James compares those who hear the word and do nothing about it to a man looking at his reflection and then forgetting what he looks like (cf. v. 22–24). Faith without works is dead (cf. Jas 2:17). Acting on God’s promises shows trust and fulfills the call to live out our faith through acts of charity.
5. We can look deeply into God’s perfect law and be set free to love.
We need to focus all our spiritual attention on the depth of God’s abiding love. As we gaze into the perfect Law of Love that sets us free, we find the strength to say no to sin and yes to all that God calls us to do for our world. We can grow stronger every day and become a blessing to others, sharing that perfect love that has so transformed us.
This Week’s Call to Action
This week let love, service, and purity mark you as a joyful doer of the word. Accept that while trials are never pleasant, there is joy in trusting that God uses them to mold us into men who will not fold under pressure. Double-minded men make poor witnesses. When we accept our lowly position in God’s plan and allow his wisdom to fuel our faith, we can become men of action who share our faith through our words and our deeds graced with the power of our Savior’s perfect love.
See your struggles as a rigorous spiritual workout, letting God build your spiritual muscles as he shapes you into a man after his own heart. With each day that unfolds, accept the testing of your faith, knowing that God is making you stronger, destroying doubt, and teaching you how to love others and live with integrity. Remember that in Christ, believers become wise servants who stand strong against the waves of indecision and doubt. If we hold fast to faith, we can carry out his will with passion and power and a joy that is inexpressible.
Sunday
This week you will consider what it means to become singularly focused on the love of God as revealed in Jesus on the cross. You will work to avoid or overcome the birth of sin in your life. You will cast aside doubt and indecision and walk above the waves of adversity to rest on the shore of God’s rock-solid care for you. You will strive to become a doer of the word and to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You will be challenged to look boldly into the perfect Law of Love to discover the freedom to become the man God has made you to be. You will learn what it means to move from this stable place of faith and out into the world, where lost and hurting individuals are looking for that same love in their lives.
This Sunday, as you join in the celebration of the Eucharist, consider how God has lifted the veil and allowed you to enter into his heavenly realm. Meditate on the ways God has opened your eyes through the Church and her teachings. Think about your place in the Body of Christ, and reflect on God’s call to be single-minded in your faith as you reach out to a weary world. As you receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, ask him to increase your faith and to set you free from any doubts that hold you back from living fully for him.
Dialogue with Jesus about his call in your life. Thank him for all he has done to bring you through your trials and strengthen you for your mission as a Catholic man.
Questions for Reflection
How can you develop a deeper trust in God so that his wisdom can give you stability and focus to carry out his will in your life?
Are there areas in your life where you are still double-minded, trying to walk in God’s plan but conflicted by doubt? How can you surrender those areas to God this week?
What are some practical steps you can take this week to share the incredible reality of God’s love with others?
Praying with Scripture
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23).
Monday
We Will Boast in Our Lowly yet High Standing
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the dung heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
1 Samuel 2:6–8
The great paradox of the Christian life is that we achieve greatness in lowliness. To the worldly man, this is an insane contradiction. After all, why would anyone want to be lowly? But to Catholic men, this should be sensible and sound, because in Christ we are able to see with heaven’s eyes. We understand that compared with God, all our efforts and our worth are filthy rags (cf. Is 64:6). The Good News, however, is that God takes our lowliness and raises it up. By his grace we are strengthened to live according to a higher calling. Our trials and our stumbling along the road of life allow God to refashion us in humility so we understand our true place in the universe. Though we are worth nothing, powerless and prideful, God lifts us from the dirt of this world and sets us up as princes among men.
We have become a new creation in Christ, and this shows us our purpose and our worth in God’s eyes. He sees us through the saving work of Jesus on the cross. We become beautiful, worthy sons, who are called to rule our worlds with the same perfect love he has revealed to us. We recognize that every moment we experience — even our lowest — has a divine purpose in testing and shaping our souls. When we accept our trials and our lowliness, we become servants with hearts totally dedicated to the cause of Christ.
Questions for Reflection
Is it difficult for you to accept that only in lowliness you can become exalted? If so, why?
Where have you been striving to achieve greatness on your own merits?
How has God lifted you up in your lowliness? How has his saving work in your life given you a greater sense of your calling as a Catholic man?
Praying with Scripture
“He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety” (Jb 5:11).
Tuesday
We Must Avoid the Birth of Sin
You meet him that joyfully works righteousness,
those that remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall
we be saved?
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one that calls upon your name,
that bestirs himself to take hold of you.
Isaiah 64:5–7
Sin is a slippery