Today’s gospel account from Luke is very simple, but if we lived out its implications, we and our world would be dramatically changed for the better!

Luke mentions how Jesus journeys “from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). Once Jesus begins his public ministry, he is constantly on the go, preaching and proclaiming the good news, as well as healing people of “evil spirits and infirmities”.

The key point – Jesus does not do so alone. Luke tells us that he is accompanied by the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others. They also are not just people tagging along for a good walk. This group is not just present here but will also remain with Jesus all the way to the cross, the tomb, and the resurrection (Mary and Joanna are recorded to see Jesus first). The Apostles have left all to follow Jesus and many of the women are providing financial support for Jesus and the Apostles.

What is important to Jesus is not amassing wealth from a speaking tour but building relationships. Paul, who encounters Jesus after his resurrection and ascension echoes this message in the first reading from today. He writes that: “If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that” and, “the love of money is the root of all evil”.

One of the key messages of the good news from Jesus is that we are not to put money, material goods, or even anyone else before our Father in heaven. The Apostles, as we witnessed yesterday with Matthew, left everything and everyone behind, and followed Jesus. Mary Magdalene, healed from being possessed by seven demons, was not only grateful but continued to follow Jesus and became the apostle to the Apostles when he sent her to announce to them that he had rose from the dead.

We are to surrender to God’s will in the unique way that he has called each of us. We will receive his guidance the more we are willing to open our hearts and minds, receive and abide in his love, and then share it with one another. Christianity is not a Lone Ranger religion where God is calling us to do everything on our own. As we grow in intimacy with Jesus, we are also to do so with a core, intimate group of people of mutual support as well.

Just like we need to spend time with Jesus to get to know him, we need to do so with others. Intimate and chaste relationships are possible as we see recorded here, though as with anything worthwhile, building relationships takes time, energy, commitment, dedication, and a willingness to grow in the love that God is sharing with us and calling us to aspire to embody as well. That means we need to be willing to allow Jesus in to heal us in those areas that create friction and conflict in our relationships.

We don’t heal or grow in isolation. We need times to step away and to be still with God, but we ultimately heal and grow in relationship and community. And as we begin to heal, we are encouraged to accompany and be there for others who still are rough on the edges. As St. John of the Cross wrote, “Where there is no love, put love, and you will harvest love.”

Photo: With Jack and Christy, Pacific Palisades hike in August.

Link to the Mass readings for Friday, September 22, 2023

Jesus is not striking a condemnatory tone when he says to the Pharisees, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). Nor is he talking from a place of arrogance and looking down on them. He is revealing the truth that we all fall short of the glory of God, we all sin and the sooner we embrace this truth and allow Jesus into our lives, our healing and can begin. Also, we will experience more peace when we are freed from the lies of the enemy that keep us bound.

If we don’t believe we need his help, as did many of the Pharisees, Jesus will respect that. Although Jesus knows and wants to forgive and heal us, he will remain close but not impose. He will wait for that time when we are ready to let him in and accept his invitation as he did with Matthew.

When Jesus saw him, he did not condemn or expose Matthew for any shady tax deals, he said, “Follow me.” And Matthew wisely did so. Jesus invited him to see the world from a different perspective, from his. As he spent time with Jesus, Matthew let go of the old and that which may had appeared good to him at one time, but in the light of the love of Jesus came to realize that what he chose to focus his time and energy on were apparent goods.

The enemy and father of lies entices us, seduces us, and attempts to lead us astray with half-truths, false promises, and with each step we take in his direction condemns us for each temptation that we trip over. Then he manipulates and tries to isolate us in shame, to tempt us with how bad we are, that no one will love us if they know what we have done, even God will not forgive us. We begin to forget who and whose we are.

Jesus is reminding us in today’s gospel who and whose we are. We are God’s beloved daughter and son. God loves us no matter how far we think we have walked away from him. The good news is no matter how far away we think we have walked or crawled, Jesus is right by our side waiting for us.

Even if you feel you have fallen face first into a figurative mud puddle of how much you think you have messed something up now, recently, or in the past, all you need to do is turn your head to the side. As you blink and wipe the mud and water out of your eyes, you will see Jesus, face to face with you. He greets you there with his loving smile, and then he extends his hand and says, “Follow me.”

I invite you to keep your eyes on Jesus and place your hand in his. Share with him what you feel is buried in the dark. He will forgive you and love you as you trust him. There is nothing that is beyond Jesus’ forgiveness. Nada. In fact, he’s already died for the worst sin you can think of. Then at your next opportunity go to confession and you will be clean, free, forgiven, loved, and ready to begin again.

Painting: One of my favorites, Caravaggio’s Calling of St. Matthew

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, September 21, 2023

We cannot please everyone, we cannot make everyone happy, and not everyone is going to like or affirm us. Nor is this to be the point of our life, although many of us have learned to operate from this model. We aren’t to be self-centered and not care about others either.

Jesus is revealing this to us in the Gospel today when he shared how the people complained about John the Baptist for his extreme aesthetical practices of fasting and the same people accused Jesus of being a “glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Lk 7:34). When in fact John and Jesus were both following the will of God and doing what he sent them to do.

Ultimately, the point and goal in life is to be the same. We are to receive and share God’s love. Each thing we do is to come from the will of God. We are called to strive to become as St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta taught, “a pencil in the hand of God.”

We aren’t there yet, and that is ok. God loves us in this moment right now as I am typing away and you are reading. That God loves us is our starting point and then a good practice is to daily assess where we are not following the will of God in our lives and where are we. The hope is each day we can do a little better than the day before.

Slowly those attachments we have to the things not of God will fall away, our shortcomings and faults will start to be more recognizable so that we can choose to improve, and we can continue to grow in humility to admit when have done something sinful or harmful, to repent, and begin again. No shame or putting ourselves down necessary.

It is important to recognize our wounds and weaknesses so through Jesus we can heal and mature, and it is just as important to get in touch with our strengths and build upon them!

Daily assessing where we need help and need to change, as well as where we are doing well and thanking God for his help and guidance will help us to mature to a point in our lives where we so intimately know Jesus that we better understand his will, recognize his voice over and above all the others demanding our attention, and continue to grow in our trust of him so that we will act without hesitation upon his direction. We will act not to impress others or seek their affirmation but instead to express and share the love of God as he moves us: whether it be a smile needed to brighten another’s day, an ear available to listen, a helping hand to lift up, a word to affirm and encourage, a text to remind someone they are not alone, and that we care.

Our goal each day is to spend more time breathing, resting, receiving, and abiding in God’s love, so that we may think, act, and speak from that place of wholeness. When we do, it will not matter what others think, say, or do because we are being and acting as God is calling us to be in each moment.

Photo: Rosary walk after supper, where I slow down each evening so I can tune in to God’s voice. St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September 20, 2023

When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother (Luke 7:13-15).

Jesus was moved with pity for her. Pity has been watered down in our contemporary understanding of the word. Pity is often understood as feeling sorry for someone, which is not untrue, but from the original Greek there is a stronger translation for the word used which is splanchnizomai, (try saying that three times fast, no really it’s fun :)). It means to be moved from a deeper level of the abdominal area. Thus, for Jesus he is deeply and emotionally moved, has compassion for, is willing to suffer with her.

Why this woman he has only just encountered now? As a widow, she has already lost her husband, and now she has lost her only son. She may still have family but is suffering with the loss of the two closest people in her life. During the time she lives, in such a paternalistic culture, she has also lost her protectors and providers, her means of safety and support. Another possibility is that once Jesus begins his ministry, there is no mention of Joseph. He most likely has died, and Jesus is moving closer to the same. Could he see his own mother, Mary, in this woman?

Jesus, as he does with us, is moved deeply because he recognizes the multiple layers of her grief and pain. She has not asked for help, he comes close to bring her son back to life and does so.

A question might also arise for those of us who have especially lost someone we care about deeply. Why didn’t Jesus do that for my spouse, my child, Marietta’s daughter? One response is that Jesus sees further down the line.

Even in this healing of the son, and later the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus, they will all die again. Their healings are but a foretaste of the true healing Jesus came to bring. Jesus became one with us in our humanity to give his life, to die for us, to conquer death once and for all so that we might have life for all eternity. Those of us who die with Jesus will rise with him on the last day. Death does not have the last say, Jesus does. This means we want to develop a relationship with him now, not just learn about him, but to intimately know and give our lives to him as he gave his for us.

As our relationship with Jesus continues to mature and develop, we begin to die more to our old selves and to our fallen natures as we are willing to be stretched beyond our many comfort zones. As the perfection of Jesus dwells more within us, the partial, the attachments, the lies, the fears, insecurities and disfunctions, begin to pass away. Sooner rather than later would be nice yes, but that is how patience grows as well.

We will experience anxiety and stress as we let go, similar to when we heal from a broken bone as there is pain while the bone heals. We can take comfort in the truth that Jesus leads us through our inner healing, surrender, and growth gently and slowly. He lovingly offers his hand to lead us as we are willing. The process goes more smoothly the less we resist and the more we trust and abide in his love. Again, not as fast as we would like, but he knows what we can bear, and when sometimes we feel we are bearing too much we must lean on him all the more.

A good sign of our dying to self is when we too can experience a movement of splanchnizomai, deep compassion, not only for those we hold close to our hearts, but also for those who, like Jesus with the widow, we just meet and reach out to help in their need and allow God to happen through us.

Photo: Orthodox icon accessed from: orthochristian.com/87110.html

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Sometimes the psalms are neglected in the daily Mass readings, but they, like the other readings and the gospels, offer guidance. Often, the psalms express best our daily lives and reflect our challenges and our victories with rich imagery that we can then carry with us to help us throughout our day. As we heard or read or if you are just reading now:

“The LORD is my strength and my shield. In him my heart trusts, and I find help; then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks” (Psalm 28:7).

The image presented today that God is our “strength and shield” is a good one to begin this day and the week with. No matter what may come our way, God is with us to shield and protect us. Many times, it is the mental attacks of the enemy that seek to derail us in subtle and persistent ways, and we just need to continue to stand on our rock, Jesus, who keeps us from growing weary. He not only shields us from the enemy but also gives us the strength to endure.

As we begin our day, let us trust in and open our hearts and minds to our loving God and Father. He is our shield, yes, but we are not perfect. Some of those negative thoughts sneak through, and we may even slip and start to believe them. As soon as we recognize them though, we just need to immediately turn to him, breathe, receive, rest, and abide in his love again and again. Sometimes even just a minute or two of this practice, turned to as much as needed, properly orders us back to the Father and his love.

The centurion in today’s gospel did not feel worthy enough to have Jesus enter his home, yet he asked him through his emissary to heal his servant from afar. Jesus did not admonish him but commended him for his act of faith in the power of his healing word. None of us are worthy, that is not a lie. We all fall short of the glory of God because we are not God, we are human. The lie is that in our unworthiness we are not loved by God. That is false through and through. God loves us, period. We just need to be willing to recognize our limitations and like the centurion to reach out to Jesus as he did.

We do so when we pray to or ask each other to pray to Jesus for us. As long as we trust in Jesus, continue to turn to him, and reach out to others when we are in need and/or notice we need to turn back when we have turned away, all will be well.

Rest in the truth that the Lord is your strength and your shield. Let these simple words settle into your mind and heart and abide with them, trust in him, give him thanks, and maybe even break into song, throughout this day!!!

Photo: Chapel at St. Joseph and Mary Retreat Center, Mundelein, Illinois

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, September 18, 2023

Marietta woke up one morning in 1973 to find that her daughter was not in the tent she had hugged and set her down to sleep in the night before and that the side of the tent was ripped open. The horror of any mother or parent followed. Her worst fears did not dissipate nor was Susie found over the next few days or months. During that time Marietta went through a whole range of emotions including the thought of wanting to rip out the eyes of the person who had taken her daughter.

Something interesting transpired though as some more time passed. Marietta no longer wanted to experience the anger and the rage she understandably felt toward the person who had abducted her daughter. She realized that her faith did not teach her to react in this way.

Maybe Marietta heard today’s Gospel at Mass also when Jesus answered Peter’s question about how many times he was to forgive with: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Marietta asked Jesus to help her to forgive the person who had taken her daughter and that her Susie could come home safe. And she continued to forgive the man every day thereafter, and thus more than even seventy-seven times.

A year to the day later, she received a phone call. And the moment she heard the man on the other end of the phone, she knew it was him. As he began to talk, a peace fell over Marietta that she recognized as the Holy Spirit. The man got her number off the missing person signs that were spread around the area and had called her to taunt her for a few minutes and hang up. But he was surprised and put off balance by Marietta’s calm demeanor. Marietta still had the tap on her phone and kept him on for about an hour.

Because Marietta kept her composure, the FBI was able to eventually track the man down. Unfortunately, he had killed Susie and other young girls. Marietta still wanted to meet him. They did and talked. She grew closer to him, came to understand how troubled he was from the abuse he received in his childhood. She came to care for him like her own son. She appealed to the prosecutor not to seek the death penalty, and again this led to the man letting the prosecutor know where the bodies of the girls were in his jurisdiction. Since the prosecutor in another jurisdiction was not willing to consider taking the death penalty off the table, the man did not share where other girls he had killed could be found in the other district. The man eventually committed suicide in his jail cell before the case could go to trial.

Marietta made a choice. She felt she was not honoring her daughter’s death by staying in a place of fear, rage, and revenge. Her husband had the same decision to make but could or would not. He was a strong and athletic man who fell into a downward slide fueled by his grief. His unwillingness to forgive ate him up inside and lead to his early death.

What surprised me most about this story was not Marietta’s willingness and ability to forgive but the violent reactions directed toward her. Many people could not imagine her acting that way and many said she was a terrible mother in forgiving this man.

As a society, we do not do forgiveness very well. Marietta followed Jesus’ teaching. To forgive, in her case, was especially hard, but she did what we need to do, turned to Jesus and asked him to forgive through her until she could. Years later, she shared that she still needs his help to forgive and not slip back. Marietta has become an advocate that travels throughout the world advocating against the death penalty and sharing her story of healing from her willingness to forgive.

When we refuse to forgive, we not only oppose the will of God, but we also allow the one who has harmed us to continue to do so. This man not only took Marietta’s daughter but her husband as well because he was unwilling to forgive. Forgiveness does not mean we forget, condone what was done, or stay in harm’s way. It means we get to a safe place if needed, but then let go of seeking any revenge, wishing ill on the person, or seeking harm in return. Otherwise, we allow the harm to continue and to perpetuate it.

Forgiveness is the highest form of love. Again, to follow Jesus, in loving our enemies and those who harm us by being willing to forgive, is to will their good, to instead of perpetuating the pattern of evil, stop it by choosing not to feed it.

Forgiveness is the antidote to the poison inflicted upon us and the salve that will help to bring us healing. It is also the key to our salvation. If we are unwilling to forgive, we cut ourselves off from the love of God as Jesus taught us in the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The two go together. One does not work without the other. God bestows his forgiveness and mercy on all and we are called to do the same.

May we take some time today to examine where we have been able to forgive and where we still need help. When the enemy adds any fuel to the fire with his lies, renounce him with the authority you wield as God’s beloved daughter or son, ask Jesus for his help and to forgive through you until you are able to forgive for yourself. God only asks for our willingness and openness.

With the smallest opening the Holy Spirit can work miracles.

What Jesus can also help to reveal for us is our unwillingness to be forgiving of ourselves. As I discovered this summer, our unforgiveness toward ourselves can be buried deep under the cover of lies that make what we believe we have done worse than it is and afraid to bring it into the light. God loves us more than any sin we have committed, any sin, and never tires of forgiving us, let us not tire of asking! And if ever you have a thought that he would not forgive you for something, know right away that it is a lie and get to the nearest priest to ask him to hear your confession!

Reconciliation is a great gift and a healing sacrament that too many of us forget to utilize. I just went yesterday and felt so much joy and consolation afterward. It is another good practice to add to your spiritual toolbox and to pull out once a month or as needed! I am pretty sure that I have gone to confession more in the last year than I have in my whole life!

Marietta Jaeger-Lane shows us that even in the most horrific of experiences we can seek the assistance of Jesus to help us to forgive. In doing so, we collaborate with God to bring his love and light into a wounded and dark world.

Photo: Another evening walk earlier this week, St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, September 17, 2023

Death, suffering, and sin, Oh my!

If you are still reading… The topics of the past three days have not been the most pleasant and often as Catholics, we have been accused of being too preoccupied with these three. It is not that we are morbid, masochistic, or feel we are doomed. Quite the opposite!

If we fully understand our faith and put it into practice, we are seeking to be free not only from sin and suffering but even death! As St. Paul shares in today’s first reading:

“This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost” (I Timothy 1:15).

Jesus came to free us from our sin, alleviate our suffering, and he conquered death that we may experience eternal life with God. The problem comes when we resist or reject his invitation. We may choose to hold onto our sinful practices possibly because of attachment, fear, comfort, unwillingness to grow, and/or listening to the lies of the enemy.

Jesus won’t force us. He is gentle as he lights the way. We just need to be willing to choose him and let go of our false selves, our sinful natures, and walk with him. Each step we take with and each yes we say to Jesus’ invitation, no matter how small, our old self will begin to fall away, and the love of God will rise within us.

As we are willing to stand up against the lies of the enemy, be aware of, and renounce our sins, surrender more to the will of Jesus instead of our own, our new selves will align with the first born of the new creation, Jesus the Christ, who came to free us from our sin, alleviate our suffering, and lead us into and beyond death into eternal life with him and his Father to experience the love of the Holy Spirit for all eternity.

Photo: Afternoon walk at St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary. Jesus and Mary will lead us through any storm within and without!

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, September 16, 2023

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home (John 19:26-27).

The pain that Mary experienced while she witnessed her Son dying an agonizing and slow death is unimaginable. Then as the soldier pierced not only Jesus’ side, but his heart, her heart was pierced as Simeon prophesied when Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus at the Temple when Jesus was an infant.

During my retreat I imagined myself in this scene and attempting to comfort Mary in her pain, especially at the moment of his death. As I reached my arm around her, she leaned into me, rested her head on my shoulder, and then began to sob. I imagined her saying, “It’s too much pain. It’s too much suffering” and she cried all the more. All I could do was hold her as she sobbed.

Jesus then said to me, “I am dead, but you can comfort our mother. Be a monstrance.” Meaning, be present, allow his love to rise up from within me and share it with Mary. I then heard Jesus say to me and to then tell Mary that he felt no more pain and he was no longer suffering. I told Mary that and said that I loved her. She smiled at me, and as I wiped some of her tears she said, “I love you too my son. I’ll be alright. We knew this was coming and what is coming next. But the brutality is just too much. Let us breath, rest, receive, and abide in the love of Jesus, my Son and your brother, together.”

We then prayed the Our Father together and this pattern of prayer she taught me.

This imagined encounter with Mary reminded me of a real life encounter I experienced when I was on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota around 1990. Charmaine Wisecarver, if I remember her name correctly, shared about the loss of her son who had died in a car accident. Her sobs I can still hear, her pain was so deep. I hadn’t ever been with anyone experiencing such pain before. And yet a few days later, I heard joyous laughter. It was Charmaine. The two extremes hit me.

To be fully alive, we need to experience the pain and suffering in our own lives. There are many ways we attempt to avoid or go around doing so, but that not only prolongs but can increase our suffering. When we do, we can also experience a deeper fullness of the joy in life. Jesus and Mary had no filter of sin, they received the full brunt and experienced the weight of the pain of the cross. They have both led, accompanied, and suffered with me as I have entered more deeply into and through my own sufferings, and have begun to experience greater healing and peace.

That is the gift of our faith, that when we experience times of suffering, we do not have to suffer alone. We remembered yesterday the Triumph of the Cross, the love with which Jesus loved us by dying for us. Today, we remember that at the moment his heart was pierced, Mary “died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his” (St. Bernard).

Today’s feast day is called our Lady of Sorrows. It was originally called, Our Lady of Compassion. Compassion comes from two Latin roots which mean to suffer with. In John’s Gospel from today, we see Jesus give his mother to his beloved disciple and his beloved disciple to Mary. They are given to each other to support one another in their grief, their suffering, to be – compassionate.

Traditionally, the beloved disciple is John, but this disciple being unnamed can also stand for each of us. Jesus gives Mary to us to be our mother. Jesus gives Mary to you to be your mother, and he gives you to his mother to be her son or daughter. Mary has been with us during every challenge and trial, joy and celebration. If you are experiencing any suffering in your lives now, invite Mary to comfort you. Imagine yourself with her as she wraps her mantle around you and holds you close, so you can enter into the pain and experience the suffering to let it go and not only experience the peace that surpasses all understanding, but freedom and joy!

Photo: Close up of William Adolphe Bouguereau’s The Pieta, 1876

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, September 15, 2023

In 324 AD, St. Helena, was sent by her son, Emperor Constantine, to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to find the place where Jesus died, the Holy Sepulcher, and the cross upon which he was crucified. Tradition has it that the three crosses were buried and hidden after Jesus and the two thieves were taken off their crosses. There are different stories about how she found the crosses, but it is believed she did find them in 326.

To find out which of the three crosses was the one Jesus was crucified upon, people in need of healing, including possibly, someone who had just died were brought to touch the three crosses. Only in touching one cross each time, were they healed, and so Helena believed that was the cross of Jesus. Helena had the cross brought back to her son.

The feast day that we celebrate today is the Exultation of the Holy Cross and it is in remembrance of when the Holy Cross was rescued from the Persians in the seventh century.

The cross and crucifixion was an instrument of state sanctioned terrorism to keep people in line. The Romans were ready, willing, and able to make an example of anyone who stood up against them. The brutal practice of crucifixion was one such practice to strike terror into the hearts of anyone else who might have the idea of opposing them.

And yet, we as Catholics, hang this instrument of torture with the dead body of Jesus in our churches, in our homes, and many around their necks. What was a sign of terror has become for us a sign of victory!

“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness;and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

The crucifix is our sacramental sign of hope. Death, is one of the tools used by tyrants and dictators to keep people in line because they know instinctually we want to preserve our lives, and so fear death. Yet death does not have the final say. Jesus, who though quite capable of saving himself, chose not to. He willingly gave his life for all of us. What is even more amazing is he specifically gave his life for you and me. Jesus died personally for us, conquered death, rose again and ascended into heaven so that we might find fulfillment and joy in this life, not so that we could merely survive, but so we can thrive free of anxiety and fear in this life and continue into eternal life in the next.

As we grow in our faith and relationship with Jesus, we come face to face with our fears when we are ready and willing to do so, even death. For me, watching JoAnn’s death is the closest thing I have experienced to watching a crucifixion and greatest fear – losing someone I love. She lost so much weight and by her final weeks was so emaciated. Like Mary and John watching Jesus suffering and dying on the cross, there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Yet, there was a peace in knowing that this was not the end of JoAnn’s life. Jesus had the final say, not death. He led her home to the eternal embrace of our loving God and Father. This peace that surpassed all my understanding was a grace that God granted me so that I could be there for JoAnn as well as Jack and Christy, every step of the way. I could fall apart later and mourn, grieve, and heal over these past four years. The crucifix has been a help for me because it has been a reminder of how much Jesus offers us a love so amazing, so uniquely and personally that he would die for JoAnn, for me, and for you.

The crucifix is a reminder that we need not fear death nor anything else because Jesus has our back. Continue to trust in Jesus and know, no matter what arises going forward, and when times of doubt, anxiety, or fear attempts to creep in, you can look upon your crucifix, even hold it in your hand (you have one?) and know Jesus is with you, loves you so much he has given his life for you and that there is nothing, nothing, nothing you and he by your side cannot accomplish.

Photo: Crucifix in the main chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, FL.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, September 14, 2023

The first reading from today offers an interesting perspective. Paul is not presenting that we receive Jesus’ teaching, philosophy, or theology. He is saying that the Church in Colossea has “received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7).

They have received Jesus, and are to walk in him, be rooted in him and built upon him. This is what distinguishes Christianity from other faith traditions. We are called to enter into a relationship with a person, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God who became one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity! This man who we are invited to place our trust in is Jesus!

As Catholics, we encounter Jesus intimately in the sacraments. When we were baptized, our old self died with him, we were born again in him and are now a part of his Body. We were empowered by the Holy Spirit at Confirmation and are nourished each time we receive his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.  Reconciliation restores our connection when it has been wounded or broken when Jesus forgives us from our sins through the concrete words of absolution offered to us by a priest.

Jesus is also present to us in our everyday activities. The key is to open our hearts and minds and invite him into all aspects of our lives and we will become more aware of his walking with us. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we spend time with him in prayer and worship, invite him into our challenges and struggles, our celebrations, as well as our mundane activities, the more rooted in him we will become.

St. Paul is inviting us to build our relationship with Jesus and as we do so, he will become so much more present to us, like breathing itself. Making the time to reflect and thank him, “abounding in thanksgiving” when he provides his help and support, his guidance, and his strength also builds our awareness of how much he is present in our lives.

May our loving God and Father enfold you with his loving embrace so that you know he has you in his care and will protect you. May the Holy Spirit fall afresh upon you and fill your mind, your heart, and your soul, with his peace, that peace that surpasses all understanding. May his presence gently dissolve any weight, stress, and/or strain that your bodies and minds have been experiencing. And may you receive Jesus’ outstretched hand, that he may lead you this day. Continue to lean on him as you need to, and he will renew your strength.

Trust in Jesus, his Father, and the Holy Spirit!

Photo: St. Mark Catholic Church, Venice Beach, CA.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, September 12, 2023