faith

“God is love.” Even when there is suffering and pain.

Hospitality was a key virtue for people of the ancient Near East. Martha approached Jesus as he was teaching looking for support from her sister Mary in preparing the meal. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet with the male disciples gathered around him while Martha appeared do be doing all the work. Martha was hoping that Jesus would support her in her request. Jesus not only did not, but said that Mary had chosen the better part and that Martha was “anxious and worried about many things” (cf. Luke 10:38-42).

We don’t know how Martha reacted to Jesus. A subtle key in today’s Gospel account from John may shed light on their last encounter and Martha’s reaction. Martha’s boldness was on display again. As soon as she was aware that Jesus was coming near, she did not wait for him to arrive but “went to meet him” (Jn 11:20). Martha’s brother, Lazarus, had now been dead for four days and Jesus, who had the time to arrive before his death, was not present to help his friend, her brother, Lazarus, in his time of need.

How many times have we been in Martha’s position? Felt that Jesus was not there when we needed him most? Why do bad things happen to good people? Part of the answer is that we live in a fallen world of sin and self-centeredness. God does not bring about suffering but he does allow it. God loves us so much that he is willing to give us the free will to reject him. The cost of our freedom to choose means that there are consequences for our choices which can be detrimental or beneficial. We are all interconnected so when we choose to act on our own apart from God’s guidance and the welfare of others, the damage that ensues affects not only those around us but everyone. On the other side of the coin, there is the presence of grace, forgiveness, and love when we choose to draw close to God, especially in challenging times.

When we choose God, we will find out that we are not alone in our suffering, especially, when we do as Martha did and go out to meet Jesus. She most likely did not holding back any of the full range of her hurt and pain. Martha’s words expressed her anguish, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (Jn 11:21). We can only see from our limited point of view, especially with our own experiences of grief. Yet God sees far beyond our finite perspectives and Jesus helps to not only bring about a greater good, though it may take time to come to understand and experience, he accompanies us in each agonizing breath of our suffering.

Jesus came too late to heal his friend, which Martha and Mary could not understand. What he came to do, was beyond their wildest imaginings. Jesus came to restore Lazarus to life, which would also be a foreshadowing of his own Resurrection. The difference being that Jesus would not merely be resuscitated as Lazarus was and die again. Jesus would conquer death!

Martha was not holding a grudge from their last exchange. She came directly to him. She knew he could have healed her brother if he had been there, but did not say so accusingly. Martha immediately followed instead with: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (John 11:22). Then even before Jesus called Lazarus back to life, Martha showed her faith. Jesus asked if Martha believed. Martha, as did Peter, made the affirmation of our faith: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God” (John 11:27).

We have been blessed by the witnesses of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Each show their trust in Jesus in their own unique way and follow his guidance. Those of us who have suffered the loss of a loved one, or more, know something of the pain that Martha and Mary experienced. May we also all trust in Jesus, the Son of God, the “resurrection and the life” who conquered death and became the firstborn of the new creation. We need not fear our time of suffering or death, our own, or for our loved ones as long as we give our lives to him. When we call on Jesus he will give us the strength to endure and overcome, the challenges we face still in this life and he will lead us by his love and grace into the next.

Painting: The Raising of Lazarus – Caravaggio. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus help us to trust and have faith in Jesus as you did. Pray for us!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, July 29, 2026

We are freed from evil, sin, and death when we allow ourselves to be loved by God.

“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.” (Mt 13:36-39).

In this parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus is addressing the ancient question of why God allows evil and how are we to deal with it. Why do bad things happen to good people? As a starting point, we need to recognize that God is God, and we are not; meaning that we are not capable of reading the mind of God. Any answer to explain how and why God allows suffering will be insufficient. A second reality is that the Devil exists, though he is a created being. An angelic being, yes, but not equal in any way to God.

God is not a being. We can approach but will still fall short by identifying God as Infinite Act of Existence, he is, or as God told Moses, “I am who am” (Exodus 3:14). God, uncreated and has always been, is and always will be, did not create evil, he only created good. “God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good” (Genesis 1:31). The Devil, Satan, the one who opposes, was created good also, as a high archangel, Lucifer, yet he chose to turn away from the will of God, and those angels who followed him are demons. God is greater than the Devil and his demons, and the good he sows is greater than the evil they sow.

Evil is not so much a created thing, but a deprivation, or distortion of the good. God does not create evil, but he does allow it, and even though we cannot understand the reasons why God allows or permits evil or suffering, it is not a sufficient reason to say that God does not exist. This is especially true if we are seeking to grasp spiritual realities and truths from purely physical and rational means alone. We are indeed rational beings, who seek to know and to understand that which is good, but we are so much more. As human beings, we are physical AND spiritual, so need not limit ourselves to the merely sensate and empirical realm alone.

To better be guided by God, to hear his voice in the silence of our soul, to be fulfilled, our hearts and minds need to be open to the will of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We are called to be people of prayer. As we mature spiritually and deepen our relationship with God, we will come to experience God as did Job: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful to me, which I cannot know” (Job 42: 2-3). In essence, Job acknowledged and accepted that God was in control, and he was not, and though he could not grasp everything, he trusted in the will of God for his ultimate good.

How do we deal with evil then? We need to surrender our pride and control over to God and acknowledge that he is in charge and knows what is best for us. We need to choose to put God first above ourselves and everything and everyone else. Our fundamental option, our telos, our end goal, is to embrace the reality that we are striving to be in a relationship with God. From the moment of our conception, we are a living, craving, hunger, and desire to be one with God and each another. This is true for the atheist and the mystic alike, whether we believe it or not. As we embrace this reality, put God first, breathe and allow ourselves to be loved by him, no matter what arises, we will begin to experience his presence in not only our everyday lives but begin to feel his presence with us in the midst of our suffering. We will come to know that he is stronger than any pain or evil, his grace is greater than any of our sins, and he will guide us through and give us what we need to endure.

Our loving God and Father has given us the means to understand suffering and evil especially in sending his Son to enter into our humanity, to suffer with us, even suffering his own unjust death on the cross. Our deepest prayer is when we willingly offer up our suffering and enter into the Mystery of the Passion of Jesus. Jesus, the pure and innocent one, beaten and crucified, understands our pain and agony, our cry for the horrors of injustice, and he understands the presence of evil. Jesus himself, asked not to be crucified, though he relinquished in saying, “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).

In that acknowledgment, Jesus faced the utter evil, horror, betrayal, and injustice of humanity: his crucifixion. In taking upon himself the sin of the world on the Cross, he even experienced separation from his and our Father. Through his complete surrender into God forsakenness, into his death, and descent into hell, Jesus made the Resurrection possible. He conquered suffering, evil, and death forever, he brought about a greater good, through the evil of the crucifixion. No matter what trials we face, our Father has the last word over sin, suffering, and even our death.

We may not receive a sufficient answer or justification to suffering but we can experience the challenges we face with our hope intact by trusting that God hears our prayers and is present in our trials and tribulations. We receive help best when honest in our prayer, even when we are angry, afraid, doubtful, or frustrated, it is important to bring all to Jesus. We will not find Jesus when we deny or run from our challenges. We will find him with his arms wide open and waiting for us when we are willing to ask and accept his help, and then enter into, as well as face our suffering and pain.

We are not alone in our suffering. When we resist running from our pain, denying, or trying to distract or divert ourselves, and bring what we are going through to Jesus, he will provide a way and accompany us through every twist and turn. He understands what we are going through because he experienced the worst of human sin; he was betrayed, beaten, crucified, and died. We experience hope because Jesus has already won the battle and he sends us the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to endure.

No darkness can or will overcome the love of the Holy Spirit. Aligned with God we will be victorious even in the face of the greatest evil that confronts us. Let us trust in Jesus and each other, face whatever storm that arises with confidence and courage as did Jesus when he set his face toward Jerusalem.
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Photo: Loved and empowered by the Holy Spirit we shall overcome even the grave.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Experiencing God’s love, we are invited to share in small ways.

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.” (Mt 13:31-32).

God can do so much with so little. This is so because even the smallest detail is important to God. Just think of the immensity, not only of our solar system and galaxy but the whole cosmos. Despite the grandiosity and massive expanse of all creation, not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without the notice of God. Even all the hairs of our head he has counted (cf Mt 10:29-30). Our life, who we are, and who we are becoming matters to God.

This closeness Jeremiah reveals in the first reading, “as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made the house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 13:11). The idea of a loincloth may be an outdated reference, maybe a pair of skinny jeans or spandex sweats might better make the point.

Jesus has been presenting parables regarding small beginnings such as, seed sown in a field, a mustard seed, and yeast which all allude to how God begins small and often hidden to fulfill his plan of salvation. What God begins, he will bring to fruition. The gathering in of the nations is an Old Testament theme that Ezekiel especially highlights when he shares that God will break off and plant a tender cedar shoot and from this small shoot it will become a, “majestic cedar. Every small bird will nest under it, all kinds of winged birds will dwell in the shade of its branches” (Ezekiel 17:22-23). God has a plan for the unity of all of humanity and creation and Jesus is inviting us to be a part of the collaborative effort.

God builds up his kingdom one person at a time and sows his seeds of divine grace which is a movement of the outpouring of his divine love. He watches over us, his children, and shares his life with us. We can accept or reject this love which falls afresh upon us like the morning dew upon the grass. When we accept, remain still, and abide in the reality that God loves us we, will be saturated by his love. When we say yes to the outpouring of God’s love and abide there, resting in the truth that we are beloved daughters and sons is no mere cliché. As we experience and savor this nourishing gift of God’s love, our identity is secured and nothing and no one can shake that truth.

Abiding and saturated in God’s love, we will come to realize that we receive an unending supply of God’s love to offer others. As we give love, we receive more in return. Our smallest thoughts, words, or deeds, and facial gestures make significant differences to those on the receiving end of God’s love flowing through us. We have an opportunity today to think, speak, and act as bearers of our loving God and Father. We can share a smile, a word of encouragement, a wave, and/or a hug, send a text, and/or just follow through on the the myriad stirrings from the Holy Spirit and offer a simple act of love. No matter how small a sharing, it will mean more than we will ever know or can even imagine to the one who receives.

Photo: Recipient of a small act of love from a surprise dinner visit a few months ago.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 27, 2026

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who “finds of pearl of great price.”

“When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it “ (Mt 13:46).

The merchant did not just find any pearl, which in ancient times, was often considered a great treasure. He found a pearl of great price. This would have been a pearl beyond all pearls that he had ever seen. How many material treasures do we seek to satisfy us? Jesus equates heaven as being like the finding of this great pearl. It is beyond anything we have experienced before. What are we willing to let go of, to sell, to turn away from, to attain this treasure?

The cost of discipleship is high, indeed costing us all that we have. Jesus wants to be part of all of our lives; not just attendance at church on Sunday, not just during our time of prayer, not just when all is going well. We are to invite Jesus into our work and recreation, our struggles and joys, in our interactions with others and in our solitary pursuits.

The merchant in Jesus’ account recognized the great value before him and was willing to give all that he had to attain that pearl. Jesus is inviting us to invest in him by allowing him access to every moment of our experiences so that we may enter into a deeper and more intimate relationship and communion with him and his Father. When we do so, we will also experience the treasure of great price which is the love shared between them, who is the Holy Spirit.

We experience this communion most concretely in this life when we develop authentic relationships with one another. Many of the issues we face will improve when we are willing to engage with one another, instead of unearthing the worst, seek the best, and will each other’s good. Barriers will begin to crumble when we let go of what we perceive divides us and embrace the mutuality of our shared humanity. Relationships are not perfect because we are not perfect. When we resist the temptation to react, are willing to give the benefit of the doubt, see their point of view, listen, and seek to understand, even when we don’t agree, respect and love one another, doors will begin to open.

Jesus is about forging relationships. He reached out beyond family and synagogue to the peripheries. In doing so, he was following the will of God. This “is no grim, grey, agonizing thing; it is a lovely thing. Beyond the discipline, beyond the sacrifice, beyond the self-denial, beyond the cross, there lies the supreme loveliness which is nowhere else” (Barclay, 87). Jesus offers us this “supreme loveliness” and ultimate treasure which is a relationship, infinite intimacy, and communion with the One who made us for himself.

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Photo: There are views and moments with God that are priceless.

Barclay, William. “The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2.” In The Daily Study Bible Series, Revised Edition, 87. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, July 26, 2026

James learned, and may we learn, to love, serve and sacrifice for one another.

“The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She answered him, ‘Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom’” (Mt 20:21-22).

The context of this request from the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John, comes from reading a few verses before the quote above. Start reading at Matthew 20:17 and you will see that Jesus and his twelve apostles are heading toward Jerusalem. Jesus stops to share with them, for the third time, that he will be condemned and crucified.

The request of James and John, through their mother, in the eyes of the world would seem a reasonable request. To them, Jesus was marching toward Jerusalem to claim his throne as king. To sit on his right and left, was an acknowledgment of their willingness to follow him, and serve as support for and witnesses of his kingship. It was also a preemptive strike before any of the other apostles could make that claim. There is a problem with their understanding though.

Jesus’ third statement of his imminent suffering and death appears to be ignored by or it goes over the heads of James and John, again, as well as their mother. The other ten are indignant, not because of the apparent lack of acknowledging Jesus’ upcoming passion, but because they entered into a free for all for position of which of them would be the greatest!

Any reading this who have or raised children, or experienced grandchildren, remembered growing up with siblings, will understand. It is easy to imagine how chaotic this scene quickly escalated! Saint John Chrysostom offered this insight: “See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two” (Chrysostom 1975, 1552)!

This event made an impact for it was recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mark has James and John speaking for themselves, not their mother, as in Matthew. Luke does not even record the initial request of James and John and instead comes in at the point of the apostle’s dispute. What all record, including the Gospel of John, is how Jesus made it clear that he came to serve, not to be served. To follow Jesus meant, not that James and John would be given positions of honor and power, the sitting at his right or his left, but that they were to serve as he served, to love as he loved.

The right and left that James and John asked for was not Jesus’ to give. That assignment would come directly from the Father. Jesus also said, “You do not know what you are asking” (Matthew 20:22). For if James and John did, they would have thought twice about asking or dissuading their mother from asking. For the ones who would assume the right and left were the two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus while he hung upon the cross.

As disciples of Jesus, we too are called to serve in love, not a sentimental love, but a love willing to sacrifice for one another. Most of us are not accustomed or naturally disposed in this way. A good way to begin is to be truly present which can be done effectively when we actively listen. We learn this best in times set aside to meditate and pray with God. As we are able to quiet our minds, slow our heartbeats, and listen to God, we can begin to do so a little better with one another.

Listening happens when we look up, put the phone, paper, or magazine down, turn away from the computer and/or turn off the tv. Then as we take a few breaths, we can open our hearts and minds to listen, and hear. We love in the moment, even as conflict arises, when we resist the knee jerk reaction. We instead, breathe, listen, and pray before speaking. When we learn to listen to God and one another, we will hear where the needs are, be more understanding, and help to provide bridges of reconciliation. When our hearts are moved not with competition but compassion, we will learn to love by sacrificing and serving one another.

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Painting: “St. James the Greater” by Guido Reni. James learned the art of service and became the first to drink Jesus’ cup. St. James, pray for us!

Chrysostom, St John. Homily. The Liturgy of the Hours: According to the Roman Rite. Vol. 3. NY: Catholic Book Publishing, 1975.

Parallel Gospel passages to review:
Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 22:24-27 and John 13:12-17

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, July 25, 2026

Spending time with God in quiet meditation and prayer can help us to grow in our faith and life.

“Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it” (Mt 13:7).

God wants all of us to be in relationship with him. His love for us in unconditional. He is willing to risk that we will say, “No” to his invitation of relationship rather than force us to love him, which is not love at all. God also wants the best for us, he knows the deepest desires of our hearts beyond our even knowing for he sees the fullness of time, while we only see from our finite and limited perspective and experience just a small part of the greater reality around us.

Jesus came to share the seed of his Father’s word through the teachings, healings, and exorcisms that he offered. We are recipients of each through the deposit of faith passed on generation after generation. One area that prevents us from allowing his seeds to germinate and bear fruit in our lives is when we allow the diversions, distractions, anxieties, insecurities, and worries to fill our mind such that they choke out the good that Jesus seeks to have develop within us.

On a physiological level, what we pay attention to fires neurons in our brains that form neural pathways. When we think about and then act upon them they become stronger. Each time we are attentive a new pathway is formed. After time, this is how our habits form and why when after we do something consistently and are disciplined, the act is easier to do. It is also why a habit is hard to change in the beginning because we need to rewire those pathways. This is true for vices as well as virtues.

To prevent the growth of our spiritual life from being choked out we need to practice each day stillness and focusing on God’s word. As we consistently sit in the same place each day, spend some time breathing and then focusing on reading a passage of scripture, meditating, praying, and pondering what God may be sharing with us. For that time we do so with intention, we are to focus on Jesus alone. As thoughts and diversions to the contrary arise, we just bring ourselves back to Jesus and God’s word. If the thoughts persist, we can then bring them to Jesus and talk to him about the situation to seek his guidance.

In time, with consistent, daily practice, we will begin to feel safe, we will experience God’s love and presence, his insights and guidance, healing will begin, rewiring of our neural pathways will also improve such that it becomes easier to pray than not. The thorns lose their sting, the distractions, temptations, and diversions find a better resolution, worry, anxiety, and fears are transformed, and we begin to recognize God’s voice and experienced being consoled and loved by his presence.

Turning around unhealthy, vices, disordered affections, and sinful habits is not easy. When we decide to make time to spend time with God each day, while together we are attentive only to him for that time and return to him as soon as we notice we are distracted, or bring the distraction to him to seek guidance, the weeds will whither, the thorns will be uprooted, his seed will sprout and flourish. Even when we feel like nothing is happening, God is happening, and we are growing, healing, and maturing.

Photo: From the smallest of seeds, with the proper nurturing and support, can grow the tallest of trees.

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, July 24, 2026

When we trust in, follow Jesus, and repent, we will experience his Father’s love.

The root of the message offered in today’s Gospel is what is foundational to beginning and continuing as a disciple of Jesus? The foundation is the disposition of our hearts. Are we closed to receiving the message of the Gospel, or are we open to embrace the invitation Jesus shares to become more active in living out our faith in our everyday lives?

The exchange of Jesus with his disciples in today’s reading from Matthew comes after his sharing of the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-9). In this parable, Jesus offers scenarios regarding the conditions of seeds sown. Some fell on a hardened path, some on rocky ground, some fell among thorns, and some fell on the rich soil. The seeds on the hardened path could not even germinate. Those in rocky ground and among thorns germinated and began to even sprout but would not come to full maturity. The seed that was sown in rich soil germinated, sprouted, matured, and bore fruit.

As disciples, we are meant to bear fruit and that means we need to prepare ourselves so that we will have rich soil. We break through the hard ground when we open our hearts and minds. If we have a desire to pray, the hardened soil has given way somewhat. The seed has penetrated, died and has begun to germinate. God is the originator of our prayer. The desire to spend time in prayer is good news. The devil has not stolen that from us.

One of the most important things we can do each day is to breathe, receive, rest, and abide in God’s love. Spending time intentionally breathing slowly and deeply not just into the chest but also activating the diaphragm, slows our heart rate down and sends the message to our brains that we are safe. Our muscles will then release pent up tensions. Three such breaths can make a difference. Then making the Sign of the Cross, we invite each Person of the Trinity to dwell within us. Continuing then to breathe, we can begin to receive and rest in God’s love for us. A few minutes of recollection in the bank, we are now ready to meditate and pray. Doing so with the readings of the day can be very powerful and transformative.

Now if we do not follow through on the inspiration of nor follow the nudging of the Holy Spirit, when we aren’t even able to allow ourselves time to make the Sign of the Cross or take three, deep breaths, means we have some tilling to do. We need to remove some clay and rocks of resistance, distraction, and diversion so that we can get deeper. Satan knows how important it is for us to pray everyday and he will subtly seek to lead us astray in the smallest of ways. If not able to dissuade us, he will attempt to make our time functional and anemic, something we do and check the box. We may begin to pray daily for a time, but without any deeper root or experiencing any living water of the Holy Spirit, we may be led away, skip a day, or two, then a few more, then walk away.

If we commit to showing up each day seeking to experience the love of God, coming to a place that we have created and set aside for ourselves to breathe and be still will help us to begin the work of facing those internal resistances and diversions. We can begin the process of uprooting the thorns of anxiety and worry. We can begin to see where our hearts and minds may have been hardened. By breathing and slowing down, we get in touch with our body and may be surprised by how tense we are. With just a few breathes we may notice that our shoulders come to a more peaceful place of rest. Our neck and our hips can begin to let go.

Richer soil will allow growth. Among good soil grows what has been planted, the seeds of the enemy as well as the seeds of God.

As we continue to return each day and allow God to happen, in reading, meditating, praying with God’s word, or also sitting with God in the same silence and bringing to him our struggles and challenges, as well as our successes and triumphs in thanksgiving, to acknowledge his presence and closeness and just rest with him, we can continue to allow his light to reveal other areas where thorns and other weeds that seek to choke the growth that has begun.

Anxieties, worries, frustration, and reactions all choke out the peace, faith, confidence, and love that God seeks to sow and grow within us. Past unrealized and unhealed wounds may also come to the four in holy tears. Being diligent and disciplined in showing up, allows us to begin to feel safe in the place we have set aside. In encountering God each day, we begin to know him. In this place of stability, we come to know that God is our refuge and strength, and we begin to feel safe. From this place of safety and trusting in the Jesus, we can allow him into places where we seek to be healed and receive his consolation and healing, we can also admit to ourselves where we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and God will forgive us. Where we uncover more habitually hardened and mortal sins, we can go to the priest for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and be forgiven there as well.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God if we are willing to allow the fertilizer of God’s love to penetrate. God helps us to tend the gardens of our souls patiently and gently. Thoughts of condemnation and shame are the poison of the enemy that seek to stunt our healing, growth, and spiritual maturity. The gentle light of Jesus is that light that brings warmth and safety. The conviction he brings is the light that helps us to identify that which needs to be weeded and pruned so that our soil becomes richer and our growth can continue unimpeded. In time and with disciplined attention, daily coming to our places of quiet with the Lord, spending time in his word, we will be forgiven, healed, and freed from that which seeks to stifle our growth and we will continue to mature and begin to bear good fruit, the gifts and charisms that the Holy Spirit has sown within our good soil at Baptism.

Whatever the state of the soil of our soul that we bring to this reading whether it be a hardened and worn path, rocky ground, weeds and thorns, know that there is some soil to work with. Like any garden that is to grow, mature plants that bear good fruit will take time, energy, and work. The most difficult state and the one Jesus addressed in today’s Gospel is the heart of indifference that is closed, the seed falling on the well-trod path, that is hard and packed so nothing gets through. For these people, “they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand” (Mt 13:13). Yet, even this soil can be turned and tilled. Even the hardest heart can be softened if one is willing to stop and be still long enough to experience the loving embrace of God.

Jesus, in his explanation of why he spoke in parables, is an echo of his inaugural message from when he began his ministry: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). Before we may be willing to repent, we may need to first acknowledge the places in our hearts and minds that are closed, those areas that are hardened from real or perceived past pain or trauma, those situations in which we chose to shut down and separate ourselves from receiving the love of God and others.

When we allow Jesus to come close, we can experience his healing touch. When we take the risk to accept his help, we will be willing to turn back to him, to repent, even in small ways at first, and so receive his forgiveness and healing. When we trust Jesus, are willing to take his hand, and follow his lead daily, we will learn from our mistakes, we will turn away from more deeply rooted habitual sins, return to him for confession, our hearts will soften and our minds will open even more.

Jesus wants to help us to turn over the rocks we have been hiding our pain under so that we can experience those deeper wounds. This will only happen when we trust Jesus and feel safe. Spending quiet time each day, surrendering and being docile to the Holy Spirit, helps us to do just that. In time, we will feel safer and more confident to pull up the weeds, turn over those stones, and begin to till the fertile soil underneath. Through experiencing our pain, our emotions, and facing our fears, we help to further cultivate fertile soil, in which the seed of God can thrive, be nourished by his unending love, and in which we will mature to bear good fruit that will last.

Photo: Enjoying a quiet evening walk.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 23, 2026

“Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

What Jesus proposes is not an either/or statement, but is meant to be both/and. The end goal of our life is to be in communion with God. To attain that goal, we need to not only acknowledge that God exists but also come to know God, love God, and follow God’s will. As Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt 12:50). The challenge is that there is so much that pulls at us for our attention, so much that reaches out to divert us. People, activities, and material pursuits, internal anxieties, wounds, and insecurities, are all vying for first place for our minds, hearts, and souls.

The challenge and demands of family life are tremendous even when all is going well. We often read, hear, and experience ourselves, how much the family is being challenged in our modern age. Many of us strive to put family first in our lives. That ought to and needs to be a priority as healthy relationships require commitment, love, sacrifice, and persistence. What Jesus offers then seems to be counter-intuitive to that reality.

Jesus is approached, in the midst of his teaching, and told that his mother and brothers were wanting to see him. We would think he would say, “Great! Bring them right in, I have a place reserved for them here, front and center!” He instead replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers” (Mt 12:49), which I am sure raised a few eyebrows and hackles.

Jesus was not choosing his disciples over his family, he was clarifying that the primacy of place of God his Father is to be first and foremost. “For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt 12:50). Families come in many different shapes and sizes, one size indeed does not fit all. Building our relationship with our heavenly Father is the foundation toward striving toward healthier relationships. Life will go sideways, and sometimes without a moment’s notice. It is then that we need to turn to and lean on God the most. Each family doing so will make a huge difference on who to wade through the crashing waves.

For our relationship with God to deepen, we must be willing to let go of our ego, self-centeredness, and self-sufficiency. This is no overnight or easy process, but as we do so each day, we will begin to experience God’s love a little more, and as we trust him a little more. When we entrust our family members to God and relinquish that we have to have all the answers and be everywhere and for everyone at once, we can experience God’s guidance a little more. Allowing ourselves to decrease and Jesus to increase leads to change and balance. We will become more patient, understanding, less reactive, and more present. These qualities are very helpful in improving our relationships.

As we continue to mature in our spiritual life, we will also begin to experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). By putting these gifts into practice, we will be more available to others and better able to foster deeper relationships with our own family members, while at the same time coming to experience a larger extended family, those beyond blood.

Who was the closest human relationship Jesus experienced? Mary. Not because she gave birth to him, but because who better than Mary followed the will of his Father? If life with some family members is a little bumpy right now and/or you just want to deepen your familial bonds, might I suggest that we assume the posture of Mary and say often, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).

Photo: Spending quiet time with Mary leads to more peace, rest, and knowing better her Son and the will of our Father.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Jesus offers us the sign of Jonah.

“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet” (Mt 12:39).

Jonah is the prophet best known as the one who spent three days and nights in the belly of a whale, great fish, or sea monster, depending on your scriptural translation. Jonah ended up in that predicament because he refused to follow God’s direction to speak his message of forgiveness to the sworn enemies of Israel, the Ninevites. It would be like God asking one of us to fly out to the Middle East to meet with members of ISIS or Al-Qaeda and invite them to repent. Not only would we not believe they would want to repent, would we want them to even if they would? Also, whether they did or didn’t, would we be able to return from such a meeting with our heads intact?

These were probably some of the issues running through Jonah’s mind when he refused to follow God’s will. After swimming to shore, Jonah overcame his resistance and followed the command of the Lord, kept his head on his shoulders, and the people of Nineveh repented. Happy, happy, joy, joy! Not exactly. At the repentance of his enemies and God’s expression of mercy and forgiveness, Jonah said to God, “This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you were a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish” (Jonah 4:2)”. Jonah shows his hardness of heart in that he did not want to go to Nineveh because he did not want his enemies to receive God’s forgiveness!

The scribes and the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign and the sign of Jonah is what he gives them: The Ninevites, Gentiles, non-Jews, were willing to repent at the word of Jonah, and those scribes and Pharisees questioning Jesus, God’s chosen, were not willing to repent at the urging of one greater than Jonah, the Son of God, who was in their midst.

Jesus announced his ministry, as recorded in Mark 1:15, with the words: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” That is again our invitation today, to examine our conscience by asking God to help us to recognize his presence among us, then reflect on what good God has done in our lives and give him thanks. Review the last day or two to see where God has called us to act. Where did we answer his call, where did we, like Jonah, resist or refuse?

Someone greater than Jonah, is Jesus the Christ. May we allow his love, mercy, and forgiveness to fill us and to soften our hardness of hearts. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale and was saved, Jesus spent three days experiencing death and rose again. Once we repent and die to our self-sufficiency and surrender our pride, we will experience the love and mercy of Jesus flow through us to all those we meet in person and online. Even, and especially, those for whom we would rather not: those who get under our skin, grate on our nerves, and/or those who mirror to us our own biases and prejudices.

Suffering is a very concrete and harsh reality. That is something we all agree on whether we believe in God or not. The question is, how do we respond to suffering, especially the hurt caused by another? We can harden our hearts, slip into denial, despair, or wish our problems away, but none of these work very well for the long term. Jonah found that out when he hardened his heart against forgiveness and refused to follow God’s will. Jesus followed the will of God to the cross, forgave those who crucified him, and experienced new life.

Let us not run away from God, his will, or his offer of forgiveness. Forgiveness stops the bleeding from the original wound received. When we forgive, we will not be alone. Jesus waits for us with his arms wide open to embrace us and journey with us each step of the way. Jonah hardened his heart, but still was willing to repent and follow God’s will to preach repentance to his enemies who did just that. When willing to forgive, we open our hearts and minds to God’s love which opens the door for healing, mercy, and reconciliation.

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Photo: There is no resurrection without the cross. There is no healing without forgiveness. There is no suffering without God’s consolation.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 20, 2026

Abiding in God’s love we will flourish and thrive.

The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off” (Mt 13:24-26). 

The enemy in the parable we attribute to being Satan. In Hebrew, śā-țān means adversary or one who opposes. Satan is not a god or Demi-god, nor did God create Satan. He created a high arch-angel named Lucifer, just as he created the arch-angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael. Lucifer opposed the will of God and took the stance of being his adversary. Satan seeks to bring about division, isolation, despair, and death. 

God seeks to bring about communion, expansion, hope, and life.

God did not nor does he create evil. Evil is not a thing but a deprivation of the good. God did not create but he does allow evil. God allows distortions of the good he promotes and invites us to participate in all that is good true and beautiful. Our Father loves us so much, angels and humans alike, that he is willing to risk that we will reject him. God is not a tyrant nor dictator. God loves us and wants us to choose him freely. Even when evil and the wicked may seem to flourish, God can still bring about a greater good.

There are times when we have turned away from God because of the pain we have witnessed and/or suffered. In our sin, we seek an apparent or disordered good, but miss the mark of intimate union with God. There are also times we say yes to our Father and his will, will follow those little nudges of the Holy Spirit, and allow Jesus to forgive us and love us in places where we feel unlovable and alone. The hope is that over time we will say no less and yes more.

Jesus shares the parable of the wheat and the weeds with the intention of helping us to see this reality of living in a fallen world where God has created all that is good and yet, in so many ways, bad things happen. God allows the wheat and the weeds to coexist. Jesus is relating a common agricultural application of his time. “The weed here is darnel, a poisonous plant whose roots would become intertwined with the rest of the wheat crop” (Mitch and Sri, 180).  

As humans, unlike wheat and weeds, we can change, we can mature, we can repent from our times of saying no and choose to say yes and walk a little closer with our God. The wicked are allowed to exist along the good until the final judgment. Disciples are to “watch and pray that [we] may not enter into temptation; the spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:41).

Prayer is the most important thing that we can do every day and the enemy knows this. He will do whatever he can to divert, distract, or dissuade us from praying. If that doesn’t work then he is going to tempt us to pray in as functional or anemic a way as possible. For if he can keep us curved in upon ourselves, isolated, shaming or shoulding all over ourselves, then we are separated from our Father’s forgiveness, mercy, consolation, compassion, and love. I have been led astray in my life and earlier years walked away from God, but he never left me. 

Through small ways, God continually reached out and during my late teens, I started to say yes to his invitations. Building on the early stability from my mother and her parents, a moment of prayer with my father, following the nudge of the Holy Spirit to purchase a Bible, to read and pray with the Bible, to return to church and teach Sunday School, when I hadn’t a clue about what I was doing. God led me with his tender chords of love, gently and slowly, and with each successive yes, I experienced his love and our relationship was strengthened.

God encourages and invites each of us, just like a parent invites his or her child to walk. A mother or father encourages their small child to come to a wobbly stand and then encourages them to begin to take those first steps. If the child resumes to a crawl and then crawls away, the parent will go around and again meet the child, help to lift he or she up and then encourage them to walk again. In this intimate dance of love between the two, the child will eventually learn to walk. Sometimes, they will walk away and sometimes walk into their parent’s loving embrace. The parent is always close, to pick their child up when they fall as well.

So, it is with our relationship with God. He has sent his Son to be one with us in our humanity so that we can become one with him in his divinity. Slowly and steadily, Jesus guides us, to crawl, take baby steps, and walk into the loving embrace of the Father to share the infinite love between them who is the Holy Spirit. God is ever patient and ever-present. Yet, we often do not experience him in our lives, because we are preoccupied. We are distracted and diverted by so many other things or we are let down and disillusioned. Instead of bringing our pain, struggles, and sufferings to God, we believe the lie of the enemy that we have to be self-sufficient and stand on our own or we are weak.

God invites us to bring our worst to him. When we first received the diagnosis that JoAnn, my wife, not only had pancreatic cancer but that it had spread throughout her abdominal region. The prognosis was not good. There was a flashback to the earlier days of turning away from God. Not this time.

This time I turned to God and trusted in whatever was coming. JoAnn and I both received the grace of his peace and the closeness of his presence because we did not turn away from him, even though the outcome was not what either of us wanted or prayed for. Even though this was not fair any way you looked at it, no matter JoAnn was in perfect health except for the cancer… We accepted the devastating reality and decided not to take the time we were given for granted. Knowing our time was limited we decided to get things in order and make the best of the time we had left.

From this experience and others, I have realized that there is very little that we are truly in control of. But we can decide how we are going to live no matter the internal resistance or external circumstances. “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” God has created us good. We are invited to grow where we have been planted, to mature, and to bear fruit that will become the seed to be sown in the lives of others. By our willingness to will the good of each other, we love as God loves us. 

There is evil and those who live wicked lives among us. We can choose to react in kind and be weakened by the poison of evil and other’s wickedness, we can give into despair, and we can curve in upon ourselves and/or bury our head in the sand. Jesus invites us to choose another way. We can be more intentional with the time we have been given. We can allow ourselves a prayerful breathe and pause before we choose to entertain each thought, before we speak each word, and choose instead of reacting, to act in ways that promote a patience and peace that surpasses all understanding.

Healing for ourselves and those we hold close to our hearts is possible, even in situations that appear to be hopeless. When we choose to abide in God’s love, the Holy Spirit will help us despite our wounds and weaknesses to heal and become whole again. Abiding in God’s love we will flourish where we have been planted, we will overcome the temptations that seek to undo us, and we will experience hope and joy.

Photo: On Rosary walk and then stopping to pause and breathe.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, July 19, 2026