joy

When we follow Jesus we will experience a love and joy that brings rest.

“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36).

There is much that pulls at us for our time and attention. Jesus witnessed the anxieties, struggles, pain, and feelings of being lost regarding those in his midst. Are we so different today? Jesus knows the Father, he knows the joy and fulfillment of what being in a full relationship with him entails. Jesus saw then and sees in us now how lost we can become. How easily distracted and diverted we are. He knows how many things we put before our relationship with God thinking that we will be satisfied, but time and again we are left empty. Jesus remains close even in these experiences and in our sorrow, disappointment and loneliness, Jesus is not distant and aloof, he “is moved with pity.”

Jesus’ heart goes out to us, he yearns to be one with us and share his love. In that very act of love, he risks. He loves us so much, that he is willing to let us choose ourselves, others, or a myriad of other pursuits over him. Jesus invites us to the joyful experience of developing a relationship with him so we can come to know his Father, and experience the love of the Holy Spirit while at the same time he does not impose himself on us. We are given the whole world to choose from or we can choose him. Who do we put first? Is God a priority in our life? If we find that God is at best an after-thought, or at worst a no thought, instead of getting to know God better, what is it that we are choosing over him?

Jesus invites us, but too often we miss, ignore, or do not follow through on his invitation. Too often we choose other pleasures, distractions, diversions, temptations, and/or apparent goods. With time and experience, we may come to see the emptiness of the lure of these worldly promises, as well as begin to recognize that our attachments and disordered affections often lead to many of our troubles, trials, stresses, and anxieties. We are often led astray because we are seeking to address our underlying experiences of unfulfillment, abandonment, fear of missing out, and/or loneliness. There is only one source, one person, that will ultimately fulfill our innermost longing; God our Father.

I am not advocating for a rejection of the material world. All that God has created is good. We are human beings and a part of God’s glorious creation. Nor do I believe that we are souls trapped in this body waiting to be released upon our death. As human beings, we are a unique unity of body and soul. The key to our fulfillment, finding meaning and belonging is choosing to put God first. In establishing a firmer relationship with God, we can better discern that which we need to let go of, and/or how to reorder that which God wants to remain. Once we begin to experience the fulfillment of his love and establish God as our firm foundation, even the challenges and trials that arise with not disturb our peace.

This might be the moment to be still and evaluate where we are in our lives and to ponder who we belong to. Jesus offers to lead us, just as he has led his disciples through the ages. Those of every age have experienced trials and tribulations and found the promises of this world fleeting. What made the difference for the saints was that they said yes to the call of the Shepherd and then followed him and experienced his peace and rest. Are we willing to slow down, to breathe, and listen to the Shepherd’s invitation today? Are we willing to follow his lead and experience his love?

Photo: A quiet afternoon walk Grand Coteau Retreats, Grand Coteau, LA.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, July 7, 2026

“I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

Jesus bestowed his love and his grace upon his Apostles as a gift. The fundamental option, our ultimate end goal, that which we seek from the very depths and core of our being, is to experience the same love that the Apostles experienced. The Creator of all that exists, who so transcends our comprehension, who is so beyond our ability to comprehend fully, has come close to us, become one with us in the person of his Son, and loves us more than we can ever imagine, more than we can ever mess up. He loves us when we feel unlovable, afraid, and in the depths of despair.

This reality, the core of the deposit of faith that they received, was not to be hoarded, buried away, or to be shared with a select few. This living gift of grace was to be shared by the Apostles, the ones who Jesus called by name, who he hand-picked to receive his message and then sent them forth to proclaim his word. They were to protect it for the purpose of transmitting it accurately to their successors so that it would then be passed on to each successive generation who would then receive and make it relevant for their own time.

Jesus said to his Father in his farewell discourse that we have been going through these past days: “I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them” (Jn 17:26). 

Let that sink in. If you wanted to stop reading this post and just wrote down, and then meditate upon them, feel free to do so: “the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” 

Jesus came to impart the love of the Father he has received from before time was, before anything existed, into us. We receive and continue to receive his love through the sacraments, reading his word, in time of quiet, prayer, meditation, through his creation, and a myriad of ways. In receiving, and slowing down enough to experience his love, in our joys as well as our struggles, and through our participation in the love of Christ, we come to realize that we are not as alone as we feel deep down. 

The Trinity is at the heart of the Gospel, the Good News. The Trinity is a divine communion of three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have been created with a burning hunger and desire to experience this same communion. Jesus invites us to share in the depth of the same love he experiences. When we don’t accept his invitation, we feel a deep loneliness and restlessness…

Yet, why don’t we say yes to this joyous invitation? St Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, or Summa, outlines four substitutes or temptations that we may put in place of, before, our highest hope and good; these are wealth, honor, pleasure, and power. In and of themselves, these are not unhealthy desires, as long as God is first and we orient ourselves to them from God’s perspective.

When we assume the posture of pride, believing that we are the center of our lives and we seek wealth, power, pleasure, and/or honor for our own sake and self-aggrandizement, each will be distorted and leave us empty, or worse lead us into the crippling slavery of addiction because in and of themselves they are finite pursuits. How many times have there been reports of someone who has amassed most or all of these four, and then come to a place of such despair and emptiness that they have taken their own life?

Through a properly ordered sense of power grounded in love, defined by St Thomas, as willing the good of the other, those in positions of power and privilege are called to be a voice for those who otherwise would not have a voice. Those with access to wealth, are to recognize that this is a gift from God, and they are to be good stewards of what they have received to help and support others, not only in the limited stance of a hand-out but as a primary means to provide a hand up. To accompany and shepherd those who do not have access such that they can arrive at the point where they can be provided with access, skills, and means to participate in the dignity of meaningful work and gainful employment.

The ultimate goal of pleasure is to embrace the Beautiful, the gift that God provides in which we can have access and enjoy the wonderous array of his creation. At the same time, we can be participants in the expression of creativity through the arts as well as our everyday actions by finding joy in our interactions with one another and engaging in our vocations. If honor, fame, and glory arise in the faithful, they arise not for their own sake or as to heighten the focus on self. This attention comes with the responsibility to further radiate the light and love of God so to evangelize and draw others to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, as did Peter when he preached and three thousand came to accept the love of Christ.

When Pope Francis visited the U.S. back in 2015, the news for a week was filled with joy and hope. When St Mother Teresa accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, she began her speech by saying, “As we have gathered here together to thank God for the Nobel Peace Prize” and ended with the words, “God bless you!”, Mother began and ended not with the focus on her self but on God. Each are examples of God being the source and focus to bring about the proper alignment and use of wealth, power, pleasure, and fame.

Jesus has, continues to reveal, and share the love with which his Father has bestowed. He invites each and every one of us to receive and live in the love that he shares with his Father such that we may experience the very presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. When we experience God’s love and know we are loved, that we are his beloved daughters and sons and for a consistent period of time and through the ups and downs of life, we can begin to rest and abide there in his love for us.

Wealth, power, pleasure, and honor, will no longer be distractions or diversions to our embracing the love of God. They will no longer be substitutes and apparent goods that we seek to satisfy our loneliness and restlessness. They will become instead a means to radiate his light and to provide a greater witness to share the source of our joy!

When we choose to put God first in our lives before all else, we will experience his love within us and we will begin to radiate his presence to others. In this way, we are sent out to accompany others, to share with those in need of hope, his presence, and his healing. In serving as well as respecting, standing up for and speaking on behalf of the dignity of each person that God places before us, we will also experience and help others to encounter the love of the Holy Spirit as we have. Our corner of the world will then be a little better today than it was yesterday and a little better tomorrow than today.

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Photo: So many ways that God reaches out to us with his love!

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, May 21, 2026

Jesus is risen! Let us place our hope and trust in him and we will experience his peace and joy!

Mary of Magdala comes to the tomb during the wee hours of the morning while it is still dark and finds the stone rolled away. She runs to Peter and John to share with them the news, that: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him” (Jn 20:2). Peter and John retrace the steps of Mary, running to find the tomb empty as well. All three are stunned because “they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (Jn 20:9).
How can we blame them? Do we fully understand the reality and fact that Jesus has risen from the dead? There are conjectures tossed about today such as Jesus did not really die, but woke up three days later, aching all over from the excruciating effects of the crucifixion. Others say that the accounts of the resurrection were mass hallucinations, or that the Gospel accounts of Jesus rising from the dead are a mere myth. These propositions do not stand up to the fact that Jesus, fully God and fully man died, entered death, and conquered it. In so doing, he entered into a new life, a new reality. Jesus, in becoming the firstborn of the dead, was transfigured from our three-dimensional reality that we all know and experience, such that he now resonates at a higher pitch and dimensional reality. Jesus is the firstborn of a new creation!
All of human history changed in that tomb because of this new fact of the resurrection of Jesus. How this has happened is indeed a mystery, but in our seeking understanding, we will fall short and be frustrated if we only approach the mystery of God in the same way that we tackle a problem to be solved. The Apostles and disciples of Jesus struggled to find meaning and understanding about how Jesus crucified was now gone from the tomb. They came to understand the mystery of the Resurrection, the same way that they would come to believe in the mystery that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. This happened when they encountered Jesus again. The mystery of the Resurrection is not a problem to be solved, but a person to encounter, a relationship to embrace, as it was for the Apostles and is so for each of us today.
Faith seeking understanding is grounded in having an encounter with a person, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Pope Francis writes: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness” (Francis, 9).
Easter Sunday is the day where this joy first truly became possible, and this joy is needed now more than ever. For in each age there has been darkness in the world. Sin, suffering, violence, division, and death continue to be present in people’s experiences. Yet, because of this day, we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death. We celebrate the truth that the light has overcome the darkness, that suffering and death do not have the final answer, Jesus does. We can place our hope in Jesus so that no matter what challenges we are experiencing he will guide and accompany us.
We are an alleluia people, meaning that no matter what anguish or trial, we are a people endowed with hope in the One who conquered death. God has loved us into existence and continues to love us in such a way that the promise of eternity is real, where suffering and death are no more! Also, Jesus reminds us that he cares, that we are not alone now this side of heaven, and we will persevere and overcome sin, suffering, and even death when we surrender our minds and hearts to him. In that surrender, we will have access to his peace that surpasses all understanding.
Mary of Magdala shared the good news with Peter and John that the tomb was empty and the stone was rolled away. Jesus rolled back the stone, rolled back death, and he opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed, the death he conquered, and the resurrection we celebrate today! Alleluia! Alleluia!
May God bless each of you and fill you with his joy and peace! Happy Easter!!!
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Photo: A quiet holy hour Saturday afternoon preparing to celebrate the Easter Vigil in which I was blessed to baptize 7 and confirm 17 joy filled disciples of Jesus!!!
Francis. Evangelii Gaudium, Joy of the Gospel, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press, 2013.
Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, April 5, 2026

Our faith and practices are healthy when they lead us to Jesus and “a deep transformation of the heart.”

Jesus reacted to the criticism of not observing ritual washing prior to eating that was leveled at him from the Pharisees and scribes by recalling the tradition of the Prophets through the words of Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mk 7:6). Jesus recognizes the context of these words as he uses them. Many of the Israelites of Isaiah’s time “lost an intimate contact with God, and serve him with an empty formalism devoid of authentic love… inherited rituals that are not rooted in interior conversion of heart” (Healy, 137).

Jesus is convicting the Pharisees and scribes of doing the same, following the law for the law’s sake which is an empty act. What is more important is encountering the living God, experiencing his love and forgiveness, developing a relationship, being transformed by him, and restoring what has been lost.

Isaiah, the prophet, the mouthpiece of God also invoked a promise. “For when his children see the work of my hands in his midst, they shall sanctify my name; they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, be in awe of the God of Israel” (Isaiah 29:23). When the people again are willing to see God among them and recognize his presence, change their minds and hearts, they will again be invited to turn away from their idolatrous and selfish ways and again worship God.

In quoting this verse, those with eyes to see and ears to hear will reflect on the life, teachings, exorcisms, and healings, they will ascent to the truth, that Jesus is his Father’s hands in their midst.

Are we willing to see this truth as well? Each of us as human beings were created in God’s image and likeness, but through sin, lost that likeness. Jesus us come to reveal where we have turned away and lead us back, heal where we have been wounded, forgive us of our sins, and show us where, in our religious practices, we may be going through the motions, offering empty lip service, rather than growing in our relationship with him as a person.

We must be careful and vigilant that we resist substituting “religiosity for genuine obedience to God and his word. What is needed is a personal encounter with Jesus leading to a deep transformation of heart. When that occurs, religious practices come to life and serve their true practice” (Healy, 138). Jesus challenged the hyper scrupulosity and exactitude of the rules that had nothing to do with being humble servants of and growing in relationship with God.

Just laws and practices are enacted to help us to build up and empower through discipline and clear boundaries so that we can identify the false promises and lies of the enemy, the apparent goods the distract us. Their aim is to help keep us from being enslaved to our passions and sins and instead lead us to freedom for excellence, for fulfillment, and to experience a heart on fire with an ever-growing love that yearns for a relationship with God and each other, like a deer that longs for running streams.

As with any game we play, there are rules and regulations, there are referees and officials to keep order. When the rules enforced encroach on the flow of the game, such that they inhibit the freedom of play, the game is stunted. When there is no enforcement, the game quickly devolves into chaos. When the rules are consistent, they provide the structure and boundaries that limit abuse, allow for the game to flourish, and the players to experience the freedom to actualize their potential, and as such, the play becomes something beautiful for God.

The first time I saw people skate, at around seven years, I was enraptured. My father was working on a project at our local, ice rink. We had not gone there to skate, and yet, I refused to leave until he took me on the ice. It didn’t matter that the only skates that fit my feet were figure skates or that my first attempt was a dismal failure. What mattered was that I made it to the ice and the joy of that experience inspired me as I learned the rules of balance, how to stop, and what a toe kick was and was not for. Soon I had the freedom not only to skate but to join a hockey team. The freedom and joy I felt any time I skated or played hockey, I still carry with me.

We as the Church, are not to lead with the rules and moralizing, but instead, share our time, presence, the joy of our faith, and build opportunities of encounter and relationship. We empower and support one another as we enter into the play between our finite freedom and God’s infinite freedom. We have been created for and to seek a deep and intimate relationship with him that will lead us to a deeper transformation of our hearts and minds. With both open to God’s guidance, we can better identify and discern between the voice of the enemy and God. There is a unique balance between the rules and the freedom of play in ice skating as well as our relationship with God.

Loving someone does not mean allowing them to do whatever. Loving means willing their good, offering invitations, options, establishing boundaries, corrections, opportunities for growth, maturity, and authentic freedom. This is how God guides us with his love. We are going to make mistakes, I have made plenty. The key is learning from those mistakes, recognizing that we are on a journey together, and we are to learn from God and one another. The boundaries, practices, and rules that God teaches us through the Church provides a foundation to identify and renounce that which seeks to divide and isolate us. They allow us to grow in relationship with God, who invites us to be; joyful, human beings that are fully alive!

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Photo: Be aware what brings you closer to experiencing God and his love for you and do that! Holy Hour at St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church this morning.

Healy, Mary. The Gospel of Mark. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, February 10, 2026

“I yearn to see you again… that I may be filled with joy.”

“I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am confident lives also in you” (2 Timothy 1:3-5).

What is wonderful about the words that St. Paul wrote to Timothy was not only the affection he had for Timothy, his recalling of Timothy’s tears, which was most likely from their last parting, but also that he knew Timothy’s mother and grandmother. He also remembered their names and the depth of the faith of each. What will bring him great joy is seeing them again. Who would we write a letter like this to?

We are at our best when we resist slipping into a deist understanding or misunderstanding that God is just something or someone out there, the big guy in the sky. God is a person, three persons, a divine community of love. God thirsts and hungers to be in relationship with each one of us. He is so far beyond our imagination and conception while at the same time he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. The Father sent his Son to us so that we can share in the divine love of the community of the Trinity. We are invited to build a relationship with God and that is to be our top priority.

As God is not just an idea, Christianity is not just a philosophy or even a theology. Christianity is an invitation to be in a relationship with a person, the God made man, Jesus the Christ. This faith in and willingness to enter into a relationship with God was lived by Lois, passed on to Eunice, and they both modeled and shared their relationship with God to Timothy.

They knew and loved God and one another, they cared for and supported each other, and they welcomed Paul into their family such that he knew them well enough to refer to them by name. Do we know Jesus or as St. Mother Teresa would ask her sisters: “Do you really know the living Jesus, not through books, but by being with him in your hearts?” (Sattler, 20). As we get to know Jesus and experience his love, allow his heart to touch our hearts, we begin to trust him. As we trust him, we spend more time with him and grow in intimacy. As we know Jesus, we come to know his Father and the Holy Spirit, and will begin to know each other better as well.

Dr. Leo Buscaglia, a professor at USC shared a story about how he noticed that one of his students had missed class for a few days. When she did not return the following week, he asked her classmates about her whereabouts, and no one knew where she was. He then reached out to the dean of students, and she broke the tragic news to Dr. Buscaglia that she had taken her life.

He was horrified not only by her death but even more by the fact that no one in the class knew anything about her. He then began to teach a course simply titled, “Love Class 101” in which his students came together to learn about building relationships with one another. He was doing what Lois, Eunice, Timothy, and Paul were doing, what faith communities and families are called to do, what we as human beings are called to do: to be loved by God and to love one another.

We can help to shift the tide of growing anxiety, confusion, isolation, loneliness, and division when we make a commitment to spending quiet time with Jesus. As we receive his love, we have something to share. We will care, be more present, communicate and listen, be more understanding and patient, support, and empower one another. In other words, when we are willing to be still long enough to experience God’s love, we will love God in return with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then we will be better at loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Photo: Blast from past, my teaching days at Cardinal Newman HS. Many fond memories of my teaching years come to mind that still bring me joy.

Sattler, Fr. Wayne. Remain in Me and I in You: Relating to God as a Person, not an Idea. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute, 2025.

Link for the Mass days for Monday, January 26, 2025

Jesus challenges us to follow him, will we follow?

Jesus has been on a whirlwind tour since beginning his public ministry. Daily he has been healing the sick, casting out demons, teaching with authority, and the number of people continue to gather and press in around him. The authorities have also taken notice are most of the scribes and Pharisees are not pleased with this new upstart rabbi, claiming to preach not from the authority of any rabbi he may have studied with, but on his own. Not only that he is making covert claims and practices that place him on equal ground with God. Not only has the leadership of Jerusalem taken notice, his family from Nazareth have as well.

Jesus has also just called the twelve, representatives of the new Israel. He has returned to the house of Peter and Andrew for a respite. As has been happening, people flock to the home because of their unique needs. The numbers press in with such demand that they made it impossible for Jesus and his disciples “even to eat” (Mark 3:20).

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21). What exactly causes his family to think that he is out of his mind? Is it that Jesus has called Apostles, is it that people are following him in such great numbers to come to be healed, is it that they hear of the growing threat from leadership? Now seeing for themselves the numbers gathering, they don’t get it.

There are many speculations about the “hidden years” of Jesus referring to the fact that there is no mention of Jesus in the gospels from the moment he is twelve years old when Joseph and Mary lose him, until he is about thirty and beginning his public ministry. There are wild speculations about what happened in those unrecorded years, but accounts such as this one support the idea that nothing special happened during that time. Jesus led an ordinary and very simple life and that is why nothing is written.

This could be the reason why his relatives are thinking that he is “out of his mind.” How can this simple carpenter all of a sudden be getting all of this attention? Who does he think he is? Does he think he is better than us?

It also reveals, as we have been seeing with the scribes and Pharisees, and possibly now with Jesus’ relatives, that when we get stuck in our routines, grind ourselves into a rut, and find our definition and security there, we feel safe only in our comfort zones, and that stunts our growth and maturation.

Jesus is a challenge. One of the biggest challenges that he offers is to step out of our comfort zones. We can dig in our heals or trust him and take a risk. Many of Jesus’ relatives as well as the scribes and Pharisees, unfortunately dug in their heels. They were not only unwilling to see who Jesus was, they were not willing to answer his call to follow him as the apostles did.

Jesus, as he shared when he offered the image of the new wine skins, challenges us as well, to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. He challenges us not to settle, and he offers to reveal to us the reality that many of us are existing in a chronic state of fight or flight and in perpetual reactive mode. We have not been created to merely survive. God created us to thrive and embrace the gift of our human existence with consolation and joy.

Jesus is inviting us in this moment to breathe, slow and deep. He is inviting us to stretch a bit and to take a risk, to take a step or two out of our comfort zones. Where might that lead? Will we follow Jesus’ call to come and follow him or dig in our heals as well? When we follow Jesus, it will get bumpy, we will be challenged, but following Jesus will lead to our freedom.

Photo: Sitting at the feet of the master USML, Mundeleine, IL.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, January 24, 2025

” A sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world.”

On a significant day in the history of the world, those who gathered around John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan heard John speak, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). The phrase would have brought back the imagery of the blood of the lamb that was placed on the doorposts to save their ancestors from death and also remember the beginning of the Exodus and freedom from slavery. We who attend Mass hear the priest invoke this same phrase as he holds up the consecrated host. Jesus, of whom John said, “Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God” (Jn 1:24), was present to testify that the Son of God was in their midst and at Mass the priest does the same, now to free each of us from our slavery to sin.

Jesus is truly present to us in the Eucharist. This is no mere remembrance nor just a symbol. Jesus came to us, to become one with us in our humanity. He continues to do so in the Eucharist so that we can be nourished by his very Body and Blood and so become one with him in his divinity. This gives new meaning to the words we are what we eat!  In receiving Jesus in this way, we are transformed and conformed to him so that when we return to our everyday experiences we can see Jesus present in each other. This intimate encounter with Jesus is a gift that we are invited to receive and partake of often, even daily if at all possible.

Many times we struggle in our lives because we may not feel heard or misunderstood, we may not feel accepted for who we are, and/or we feel alone, we may not experience being seen or we make allowances, self ourselves short to attempt to fit in. Jesus comes to us in our places of doubt and confusion, disfunction and disorder, to remind us who we are: beloved daughters and sons of his Father. Through his physical manifestation and presence in the Eucharist, we are reminded that God loved us so much that he sent his Son, not just at one historical point in history, but again and again at each Mass.

Jesus understands our trials and tribulations because he experienced them first hand. He was rejected by the people of his own hometown, many walked away from him when he was offering the bread of life discourse, and even his closest friends betrayed him in his most dire hour. Yet, he experienced joy even in these moments because he followed his Father’s will. He teaches us how to experience that same trust and love in the Father as he experienced then and continues to experience.

As we gather around the table of fellowship to experience the sacrifice of Jesus that is re-presented in his real presence, we experience again that Jesus has died for us and rose again conquering death, that we might have life; not just mere existence but instead a life of consolation and fulfillment. He died for us so he could be present to us in the very simple elements of bread and wine anywhere and everywhere in the world, to remind us that we are never alone and that our lives, as well as those we care for, can be better.

When we come to Mass we do not come for ourselves alone. We come to participate in the heavenly banquet feast that happens on earth as it is in heaven. We come to pray for the salvation of the world. We come to be transformed by the Son of God and as we consume him in such an intimate way, we become more and more conformed to his Body. “The Lord receives, sanctifies, and blesses the bread and wine that we place on the Altar, together with the offering of our lives, and transforms them into the Body and Blood of Christ, a sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world” (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus June 22, 2025).

Come to the feast and invite others to join you so that together we may, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Together, we may be saved, healed, and know that we are not alone but loved more than we can ever imagine and given the mission to go forth to heal and love others as we have been.

Photo: Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass at the Shrine of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano Laziale, Italy, Aug. 17, 2025 (CNS photo/Lola Gomez).

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, January 18, 2025

Each day we awake and consecrate our heart to the Lord, we will experience his joy!

“So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.”(Jn 3:29b-30).

How could John be feeling joy with decrease? This is counter to what many aspire to in our country. Aren’t we supposed to obtain more, be more popular, and not rest on our laurels if we are to be happy? If our end goal is, fame or honor, wealth, power, and/or pleasure, above all else, then yes that would be true. But John is giving us an insight here about what brings us real joy.

True joy comes from God himself. He is the one who will satisfy our deepest longings, the ones that we are not even aware of! This is even deeper when we have found our meaning and purpose, or vocation in life. John was clear about his mission. John came to prepare the way of the Lord. He experienced this from the time when he leaped in the womb when Mary first arrived to see Elizabeth. From that moment, he was preparing the way for Jesus and continued to do so into his adult life. He was not distracted by how many people he was or was not baptizing because he did not see Jesus as competition. Each of them were playing their part in saving humanity and the world. John focused on his part, preparing people to be ready for the coming of the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29).

John is not threatened by Jesus as was Herod, he was overjoyed that the time of fulfillment had come. What John had been called to do by God he had been doing and would continue to do. The reality that Jesus increased and John decreased brought John joy because this was the fulfillment of his mission. How many of us get to experience the fruits of our labor in the moment or even our lifetime?

If we want to be happy, experience joy, and be fulfilled, then following the lead of John the Baptist is a pretty good way to start. I do not necessarily mean selling off everything and living in the wilderness. The important point is that John cultivated a relationship with God. He came to know God’s voice, was open to his direction, acted on his leading, found confirmation, and became clear of the part he was to play in salvation history.

Each and every one of us has a specific role to play in God’s plan. We come to understand our mission by slowing down and becoming consciously aware of the relationship God is inviting us to participate in. As we do so, we also experience the Holy Spirit who, in the words of Pope Francis, “impels us to open the doors and go forth to proclaim and bear witness to the good news of the Gospel, to communicate the joy of faith, the encounter with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the soul of mission” (Francis 2014, 48).

I enjoyed teaching at each level, elementary, middle and high school. As I saw my teaching career coming to a close because I knew that Jesus was leading me to the priesthood, I experienced joy, not because I was leaving a career and vocation I was blessed with, but was taking the next step that the Holy Spirit had called me to participate in. I am also glad that I have been able to continue to share these reflections. There have been many evenings in which my body was ready to head for the land of dreams but I have found joy even when weary to do so mostly each day.

When we allow ourselves to listen, we will hear and begin to recognize the voice of Jesus in the silence of our hearts, we will better discern where we are placing our thoughts, time, and energy, as well as better examine how God is inviting us through his creation, our experiences, and relationships. As we step out and risk, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, as we decrease and allow Jesus to increase, he will not only confirm for us but provide us with the means to accomplish our mission and we will experience his joy!

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Photo: “My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and chant praise. Awake, my soul; awake lyre and harp! I will awake the dawn.” (cf Psalm 57). Last morning at USML.

Pope Francis. The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2014.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, January 10, 2025

May we, like Anna, speak about how our encounter with Jesus has changed our lives.

We have no evidence of what the encounter with the baby Jesus meant for Anna, Simeon, the Magi, or the shepherds. What most likely happened was that they all did as Anna did, she “spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Since they followed God’s invitation to come and see the baby in their own unique ways, even though their part in God’s theodrama was no longer recorded in the Bible, their lives were most likely not ever the same again as they continued to share the good news they experienced.

The account continued for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus who, “returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him” (Lk 2:39-40). No ticker-tape parade, no giving the key to the city, and no gala ball awaited the Holy Family when they returned to Nazareth. They went on to live very simple lives preparing for the appointed hour.

The Advent and Christmas accounts of these past few weeks have revealed a wonderful tapestry of men and women accepting God’s invitation. In their own small and unique ways they have collaborated with God who works through the everyday events of people’s lives, more often than not unseen. We would do well to ponder and follow their examples. St. Mother Teresa learned from her namesake, the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux, to do just that, not get caught up seeking to do great things, but to do little things with great love.

As the Christmas Season continues, let us do the same as life has already or has begun to shift; families and friends have come and gone or are readying to go, vacation days are coming to an end. Let us resist the temptation to get lost again in the busyness of life. Let us appreciate the gift we have been given, to meditate, ponder, and think a bit more about the accounts of Jesus and the supporting cast around him. What do these stories mean for each of us? Life can be hard and can change in an instant because it is fragile. Let us not take our family and friends for granted. May we take a deep breath and renew our commitment to God and each other.

As the Holy Family begins their journey to Nazareth and their simple life, as we begin to return to our regular daily routines, may we be a little more aware and open to the quiet and gentle ways of how God is working in our lives. May we commit to supporting and caring for one another, be a little more aware and reach out to those in need, express our need for help and allow others to assist us. As we do so, we will start to recognize the simplicity of divinity operating within the midst of our human interactions. The Holy Spirit is inviting us to be transformed in this new year, to watch, pray, and cooperate, so that he may kindle in us the fire of his love so that it may spread to others and renew the face of the earth.

Photo: “Holding the Redemption of Israel.”

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 30, 2025

“When everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”

Jesus sent out these twelve (Mt 10:5).

Jesus sent out his Apostles to minister in his name and share the Gospel as he did, declaring that the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Our faith tradition is one of evangelizing, sharing the Good News. That means that first and foremost we need to be people of joy. We may share the most wonderful words about our faith, but if they are not backed up by a life of radiating joy, then our words will have little if any impact.

This does not mean that we are happy and buoyant every second of the day, it does not mean that we will not experience hardship, sorrow, and loss. What it does mean is that we are not defined by our suffering, the trials we face, nor our wide range of our emotions. God also calls us to face tough realities when it might be easier to remain in our comfort zone. In the midst of each of these and other challenges, we can experience hope because God is with us. He seeks to comfort us in our weeping, provide for our needs, guide us in the right way we are to walk, and give us the strength to do so with each step we take.

What defines us is God’s love. We will experience great joy when we slow down long enough to allow God to love us. We will then know that we are not alone in our trials. Jesus experienced the fullness of our human condition, from his conception, birth in a cave, having lived a life of hardship and poverty that led all the way into the depths of betrayal, injustice, and God forsakenness on the cross. He did not just suffer on the cross but he also experienced death. Yet, through the indelible, binding force of the Holy Spirit, the love shared between Son and Father, Jesus was drawn back to life and conquered death not only for himself but for us all.

This is the good news we are to share. Jesus conquered death for each of us. How we live our lives each day and interact with others may be the only Bible that someone else will ever read. May we share the joy of our relationship with Jesus, may we share the joy of the lives we have been given, for: “Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.” – Pope Francis from his apostolic exhortation, Joy of the Gospel, line 6.

Photo: Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles at the foot of the cross. She experienced the joy of being infinitely loved. May she intercede for us that we may as well!

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, December 6, 2025