Click here to read the daily readings from the USCCB website.

When I was learning how to pray with Scripture I was taught to read the passage a few times and pay attention to what sticks out to me. That's often a good sign that the Holy Spirit is trying to draw your attention to that word or verse. I still try to pray that way when I pray with Scripture and this morning this is the line that struck me:

"Encourage yourselves daily while it is still 'today'"

I think this line stuck out to me because of its urgent nature. St. Paul is telling us that embracing the way of Christ is not a job for tomorrow but for today. It sounds of the parable of the man who tore down his barns to build bigger barns in order to hoard his wealth. "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." 

Sometimes it seems cliche to me to say that you never know when your time on earth will be up, but it's true. I've heard that in every moment and in every decision you are either walking towards God or away from Him. At the moment of death, it doesn't matter where you are on the journey, it only matters what direction you were headed. That's the meaning of mercy. 

So I encourage you "today" to make a plan to walk towards God. Are you praying every day? If not, start there. And I don't mean just saying a prayer as you wash the dishes or drive your car. Set aside time to  be fully present with the Lord. You should spend no less than 15 minutes, but better if it were an hour, in silence with the Lord every day. You could meditate over Scripture during that time. You could read a few pages from a spiritual book. But you need to spend a few moments full present to the Lord alone and listening to Him.

This isn't to say that it might not look differently based on your state in life. My prayer life right now looks a heck of a lot different than it will when I have a bunch of little children running around. But prayer is  vital across state of life.

It's how we become "partners with Christ."