Mothers are superheroes. I say that to many of the mothers I meet. I came to this deeper realization after reading what happens to a woman when she gets pregnant and gives birth. 

I have read, for example, that for the first two years of giving birth, a woman’s brain is remodeled in such a way that it focuses on the needs and concerns of the vulnerable being she has given birth to. 

Woman or not, mother or not, each of us has done some pretty awesome things. You might disagree with me, but really, just getting up in the morning can sometimes seem a major miracle for me—and involves lots of asking the Lord to give me strength and grace—especially when I am so tired or feel burdened. 

In God’s economy, giving glory to Him means a constant state of being in His presence. With a humble and sincere heart, we acknowledge that everything we accomplish is through and with His grace and power. Whether God uses us for mundane, everyday tasks or awe-inspiring feats is His call. 

Joyce Roa (jsosoban@gmail.com)

reflect

Do you strive to listen and obey God’s word and leading?

Dearest Lord, thank You for wanting to speak to me. Thank You for making me Your friend. Grant me the grace to listen and obey. 

St. Anthony of Padua, priest and Doctor of the Church, pray for us.

This text affirms the wondrous nature of faith—that Christ lives within us. We hold a treasure, this gift we have received, and we need to share this with the world. Faith is available to all. Let us give witness to the effectiveness of faith through the lives we live. The rest is up to God.

⁷ Brothers and sisters: We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So death is at work in us, but life in you. ¹³ Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we too believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. ¹⁵ Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 116:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R: To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

¹⁰ I believed, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; ¹¹ I said in my alarm, “No man is dependable.” (R) ¹⁵ Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. ¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) ¹⁷ To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. ¹⁸ My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 5:27-32

Adultery is a difficult sin to detect, not unless people who have an affair get caught in the act. However, adultery begins in the mind—the result of entertaining adulterous thoughts. Holiness is a subjective reality that depends on an individual’s personal response to God. The holiness of a person should be evident in his or her actions. 

Gospel Acclamation

Shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life.

²⁷ Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. ²⁸ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. ³¹ “It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. ³² But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Reflect:

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” (Saint Augustine)

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 KINGS 1 - 3 today.

I love to reflect on the image of earthen vessels as it is full of all possible points of focus. However, the one I always come back to is that of the fragility of earthen vessels. If you drop them, they shatter. And so is the nature of our faith—it often hangs by a thread and needs to be nurtured carefully. 

It always amazes me that God chooses fallible and weak instruments in the service of His Gospel. Many of the saints fit into this category. They were literally nobodies before the Holy Spirit plucked them from obscurity and transformed their lives. It is their simple “yes” that made all the difference. And so it can be with each one of us. Amazing! You and I can also become saints. This truth ought to blow our minds as it is rooted in the promise of grace that is the Holy Spirit.

Each of us is potentially a channel of grace beyond our wildest imagination. However, most of us do not give the Holy Spirit the chance He needs to work this miracle in us. We spend much of our time worrying about how we are going to achieve the impossible, and not enough in surrendering our lives to the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the Author of many impossibilities. God’s grace is available to us, but we simply do not see it, or worse, ignore it. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do in our lives starting today. 

Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection question

Do you tend to be self-sufficient or dependent on the Holy Spirit when it comes to your spiritual life?  

Holy Spirit, come and transform me into the saint You want me to be. I am ready to surrender all to Your grace, power, and gifts. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________