Main Menu

THE WEEKLY DIGEST
OF REGNUM CHRISTI
DAILY MEDITATIONS

Week of July 21- July 28, 2024

 

Sunday, July 21, 2024 – Fellowship with Christ

Monday, July 22, 2024 – Two Hearts Beat as One

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – Scoring Goals in Life

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 – A Hundred or Sixty or Thirtyfold

Thursday, July 25, 2024 – Called to Be Servants

Friday, July 26, 2024 – Gardening with Gusto

Saturday, July 27, 2024 – Rolling Up the Sleeves and Gathering the Sheaves

Sunday, July 28, 2024 – A Miracle That Kept on Giving

Sunday, July 21, 2024 - Fellowship with Christ

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 6:30-34

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, I believe in you. I trust in you because as a man you experienced everything I experience except sin. You have pity on me in my weakness because you became weak for love of me. I believe in you. I trust you. I thank you for your everlasting love and benevolence.

Petition: Lord, help me to know you more intimately.

1. Father, Brother, Mentor: The Apostles joyfully reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. They are like children, and he is a true father and a brother toward them. He is their mentor par excellence. He listens, responds, encourages, and instructs them. They feel privileged to belong to him. Because of their love for Christ they continually renew their commitment to his cause. There is no doubt that he deserves this and much more. That is why they stick with him even when doing so means serving the large crowds amidst their own hunger and exhaustion. They wouldn’t leave him for the world.

2. Empowering the Apostles: Christ is a true leader for his Apostles. He attracts them and guides them. His leadership is highly positive. He conquers their hearts because he is a man possessed by a transcendent and eternal ideal, which radiates from him with extraordinary vigor. With his deep knowledge of the human person (cf. Jn 15:13), he is able to draw from each Apostle’s qualities the maximum benefit for what is true and good. He doesn’t use them as lifeless instruments or tools. He begins by promoting each one’s temporal and eternal good and then directs them towards fulfilling the ideal that unites them. He creates a healthy mystique of belonging to the circle of his disciples.

3. Fellowship with Him: The crowds find out where Jesus and his Apostles are going. From all the towns they hasten there on foot and arrive at that place before them. Imagine their excitement, their drive to seek out Jesus, and their rush to be with him. It is true that they are a fickle crowd. They have yet to know the Lord in all the breadth of his virtue and goodness. Nevertheless, the little they know of him resounds in the depths of their hearts. They sense in the Lord and within the community of his followers bonds of loyalty and fellowship and a spirit of authentic love. This is what their human hearts long for. Those who seek out Christ are never disappointed.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you were a father, a brother, and a guide for the Apostles. You were a master sculptor, molding them into your image of goodness, humility, and generosity. Do the same for me, Lord. Mold me. Sculpt me into your image. Make me one of yours.

Resolution: I will see myself as your apprentice today, Lord. I will try to listen to your voice in every thought and action. I will do this for love of you.

Monday, July 22, 2024 - Two Hearts Beat as One

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

John 20:1-2, 11-18

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come before you wanting to grow in my knowledge of you and wanting to grow in love for you. I want to show my love by truly loving others as you have loved me. My falls are many, yet I trust in your grace never to stay down and always to get up. I trust that your mercy will change my heart. So, I stand before you, ready to listen to your words and ready to unite myself more perfectly to your most holy will.

Petition: Lord, grant me a love similar to Mary Magdalene’s passionate love for you.

1. The Lone Guard: How sad Mary Magdalene must have been as she sat and wept outside Our Lord’s tomb! Our Lord had healed her soul; he had cast seven demons from her heart. She had stood at the foot of Our Lord’s cross, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John. She had washed Our Lord’s feet with her tears; now her tears flow down her face. She’s alone. Or rather she experienced an existential loneliness in the face of the bitter events of Good Friday. But she wasn’t alone. We are never alone in our suffering. Do I suffer alone, or do I open my heart to Our Lord in all my trials?

2. “Mary!” How Mary Magdalene must have endeared herself to Our Lord. The other followers were locked up in their rooms. Yet here was this simple, humble woman, trying to accompany Our Lord in the only way she knew. We have much to learn from this beautiful soul. How she moved the heart of Jesus! She’s the first one he appears to after his Resurrection. What a gift. What a gift to have the Risen Lord say your name. Despite her anguish she wishes to honor her Lord who she is about to discover is God. In moments of trial and pain, do I remember to honor God with my thoughts, desires, intentions, and actions? Does he remain number one for me no matter what I’m going through?

3. The Ultimate Message: As Mary Magdalene touched Our Lord’s heart, he would now touch hers, and she would become the Apostle to the Apostles. She’s the first one to announce to the world that Our Lord has risen from the dead. Jesus is the Lord of life. What was moving through her heart as she hurried towards the Apostles? Let’s ask Christ for that gift—to have the same zeal as Mary Magdalene did as she went to proclaim that she had met the Risen Lord! Am I a witness to the saving message of Our Lord including, or especially, in the midst of great personal suffering?

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to endear myself to you just as Mary Magdalene did at your tomb. Then, fill me with the joy you instilled in her heart on that first Easter morning.

Resolution: Today I will see how I can help at my parish, in imitation of Mary Magdalene’s assistance to our Church 2,000 years ago.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 - Scoring Goals in Life

Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 12:46-50

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I begin my meditation aware of my need of your grace and your help. Without you, Lord, I can do nothing, but with you, Lord, I can do all things. I believe that you are truly present in the Eucharist. There, under the guise of bread, Lord, you remain to be with me. I trust in you, Lord, because you have given me a reason for living. I trust you because you are faithful to your promises. Lord, I love you because you have given me the treasure of my Catholic faith. You have given me this gift to enable me to follow the path to heaven and be with you forever.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to know your will and to follow it in my life.

1. What Is the Goal of My Life? This is the fundamental question of our purpose in life. The Father made us so that we may come to know, love, and serve him in this world, so as to be happy with him forever in the next. “Of all visible creatures, only man is ‘able to know and love his creator’. He is ‘the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake’, and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life. It was for this end that he was created” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 356). To aid us, God gave his Son for us to follow and to learn from, so that we might fulfill our purpose in life. This is why we follow him; this is why we listen to him; so that we may fulfill our purpose.

2. I’m on a Mission: Our mission in life is to fulfill our purpose. Thus, the fulfillment of our mission is a fundamental concern for our conscience. The immediate norm for the right exercise of our conscience could put it like this: “Anything that helps me fulfill my mission is good for me; anything that comes between me and it is bad for me.” Or, using Christ’s words: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34); “I always do what is pleasing to him” (Jn 8:29). The reason is obvious: Action follows being, so what we are determines what we do. Similarly, the apostolic mission flows from our Christian essence. What we are and what we do are two sides of the same coin.

3. Part of God’s Family: As Christ says in another passage of the Gospel, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mk 3:35). The family of Christ is eternal. He welcomes those who do his will because we were made to do his will. If we are faithful to our vocation, and we fulfill our purpose in life, then we meet the hopes and dreams the Lord has for us. He wants us to be holy. He made us for himself. Nothing would please him more than to be able to say to us at the end of time: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34).

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I want to be part of your family. I want to do your will because I know that it will make me holy. Your will is sanctifying. I want to be sanctified. Grant me the grace to know your will, love it, and fulfill it.

Resolution: I will review my day before I go to bed to examine how I have fulfilled God’s will today.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 - A Hundred or Sixty or Thirtyfold

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, my prayer will “work” only if I have humility in your presence. So, I am approaching you with meekness and humility of heart. I have an infinite need for you and your grace. Thinking about this helps me grow in humility. I trust in you and your grace. Thank you for the unfathomable gift of your love.

Petition: Lord, may I always respond to your grace in my heart with fervor and active love.

1. Tears of a Sower: Imagine Jesus preaching to the crowds, hoping for a positive response, but instead witnessing many people turning a deaf ear to his message of salvation. One day he is thinking about this as he watches a farmer sowing seed. He sees birds come immediately and take some away. He sees previously sown seed scorched by the sun. He sees some sprouts strangled by weeds. He then remembers the faces and perhaps even the names of people who heard his message, but who chose not to respond or whose response was short-lived. We are reminded of another Gospel passage: “As he drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying ‘If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes’” (Lk 19:41-42).

2. Rebellion or Rest: The admonition to heed the word of God is frequent in Scripture. In the Letter to the Hebrews the author warns us to “harden not your hearts as at the rebellion in the day of testing in the desert.” The people of Israel responded in this unfortunate way after the exodus from Egypt. “They have always been of erring heart, and they do not know my ways. As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter into my rest’” (cf. Heb 3:7-11). This helps us foster a healthy fear of the Lord, encouraging us to work hard to conquer all hardness of heart and remain close to Christ so as to enter into his rest.

3. Fruits of Virtue: “But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” The fruit that Our Lord wishes us to produce are virtues inspired by faith, hope and love. If we are growing in virtue each day in imitation of Christ and for love of him, we can be sure we are heeding his voice and are pleasing in his eyes. The greatest of all virtues is charity, a practical and effective love for our neighbor. We can contemplate the lives of the saints to see how these fruits are played out in a way truly pleasing to Christ.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know how easy it is for me to allow mediocrity to slip into my life. The cares and worries of life often push you and your Kingdom to a secondary plane. Grant me the habit of carving out time for you in prayer each day and carving out space for you in my life and the lives of those under my care.

Resolution: I will renew my effort with whatever prayer commitment I have allowed to waver or falter the most.

Thursday, July 25, 2024 - Called to Be Servants

Feast of Saint James, Apostle

Matthew 20:20-28

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, in spite of my many failures, I know you continue to call me. Your Spirit continues to guide me. I trust in you, love you, and praise you for all your gifts to me. Amen.

Petition: Lord Jesus, grant me a renewed sensitivity to the deepest needs of others.

1. Called to Serve: In an era of Catholicism in which catchphrases such as “called to serve” have been overused to the point of becoming clichés, we risk forgetting how central service is to the Christian life. The minutes of our lives are consumed in an incessant cascade of apparently important and urgent things to do. Doesn’t it happen, however, that in the midst of all this we actually miss any number of opportunities to serve? Called to serve, yes, but we miss the call! And our service gets sidelined. If service to my brothers and sisters is not an ordinary element of my daily life as a Christian, I can be sure that I have succumbed to self-deception or taken a critically wrong turn somewhere.

2. A Continuation of Christ: We are called to give ourselves unreservedly to others as a continuation of Christ. “A continuation of Christ”: now, wouldn’t that make a wonderful epitaph?! For truly, if our Christian service is not a prolongation, an extension of Jesus’ love, if we are not giving him to others, if those whom we serve are not discovering him in us, then our service is simply not service. It might be philanthropy, it might be empathy, but it falls short of genuine Christian service if those whom we serve do not discover Christ in us. Like John the Baptist, we must become less so that Jesus can become more in us, so that our brothers and sisters are not cheated out of encountering that Christ whom they secretly long to discover in each of us.

3. What Service Means: Here it will be helpful simply to examine ourselves on some of the essentials of Christian service. Is my daily life characterized by a concern for the genuine good of others and by a readiness to do all the good I can for my brothers and sisters? Do I actually engage in daily acts of service, whether big or small? Do I examine myself frequently on the sin of omission? Do I strive, in carrying out the ordinary service required by my state in life, to do so with extraordinary deliberateness and full, conscious self-giving?

Conversation with Christ: Father, you call me to serve, and I know that service also means suffering at times. If suffering is to be a part of your plan for me, give me the grace to collaborate with Christ your Son in the salvation of souls by offering that suffering generously to you. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Resolution: Out of love for Christ, present in the least of my brothers and sisters, I will examine myself on what genuine Christian service means to me in practice, and what place it usually has in my daily life.

Friday, July 26, 2024 - Gardening with Gusto

Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Matthew 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in your Incarnation. You became flesh for love of us. You were not forced to leave the bliss and glory of heaven. You chose to leave in order to save us. I believe in you. I hope in you. I love you. You took the first step of love toward me. I want to respond in kind.

Petition: Grant me the grace to follow you with conviction and willpower.

1. Sheltering the Word in My Heart: Our Lord often speaks of the enemy of God, the devil, as a real being, who has real influence over our lives. When we hear the Word of God, good intentions grow within us. The Evil One attempts to “steal” these intentions away from our heart. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that the devil and demons made a radical and irrevocable free choice to reject God and his reign (n. 392). The devil tries to uproot our good resolutions with the same goal in mind. We must make a firm commitment to allow God’s word to take root and grow in our lives.

2. Convictions over Emotions: The seed sown on rocky ground represents those who receive the word with joy at first, in other words, those easily governed by emotions and sentiments. When they feel joy, they respond to God positively. When they receive comforts from Christ, they are ready to follow him. But when their moods are bad or gloomy, they leave aside their previous resolutions and abandon the Lord for the wide and spacious road of ease and comforts. They are not seeking Christ but rather their own consolation. Above all they want warm, cozy feelings. Christ shows us the way of true loyalty and love by his crucifixion and death on the cross for love of his Father and souls.

3. Oxygen for the Soul: One of the saddest categories of people in the Parable of the Sower are those who receive the word but allow “worldly anxiety and the lure of riches” to “choke the word” so that it “bears no fruit” in their lives. Materialism is an all-pervasive temptation in our world today. The only way to conquer this assault on our faith is to make the firm resolution to make time for God. We must make the proactive decision to insert moments for him in our day. Prayer, the sacraments (Mass, confession), spiritual reading, and the Rosary are examples of ways to do this.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, in my mind you are my first priority. In reality, though, I allow other priorities to topple your rightful position in my life. I allow my feelings to govern my actions instead of my faith and convictions. Strengthen my resolve to make you the true King of my heart in my concrete choices and decisions.

Resolution: I will go over my daily and weekly schedule and, if necessary, make more quality time for the Lord.

Saturday, July 27, 2024 - Rolling Up the Sleeves and Gathering the Sheaves

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in your Church. I believe that it is the sacrament of salvation, and that you have chosen to lead me to heaven. Lord, I hope in you. I hope in you because you have gone to prepare a place for me in heaven. Lord, I love you because you loved me first. I love you for giving yourself up for me on the cross.

Petition: Forgive me, Lord, for offending you, and help me to make reparation.

1. Verdant Farm or Barren Wasteland? Lord, you have given me the gift of Baptism and of being your child. “Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1216). This gift you have given me is something that I do not deserve. I was born with original sin, and yet, out of your infinite goodness and mercy, you have chosen to nourish my barren field and offer me the Kingdom of heaven. Through the life-giving waters of the sacrament of Baptism, you have taken my field that used to be wasteland and desert and have made it flourish. You have sown wheat in my field so that it may yield abundant fruit.

2. A Tainted Field? Lord, even though you have grafted me into your family through Baptism, there are times when I forget the goal of my life, which is heaven. I am weak, and because of my weakness, at times I taint my field with weeds. “Certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness, death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, or metaphorically, ‘the tinder for sin’ (fomes peccati); since concupiscence ‘is left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ.’ Indeed, ‘an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1264).

3. God Never Gives Up On Me: Lord, even though I have let weeds grow in my field where there was once only wheat, you have given me time to let the good grain grow. You know that all is not lost. There is still hope, and there is still time. Even though I have offended you because of my sins, and even though I have not conquered myself and my tendency to sin, I still experience your love and your mercy. You have not given up on me, although it seems to me that I have often given up on myself. You have given me the gift of time for me to weed my field and to increase the good wheat that is within it, so that the harvest I bear may be fruitful and rich.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, thank you for the gift of your mercy. Thank you for being patient with me, for loving me for who I am, and for encouraging me to continue to grow as I should.

Resolution: I will take some time to prepare to make a good confession.

July 28, 2024 - A Miracle That Kept on Giving

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you, the Holy Trinity, dwell in my soul. Thank you for the joy of your friendship and love. I hope in you; I hope that you will guide me and my loved ones home to heaven, where we can delight in your presence forever. I love you and long to be a better instrument of your love.

Petition: Lord, help me to achieve an unconditional trust in you.

1. A Test to Get Us to Grow in Trust: It was clear that Jesus’ disciples did not have the means to help these people out of their predicament—neither in ready available cash nor in locating a nearby market large enough to feed the overburdening crowd. Yet Scripture says, “He said this to test him.” Let this passage remind us that God can allow our problems to become so big and desperate as to show forth his power. God wants us to trust in him and to purify our intentions along our journey of faith. How great Our Lord is in solving the unsolvable and making possible the impossible. He cures the incurable, raises people from the dead, and, most importantly, converts the erring sinner. “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). Do I easily give up hope when I don’t see a human solution to a situation? “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:46).

2. Our Lord Wants Us to Play a Part in His Miracle: God has the power to create something out of nothing, but he asks for human collaboration, even if it is minimal. Here it is no different. The Apostles are utterly poor: they can bring to Our Lord only five loaves and two fish from a boy they find in the crowd. Jesus asks us to contribute because he wants to teach us to be generous, even when we think we have nothing to give. Actually, it is when we give from our want that we most please Our Lord (cf. Lk 21:1-4). Poverty is never an excuse for a lack of generosity in serving and working for Our Lord. This miracle proves to us that Our Lord can never be outdone in generosity.

3. Don’t Miss the Point: In this scene Our Lord slowly prepared his Apostles and disciples for his teaching on the Real Presence in the Eucharist. He had to purify their hearts and prune out attachment to the things of this world in order for them to accept the difficult teaching about his self-giving love found in the Eucharist. Even so, when he saw that the people were about to miss the point of his miracle, Our Lord “withdrew again to the mountain alone” (Jn 6:15). Sometimes Our Lord withdraws the comfort and consolation of his presence in our lives because we wrongly interpret their meaning and purpose. Do I properly discern the spirit in my heart when I pray? Am I happy only for things that give me comfort, or am I truly coming closer to Christ because I recognize who he is and return to him the same authentic love he gives me and wants from me?

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for this meditation and the lessons I learned from it. Keep me generous so I may never lose my trust in you. When the situations of my life seem unsolvable, help me to trust that in your time, you will work your wonders in my life, bringing glory to your name.

Resolution: I will make a visit to the Eucharist or a spiritual communion each day this week, offering this sacrifice of time for the conversion of the hearts of those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, or do not love you, Lord, in the Eucharist.

  • LATEST ARTICLES
  • RELATED POSTS
DAILY MEDITATION ARCHIVE
WEEKLY MEDITATION ARCHIVE
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flickr

Links of Interest

Contact Us

  • Regnum Christi North American Territorial Office
  • 855-556-6872
  • [email protected]
  • 525 Tribble Gap Rd. Suite 1466, Cumming, Ga, USA, 30028

Subscribe to Our Newsletters 

LEARN MORE

Copyright 2024, Regnum Christi Federation, all rights reserved.

Privacy Notice     |     Safe Environments     |     Press Releases    |    LOG IN

Scroll to Top

Looking for another country?

RC Near You

News & Resources

Main Menu

News & Resources

The Regnum Christi Mission

The Regnum Christi Family

The Regnum Christi Identity

Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!