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your saintliness! Read: Matthew 5:1-12a |
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“Robert, act your age!” My mother must have said that a thousand times. By giving us today’s feast the Church echoes Paul’s countless repetitions of the same point: “Christians, act what you are!”
We’re saints not by our own merit, but by God’s gift. We don’t become saints by leading virtuous lives after Baptism; we become saints by virtue of Baptism. Period. Our virtuous lives – and the lives of the throngs of unnamed saints whose victory we celebrate today – are expressions of the saintliness we have all been given in Baptism. They lived it.
As when I was a boy, I still today want things to go my way – and I protest, perhaps with more civility than I did then, when they don’t. I’m still focused on number one – me. But there’s that crowd of all the saints. They’re our cheering section, urging us to stay the course, to be faithful and true. If I listen, I can hear them saying, “Robert, give it up. Act your saintliness! You can do it!”
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Reflection:
What yoke am I carrying now? Is it leading me to Jesus or away from Him?
Today, Jesus, I make a solemn commitment to let go of the yoke of impurity and instead take on Your yoke. I am tired of the yoke of sin and I want to rest in You.
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Today’s Bible Reading :
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DAILY HIGHLIGHTS |
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“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”Matthew 5:8 |
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Bishop and martyr of Vietnam. A native of Ellorio, Spain, he entered the Dominican Order and was sent to the Philippines. From there he went to Vietnam in 1858, serving as a vicar apostolic and titular bishop until betrayed by an apostate. He was martyred by beheading with St. Jerome Hermosilla and Blessed Peter Amato, by enemies of the Church. He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. |
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TODAYS SAINT: St. Valentine Berrio-Ochoa |
