Anchored in the Kingdom

 

Readings 090926

Memorial of St. Peter Claver

We can so easily place ourselves  

right at the center  

of our own little universe.  

Only what we think…  

only what we feel…  

only what we believe…  

seems to matter.  

But that kind of living  

is badly out of focus.  

My brother once shared a story  

about a new priest  

sent down from New York City  

to a small parish in central Louisiana.  

He thought he’d come to preach justice…  

but he ended up preaching himself.  

He judged the very people  

he was sent to love.  

Never learned their stories,  

never saw their dignity,  

never recognized their wounds.  

And the hypocrisy of it  

was so heavy,  

so loud,  

that my brother, his wife,  

and their child  

got up and walked out the door.  

They never went back.  

Saint Peter Claver  

lived a different kind of justice.  

He stepped into suffering,  

looked his brothers and sisters in the eye,  

and told them they were loved…  

they were human…  

they were precious to God.  

So today…  

anchor your heart  

in the Kingdom that does not pass. 

 

Hold lightly  

to the things that fade—  

possessions, pride, reputation—  

for the world is passing away,  

but God’s Kingdom is permanent.  

And when you live that way…  

with a humble spirit  

and a clear-eyed love…  

you can rejoice,  

you can leap for joy,  

for your reward  

will be great in heaven.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, 

Steady my heart in Your Kingdom. 

Teach me to see every person 

with dignity and mercy. 

Guard me from pride,

prejudice, and self‑importance. 

Let justice be gentle, humble,

and rooted in Your love. 

And lead me to rejoice 

in all that is eternal.

Amen

St Peter Claver, pray for us.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Readings 090826 

Some folks look at Catholics  

and wonder why we hold Mary close.  

They say she was ordinary—  

nothing special at all.

Just a woman who had a child.
Some say that child was probably one 

of many that she had, 

ignoring her perpetual virginity  

But think about grace,  

how the Lord chooses the lowly,  

how He calls the humble by name,  

how He writes salvation  

through willing hearts.  

And notice something.  

Ask any believer about their salvation,  

and they’ll tell you  

how precious they are to Jesus—  

how He called them,  

justified them,  

glorified them.  

“Those he foreknew 

he also predestined

to be conformed 

to the image of his Son,

To become the firstborn

among many… “

Yet the woman  

God Himself chose  

to carry His only‑begotten Son—  

the one who bore the Word made flesh—  

is “nothing special.”  

Mary’s yes mattered.  

Her surrender opened the door  

for Emmanuel—  

God‑with‑us—  

to step into our dust and daylight.  

She bore the One named Jesus,  

the One who saves His people  

from their sins.  

And her faith—  

quiet, steady, trusting—  

became the first light  

of the Gospel we now proclaim.  

Let your heart rest in this truth:  

God still works through the willing,  

still raises the humble,  

still enters the world  

through every faithful yes.  

Prayer

Holy Mother, 

chosen in humility, 

teach my heart to welcome God’s will. 

Let your quiet courage steady my steps. 

Let your faithful yes shape my own. 

And draw me closer to Jesus, your Son.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us.

Amen