We are glad that you found us, the DEACON-5! Here, we will be posting daily Gospel reflections, Mondays through Fridays, each day written by a different permanent deacon in our group. We pray that you find inspiration and a touch of God’s love for sharing some time with us. Please feel free to leave a comment or a prayer request for us!
Blessings to you all! Deacon Ray Gallego, Deacon Mike Hidalgo, Deacon Paul Machuca, Deacon George Mora, Deacon Carlos Porras, Deacon Ray Emnace and Deacon Chuck McDaniels
At that time Jesus exclaimed:”I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We are honoring the compassion and love of Christ. His human heart, moved with pity for his flock; his divine heart, pierced for the sins of his people. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began in the 11th and 12th centuries. The devotion became prominent through our Lord’s private revelation to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. In these revelations, Christ revealed his Heart as a symbol of his boundless love for us.
Our gospel today talks about how God’s heart offers itself to the meek and powerless. God’s heart rewards those who are humble enough to acknowledge weaknesses and failures. We need to be humble and accept that we are all sinners who need God’s mercy and compassion.
The last lines in today’s Gospel have been a huge help and consolation to millions of people over the years. We all know the times of carrying heavy burdens of failure, pain, loss, shame, guilt, depression, hopelessness. We can all add to this list. All can be part of our prayer and relationship with God. Only in honestly admitting our needs can we find the rest our soul longs for. A soul at rest can share the peace of God.
Hopefully, we have seen an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this feast day, focus on this image of the Sacred Heart to see what it might say to us. First of all, the heart tells us that he is human, God in the flesh. The flames represent the love Jesus has for each one of us. The crown of thorns symbolizes a God who laid down his life out of love for us.
We know that we are loved sinners. Maybe there are times when we think we do not deserve God’s love because of our sins. But when we look at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we know for certain that his love will always burn for us.
Action for the day: Take sometime today to sit quietly with Jesus and focus on his Sacred Heart. Pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Pray for the grace to experience his burning love for you.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“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. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
The Gospel of the Lord (Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!)
Reflection: What does Jesus want me to do?
Today we hear of an important reminder from our Lord Jesus on the need to maintain our cool, to have hearts and minds of understanding, kindness and mercy at all times as our Lord shared, “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”.
If we look up the word “Raqa”, we find that it is an Aramaic and Hebrew word that means “empty,” “empty-headed,” or “foolish”. Wow, our Lord is warns us that having anger with an unforgiving heart will make us liable to judgement on the last day, and to insult someone by saying “You fool” can prevent us from entering the Kingdom of God, from entering Paradise! We need to always maintain a cool head! Be kind and do not insult anyone! As they say, we need to maintain our cool!
Pride and ego are a lot of times the cause of the anger brought about by thinking of only one’s self. Sometimes the anger is caused by what we feel, hear or see. Like when we do not get our way, or we hear or see disparaging words said or posted against us, or someone or some group of people, or when gossip is spread like wildfire as if is is truth, and we can get caught up in the hysteria.
Sometimes the cause of the anger is because of an injustice affecting us personally and our feelings are hurt, or when we or someone or a group we care about is insulted or harmed, and the anger affects our inner peace.
The question we need to ask ourselves before we get angry or act hastily in any situation is: “What does Jesus want me to do?” That is first question we need to ask. Will my action be uplifting, will it be of help, will it be beneficial to others, will it lead to peace? Will my decision or action lead to a holy moment?
Overall, there is a place for righteous anger. Remember how our Lord Jesus drove out the thieves and sellers from the Temple and He overturned the tables of the money changers. Jesus was consumed with zeal to keep His Father’s house holy. The thieves, sellers and money changers were just chased out of the Temple by our Lord. No one was seriously hurt, except for the pride of the ones who were taking advantage of people.
Our Lord Jesus though He is God, humbled himself to share in our humanity to be our example of what love truly is, to show us what loving one another means, that it is possible for everyone to learn to forgive, to care and be understanding. Jesus is our example of how we can accompany one another through this very short time of life we each have on this earth.
Our Lord Jesus suffered, died, was risen again to show us the way. He is journeys
with us always to guide us towards what love truly is
to help us choose what is holy. Follow the promptings of our Lord Jesus
to learn to forgive and to have hearts of peace. Ask our ourselves daily. What does Jesus want me to do?
Action for the Day:
Lift up our concerns to Jesus, and include our resentments, our hurts, and our failures, and ask for forgiveness for our shortcomings. Lord Jesus, we are grateful for your great love for us and everyone. You know what we are going through, and we know that you are journeying with us always. Please heal our hearts and help us to learn how to forgive completely, to have hearts of mercy guided by your spirit and to choose what is holy. Guide us always by Your Holy Spirit.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Reflection: Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill”. Jesus calls us, to elevate our actions by letting love, be the ultimate fulfillment of the law.
Fulfilling the law means:
Seeing beyond the rules: Prioritizing relationships over regulations.
Radical compassion: Our baseline for behavior is love, not just legality.
Integrity: Act justly even when nobody is looking.
In today’s secular world, some folks often fall in “The Trap of Modern Minimalism”. Often defaulting to doing the absolute bare minimum. Operating by checklists: clocking out right at 5:00PM, complying with legalities just to avoid lawsuits, or doing only what is legally required in their civic duties. Sadly, this “secular minimalism” bleeds into our moral and spiritual lives, where we ask; “What is the least I can do, and still be a good person?”
Jesus challenges this mindset with “The Law of Love.” He asks us to look past the letter of the law, and dive into the spirit of it. In the Sermon on the Mount, which we just heard on Monday, in the Beatitudes, He raises the bar not to trap us, but to liberate us, into a deeper reality.
Jesus also notes that “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen” will disappear. In a secular society obsessed with grand achievements, power, and viral success, today’s Gospel reminds us that unnoticed, small choices for good, matter immensely and are massive impact. Whether it is an act of hidden generosity, choosing kindness in traffic, or standing up for a marginalized coworker, these small fragments of virtue, build up the Kingdom of God.
Action for the day: Make time today to sit for 10-min. in the silence of your sacred space, and with a prayer of your own words do a self-examination, on ways that you are viewing ethical living, as a burden of restrictions. Then use this meditation and reflection, as an invitation, to flourish as the human being God created you to be.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Reflection:
Yesterday, Linda and I and our diaconate formation class celebrated our seventh anniversary of ordination. It’s been such an amazing blessing to us to be able to serve our family of St Rita these last seven years. It’s become so ingrained in our lives that I honestly can’t imagine not being in this service to my parish family.
Our service as a deacon couple is much like that line that I love from today’s Gospel: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.” I really was reminded of that this past Sunday at Mass, as Linda and I had been away for a couple of weeks on a pilgrimage to Ireland, and our parish family were so nice to welcome us back, and tell us how they appreciated the service we provide.
All of us, ordained or not, have that same calling to live a life that shines forth like a city on a hill. I suppose we can also consider the possibility that others in our lives do watch us, especially if they know we are people of faith, seeing how the witness of our lives stands up to the ebbs and flows of life. It’s not like we have to be perfect, though. That would be a standard that is just too high. We just have to show that our faith in Jesus is the core of all we do, and that we know in the “ebbs” of life, our loving Lord and Creator sustains us. That’s the best witness we can ever give!
Our light should show that we know that we “are” the light in the darkness of the world (much as the sign outside our parish from last Advent demonstrates). Jesus calls us to “Be the Light”!
Action for the Day:
As you go through your day today, keep in mind that you are blessed that you walk in the light, and pray (often!) that your witness truly show that light, and that you be able to give witness if asked and so help someone else toward the light as well.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Reflection: We have heard and read the Beatitudes many times, but have we considered them from a secular perspective? In other words, how does the world respond, or fail to respond, to justice for all?
The Beatitudes are eight blessings proclaimed by Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount. The word Beatitude comes from the Latin beatus, meaning “blessed” or “happy.” They speak to the desire for happiness that God has placed in every human heart. The Beatitudes are not simply external rules; they are a path to the deep happiness that every person longs for.
Why, then, is justice for all so countercultural? The Beatitudes stand in sharp contrast to worldly values and invite us to see happiness and success in a completely different way.
Christ points us toward a selfless, God-centered life marked by joy and blessedness, while society promotes power, prestige, popularity, and self-indulgence as the marks of success. Yet these are often shallow, empty, and short-lived.
The Beatitudes are not something we achieve on our own; they are what God forms in us as we grow in Christ each day. This growth is a journey that calls for intentional, prayerful living in communion with God. At heart, the Beatitudes are not a self-help checklist. They are a picture of a soul transformed by grace, lived out at home, at work, in the neighborhood, and everywhere else.
Action of the Day: Over the day, contemplate what the Beatitudes mean to you. Review all 8 Blessings and how they relate to you or how they don’t. Ask God what is it that He needs you to do.
