healing

Jesus has our back in our successes as well as our failures.

Peter shows, as he did when he walked on and then sank in the water, how our faith journey can be compared to a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, sometimes more intense than others. As expressed time and again in the Gospels, Peter provides examples of taking a step forward and two steps back.

In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Peter still called Simon at this time, exemplified this balancing act of our growth process as he first answered Jesus’ question as to who Jesus was when he stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus not only commended Simon for being open to sharing this revelation given to him by God the Father, but also added, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:17-18).

Name changes in the Bible were common when there was a significant change in one’s life. We can see evidence of this in the examples of Abram, changing his name to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel, just to name a few. Without a doubt, this event was a significant giant step forward for Simon Peter!

Yet, just as Peter reached the heights of theological insight he would just as quickly come crashing down again as he cut his teacher off. Jesus began to share with his disciples about how he would suffer, be killed, and rise again on the third day when, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:22-23).

From being called the rock upon which Jesus would build his Church in one instant, to Satan in the next, Peter’s experiences offer some solace for us who are on our own faith journeys. Peter apprenticed with Jesus and as in any learning experience, he made mistakes. We need to realize that in our spiritual life this is going to happen to us as well.

We will have days when we feel the joy of the Holy Spirit filling our soul, and yet in the next instant, we may feel empty. We may have clear discernment and direction and then feel indecisive and confused. Some days we discern well our loving God and Father’s voice and some moments we choose to follow the Father of Lies. Some days our prayer is fruitful and we feel energized and other days we may experience dryness and that we are just going through the motions.

Jesus’ admonition of Peter to get behind him was not the end of the story. In fact, it would get worse when Peter gave into his fear and denied Jesus three times! Peter persisted and Jesus did not give up on him. After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved him, and three times, the third a bit exasperated, Peter said yes, undoing the travesty of his denials. After the Ascension of Jesus, Peter lead the early Church and gave the ultimate witness and measure of his spiritual growth and maturity by giving his life.

We too will have fits and starts along the way, but the key is to remain faithful to God and the Way he guides us to walk. We are to continue to dust ourselves off when we have fallen down and be willing to learn from our mistakes, to repent, be forgiven, to seek the help and support of Jesus and one another, and be willing to begin again. The Good News for us today, is that Jesus does not define us by our mistakes or our worst moments. He does not give up on us. He loves us and continues to hold out his hand to us, to lead us onward!

Photo: A great compass to access as we journey is to ask, “Is our heart beating with the same rhythm as Jesus’ Sacred Heart?”

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, August 7, 2025

No or little faith?

“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:54-55).

Many people wonder what Jesus did from the age of twelve until he began his ministry around the age of thirty. Today’s reading gives us some insight into that question. Most likely, Jesus did nothing extraordinary, he was just as ordinary, if that, as any other first-century Palestinian Jew living in the small town of Nazareth, with a population of about 250 to 500 people.

Jesus most likely worked as a carpenter. This was rough, menial work, and as a day laborer, a position that was looked down upon. We can even see evidence of this in the Gospel accounts. Mark describes Jesus as the carpenter, the son of Mary, Matthew in today’s account portrays Jesus as the carpenter’s son, and Luke and John just refer to Jesus as Joseph’s son, leaving out any reference to carpenter altogether. Most scripture scholars believe Mark was written first, so we can see a progression in the biblical tradition moving away from identifying Jesus as a carpenter.

Jesus’ return to his hometown and his teaching was first met with wonder. The question arose, “Where did he get such wisdom and how did he work such mighty deeds?” But wonder soon turned to judgment. Who is he? Isn’t he just the carpenter of Nazareth, no better than any of us. In effect, “Who does he think he is?” Not only does this show that Jesus probably lived a very simple peasant life, but that Jesus’ social status was set in stone.

The people’s hearts and minds were closed to Jesus. THEY KNEW who he was and there was no way someone like him could do what they had heard, so they “took offense at him… And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:57-58).

How many times have we judged someone? Have we said to ourselves, “I know who he or she is.” We box them in, not as they are, but as WE see them, as we define or label them. We look at another individual not as a person with dignity, but as a two-dimensional caricature to satisfy our own prejudgments and lack of vision. We also do this to ourselves by limiting our potential when we say we can’t do this or that. Husbands and wives, having been married for years, can fall into the routine of everyday and not allow themselves to be surprised by one another, to wonder at what about each other they still don’t know!

Maybe we have had a similar experience as Jesus did in returning to his hometown, in that we have sought or are seeking to move beyond our particular social status, or follow a dream or career out of the norm of familial or community expectations. No matter our age, through no fault of our own, by pursuing this path some or many may feel threatened. Thus, not willing to accept our vision, those who are not willing to grow beyond what they have always known.

I read an account from the writer/producer Stirling Silliphant and how one day Bruce Lee challenged him to run five instead of his usual three miles. Into their fourth mile, Stirling said, “if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” [Bruce] said, “Then die.” He was so mad he finished the five miles. Afterward, Stirling approached Bruce and asked him why he said that.

Bruce replied, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level” (p. 23).

Jesus rebukes limiting attitudes and perspectives. His Father has a plan for our lives and so he invites us to open our minds and hearts, to see the potential he sees in us. Jesus, the carpenter, invites us to embrace the infinite possibilities that will arise when we participate in his life and love. With God there are no limitations. The villagers of Jesus’ hometown are said to have had a lack of faith or unbelief, and because of that limitation, Jesus “did not work many mighty deeds there” (Mt. 13:58). When Jesus challenged his disciples, he said that they had “little faith” (Mt. 14:31). The disciples struggled to understand Jesus, but they were open.

We just need a little bit of faith to let Jesus in. If we are closed, if our hearts are hardened, Jesus will respect the boundary we place. He will not go against our free will. If we give him a little though, just as with the feeding of the five and four thousand, Jesus can do wonders in our lives.

The Holy Spirit seeks to free us from the shackles that bind us, the limitations imposed upon us from without, as well as those we impose upon ourselves from within. Let us cooperate with the urgings of the Holy Spirit, to be free with each breath and step we take into embracing the freedom of the love of God. With the leading of the Holy Spirit and experiencing the love of God, the limiting attitudes can begin give way to accept what God already sees, that we are his beloved daughters and sons with whom he is well pleased.
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Photo: Picture does not do the view justice, but a moment of wonder as I was getting ready to drive home and chose to stop for a quick pic.

Stirling Silliphant story accessed from Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body, compiled and edited by John Little. North Clarendon, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, Co., 1998.

Parallel Gospel accounts: Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, Luke 4:22, and John 6:42

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, August 1, 2025

Not to wriggle free from but to surrender all to God.

Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” (Mt 13:47).

The invitation of God is universal and we are all lured by his invitation of love and intimacy. We long to belong, our very substance and essence as human beings is the reality that our ultimate fulfillment can only be reached in communion with the God who has created us. Yet, though drawn, we can resist being caught.

St Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo, came to a point in his life where he realized that the flame of his desire for wealth, fame, and pleasure was dimming. He clearly felt moved toward “one reality that cannot decay, from which all other realities are derived.” Though he was caught in God’s net and being pulled in, Augustine still sought to wriggle free, for: “Though drawn to the Path, who is my savior, I shied from its hard traveling” (Augustine 2008, 161).

How many of us echo Augustine’s dilemma? We have experienced God in our lives and feel the invitation to be drawn in, yet, we still seek to wriggle free. We are attracted to God but our attraction to other apparent goods still hold priority of place. At a baser level, we may believe that the minimalist approach is easier. God’s path is too hard.

Harder? Yes, but if we follow the will of God he will give us the strength to endure and persevere.

In reality it is more of an effort to work against God’s will, just read the Book of Jonah! May we instead surrender to the current of the Father’s Love and allow ourselves to be caught in the net of his Grace. At first, anxiety and fear will arise, just like being caught in a rip tide, because the pull may appear too strong, his love too pure. When we surrender to the will of God though, the anxiety will subside, the joy and consolation will arise, as we flow with ease and are empowered by the love of the Holy Spirit.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast day we celebrate today, resisted God for a time as well but then realized, during his long period of recuperation from a canon ball strike, a distinction between the invitations of the world and God’s. The intoxications of the world brought a momentary high which would then leave Ignatius wanting. “While reading the life of Christ our Lord or the lives of the saints, he would reflect and reason with himself: ‘What if I should do what St. Francis or St. Dominic did?'” (Gonzalez).

The thoughts of Jesus and the saints did not wane and after reading about them, left him with periods of ongoing consolation. The path that Ignatius then walked led him to sainthood and the Exercises he developed have helped countless, including myself, to experience healing and a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus. If you have read my encouragements to imagine yourself in the daily gospels before, you now know that I learned that practice from St. Ignatius. Give yourself some time getting caught in the net of God’s love today, resist the temptation to wriggle free, and offer the Lord all your liberty!

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Photo: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – In the Ignatian tradition may we do all things for the greater glory of God! St. Ignatius, pray for us!!!

St Augustine. Confessions. Translated by Gary Wills. NY: Penguin Books, 2008.

Luis Gonzalez in The Liturgy of the Hours, vol III, 1975, 1566.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 31, 2025

Trusting in Jesus will help us to heal and prepare fertile soil to receive God’s Word.

The root of the message offered in today’s Gospel is what is foundational to the beginning and continuing as a disciple of Jesus. This being 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 with us 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. The beginning step is to have open 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 grow. 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. Now if we do not follow through on the inspiration of nor follow the nudging of the Holy Spirit, means we have some tilling to do. We need to remove the rocks of resistance, distraction, and diversion so that we can get deeper.

Daily 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 to see where are 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. Once we have prepared the soil, the next preparation is the weeding. 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, to acknowledge his presence and closeness, we can begin to then allow his light to reveal to us those 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. 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, we can begin to face and breathe into where we notice our bodies hold anxiety, fear, and stress.

God helps us to tend the gardens of our souls patiently and gently. Thoughts of condemnation and shame are the weeds of the enemy that seek to choke out 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 stunt 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.

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 turn to Jesus.

Jesus, in his explanation of why he spoke in parables, returned to the inaugural message of 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 God and others.

When we allow Jesus in, we can experience his healing touch. When we take the risk to accept his help, we will receive his forgiveness and healing. When we trust in Jesus, are willing to take his hand, follow his lead, and learn from our mistakes, turn away from our sins, and return to him for healing and confession, our hearts will soften and our minds will open.

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 that we have kept buried. 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 turn over those stones, pull up the weeds, and begin to till the fertile soil underneath. Through experiencing our pain, our emotions, and facing our fears, we help to prepare the fertile soil, in which the seed of God can thrive and in which we will mature to bear good fruit the will last.

Photo: Enjoying the fruit of this tree in bloom on my walk after morning prayer at University of St. Mary of the Lake.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 23, 2025

“Courage daughter! Your faith has saved you.”

“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured (Mt 9:21-22).

Just to touch his cloak may seem a small and insignificant act, but by doing so, this woman showed tremendous courage. Suffering from hemorrhaging for twelve years, broke from spending all her resources to be healed, she risked. She could have been severely punished, beaten, or stoned for this small act. Under the Levitical code, her condition deemed her unclean, in the same category as a leper, a pariah. Touching someone else in that condition would then make them unclean. Yet, in that small touch, that great act of courage, “power had gone forth from him” (Mk 5:30), and she was completely healed.

In the parallel account from Mark 5:21-43, he reveals more details than Matthew does in today’s reading. Not only did the woman exhibit the courage to touch Jesus, but she was then willing to admit that she had done so when Jesus questioned who had touched him. Many of the disciples looked at Jesus wondering how he could ask such a question because so many people had been around and touching him. She could have easily slinked away, but she didn’t. She admitted to touching him and would receive whatever the consequence for doing so.

So many around Jesus as his disciples pointed out, and yet why was she the only one healed? Pope Leo addressed this in his June 25, 2025 audience: “In his commentary on this point of the text, Saint Augustine says – in Jesus’ name – “The crowd jostles, faith touches” (Sermon 243, 2, 2). It is thus: every time we perform an act of faith addressed to Jesus, contact is established with Him, and immediately his grace comes out from Him. At times we are unaware of it, but in a secret and real way, grace reaches us and gradually transforms our life from within.”

Jesus recognized immediately that the power came out from him. He may indeed have known who received his grace and gave the woman the chance to be healed on a deeper level and to set aside her fears completely. When she did so, Jesus did not reprimand but affirmed her faith and courage. In this act of healing, Jesus restored her to the community from which she had been ostracized. Jesus restored her dignity.

Pope Francis in his general audience from August 31, 2016, stated: “Once again Jesus, with his merciful behavior, shows the church the path it must take to reach out to every person so that each one can be healed in body and spirit and recover his or her dignity as a child of God”. May we too establish contact with Jesus, and experiencing his grace, reach out, in-person and online, and encounter others offering the same dignity, love, mercy, and respect we have received.

Photo of painting from Magdala.org

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, July 7, 2025

“My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:27-28)!

Thomas’ acclamation “My Lord and my God!” came from his seeing the risen Jesus and his wounds. Jesus rose from the dead, had conquered death, and yet he still bore the wounds of his Passion. This is a profound message to the Apostles, those Jesus sent to proclaim his Gospel, and for us who have been called to follow him today.

The Body of Christ continues to be wounded by the sin and division of our fallen nature that put Jesus on the Cross in the first place. Many people doubt and do not believe today in God because they question, “How can a loving God allow such suffering and pain, especially of the innocent?” A valid question as many examples may come to our minds, we can then follow with another Yet the question, “Why God? Where were you and do you care?”

God is present, God cares, though again we are limited in what we can see and understand. Also, death does not have the final answer. That is what Jesus showed Thomas in bringing him close to touch his wounded side. Jesus rose from the dead and conquered it, but the scarring of his wounds remained. Jesus calls us to draw close and to touch his wounds so we can embrace our own, those we can and cannot see. As we experience his healing, Jesus will send us, as he did Thomas and the other apostles, to touch his wounded Body again this time by entering into the pain and suffering of others where God can happen and healing can begin.

Though the temptation is strong to deny, rationalize, or flee from the conflict, challenges, hurt, and pain that we and others are experiencing, we must resist. If we don’t embrace our or another’s trials we will not come to the root cause of them. We touch the wounded Body of Christ, as Thomas did today, when we are willing to draw close, be present, and accompany those who bear his wounds, those who are vulnerable: the unborn, widows, orphans, those with chronic illness, the dying, refugees, immigrants, hungry, homeless, and those without access to clean water; those who suffer from addiction, poverty, depression, disease, oppression, prejudice, discrimination, dehumanization, racism, sexism, misogyny, unjust immigration policies, incarceration, those on death row, unemployment, underemployment, wage theft, human trafficking, domestic violence, slavery, violence, war, terrorism, and natural disasters. For what we do to the least among us, we do it to Jesus.

We can be easily overwhelmed with the suffering in our country, our world, or the personal challenges before us. Denial or indifference is not the answer. There is an act of balancing that Jesus calls us to participate in as we allow ourselves to be loved by and learn to love God, love others, and love our neighbors as ourselves. The answer is found when we are willing to encounter Jesus, grow in our relationship with him, and follow his lead.

We do not know where Thomas was when the Apostles first encountered Jesus after the Resurrection, but we do know he was not with Jesus. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, yet with Jesus, the one who conquered death, all things are possible! When we feel overwhelmed, helpless, or indecisive, we need to return to Jesus and acclaim with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” and begin again with him.

Jesus is present in our midst, just as he was with Thomas and the other apostles. He invites us to be engaged in the unique way he calls us to serve today to make our corner of the world a little better. We can reach out when Jesus prompts us to enter into the chaos of another’s life, to hear their story, their experience, be present, and allow the Holy Spirit to happen in each encounter.

St. Thomas, pray for us!

Painting from Caravaggio: Incredulity of St Thomas, 1601-1602

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, July 3, 2025

Jesus healed the two demoniacs and can heal us as well, as long as we don’t send him away.

Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district (Mt 8-34).

After hearing of the healing of the demoniacs and the herd of swine rushing into the water, the townsfolk came out and begged Jesus to leave. This is also attested to in the Gospel of Mark 5:17. Luke adds that the people asked Jesus to leave because: “they were seized with great fear” (Lk 8:37). Jesus healed two demoniacs in Matthew’s account, one in the Mark and Luke accounts, and the people asked him to leave. Hearing of Jesus’ healing power to expel demons, hearing about his act of mercy and grace, would we too ask Jesus to leave?

Before answering, “No, of course not!” too quickly, how many times have our own judgements, prejudices, and self-centeredness, our own lack of understanding for the bigger picture, our own fears, been chosen over living the Gospel in our own lives? Is our life shaped by the Gospel message of Jesus? (One reason I started sharing these daily reflections on the daily Gospels, I think back in 2017, was to spend time reading the daily Mass readings, especially the Gospels, and invite others to do the same.)

Do we spend time not only reading the Bible but also pray, meditate, and wrestle with the challenge of how we are to live out some of Jesus’ teachings like: love our enemies, to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, to turn the other cheek, and to answer in practical, concrete ways, “What you do to the least of these: you do it to me?” Or, if we read or listen to the Gospels at all, do we seek to adjust Jesus’ message, to conform God to our will, to fit the message to our lifestyle, what works for us? Is the radiance of Jesus’ mercy, love and grace too bright for us such that we wince, that we feel it is too much to bear, and we, as did the Gadarenes also say, “Go away!”?

If you are experiencing some slower, summer days, maybe, make some time to read, slowly, meditatively, and prayerfully, each of the accounts of the healing of the Gadarene demoniacs in Matthew’s Gospel and the one demoniac in the Mark and Luke accounts. One of the differences in the Mark and Luke accounts, presents the man who was exorcised asking to follow Jesus. Jesus said to the man: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).

The one who was so bound up by possession that he was out of his mind and separated from family and friends, still had some glimmer of hope that he could be healed. He ran up to and prostrated himself before Jesus, was healed, and set free. He then did as Jesus guided him to do and proclaimed what Jesus had done for him to the whole city.

After spending some time pondering these parallel passages, let us also approach Jesus. Let us bring to him that which enslaves and binds us, that which keeps us separated from God and others. Let not our fears get in the way so that we like the Gadarenes send Jesus away but instead, let us open our minds, hearts, and souls to his healing words and touch. Jesus entered unclean territory to bring healing. He exorcised the demons with only the power of his word, on his own authority. May we, as the man possessed did, also surrender to Jesus and hear his words of healing so that we too may experience his healing, mercy, love, forgiveness, and freedom and then go and share how much the Lord has done for us!

Painting: James Tissot, “The Two Men Possessed with Unclean Spirits”

To read the parallel accounts of today’s Gospel see: Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, Luke 8:26-39

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, July 2, 2025

“You may go; as you have believed let it be done for you.”

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8:8).

After Jesus finishes his Sermon on the Mount, he comes down from the mountain. In the opening of chapter eight, we see two hearts open to God, a leper (who is not included in today’s reading but you can see his encounter with Jesus by reading Mt. 8:1-4.) and a centurion. The centurion may or may not have been a Roman but he certainly was a Gentile. He, a member of an occupying army, was aware of the animosity many Jews felt toward him. Yet he, like the leper, approached Jesus.

Jesus saw in the leper, not revulsion, and in the centurion, not an enemy, but first and foremost, human beings in need, two persons with faith and belief. Reading on we see that Jesus also heals the mother-in-law of Peter and many who are possessed. Jesus reached out to them with a simple touch of his hand, with his healing words and in so doing brought to each of them the healing they sought. Jesus shows us that the kingdom of his Father is open to all who have faith and believe.

Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed let it be done for you” (Mt. 8:13). Do we have the same belief as the leper, the centurion, and Peter’s mother-in-law? Each of them believed in Jesus and experienced healing.

We are all wounded by sin and also in need of experiencing physical, psychological, and/or spiritual healing.  Jesus is just waiting for us to ask, and to open our hearts and minds to him, so that we too may be healed and transformed by his forgiveness, love, and mercy. We, like the centurion and Peter, can approach Jesus on behalf of others who are also in need of healing. Let us resist the temptation to judge anyone as unworthy to receive the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus but be willing to see others in need and bring Jesus to them.

As God brings people into our lives, let us receive them as Jesus did: as fellow human beings, first and foremost, created in his image and likeness. May we be healed from any revulsion, prejudice, or temptation to define others with labels and instead be willing to allow Jesus to reach out through us to share his healing word or extend his healing touch to one another. Let us believe in Jesus, be healed and help to heal others!

Painting: Sebastiano Ricci, “Christ and Centurion”, 16th century, Italy

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, June 28, 2025

“Remove the wooden beam from your eye first”!

For many of us, judging one another is almost as automatic as breathing. As we encounter someone we have instant internal judgments. We judge looks, clothes, actions, inactions, homes, cars, and material items. We judge our family, spouses, friends, colleagues, classmates, leaders, enemies, celebrities, as well as those we consider different as well as those we determine to keep at arm’s length. Much of what gets our attention is what Jesus is addressing in today’s Gospel, negative judgments.

Jesus said to his disciples: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:4-5).

There are positive judgments that bring about effective change for the good. In a court case, our hope is that the judge is learned in the law and guides the lawyers and jury in ways of sound judgment such that justice with mercy is served. For us to do likewise in our everyday interactions with one another, Jesus shares that we need to remove the wooden beam from our eye first before we are able to remove the splinter in another’s.

Through this hyperbolic image of someone attempting to remove a splinter in someone else’s eye all the while the wooden beam protruding out of his own eye prevents him from coming close enough to actually be of any help! To remove the beam from our own eye, Jesus is inviting us to change our hearts and minds such that we are no longer hardened by negative and condemning judgments toward others based on our own unbridled biases and prejudices. May they soften such that they are open to the mercy and love of Jesus. This does not mean that we accept any and all behaviors, actions, and inactions from ourselves and others. Jesus did not do so.

He is willing to enter our chaos, to embrace any and all of us who will receive the invitation of his healing embrace. Next, through his love, Jesus walks with us, convicts us, and shines his light to reveal to us our slavery of sin. Then he calls us to repent, to turn away from our sinful ways and turn instead toward that which is True, Good, and Beautiful.

As we acknowledge and turn away from our sin, we participate more in the life of Jesus. We are then healed from our own limitations, weaknesses, self-centered perceptions, denial and suppression of our anxieties and wounds that so often fueled our biases and prejudices. As we experience God’s forgiveness and love, we begin to heal, and that beam becomes smaller, and we are able to see others as God sees them, as human beings endowed with dignity because we have been created in the image and likeness of God.

Repentance, forgiveness, and growing in love helps us to collaborate and participate in Jesus’ work of redemption and how we can participate in taking the log out of our own eyes. We can then better assist others in  removing their splinters. When we are willing to admit to our own shortcomings, weaknesses, and failures, and are open to healing, learning, and growing from those experiences, we are then in a better position to meet others in their own chaos, to journey side by side, help others to repent, heal, and to be transformed into who God is calling us to be.

Let us commit to allowing Jesus to help us to remove our beams of judgment so that we can be more understanding, merciful, and forgiving. We will be blessed in doing so, for Jesus also taught that as we judge, so will God judge us. As we repent and are forgiven, so may we forgive and show mercy. In receiving forgiveness and forgiving, in repenting from sin and judgmentalism, our souls will find rest and we will experience God’s peace.

Photo: Icon of 1546 by Theophanes the Cretan, Monastery of Stavronikita Mount Athos.

Link for the Mass for Monday, June 23, 2025

Putting God first will help us to experience his love and peace.

In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus draws a direct correlation between our level of worry and our faith. Having faith is a common theme throughout Jesus’ teaching. How many times have we read or heard, “O you of little faith” (Mt 6:30). Faith is defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as, “man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life” (CCC, 26.) Jesus came to reveal his Father to us, to show us that he cares for, loves, and wants to provide for us in our need.

When we are feeling anxious or worried, we are most likely not placing our trust or putting God first in our lives. We may be dwelling on the past, rehashing something we did or did not do, what someone did or did not do, fixating on whether or not we made the right decision, or we could be anxious about the future. Our minds plague us often with the worst-case scenarios of what might be or what could happen. We also may react to another’s actions or words, not fully understanding the context or source of the hurt or struggle they may be going through that caused those words or actions. When we seek security first in anything other than God, remain hyper-focused and absorbed on our own reaction(s), and/or stay stuck in our emotions, we become tossed about like a tumble weed and our insides can experience a perpetual churning.

When we focus on what we do not have instead of being grateful for what we do, we will also experience unrest. We exercise little faith or trust in God when we allow ourselves to be hyper preoccupied with anyone or anything apart from and other than God. Jesus is helping us to see that, “No one can serve two masters” (Mt 6:24). Either we place ourselves, someone, or something first, or we place God first. Jesus’ command is to put God first in our lives and to trust in him above all and everyone else.

Anxiety, worry, and fear can be debilitating and paralyzing and can lead toward a downward spiral, a curving in upon ourselves, that leads to an unsettled mental state. From this posture we can become impatient, reactive, and more fearful. Too many of us buy into the enemy’s lies to isolate ourselves, to keep ourselves busy, distracted, and perpetually tired. Even when we seek to find some rest and to wind-down and renew, we may reach for activities that do not bring us the rest we seek but instead continue to keep us in a perpetual state of unrest. Mindless channel surfing, lost hours on social media, or binging on YouTube clips, will not bring rest to our souls. These practices do the opposite; they keep us in a constant state of busy and overstimulation fueled by dopamine hits that contribute to a growing cycle of chronic stress.

One of the reasons we may be drawn to these technological avenues is to escape the anxieties and stresses we experience. They can distract and divert us for the moment, we can enjoy instant gratification, and we may feel satisfied for the moment. It comes at the cost though of further separating us from God and each other. At our core, we are deeply hungering to be loved and to love. “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC, 27).

Jesus’ life, words, and actions provide a starting point for shifting the momentum of the cycle of enslavement to our unbridled anxieties, attachments, and emotions. The way out of this inner downward spiral is to, “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33). God truly knows what we seek and need in the depths of our souls. At the foundation is deepening our relationship with him. When we spend time consistently reading the Bible, praying and meditating, walking in creation, seeking the things of heaven instead of this world and bringing our anxieties, fears, and sources of stress to God, we will experience moments of peace and renewal. We can come to a place of rest where we can breathe again and we can begin to heal.

Intentionally setting aside key anchor times to be with God each day is one way to put God first in our lives. As we offer vocal prayers to God our Father, share with him our needs, our thanks, our hopes and anxieties, we will find rest in knowing that God hears our prayers and will guide us. As we spend time meditating on God’s word, we are nourished, transformed, and recognize we are not alone in our struggles as we engage with the lives of our ancestors in faith. And as we become more consistent with vocal and meditative ways of praying, we can then engage in the deeper gift of contemplative prayer in which we can just be silent with God and rest in his presence. We can be like St. John who rested his head on the sacred heart of Jesus.

Let not our hearts be troubled, let us not be afraid, but have faith and trust in Jesus, his Father, and the love of the Holy Spirit, and put God first in this moment and often with each drawing of our breath throughout the day.

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Photo: Making some time for a silent holy hour, looking at Jesus as he looks at me.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, June 21, 2025