storm, he is not anxious.

This also reminds me of when Liam (our second oldest, currently 4 years old) was going through a period where it took at least an hour each evening to put him to bed.  I think he was around 14-18 months at the time (my memories are not so clear from the kiddos' early years...).  Every night, I would pray with him, sing songs, and put him in his crib where he dutifully lay down.  But then any time I tried to leave, he would start screaming.  It got to the point where I would kneel down and slowly back out of the door and very slowly close the door so that he might not see me leave.  One night, I had been trying to get him to sleep for about 45 minutes.  I lay him down, I very slowly left the room, I closed the door.  I didn't hear anything for about five seconds and so I silently rejoiced.  And suddenly Liam started screaming.  And so in my prayer, I shouted at God, "What do you want from me?"  And his response, clear as day, was, "Just be."  And I was flooded with peace, knowing that I was not alone and that I could be at peace in the midst of this storm.  And so I went back in and worked for another hour to get him down.

That statement, "Just be," has been with me since.  I try to recognize when I'm getting overly anxious about something at work, or if I'm being short-tempered with my kids, and I ask God again what he wants from me.  And that same peace that he offered a couple years ago is available in those moments.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for my kiddos and how you call me to love them.  Thank you for how you are present to me in the hard moments when I feel like I can't take it anymore.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, bless all of those who have a hard time seeing you in difficult times and help them find the peace that you offer in those moments.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Jonny Diaz, "Breathe"

Saint Quote of the Day:

Matthew 5-9

Selected Lectio Reading:
Mt 7:1-5


Meditatio/Reflection:

Who am I to judge?  Don't judge me!  I cringe every time I hear these phrases, and I hear them all too often.  How often when we hear someone tell us to not judge them, it seems like they're looking to excuse a certain action, behavior, attitude, etc.?  Do we no longer have the capacity to discern right from wrong?

What is Jesus saying here?  Is he telling us to not recognize the true faults and failures of each other?  Hardly.  Otherwise, why would he tell us to "take the speck out of [our] neighbor's eye" once we can "see clearly" (Mt 7:5).  I think the emphasis here is twofold.  First, don't condemn your neighbor.  When we condemn others, we tend to reject any sort of relationship which could result in conversion.  Second, don't get all high and mighty and point out other people's faults and failures without considering your own.

But we must consider the good of others, even when it means that we have to confront their objectively harmful choices.  Would we want someone to leave us in an addiction to something detrimental to our physical, spiritual, or psychological health?  No, we'd want them to judge the thing as harmful and help us get out of it.  So too, we should care enough about each other to call each other out in charity.  We should also be open to this fraternal correction from others when we are at fault.

It can take a lot of courage and patience to do either.  And it's something that I know I need to work on.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for your moral law and for those in my life who offer me fraternal correction in charity.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, help me to be open to those who authentically want what is best for me and who all me out of mediocrity to sanctity.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Matt Maher: Letting Go

Saint Quote of the Day:

"Don't neglect the practice of fraternal correction, which is a clear sign of supernatural virtue of charity.  You may find it hard, for it is easier to be inhibited.  It's easier to behave that way, but it's not supernatural.  And you will have to render an account to God for such omissions."
      - St. Josemaria Escriva

Matthew 1-4

Selected Lectio Reading:
Mt 3:7-12


Meditatio/Reflection:

"You brood of vipers!" John the Baptist says to the Sadducees and Pharisees (Mt 3:7).  As serpents are often associated with Satan, we might hear "You children of the devil!"  We often see in the Gospels, the Jewish leaders investigating a situation which may fall under their jurisdiction, and yet it's often from a position of skepticism or doubt.  How often did they try to impede Jesus in his public ministry?  No wonder John is so critical of them here.  He is trying to get the people ready for the coming of Christ through his baptism of repentance, and yet these people are potentially disrupting that by offering a different teaching.

But what about me?  How am I like the Sadducees and Pharisees?  I hear the admonition to bear good fruit.  I know I try to lead people to Christ, like John, but do I?  Am I more like the Sadducees and Pharisees in their sense of self-righteousness?  A frequent prayer of mine is may nothing that I do cause another to turn away from God.  I pray this especially with for my wife and kids.  I pray it most fervently when I've been harsh or uncharitable or selfish.  It has often led me to seek forgiveness for however I treated them and to mend the relationship.  If I don't, I am no better than the "brood of vipers" John condemns here.


Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for inspiring me to lead people to you, especially my wife, my kids, and my students.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, may nothing I do today lead a single soul away from you.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Oh Hellos: Dear Wormwood

Saint Quote of the Day:

"Your faith should be for you a light which guides you in all things, and a shining light for those you instruct, to lead them on the path to heaven."
      -St. John Baptist de la Salle

John 13

Selected Lectio Reading:
John 13:1-8


Meditatio/Reflection:

I can just imagine the incredulous sound of Peter's question: "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" (Jn 13:6).  How many times have we seen Peter humbled by Jesus, either through a recognition of Jesus' greatness or a rebuke from Jesus when Peter didn't quite get it right.  To watch someone who I consider to be greater than myself lowering himself to do a task that in certain contexts not even slaves would have to do, I'm not sure how I would respond.  I feel like I can really relate to Peter's protest here.  I would feel uncomfortable having the Lord of the universe seemingly beneath me.

Yet, I know that is only my pride talking.  It's a false humility to say to another, "You're so great that you couldn't possibly deign to serve someone like me."  In rejecting the service of another, we are actually putting ourselves above them, judging who is and who is not capable of offering service.  Who are we to make that judgment?  Who are we to reject the charity of another?  We may even think that we don't need the service being offered.  How utterly arrogant!

When we can enter into a mutual submissiveness to serve one another, how great would that relationship become!  Jesus models for us the need to consider each person higher than ourselves, to be willing to enter into the most demeaning of circumstances to serve them.  When we do this ourselves, and allow others to do it for us, then we have a sense of what Jesus is trying to accomplish here.  For as he anoints them in their priesthood in these moments, he also shows what it means to be a priest, to lay down his life for his flock.  The question I need to ask myself is whether or not my pride gets in the way of all of this, or if in fact I am seeking to follow the example of Jesus washing his disciples' feet.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Thank you Lord for the model of service that you gave to us in the upper room.  Thank you for providing a standard which inspires me to lose my pride and open myself to what you offer me, to what others offer me, so that I can offer myself to you and them.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, humble me as you did St. Peter.  I'm scared to ask for this, so help me to trust in your provision and grace as you help me to recognize myself in truth.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Matt Maher: Love Comes Down

Saint Quote of the Day:

"Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ, doesn't seek the glory of Christ."
      - St. John of the Cross

Genesis 37-42

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 39:6-20


Meditatio/Reflection:

"Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking" (v. 6).  What a way to introduce this section.  How often are we led astray because of something or someone we find attractive.  What are we willing to compromise?  Yet in Joseph we see an amazing example of loyalty, to his master and to his God.  Time after time Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, and yet he resists saying, "How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (v. 9).  He recognizes that he has been given authority over Potiphar's entire household, everything but his wife.  She is his, and no one else's.

Over the course of the last several weeks as I've prayed for my wife and sought to serve her better, I've been constantly reminded of a fundamental truth of our relationship.  She is God's first.  God's first, not mine.  While she is my wife, she is God's first.  Therefore, the motivation for any way in which I serve her should be to help her see her relationship with God more clearly so she can experience and know his love, care, and provision.

In our marriage, we image this reality to each other, or at least we try.  What could we learn by this example of Joseph, his loyalty to Potiphar and to God?  What should we be willing to risk for the authentic good of the other, this truth that we actually belong to God?  Here Joseph is thrown in prison after being falsely accused.  How much more should I give for my bride and for my God?

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for my bride.  Thank you for showing me your love for me through her.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, help me to be the husband my wife deserves, to show your love to her.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Jars of Clay: Worlds Apart

Saint Quote of the Day:

"My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it as often as I draw breath."
      - St. John Vianney

Genesis 31-36

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 32:22-32


Meditatio/Reflection:

There are two things that stick out to me in this passage.  First, the words, "The same night..." (v. 22) drew me to see what led up to this passage.  Jacob's attitude has shifted considerably during his "exile" in Haran.  Where once he bargained with God's favor and protection in exchange for his devotion (28:20-22), he now approaches God with humility: "O Lord...I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant..." (32:9-10).  I think this humility lends itself to what Jacob sees in his wrestling match with God.  Jacob says two things after his hip is dislocated: "bless me" (v. 26) and "tell me your name" (v. 29).  In Jacob's humility, he recognizes that he is not greater than the one with whom he is wrestling, and thus he seeks a blessing.  Second, he wants to know the name of his opponent.  In considering these points, I wonder if Jacob truly saw in the other an opponent.  Sometimes in wrestling with a major decision, or trying to think of the best way to approach a class, topic, issue, whatever, I have a somewhat unconscious sensation of battling against God.  Often though, this morphs from having God as an opponent to seeking a greater understanding of who God is, what his will is for me, and how I should proceed.  I think that's the nature of Israel, of being "one who wrestles with God."  In our sin, we have an imperfection vision, and so we must sometimes struggle against God to gain clarity.  In our struggle, we realize that we're not struggling so much against God as to better understand him.  Perhaps our "wrestling match" is more with ourselves?

The second item, which serves only to highlight the importance of this passage, is that surrounding it are Jacob referring to seeing someone's face (32:20 and 33:10).  And in the middle of this passage, Jacob recognizes that he has "seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved" (v. 30).  He feared his coming encounter with Esau, but what truly spares him and transforms him into Israel, as one who can be reconciled to his brother, is this meeting with God.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for allowing us to struggle with you, to wrestle with what you've given us.  Thank you for the times when I've been able to come to a greater understanding of you and your will for my life through a hardship, trial, or otherwise painful experience.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, please never allow me to be too comfortable in my understanding of you that I stop seeking more.  Draw my heart, soul, and strength ever more to your Sacred Heart.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Carbon Leaf: Let Your Troubles Roll By

Saint Quote of the Day:

"Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly."
      - St. Ignatius of Loyola

Genesis 27-30

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 28:1-5


Meditatio/Reflection:

The first thing that stood out to me when reading this passage was the command of Jacob to "Go...and take as a wife...one of the daughters of Laban" (v. 2).  It's almost bizarre to think of this command being necessary.  Only take one wife, son.  I suppose in a culture that was so inundated with polygamy, and that Jacob was going to be heading away from his place of security, this command surely must have been needed.  And of course, Jacob won't obey it, and look what happens: his family life is what we might call a disaster.  Drama, deceit, contests, favoritism, envy.  What could possibly held this together?  Isaac's blessing: "May God Almighty bless you...May he give to you the blessing of Abraham" (v. 3-4).

I love that image of Isaac giving Jacob this blessing.  It reminds me of my own kids.  Each night we have a pretty set routine.  About 7:00 in the evening, I will get the boys together to get ready for bed.  PJs on, brush teeth, etc.  Then I send the older boys downstairs for some quiet reading time while I read a story to John Paul, pray with him, sing him some songs, and then put him to bed.  Then I get the older boys, read them a story (currently The Hobbit), say Night Prayer with them, sing some songs, and then put them to bed.  As I put all three boys to bed, I bless them with a prayer I came up with while I was dating Ashley: "God bless you and may your guardian angels and all the angels watch over you this night and grant you restful sleep."  This routine has become one of my favorite things about being a dad.  To be able to close a day with giving a fatherly blessing.  It's in these moments when I know that I'm fulfilling at least part of what God wants me to be as a dad.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Thank you, Lord, for your gift of marriage to the world and how you designed that we would be husband and wife, one flesh, indissoluble.  Thank you for the blessing of fatherhood and my kids.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Dear Lord, bless my wife and kids.  May they come to know you, love you, and serve you better with each day.  Bless me as a husband and father, that I may be a blessing to them.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Billy Joel: Goodnight My Angel

Wisdom from the Holy Father:

"To be a good father, the first requirement is to be present in the family.  To be close to his wife, to share in everything, joy and pain, burdens and hopes."
      -Pope Francis, General audience, Feb. 4, 2015