What do you want Jesus to do for you?

Copyright 2017 Holy Cross Family Ministries. All rights reserved.[/caption] One Monday, three priests, a Franciscan, a Dominican and a Jesuit, were having a hard time on the golf course. The golfers in front of the priests were the slowest and the worst golfers they had ever seen. Golf balls were flying everywhere. Contrary to golfing etiquette, the group never asked the priests to play through. By the eighteenth hole the priests were furious. At the clubhouse, just as they were going over to blast the group, they were informed that the men were blind. The Franciscan, moved with remorse at how he and the other two priests has spoken about the group, said to the Dominican and the Jesuit, “I am going to say Mass every day that God may grant them a miracle and restore their sight.” The Dominican, equally filled with regret, told the Jesuit and the Franciscan that he was going to get the blind men an appointment with the best eye surgeon in town. The Jesuit, however, looked at the Franciscan and the Dominican and declared, “I can’t see why they don’t play at night.” (Father Richard Leonard, a Jesuit, is the one who shared this story.) Have you noticed how often Jesus in the Gospels asks questions? And this blind man may be the one in the crowd who sees more than anyone else. He calls Jesus "Son of David," a revered name that recalls the royal lineage of Jesus, and that the Messiah would come through the House of David. Today, what do you want Jesus to do for you?

You might want him to increase your faith and trust in God.
Maybe you want him to help bring your children back to the practice of the Catholic faith.
Perhaps you want him to renew the joy of your youth in your marriage, your career, your social life.
Maybe you look for more unity and peace in the Church.
And a society that is free from violence, drugs and injustice.
Maybe you even want him to do something about climate change.

Whatever your answer is, I hope you will include a prayer for the beatification of Venerable Patrick Peyton as the ‘Saint for Family Prayer.’ Father Peyton was firmly convinced that if families around the world prayed the Rosary daily, many of the ills besetting families and society would be diminished and cured. He believed that the Family Rosary was a God-given, powerful tool to introduce the entire family to an encounter with Christ and that with Christ {God} all things are possible. The Rosary is the school of Mary in which she takes each member of the family by the hand and leads them to meet her son as she experienced him and treasured all those experiences in her heart. In the school of Mary one learns to listen to the Word of God and surrender to it. One learns to meditate on all the moments in the life of Christ, the twenty great mysteries. One learns to go even deeper and let Mary quiet the soul enough to hear the voice of her Son Jesus saying to you, to me, to each one of us, “What do you want me to do for you?” Do not be afraid to surrender as did Mary, by saying, Lord, “Fiat! Let it be done to me according to your word.” Can there be a better answer to the Lord’s question? “What do you want me to do for you?” On December 18, 2017, Father Peyton was decreed Venerable by Pope Francis in Rome. His two well-known phrases will live on forever, especially if he is beatified and declared a saint of the Church: “The family that prays together stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.” May God bless you and your family today and forever. Amen! Each weekday, the homily from Daily Mass at Holy Cross Family Ministries is shared online. Visit Family Rosary: World at Prayer and sign up to receive notifications of each day's homily.