February 12
“He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
-Luke 3:11
Today's Reflection:
40 bags in 40 days is a popular exercise of getting rid of clutter during the Lenten season. But what about letting go of things that we want but really don't need? What one thing can you do to live with less than you want today? Make a point to share with someone in need.
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February 11
"And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
-Mark 4: 18-19
Today's Reflection:
Do the cares of the world, delight in riches, or concern for things choke out the word of God and its fruitfulness in your life? What one thing can you release to the Lord today to be more receptive to the word?
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February 10
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
-Matthew 6:19-21
Today's Reflection:
Where does your treasure lie? Take time to ponder the lasting gifts that the Lord has bestowed upon you and thank and bless Him on this beautiful Sunday.
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February 9
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
-Matthew 13:47-50
Today's Reflection:
What does this passage say to us about the value God places on order?
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February 8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out."
1 Timothy 6:6
Today's Reflection:
Are you content or are you always longing for more? The longing we feel can only be satisfied by the One who created us and in the eternal home for which we are destined. Spend a few moments today submitting your longing to God and ask Him to satisfy the ache in your heart.
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February 7
"A human person...as we know, cannot be an object for use."
- Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II)
Today's Reflection:
Are there times when our focus on material possessions diverts our energy away from the people God has placed in our lives? Seek to find one way to focus less on things and more on people today.
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February 6
"And as [Jesus] was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'...And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions."
- Mark 10:17, 21-22
Today's Reflection:
Everything we own belongs to God. How do we cultivate a spirit of detachment in our lives and in our families?
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February 5
“In our language families and generations are called 'houses,' the Hebrews themselves called the generation of children 'building up a house.' In this sense it is said that God built up houses for the Egyptian midwives to show that raising a house -- that is, a family -- does not consist in building a splendid residence and storing up vast worldly possessions but in training children well in the fear of God and in virtue. No trouble or labor should be spared to do this, for children are their father's and mother's crown."
- St. Francis de Sales
Today's Reflection:
How do we "train" our children to have a proper perspective toward material possessions? Toward media? Toward their usage of time?
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February 4
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these."
-Matthew 6: 24-29
Today's Reflection:
Do you trust God? How is this evidenced in how you treat your material possessions?
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February 3
"So also you can possess riches without being poisoned by them if you merely keep them in your home and purse and not in your heart."
-St Francis de Sales
Today's Reflection:
How do we cultivate the type of detachment that is referred to in this quote from St. Francis de Sales?
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