Have you ever known someone who is just naturally generous? Perhaps you are. I can say that I often struggle with this in my heart. I am, by nature, frugal. I often have to question whether I carry that frugality to levels that are greater than they should be. I have a friend that is very naturally generous. Now, he’s not wealthy. But if you were to ever ask him for anything, he would give it to you unreservedly. No questions asked. I wish I could be more like that.

This often carries over into other areas of our lives, including our spiritual giving. (Not that all giving doesn’t have a spiritual component.) If each time you feel as St. Paul says, “sadness or compulsion” when you give, then maybe you need to check  yourself. Pray and ask God why you’re having these feelings. Then ask Him to make you a cheerful giver. Because remember…we can never out-give God.

Father, fill us with your spirit of generosity. Help us to be generous and cheerful givers. Amen.

Today’s Readings

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gives us more difficult fare. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” As if that’s not hard enough, He then puts the topper on it all. “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Seriously?? Yes, seriously. The equation is really quite simple. As Christians, we are called to imitate Jesus. Jesus is God. Therefore, the more closely we imitate Christ, the closer we come to God’s perfection.

This is the kind of perfection we can never fully achieve here on earth. But we should always be striving for it, practicing to attain it. Let me use a sports analogy. The gymnast that performs a perfect routine and receives all tens from the judges has achieved perfection, if only for a brief moment. But leading up to that moment of perfection were years of hard work and plenty of failure. So it is with us. If we keep trying with a pure heart, eventually God will give us glimpses of how we can achieve that perfection. Seems the old axiom is true: practice makes perfect. I guess that’s why they call it practicing religion.

Father, you know that we are so far from perfect, and yet you call us to continue to strive to achieve that perfection. Today, may we practice imitating Christ, that we may be perfect in your eyes. Amen.

Today’s Readings

In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, we hear Jesus’ famous admonition to “turn the other cheek.” This phrase can be difficult to understand. It must be taken within the greater context of teaching of Christ. Be sure to read today’s passage to get the big picture. This does not mean that we are not allowed to defend ourselves from one who wishes to cause us physical harm. We can do so in an appropriate manner. Backhanding someone on the right cheek was a form of insult. Jesus’ saying was meant to teach in the broad context about retaliation.

When we’re wounded – physically, yes, but even more emotionally – our first instinct is to strike back. We want to get back at our attacker with guns a-blazin’. The office gossip, the jealous co-worker, the ex that can ‘t seem to move on. Jesus tells us that retaliation is not the way. Temperance, prudence and yes, love, must rule the day and rule our hearts. As hard as it may be, the best way to “retaliate” is to kill them with kindness.

Father, forgive us for the times we take on “an eye for an eye” attitude. Teach us to be people of forgiveness and kindness. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Unfortunately, fatherhood has been much maligned of late. If you look at pop culture today, TV, movies, and especially advertisements, you’ll see that fathers are made out to be out-of-touch dopes at best, and completely unnecessary at worst. This is, in my opinion, tragic. It really started with the rise of feminism. In 1970, Irina Dunn said, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” This phrase seems to have taken hold far too much in our society. And it has had extremely deleterious consequences. Rampant divorce. The breakdown of the family. And as men have bought into this attitude, so many men now feel no need to be a father to their children.

Fatherhood is not only a huge responsibility, it is a gift like no other. Dads are irreplaceable. If you are a dad, my prayer is that your fatherhood can in some small way emulate the fatherhood of God. If you have lost your dad, my prayer for you is that you will savor great memories of Dad on this day. And if your dad is still with you, my prayer is that you will let him know how much you love, respect and appreciate him, and encourage him to be all that God is calling him to be – protector, provider and spiritual leader. And one final thought: please thank your priest today. We must always encourage our spiritual fathers for their selfless service to Christ and His Church. Happy Father’s Day!

Father, we thank you for the gift of fatherhood. Bless all dads today, and help us to be more like you in all ways. Amen.

Today’s Readings

In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus talks about swearing oaths. In fact, He says we should not swear oaths at all. Why? Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” What does Jesus mean by this? He reminds us that our word is our bond. We should mean what we say and say what we mean. If that happens, then we would have no need to swear an oath.

Is it just me, or does it seem that this notion has been lost on society? We see so many politicians (I would be remiss if I didn’t single them out, wouldn’t I?), celebrities, business people and others just flat out lying. They call it “spin.” But Jesus never engaged in “spin.” He told it like it was, and said that we should do the same. So the question for us is this…is our word our bond? Does your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no?”

Father, forgive us for those times when we engage in “spin.” Give us the grace and courage to talk straight and make our word our bond. Amen.

Today’s Readings

In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus talks about taking some pretty drastic measures to do away with sin in our lives. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” Pretty harsh stuff, huh? I have often heard that Jesus is using a literary tool called hyperbole here to make a point; that He didn’t mean it literally. This is true to a point. But I also believe that He certainly could have meant it literally. Why do I say this? Because it is NEVER our eye or our hand that causes us to sin.

Sin is a turning away from God. Your eye or your hand or any other body part, for that matter, could never make that decision on its own. It is our mind, our heart, our spirit that causes us to sin. We have to make a conscious decision to disobey God. So what do we do? Cut out our heart? After all, it is just a muscle. No, and this is where the hyperbole comes in. Jesus is making that point that we have to take radical steps to cut out the sin in our lives. Radical surgery, if you will. And Jesus, the Divine Physician, is just the one for the job.

Father, we give Jesus permission today to perform the radical surgery we need to cut out sin from our lives. Give us the grace and courage to let Jesus operate on us every day. Amen.

Today’s Readings

The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most challenging teaching ever. Jesus raises the bar on our thinking and our behavior to ridiculous levels. It really starts today with His teaching on anger and bearing grudges. Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” Did you hear that? Jesus equates anger with killing!

Of course, anger is an emotion. We all get angry from time to time. How we act upon that anger is the issue at hand. Also, how long we let anger fester. Our natural inclination is to lash out when we are angry. We want to trade hurt for hurt. We do this because we lack the peace of Christ in our lives. Even if we don’t act out, we also have a tendency to hang on to our anger, sometimes for VERY long periods of time. Not only is this injurious to our health, it is injurious to our souls. If you’re struggling with anger, either from a fresh wound or an old one, ask God today to take that burden from you and replace it with Christ’s peace. I think you’ll find life to be a whole lot more pleasant.

Father, help us with our anger. Fill our hearts with Christ’s peace, that we may put anger aside and be people of peace. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Only a few more days left in our Father’s Day special! Order Magnetic Christianity today and we’ll send Dad a download of Practical Ways to Live Our Your Sacrament of Marriage. Just go to www.GusLloyd.com.

Would you agree with this statement: St. Paul was highly qualified to tackle the ministry that God gave him? I know I would. He was a highly educated Pharisee, a great speaker, confident and unafraid. Yet St. Paul himself says that isn’t so. In today’s first reading from 2 Corinthians 3, he says, “Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant.”

Have you ever heard this old expression: God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called? In a nutshell, here’s what that means. Though you may feel ill prepared or unqualified to do a certain ministry that you feel drawn to, when you are faithful to God’s call, He will give you all the tools and gifts you need to carry out your service. Maybe you’ve experienced this before. Unfortunately, we so often shy away from doing what we believe God is calling us to because of our own insecurities. We have to understand that obedience is more important than experience, and that God will often draw us out of our comfort zones to serve Him and His people. You may not be qualified yet, but when you answer the call, the qualification will come.

Father, help us to hear your call to service, and be obedient, regardless of how unqualified we feel. Use us today however you see fit. Amen.

Today’s Readings

If you would like to take advantage of our Father’s Day special and get that special dad in your life a copy of Magnetic Christianity for Father’s Day, you better order today! When you do, we’ll send Dad a free download of Practical Ways to Live Out Your Sacrament of Marriage. Order today at www.GusLloyd.com.

Our lives are all about choices. Every minute of every day, we choose the type of person we want to be. We can be that person with the little black cloud floating over their head all the time. You know the one – dare to ask them how they are and you’ll get a 15 minute dissertation about how crummy their life is, the horrible weather, etc., etc. Those folks need prayer. They need a little light to shine in their darkness. That’s where we come in.

You are the light of the world. I believe there’s not a single soul on earth who could not use a little more light in their lives. So let’s choose to be bringers of that light. It’s our choice. This passage always reminds me of the children’s song, This Little Light of Mine. “I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!” Let your light shine today!

Father, thank you for helping us to be the light of the world. Take away every bit of our darkness and fill it with the light of Christ, that others may see our light and give you glory. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Only a few days left to get the great dad in your life a free download of Practical Ways to Live Out Your Sacrament of Marriage. We’ll send dad one when you order a copy of Magnetic Christianity in paperback or audiobook. Order today at www.GusLloyd.com.

One of my goals in life it to encourage other people. I hope that, if you read these reflections daily or listen to my radio show, you find that to be the case. St. Paul was obviously big on this, too. In our first reading today from 2 Corinthians 1, St. Paul uses a form of the word “encourage” ten times in one paragraph. Ten times! Is that overkill? I think not! St. Paul makes it a point to tell us that it is God who “encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage” others.

Encourage means to give courage to another; to fill another with courage. In my book Magnetic Christianity, encouragement is the final attribute of the Magnetic Christian that I list. Part of this first reading is prominently featured in that chapter. St. Paul talks a lot about the relationship between affliction and encouragement. Through our afflictions, we are able to encourage others. How is that? Well, if God can see us, in our weakness, through afflictions, then He can see anyone through. So allow me to encourage you today! No matter what’s going on in your life, hang in there! Take courage! God is watching over you, and will see you through anything the world can throw at you!

Father, thank you for encouraging us. Help us to encourage others today with the encouragement we receive from you. Amen.

Today’s Readings

Would you like to be a better encourager? Read Magnetic Christianity! When you order a copy today, we’ll send you a free download of Practical Ways to Live Out Your Sacrament of Marriage. But hurry…the offer ends June 15. Order today at www.GusLloyd.com.