catholicism

Jesus found time to pray on the mountain. Where is our sacred place to pray?

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God (Lk 6:12).

Jesus spent the whole night in prayer to God. What did that look like? We don’t know. Since the traditional practices of prayer we have learned from Jesus, we can speculate that he spent some time in vocal prayer, speaking with his Father. He most likely then spent some time in quiet meditation. But my feeling is that he spent much of his time in contemplation. A deep, intimate communion between him, his Father, and a deep experience of the love between them, communion with the Holy Spirit.

We can surmise vocal prayer because when the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them the words of the Our Father. He would have also spent some time in dialogue with his Father because when he came down in the morning, he “chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles” (Luke 6:13). Jesus would have meditated, thought about his choices of who he would have picked, and then prayed, dialogued with his Father for his confirmation. That he spent time in contemplation we can speculate because he knew the Father and the Father knew him. You don’t know someone intimately unless you spend time together.

How about us? Are these forms of prayer possible? Yes. If you want to pray, you have already begun. The desire in and of itself to pray is prayer. The originator of our prayer does not begin with us but is an invitation from God to spend time together. As the desire arises, we are now acknowledging God’s invitation. He will, if we allow him to get through all the noise, distractions, diversions, and temptations leading us away from praying with him, get through.

When we want to learn about something, our first instinct is to read and study about it. A good first step. The danger though regarding reading about prayer is that we think we are praying. In the turning of a page, the completion of a chapter, even reading the Bible, we can feel as if we are accomplishing something, but we are only imagining how prayer can be. “It is tempting to remain in the comfortable theater of the imagination instead of the real world, to fall in love with the idea of becoming a saint and loving God and neighbor instead of doing the actual work, because the idea makes no demands on you” (Peter Kreeft, Prayer for Beginners, 12).

The other trap is when we are praying with words, reading the Bible, being present at Mass, but only doing these practices in a functional manner. We don’t do prayer, we speak, meditate, pray, and listen to a Person. We allow God to do, through us. Is God an idea or a real Person? This is a very important distinction. When we pray even the Sign of the Cross, when done properly, we invoke each Person of the Holy Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we pray in this way, we invite God to be with us and in us!

There is a myriad of ways to pray and each practice will match each of our unique personalities and temperaments. The key to prayer is to make a commitment to a time and a place to pray each day, show up at that time and place, then let God happen. Start with a timeframe, such as five minutes that you know you can do. Depending on the discipline of prayer you practice, your family, school, work, and/or ministerial demands will be indicators as to how much you might be able to increase the time you pray once you have built a consistent practice.

The amount of time that we dedicate to prayer is not as important as our commitment to spend time with God each day. We need to schedule daily our non-negotiables for prayer first, and then build around that. Again, this will depend on our station in life. Young parents’ non-negotiables are their infant’s care, whereas someone who is religious life will have more time available.

Mass, the liturgy of the Hours, reading the Bible, sitting or walking quietly outside, at the morning table with a favorite devotional, the Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, spiritual reading, and imagining ourselves sitting with Jesus on the mountaintop in silent meditation and contemplation are all practices that can help us to grow in our relationship with God. When the Holy Spirit invites us to close our eyes and be still though, that is our invitation to listen to God and begin to learn his language of silence.

St Therese of Lisieux offers us a good approach to prayer: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy” (CCC, 2559). No matter how we pray, our goal is that we don’t seek to bend God’s will to our’s but to allow our lives to be conformed to Jesus, that we encounter and build a relationship with him and each other, such that our experience of prayer matches St Augustine’s: “True, whole prayer is nothing but love” (Foster, 1). We pray, so we can fall in love with God who made us for himself.

Photo: Blessed to be back at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary to pray in St. Mary’s Chapel.

Foster, Richard J. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. NY: HarperCollins, 1992.

Kreeft, Peter. Prayer for Beginners. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Small gestures of genuine love bring light into dark places and nourish hope and life to our brothers and sisters.

In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. Each of these elements is not only small but they are tiny. Though with the proper environment, resources of sustenance, water, and sunlight, this mustard seed will germinate, sprout, and grow into a large bush. Yeast, a single-celled organism, is the catalyst for assisting dough to rise, strengthen, and ferment, thus providing a more appealing and tasty bread.

Jesus offered these simple examples from everyday agrarian life that his listeners understood from experience. If we have planted seeds or made our own homemade bread, we too are in a better position to relate to these two small parables as well.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus lives out the parables by engaging person to person. Jesus’ interactions happened concretely, through walking along the road and breaking of bread together, sharing stories, teaching with authority, healing, and exorcising demons with his touch, and he still does so today. The smallest, genuine act of kindness or love can seem insignificant and may even go unnoticed by many, but it is significant to the individual who is on the receiving end and can reveal dramatic results over time.

There is a story that expresses this point called, “A Simple Gesture” from the story collection, Chicken Soup for the Soul. The short tale describes how one day a boy named Mark was walking home from school and came upon another boy who had tripped and dropped all of his books and many other items. Mark offered to help carry some of the load of the other boy, who, as they walked home, found out was named Bill. They talked about common interests and when they approached Bill’s home, Bill invited Mark in for a Coke and to watch some T.V. They spent the afternoon together, then interacted on occasion for the rest of their time in middle school and into their high school years.

Three weeks before their graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill shared that the reason that he had been carrying all of that stuff home on the day they had first met was because he didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else to clean up. Bill had planned to commit suicide that evening. Bill continued to share that, after their original encounter and afternoon together, he realized that if he had killed himself that day he would have missed more opportunities to talk and laugh. Bill finished the conversation by saying, “So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life” (Canfield and Hansen, 35-36).

Personal encounters were how Jesus helped others to realize that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Just as in the example of how Mark, in making the simple effort to help Bill pick up his personal items, helped to shift the momentum away from a potential suicide attempt. This action shows how Jesus can continue to work through us today.

Like a modern-day Good Samaritan parable, “A Simple Gesture”, helps us to see that when we are aware of and engage in opportunities to help and act with genuine care, no matter how small, to resist the gesture to fix, and love and listen, we can have a dramatic effect on another’s life. We also don’t have to bear the weight of those who struggle alone. Jesus will bear that with us, when we feel overwhelmed with another’s challenges. Small acts of presence, a listening ear, being there even when we don’t but letting go of imposition, and genuine care all help us to remember we are not alone.

Many people have a lot on their plate, we may not be aware of even half of what they are going through. That is why we need to be attentive and open to the move of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He will lead us out beyond ourselves so that we notice others. In doing so, we can become like the mustard seed, or the yeast, in another’s life. Through a smile, a hello, a bent ear to listen, we can make a connection, be present, and love. What may appear to be minuscule or mundane at the moment, may, in fact, be life-changing and transforming for a lifetime.

Photo: Not exactly a mustard tree but this cabbage palm started as a small seed, survived the tornadoes of Milton, and though palms are a bit frayed from the winds, still doing quite well. We will too when we allow God to love us and love each other.

Canfield, Jack, and Mark Victor Hansen. Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1993.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 2026

Jesus sees us, our need, and provides our healing.

I lost track of how long ago this happened, almost twenty years ago now, I woke up one morning and realized that I could not stand up straight. Each time I tried, I felt a searing pain in my abdominal area. I hadn’t made any lesson plans so I did not feel that I could call in sick. I decided to go into the shower and see if I felt any better but didn’t. I did not want to disturb JoAnn and continued my morning routine hoping and praying that whatever was going on would release.

When it didn’t, I figured I would see if I could walk to the car and sit to drive. I was able to do so as long as I did not sit all the way back. I drove to school figuring that I would get everything set up, put together some lesson plans, request a substitute, and get to the doctor. As I arrived, pulled into my parking spot, and then got out of the car, I attempted to stand and still could not. It was hard to walk because I was leaning so far forward to keep the pain in check. As I was getting things set up in my classroom, I walked in between the desks toward the back of the room, and, all of a sudden, the pain released. I felt in that moment as if it hadn’t even happened.

I don’t know what caused the pain, I haven’t experienced anything like that nor has it ever happened again. I was able to stand up straight, was grateful and thanked God that I was pain free, and able to teach that day.

What I experienced was only a few hours. The woman in today’s gospel account suffered with her condition of being “crippled by a spirit” for eighteen years. Then one day while listening to Jesus teach in the synagogue, he saw her, and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God (Luke 13:12-13). The woman didn’t even ask for a healing. He saw her spiritual oppression and set her free!

Jesus sees us this morning as well. I invite you to read the gospel account a few times, enter the scene yourself, and imagine encountering Jesus as this woman did. Allow Jesus to look at you and call, “You are set free of …” Fill in the blank. Receive his call and allow him to come close so that you too, may feel his hands on your head. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. May you experience the consolation, freedom, healing, joy, rest, and love that Jesus would like to share with you today!

Photo: A moment of quiet, and invitation to go to breathe and rest with the Lord who made heaven and earth and invited me to experience this moment with him. Listen for Jesus’ invitation to put things aside and rest a moment or two with him.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 26, 2026

Jesus not only commanded, he modeled how we can love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:37-40).

The scholar of the law who asked Jesus to share with him which commandment of the law is the greatest was a common question among Jews for they had 613 laws! Following these laws was how one showed faithfulness to God. Discussing which were the most important and which were those of lesser rank as well as the practicality of learning and practicing all 613 presented quite a challenge. How do we do with just following the Ten Commandments today? Could we even recite the Ten?

The scholar brought Jesus into this debate. Jesus’ response, that we call today the Great Commandment, was a masterful synthesis of the Torah, the Law, or the Teachings and they represent the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Jesus drew from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 more specifically which was the beginning of the Shema, the prayer that Jews offered each morning, again at mid-day, and then each evening while facing the Temple that stated: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Jesus then added to it Leviticus 19:18: “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

As we witness time and again with Jesus, he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (cf. Mt 5:17). Jesus sought to help people to come to know his Father who he knew so intimately, who he loved so fully. Though the Great Commandment sounds simple enough, and it is, it demands our whole self, our full commitment to be contemplatives in action. We are called to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. That means all of us, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We are to recognize that God is actively engaged in all of what we do and who we are in every aspect of our self-identity and integrity. We are to surrender every thought, word, and deed to our Father.

Our lives will be richer and more fulfilled once we embrace, once we open ourselves up to this reality, and resist the temptation to compartmentalize our time with God. Saying we are only with God on Sunday while in the sanctuary of the Church but leaving him there in the tabernacle is not loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.  Stepping into the church parking lot becomes like a time warp in which we go back into secular apparent reality, where in the first instant of encounter with our neighbor cutting us off with their car, our hand gesture is most likely not a blessing in the form of the sign of the cross.

If we can turn on a dime so quickly, have we really worshipped at all? Are we living our lives more as Pope Francis calls, “defeated Christians”? Are we just going through the motions of our faith, showing up but our heart, soul, and mind aren’t fully engaged? Pope Francis shares that “the one who confesses the faith well, the whole faith, has the ability to worship, to worship God” (Francis, 292).

We become Christians, contemplatives in action when we give our all as did St. Francis of Assisi who would often pray this simple prayer “My God and my all”. He gave himself in love, all of who he was to God. He encountered the God of Jesus Christ who is Love, received his loving embrace, and went forth to share that love with others. This is called the Greatest Commandment not one of the Greatest Commandments, because loving God and neighbor is one and the same act.

May we embrace the gift of who God is for us, not just as the one who created us and went away to do whatever God does, that is deism. The God of Jesus Christ is a God of relationship grounded in unconditional love, the one who is present with us always, in all the practical and mundane we do, and in everyone we meet. Through this embrace of God and his love and going out from ourselves to will the good of the other, the better we will be able to heal from our wounds of prejudice, bigotry, selfishness, pride, greed, lust, fear, and anxiety.

Our very life is a blessing, a gift, to be thankful to God for and to share and bless others with. May each thought we entertain, each word we speak, each action we take, each facial gesture we express, be one of encouragement, of support, of empowerment, and of love. We can get there when we intentionally give ourselves a deep breath and prayerful pause before each. Dedicating ourselves to following the Great Commandment means that we are to approach our life one day at a time renewing our commitment to love God and neighbor a little bit better today than yesterday. To aid us in our trust and conviction, let us pray often the prayer of St. Francis, “My God and my all”.

Photo: Replica of the San Damiano Cross on my desk that I have had since my novitiate year while with the Franciscans. St. Francis heard Jesus call him to rebuild his Church. We can help Jesus as well when we love God and our neighbors as ourselves.

Pope Francis. Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday. NY: Image, 2015

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, October 25, 2026

We pay attention to the signs of earth and sky. Are we attentive to God’s incidents in our daily lives?

“You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time” (Lk 12:56).

Reading this verse brought two memories from my childhood. The first one is from when my friend Steve and I as kids were interested in reading the natural signs and weather patterns, and we enjoyed watching our local weatherman, Hilton Kaderli, forecasting the weather each night. Another memory was with my cousin Danny. We were at my Uncle Pierre and Aunt Claudette’s house one afternoon and we saw a storm rising. We headed to the road and started running as fast as we could in the opposite direction to see how far we could get before the storm caught us, and once it did we walked home, sucking in air, being pelted by the rain, and enjoyed a good soaking. Steve, Danny, and I read the signs of the earth and the sky, but we didn’t pay all that much attention to the things of the spirit at that time.

Not only through his teachings, but also through his public actions, Jesus revealed some powerful signs that God was in their midst. Jesus taught and preached on his own authority, he cast out demons, forgave sins, healed people, met and ate with sinners and women. These were amazing signs that the Messiah came to dwell among them, yet some did not or would not see this truth. They rationalized away that he could not be who he showed himself to be.

Some did see and believe in his and each successive generation. Some two thousand years later, Jesus continues to speak to us and there are many who still believe. The accounts and encounters of Jesus have been preserved and passed on. the Bible is not just a dead letter, nor is the sacred deposit of our faith tradition some inanimate object passed on blindly generation after generation. We are invited time and again to be aware, to look for how Jesus still works in our lives each day. Each of the messages of the Gospel, the Good News, is relevant to our lives and our salvation.

Jesus a not a mere historical figure. Jesus conquered death, rose again and became the first born of the new creation. He is present in his glorified Body in the Eucharist and through each of us, “for what you do to the least of these, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus invites us to read the signs of his presence in our lives and in our times.

Do we see coincidences or God-incidences? Do we see God’s presence working in our lives? If not, could it be because our lives are so busy and fast-paced? If so, schedule some time each day to stop, breathe, and reflect. Even if for only five to ten minutes, we can slow down and ask God to help us review the past twenty-four hours with the express purpose of noticing how he has been involved and engaged in our lives.

It is often by reflecting and looking back over the course of a day, a week, or a month, that we will recall some God-incidents no matter how small. Being thankful for this growing awareness and asking God for greater insight each day will help us to grow in our awareness of how much he has been accompanying us all along in our daily experiences.

For those times that we have refused or failed to recognize this closeness to Jesus, especially in his presence coming to us through others seeking our help, we can ask for forgiveness and for Jesus to assist us in being more aware and more intentional in following the stirring of the Holy Spirit going forward. Opening our hearts and minds to God will help us to better read the signs that the kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand, in our very midst. Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear: his word, his presence in the Eucharist, in each other, in creation, and in the silence of hearts? Are we willing to repent and be set free?

Photo: Newer tools to interpret the weather, the appearance of sea and sky. In what ways are we continuing to improve our interpretation of God’s invitations and that the kingdom of God is at hand?

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, October 23, 2026

Jesus mounted the cross to unleash the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing” (Lk 12:49)!

What has been burned does not remain the same. What fire touches, it transforms.”Holiness is standing in the fire of self knowledge and letting it burn.” – Fr. Wayne Sattler. Jesus can’t wait to unleash the fire of the love of the Holy Spirit upon his apostles at the feast of Pentecost. He will have to go through the cross though to get there. Jesus died for Mary and the twelve. He also died for all of humanity, but also in the radical particularity, he died for each of us.

Jesus wants us to be consumed so as to be transformed by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Encountering Jesus affects a change in us. When we are open to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe on the embers in the depths of our souls they are fanned like tinder and ignite. We continue to fuel the fire by getting in touch with what God has called us to do in our place and in our time.

We are not to be a Christian in name alone but in thought, word, and deed. Pope Francis, in his exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, wrote: “THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept this offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness” (Francis 2013, 9). Joy is a gift, a holy flame, that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. This spark once ignited wells up within, and rises up and out to be shared with others. It is different than pleasure which has its source in the stimulation of the senses being aroused but fades once the external stimulus has ended.

Happiness is also external and fleeting. It lasts longer than pleasure in that the memory of the experience will linger but it too will fade away. Joy wells up from within, as it is imparted to us by God and can be present even when the external experiences are stressful or chaotic. I experienced this when I was still teaching 5th and 6th Grade Religion and acting as the dean of students at Rosarian Academy. At the same time, I was also immersed in family and parish life, as well as my studies and formation activities for the permanent diaconate.

One particular morning I woke up exhausted. When the alarm went off my first response was to skip my morning prayer and hit the snooze button to get an extra twenty minutes before rising. Instead, I literally crawled to my small chapel area, lit the candles, and opened my breviary. When I read the words in Psalm 42: “Hope in God; I will praise him still, my savior and my God”, something ignited within. I felt an energy well up within me that I cannot to this day describe. I felt an inexpressible joy. Not only did the experience carry me into the day, relieve the exhaustion, but lasted throughout the whole week.

God is the foundation of our lives and our Father seeks to transform us with the fire of his love. Even when we are at our lowest, with only the smoldering embers of our faith, we need to resist the temptation to feed indifference, desolation, and/or despair. When we turn to and trust in Jesus, he offers a way when there seems no way. Begin with a breath, be thankful for what we do have, even if it isn’t much. We can be thankful for God’s love and presence even when we don’t feel it. Keep showing up to pray, even if sometimes we have to crawl to get there, and the Holy Spirit will fan the embers within our soul to set us ablaze.

May we, “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that [we] may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). To know the love of Jesus is more than knowing about him. We don’t read and study the Bible as we study a historical text. We meditate, ponder, and pray with Sacred Scripture daily, to encounter a Person, Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. In doing so, the Holy Spirit will also enkindle in us the fire of his love and moments of consolation that we can experience regardless of our external or internal struggles.

Nothing else in this world can satisfy us as much as experiencing and being transformed by the love of our Father! When we seek God first, the attachments to finite things will begin to loosen. When we trust Jesus, who mounted the cross for us, and align our will with his, we will come to know him and experience his love. When the fire the Holy Spirit burns only that which is pure will remain.

Photo: “In the depth of the mystery of the cross, love is at work, that love which brings man back again to share in the life that is in God himself.” – Pope St. John Paul II in Magnificat, Oct. 2026, p. 321.

Pope Francis. Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel. Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press, 2013.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 22, 2026

Is this parable for us? Yeap.

“That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely” (Lk 12:47).

Jesus, as did the prophets, spoke in ways that can be jarring. The purpose was to shake his listeners out of a dull stupor and to make clear his point. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus addressed Peter’s question: “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone” (Lk 12:41)? Jesus was most likely speaking to Peter and the Twelve. They are the ones he entrusted with continuing his mission. And just as he had been clear to point out those Pharisees who had abused their positions, he was being just as clear with Peter and the apostles to be sure to imitate not the Pharisees but him.

Jesus wanted to make sure that his successors were not to continue on with business as usual and going through the motions as those entrusted with the deposit of faith he had given them. What Jesus required of them was not just for themselves, but those whose care they had been entrusted with and beyond them to all the nations. His parable was for both the Twelve first and foremost, and then to their successors and all who would choose to be his followers.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed those in Church leadership who have in effect, “beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk” (Lk 12:45) on their own power throughout different generations in Church history. Those who have: abused children, covered abuse, skimmed off the top of the donations from the blood, sweat, and tears of their parishioners’ donations, limited access to positions within the leadership of the Church to only male or clergy, been unmerciful confessors, held up the sin of one group or groups while turning a blind eye to others. These and other forms of hypocrisy do irreparable damage.

The world has been darkened by sin and it has crept into the Church. Even though all of us have been wounded we have not been destroyed by sin. The Son of God entered into the condition of our fallen nature, became one of us, one with us, in all things except sin. Yet he received our sin and the sin of the world upon himself, was crushed by it on the Cross, and he died. Jesus experienced the consequences of our sin which led to his death. Because he did not sin, and was willing to give his life for us, giving us all of himself and holding nothing back, not even his life, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he conquered sin and death.

Even when those in his name have participated in and perpetuated in that which Jesus warned his Apostles against, we are not to lose heart nor hope. I agree with Bishop Robert Barron that we are called out of “the realm of hatred, racism, sexism, violence, oppression, imperialism, what Augustine termed the libido dominandi (the lust to dominate).”

We are called out of darkness to be children of the light. We do so by following Mary’s directive to do whatever Jesus tells us to do and reject anything that is not of his love. This is just what the saints have done to counter the corruption of their generation. They were purified in the crucible of the love of the Holy Spirit and became a radiating light in the darkness. They reflected the light of Jesus in their time and place. We will be like them when we are willing to, in the words of St. John Paul II, “be taken over by the light of Christ, and spread that light wherever” we “are.”

Photo: We are called to reflect the light of Jesus in the darkness as the moon reflects the sun.

Barron, Robert. Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith. NY: Image, 2014

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, October 21, 2026

May we be prepared for Jesus when in comes.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks” (Lk 12: 35-36).

As disciples, we need to be ready for the coming of Jesus. Yes, for when he comes again at the end of time, but just as importantly, to be prepared for his coming each day in the midst of our lives. If we do not prepare to encounter him daily, the likelihood of us being prepared for his coming again will be slimmer, and only the Father knows the time or the hour.

To plan something means that we outline all that needs to be done down to the last detail. This can be an advantage especially when we are dealing with blueprints for a home or building. By having detailed plans we can be sure that we have the proper materials and tools, an estimated budget, and hire the help needed to accomplish the goal. I was blessed to experience this process as we renovated our church after the tornadoes of Milton came to town. We opened again this past November.

There are many areas in our life where planning has its advantages. Planning our spiritual life is important, deciding when and how we are to pray, meditate, study, engage in Bible and spiritual reading and/or which Mass we are going to attend, establishing a routine of spiritual direction, confession, time for fellowship and small groups, and how, when and where we can serve others. These are all plusses for planning.

The challenge with planning pops up when we become too attached to the plan and we leave no room for the Holy Spirit, no awareness for the knock at the door because we are so focused on sticking to the plan. Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are on the horizon. How many times have we experienced planning a dinner with guests, gotten stressed when things did not go exactly as planned and spent more time adhering to the plan and its execution such that we missed engaging with those we were working so hard to provide hospitality for? Martha learned this lesson.

Preparing is akin to planning, in that we get ready for an endeavor but we are more flexible to other options not governed by our fixed mind and our sense of being in control. Jesus calls us to be prepared to receive him at any moment, through many people we encounter in our daily lives, friends, family, and the unexpected moments with those Jesus brings along our path, as well as unexpected moments that occur in our lives or the lives of our loved ones.

The complementarity of planning and preparing shows best when unexpected events in life arise. When we heard of JoAnn’s diagnosis we went into planning mode, and as anyone who has spent any time with JoAnn knows, she was in her element when there was some planning to be done. There were many things in those final months we planned for and for the most part, they came together. There were also interruptions and blocks to the plan where we needed to adjust, sometimes without notice. Preparing helped us to be flexible and so open to following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Even before JoAnn’s diagnosis, she often said that life was hard. She saw many people suffering and couldn’t understand why people couldn’t be kinder to one another. St. Oscar Romero wrote, “It would be beautiful if people saw that their flourishing and the attainment of their highest ideals are based on their ability to give themselves to others.

We can better give ourselves to others when we focus less on ourselves, and resist following the voices of our fears, wounds, and insecurities. We are much better prepared when we invite Jesus into our poverty, pain, and places where we don’t feel all that lovable. When we do, we will experience courage, healing, and security grounded in our Father’s love for us. When we daily trust and follow Jesus in each situation, ground ourselves in his love, we will experience life more fully, handle challenges more gracefully, our hearts will expand and we will be more compassionate toward others.

Photo: When we step out look up, be prepared because God has something to share!

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 19, 2026

Let us not give into greed but give thanks and give freely.

Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (LK 12:15).

Jesus wisely warns us to resist the temptation of greed, which can be defined as an intense, selfish desire for something. Here Jesus addresses the greed of material wealth, but we can also have unhealthy selfish desires for anything. Jesus also stated that “one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Material goods are finite and will not fulfill us. They can be good when used for the purpose they were intended for and in moderation.

God provides for our needs. Fostering an attitude of thanksgiving for that which we have received and then being good stewards with those gifts helps us to resist succumbing to greed. St Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD) wrote: “How could we do good to our neighbor if none of us possessed anything.” God does bless us materially, and from what we have been given we are to assist those in need. The problem comes when we interfere with the flow of receiving what God has given us by hoarding what we have received and rationalizing our unwillingness to share.

Also, when we look to our wealth as our safety net, instead of God’s providence, we begin to cling to what we have and develop an unhealthy attachment. We buy into a false security in placing our trust in material wealth. We need to remember that the material and finite here below will not satisfy nor will it last, we need to set our heart and mind to God and the things above first and foremost.

Reading, meditating and praying with Sacred Scripture, being grateful, acts of almsgiving, willing the good of and supporting one another, will help us to resist the temptation of greed and help us to be open conduits of God’s mercy. Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903 AD) wrote that “Once the demands of necessity and propriety have been met, the rest of your money belongs to the poor.” How many of us are willing to put that quote on our bathroom mirror? More so, put it into practice? How about posting this quote from John Chrysostom (349-407 AD) over our closet and reading it before we enter: “The man who has two shirts in his closet, one belongs to him; the other belongs to the man who has no shirt.”

God has given us the greatest gift we could ever receive, his Son, Jesus. In so doing, he has given us the gift of our salvation which is a reason to rejoice! He loved us and all of creation into being and is loving us into eternity. We are invited to participate in the love experienced between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We do this best when we resist clinging to the material and finite and instead being thankful for the gift of life and invitation to be in relationship with his Son. May we resist clinging to and instead share that which we have received from God, our infinite source and spring of eternal Love. We will be fulfilled and joyful, not by how much we have saved up in our bank accounts, but by how much love we invest in serving one other.

Photo: Giving thanks last week for a new day, blessed to be walking to church to celebrate Mass and give the gift of the Eucharist – Priceless!!!

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, October 19, 2026

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”

The Pharisees and Herodians hatched a clever plot to trap Jesus. The Pharisees pretty much went along with paying the Roman taxes, although against doing so, because under Roman rule, they were also able to inflict a temple tax, which is equivalent to approximately a laborer’s wage for for two days. By keeping the peace with Rome, they paid their tax but also received monies from the temple tax. The Herodians showed public support for the paying of the tax because they supported the house of Herod and his dynasty. Herod Antipas, the tetrarch or prince of Judea and son of the deceased Herod the Great, would only stay in power as long as he abided by the authority of Rome. Which meant making sure his subjects paid the tax and he kept the peace.

There was another sect within Judaism that identified themselves as nationalists or zealots. They were more openly opposed to the Roman tax, to the oppression by Rome, the presence of Roman leadership, and the military in their land. They also were not opposed to striking out from time to time agains the Roman leadership and would be brutally pushed back in doing so.

If Jesus sided with paying the tax to Rome he would upset the nationalist zealots, as well as most Jews who were not gaining any benefit in having to pay temple or the Roman tax. If Jesus sided with not paying the taxes, the Herodians would be able to present a case that Jesus was defying Rome. This devious alliance between the Pharisee and Herodians who otherwise were opposed seemed to be foolproof.

The disciples of the Pharisees were sent with Herodian representatives to ensnare Jesus and so begin to divide and conquer his support base. The only problem was that they were used to playing two-dimensional chess and they were on their way to meet a master at three-dimensional chess. Jesus immediately saw through their flattery and called them out for what they were – hypocrites! Jesus then deftly answered their challenge with, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:21).

The coin used to pay the tax was a denarius, and it bore the inscription of the Roman emperor, Tiberius, on one side: Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus and on the other was ascribed, high priest. In point of fact, the coin did belong to Tiberius. The coin bore his image, likeness, and inscription of deity status. It was also deeply offensive to the Jewish faithful, for only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was God and there was to be no God before him. Jesus not only evaded their verbal trap but, as he often did, also utilized the situation as a teaching moment for those present with him and for us today.

We are citizens of states and countries, while at the same time citizens of heaven. We are to give to the government that which is for the greater good of the society to provide for appropriate services and the protection of our fellow citizens, especially in being sure to take care of the poorest and most vulnerable among us. We are also to pay to God that which belongs to God, ultimately our very life.

The prophets and Jesus presented a consistent message that God is to be first before all else, that he is to be the priority over everything. Also, that God wants all of us, not just that we worship one day a week. We are to align ourselves with his will and have the courage to follow him. Jesus was no hypocrite. What he required from his followers, he did himself. Jesus showed this in his encounter with Pontius Pilate. Jesus did not call down the angelic host to wipe out the soldiers that came to apprehend him at Gethsemane, nor did he do so with Pilate and his army in the Praetorium.

Instead Jesus said: “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above” (Jn 19:11). God allowed the judgment of Pilate to stand, his death, the death of an innocent man. Jesus followed his Father’s will to his death, and death on a cross, to bring about a greater good, the salvation of our souls. Jesus rendered to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, submitting to the unjust judgment, and to God what belonged to God, his very being and life.

May we pray daily for the discernment to know and the courage to follow the will of God as did Jesus and the saints, such that we too can be engaged citizens in our society while remaining faithful to our God. We are to be shaped and formed not by the society, culture, and political climate. We are to be shaped and transformed by the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. “So our highest obligation in life – and one that is imposed on every man, woman, and child, regardless of nationality and citizenship – is to give ourselves back to our Maker” (Mitch and Sri, 286).

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Photo: A good way to assess if we are giving to God what belongs to God, is to assess how much of our time, talent and treasure we give to him and how much to other pursuits. Over time, the hope is that we see that we are giving more of each to God.

Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, October 18, 2026