One-Minute Reflection: Leviticus 19:18 (30 Days of Prayer for Unity #23)

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“Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (Lv 19:18)

Reflection: We all suffer wrongdoing – actual or imagined – and we choose how we act upon it every day. Left to our own device, we respond to transgressions in kind. Jesus Christ, however, showed us a different way: forgiveness.

Today’s Intention: Lord, we are weak. Without your strength, we are vulnerable to the temptations caused by hurt. Please, give us the fortitude when experiencing unjust loss, wisdom to reflect on them before we act, and perseverance to seek unity before division.

Peace and Goodness

The Gift of Wisdom

On the eighth day of the Novena of the Holy Spirit, we pray for the gift of Wisdom: the grace to know, understand, and live in Christ.

There is so much to say about the gift of Wisdom, but all I write this day are the words of St. Louis de Montford:

“To know Jesus Christ incarnate Wisdom, is to know all we need. To presume to know everything and not know him is to know nothing at all.”

Have a blessed day!!!

The Question about Paying Taxes

“And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to entrap him in his talk.” Mark 12:13

In today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees try a new tactic to entrap Jesus; this time is about paying taxes. Jesus knowing their hearts, however, outsmarts them by simply saying, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” That was the end of the conversation.

Today, let’s us be aware of the Pharisees in our lives who are trying to entrap us in their devious ways. Let’s pray to be blessed with the wisdom to silent them and the courage to forgive them.

“May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place our hope in you.” Palm 33:22

© hectorortiz 2013. All rights reserved.

Tragedy and Death

“Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12: 8-9a, 10

This week’s Boston Marathon attack and last night’s blast at a Texas fertilizer plant are public reminders of how fragile our existence in this life really is. Death is ever present; it always has been; it will always be. During these tragic moments some may ask “why would God let this happened?”

We live in a world where evil does exist. There are bad people in this world and tragic events are part of life. Evil and death have been among us since the fall of Adam and Eve. God does not create death; the Bible tells us so “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.” ~ Wisdom 1: 13; 2: 23-24

These tragic events are also reminders of the mercy and love God has for us. Some may ask “where was God during these events?” He was in all the people whose first action was to kneel to pray for the souls of those who lost their lives; he was in the first responders’ skillful actions to save lives; he was in all the people who provided aid, comfort, condolence, and empathy for those suffering pain. Moreover, he was in His son Jesus Christ whom he sent to die for us on a cross so that we may be freed from death and evil and enjoy everlasting life.

My heart and prayers go to the victims and their families of these tragic events.

“Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” ~ Romans 12: 9-10, 12

© hectorortiz 2013. All rights reserved.