Tuesday 31st January

A love that works

At the height of the Industrial Revolution, impoverished Italian boys were drawn to the city of Turin in search of factory work. But, for many reasons, they fell on hard times and were often jailed. Saint John Bosco helped them with lodging, education, vocational training, and just plain patience and loving care. He also protected young workers from unscrupulous employers by crafting signed apprenticeship agreements—the first real employment contracts used in Europe. He revolutionized the work of educators, too, writing: “Without confidence and love, there can be no true education. If you want to be loved … you must love yourselves, and make your children feel that you love them.”

Today's readings: Hebrews 12:1-4; Mark 5:21-43 (324).

Wednesday 1st February

May the force be with you 

Faith gives us strength. It allows us to perform mighty deeds. But to be clear, as Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho explains, "Faith is not desire. Faith is will. Desires are things that need to be satisfied. Will is a force that changes everything around us." In God's realm, where our faith resides, we are each whole and complete and nothing is impossible. Address today's challenges through the lens of faith.

Today's readings: Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15; Mark 6:1-6 (325).

Thursday 2nd February

Make a perfect offering of your life

Today’s feast marks an ancient Jewish tradition in which the firstborn child was “consecrated to the Lord” by way of two sacrificial turtledoves or young pigeons offered at the Temple 40 days after birth. The mother, considered ritually unclean after giving birth, was also purified on this same day. But the visit of Mary and Joseph to present the infant Jesus is unique, marked by an outpouring of prophecy. Simon and Anna testify that a light has come into the world and that salvation is at hand. We honor the link to ancient tradition as we celebrate the Presentation today, but we also appreciate how Jesus not only fulfills but surpasses all the traditions of his time and place. Here at last is the perfect offering.

Today's readings: Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 (524).

Friday 3rd February

Be a healing light 

The historical details of Saint Blaise’s fourth-century life in what is now modern-day Turkey are lost in the shroud of the centuries, but the tradition of his healing powers endures. The healing of throat diseases is what is most ascribed to him. When Blaise was imprisoned during a persecution of Christians, he apparently healed a choking boy with the aid of candles that lit his dark cell. On another level, the enduring tradition speaks to the ongoing need for healing that we all share. Whether it be a physical ailment or a wounded soul that needs tending, say a prayer today to Saint Blaise, the keeper of the flame.

Today's readings: Hebrews 13:1-8; Mark 6:14-29 (327).

Saturday 4th February

Lift your voice in freedom’s song 

Today is the birthday of Rosa Parks, on the fourth day of Black History Month. Parks wrote: “I felt the Lord would give me the strength to endure whatever I had to face.” When she refused to surrender her bus seat in 1955, she said her Christian faith told her “it was time for someone to stand up—or, in my case, sit down.” Parks grew up in a devout family. Her own sweet dreams of freedom began with her mother singing old African-American spirituals that drew on biblical stories and psalms filled with cries of lament and hope for salvation. Tap into the strength of song as you play your part in the fight for justice. Choose a spiritual to pray with today.

Today's readings: Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21; Mark 6:30-34 (328).