Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Father Robert DeCesare, LC 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. | 
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