through our own brokenness that has been overcome by the cross of Christ. God’s grace, lived out in love, leads to thanksgiving and deeper intimacy with our brothers and sisters and a world in need of a Savior. Our unity as a Church overflows into the world and harvests souls for the kingdom of God.
Questions for Reflection
How is yielding to God’s work in your broken heart producing strength and purpose in your life?
What areas in your life still need to yield to the cultivating power of Christ, and how can you work to surrender to the Spirit’s loving care?
How are you working for unity within the Church and carrying that out into the world?
Praying with Scripture
“He has showed you, O man, what is good; / and what does the Lord require of you / but to do justice, and to love kindness, / and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic 6:8).
Thursday
A cultivator is a sacramental man.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
1 Corinthians 10:16–17
We cannot become the men God has made us to be without sharing in the sacramental life of the Church.
Our Catholic Faith is a sacramental faith. The sacraments are great signs of God’s love, which strengthen and empower us to live as believers in Christ. The sacraments allow us to share in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, both as a future hope and a present reality. We can look forward to the harvest of heaven and yet experience the promises of our faith in how we live out the graces of the sacraments in the here and now. The sacraments allow us to become signs of Christ’s love to our family of faith and the lost world around us.
For many men, the sacraments have become so routine that their deeper meaning has become clouded. But we are called to pour ourselves into our faith, even as the sacraments pour out God’s grace into our lives. As we allow the sacraments to shape us and fill us with the power and presence of God, we become true signs of Christ’s sacrificial love, spilling ourselves into the lives of others, transforming their hearts as the Spirit has transformed ours. What a sobering reality it is to know that these great signs of God’s love allow us to touch the souls of others and lead them into the kingdom of God!
Questions for Reflection
How would you describe your participation in the sacraments and the quality of your sacramental life?
What does being a sacramental man mean for you in terms of how you live out your future hope in the here and now?
How do the graces of the sacraments empower you to shape the lives of others, particularly other men?
Praying with Scripture
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3–4).
Friday
A cultivator turns his gaze toward heaven.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1–2
Those who keep their eyes fixed on heaven will find the strength they need to climb every mountain and walk through every valley along the way to heaven. Rather than focusing on the temporary trappings of this life, we allow the One who is our helper and our protector to lift us up from the stagnation of this world and transform us as we walk the journey toward heaven. This single-minded vision enables us to see our lives from eternity’s perspective and shapes how we grow as believers and, in turn, speak and move in the lives of others.
Psalm 121 is one of a number of the “Songs of Ascents” — holy hymns sung by pilgrims as they made their way to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts. Just as these sacred words spurred on the people of God, they can motivate us to live lives filled with hope as we await the harvest that is to come. We will cherish our reading of the word of God, celebrate our rich heritage as members of the Church, and go out into the world to harvest the souls of the lost. We are on a holy pilgrimage toward the eternal city, calling others to join us as we give praise to the One who transforms us and leads us home.
Questions for Reflection
How would you describe your pilgrimage toward heaven at this time in your life?
What things in your life are keeping you from fixing your gaze on heaven and God’s love for you?
What can you do to cultivate a greater intimacy with Christ and recognize his care for you?
Praying with Scripture
“To you I lift up my eyes, / O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” (Ps 123:1).
Saturday
Go Deeper
How is God calling me to be a cultivator? Where in my life do I live out this calling well? Where do I think I could be a better cultivator?
Did I make time for prayer and Scripture reading this week? If yes, how can I commit to doing the same next week? If no, what concrete steps can I take to make time next week?
