Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
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Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”—you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” … For one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin. (James 7:14-15, 17)
“There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:39-40)
Piety
Lord, help me to reflect Your Love in the moment. I strive to honor You always, not only in the easy places at Mass, in group reunion, and in organized ministry, but with every breath I take and in every interaction with Your people.
Study
Even the best of us sometimes know the right thing to do, but don’t do it. We blame the weather for our decision not to help at a food pantry. “I’m just not a people person,” we say in explaining why we turn down a Cursillo call for speakers. We mutter that we don’t have any cash on us when we’re asked to contribute to special collections for the victims of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters.
We tend to focus on serving in our comfort zones rather than taking a holistic approach. For example, I’m pretty good at outreach and giving, but I’m not where I’d like to be at spending time with the Bible beyond the great Daily Tripods that Tony, Beth and Father Joe write. I keep thinking I’ll develop better reading habits “next week” or “when I’m done traveling.”
Maybe for you, study and prayer come easily, but you’re uncomfortable with outreach and evangelization, or in Cursillospeak, bringing friends to Christ.
Holy Spirit Interactive, an apostolate under the authority of the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia, provides a nifty free weekly e-newsletter. A recent edition provided a Spiritual Growth Assessment in the areas of prayer, study, outreach/evangelization, and giving. (Sounds a lot like piety, study, and action, yes?) After you answer the questions, you plot on a circle where you are spiritually today. It’s helpful to see on paper (or PDF, if you prefer) just where the strengths—and growth spots—lie. The site also provides guides for working on the growth areas.
As James notes, we don’t know what our lives will be like tomorrow. Don’t wait to perform deeds, mighty or small, in Christ’s name.
Action
With your group reunion or a prayer buddy, complete the Spiritual Growth Assessment. Pledge to check in each day on how you’re doing. At the end of a week, celebrate the progress you’ve made.
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