love

In choosing God’s will, we will experience more peace and love.

Although the chief priests and elders evaded the question about whether or not John’s baptism was “of heavenly or human origin” (see Mt 21:26) by saying, “We do not know” (Mt. 21:27), Jesus did not let them off the hook. His intent was not to call them out or prove himself right, but to call them to conversion. Jesus, as he does with all he meets, seeks to shine a light on where our hearts and minds are in need of opening and expanding.

And so, in today’s account from Matthew, Jesus offers the Parable of the Wicked Son. The first son says he will not do the will of his father and then changes his mind and does it. The second son said that he would do the work his father asked him to do but did not. “”Which of the two did his father’s will?’ They answered, ‘The first'” (Mt 21:31). Jesus went on to reveal to the priests and elders how those who sinned had indeed gone against his Father’s will, but heard John, came to him for baptism and were willing to repent. They recognized they were off course and made a correction. The priests and elders, saw no need for John’s baptism for themselves, and in also rejecting Jesus, were not only going against God’s will, but his Son.

These men who stood before Jesus and challenged him were likely received the call received by the Pharisees and Sadducees: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath” (Mt 3:7)? For they, like the chief priests and elders, were not interested in repenting, they thought themselves well and good, thank you very much.

Jesus not only compared them to the second son who did not follow the will of God, but he also said that the “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom” (Mt. 21:31) before they would. If their hearts were hardened before, the grip only tightened. They did not take kindly to Jesus’ invitation to repent.

The call for repentance that John, Jesus, and the Apostles all proclaimed was, and still continues to be, an invitation to experience God’s grace and love. We are good but something has gone terribly wrong and we need to set things right. Jesus is the one to help us to do just that. We just need to be willing to admit there is a problem. We need to come to the awareness that Paul came to, when he wrote: “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate” (Romans 7:15).

If we think we are fine and not in need of any help, let alone that are we in need of a savior, then we are going to  keep coming back to Paul’s anguish as he pulled out what little hair he had left. We can’t white knuckle our way to healing, there is no three point plan that will free us from our sin, breathing deep alone will not help us to experience freedom from anxiety.

We have to place ourselves first, less, and Jesus first, more. The more we make that transition, then we can also say with Paul, and keep a little more hair while doing so, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians, 2:20). When we are willing to repent, to change our mind, and are willing to be transformed, then like the first son, we will follow the will of the Father. Instead of isolation and unrest, we will come to experience more of his communion and love.

Photo: We still have time this Advent to repent and experience our Father who loves and thirsts for us.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 16, 2025

The love of Jesus can help us in our times of conflict.

The question raised by “the chief priests and the elders of the people” regarding what authority Jesus was teaching was not an uncommon question. Rabbis and teachers often began their presentations by sharing with their listeners who was their teacher. It would be comparable today to say what university we received our degree from.

There is also a bit of edginess in their question as well because Jesus has not only consistently been challenging their authority but he had also just purged the temple by driving out the sellers and money changers (see Mt. 21:12-17).

Although Jesus’ authority came directly from God, Jesus did not fall for their trap, wanting him to say just that. Then they could accuse him of blasphemy or force him to say his authority did not come from God and show him to be a fraud. Jesus did not give them the satisfaction. Instead of answering their question, Jesus asked one of his own. “Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin” (Mt: 21:24)?

The answer given by these priests and elders showed further their unwillingness to accept who Jesus was. They were the shepherds of the people of Israel, yet they would not speak the truth. They were like reeds swaying in the wind (see Mt. 11:7). Unlike John the Baptist who stood on the truth and spoke truth to power, these chief priests and elders offered an answer that was calculated and weighed out by taking a quick opinion poll among themselves. Their answer was a lukewarm, “We do not know.” 

In answering this way, their authority as leaders was diminished. For if they were the religious guardians and guides, why could they not answer the simple question regarding the origin of John’s baptism? Jesus was not deflecting the question. He was prefacing his response. For if they recognized that John’s baptism originated from God, then why would they refuse to believe Jesus? They knew the answer, they were not willing to give it.

How about us? Are we like reeds swaying in the wind? Do we weigh our answers solely on a perceived response or do we speak the truth as the Holy Spirit leads us? We want to be liked, respected, to belong and to fit in, to be affirmed and accepted, which is healthy and natural, but at what cost? Sometimes we feel uncomfortable speaking what we believe because we fear another’s reactions. This is even more challenging these days because a simple response can affect a harsh reaction.

To live out our baptismal call as prophets, there will be times that we need to resist the perceived and real pressures we feel, resist our own insecurities, lean into conflicts, trust in God, seek his guidance, and speak the words the Holy Spirit gives.

As we do so, we need to remember to speak from a place of understanding and love. It is better to engage in a dialogue, not just mutually imposed monologues. A good reminder is to follow the lead of Jesus and ask more questions rather than offer ultimatums and pronouncements. Our goal in any encounter is not to impress or prove we are right and the other wrong, but to express what we believe and allow others to do the same. We can grow from one another when we are willing to listen and dialogue even when we disagree.

Sometimes God invites us to be silent and sometimes to speak boldly with passion. The key is to prayerfully pause, then choose to speak or to be silent. It is possible to move away from the extremes of talking past or shouting over one another and avoiding talking altogether. This happens when we listen first, breathe, pray, pause, and respect each other.

Jesus, please forgive us for giving into automatic reactions, not speaking as you have led, and disrespecting others. Help us in each encounter to breathe, to have ears to hear your guidance, to be understanding and respectful. Give us the courage and words to speak with charity and help us to know when to be silent and to listen. Above all, help us to love.

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Photo: Quiet times alone with God help us to experience peace that we can carry with us in times of conflict and disagreement.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, December 15, 2025

Surrendering to Jesus, we will experience more of his presence, light, and love.

John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him whether or not he was the Messiah. Jesus answered their inquiry with the concrete expressions of what was happening. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me” (Mt 11:4-5).

The ministry of Jesus was and continues to be today one of personal contact. Christianity is not merely a philosophical idea or even a particular theology. It is a faith tradition of an encounter with the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. We are walking through Advent to remember again that a light has shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (cf. Jn 1:5).

Sometimes we can be weighed down by the darkness, the negativity, horror, and destruction we see all around us. The world certainly appears to be in a real mess at times. One of the most common critiques, and a valid one at that, is if there is a loving God, why does he allow such horrible things to happen, especially to the innocent?

The Scriptures are clear, all that God has created is good. Evil is a deprivation of the good. It is an absence or distortion of the good that God has made, like a cavity in a tooth. The healings and miracles of Jesus we read about, as he himself describes in today’s Gospel, are the beginning overture of the restoration of that which was lost. God comes to us in our everyday lives and circumstances with the intent to save us, to make things right again for everyone. “God, in Christ, has come to set right a world gone wrong” (Grunow, 175).

No matter what darkness we may be experiencing or witnessing this Advent, let us look for the light of Jesus shining in the midst of it. I can’t offer you a sufficient answer as to why God allows some bad things to happen or why he heals some and not others.

Some six years later, the words of the head of hospice still ring in my ears. “Except for the cancer, JoAnn was in perfect health.” I have no answer as to why she contracted cancer. I don’t ask why any more nor do I cling to the past. I remember and continue to hold JoAnn close to my heart but it has been in letting her go that I have experienced a closeness to where she is now. Especially, in some precious moments in the Mass and at prayer.

This Advent as we look for a light in the darkness, may we also be that light in the darkness for others. As we receive, rest, and abide in the love of Jesus, may we allow him to shine through us, to allow his love to be present in each encounter. We are just passing through this world and need to remember this is not all there is, but there is a life of fulfillment to come. What we see now is just but a hazy image of what is to come in the fullness of the height, depth, and breadth of God’s plan. John knew he was not the messiah, he was the forerunner, the messenger, and he became less so that Jesus could become more.

Jesus began his public ministry after John’s arrest and his healing of the blind, lame, and deaf, the lepers and the three he brought back from the dead, are but a foreshadowing of heaven he opened for us in the humanity he assumed. We live in the in-between time of the first coming of Jesus at his birth and his second coming. May we remain open to receive Jesus daily by rejecting doubt, despair, and fear, and choosing hope, faith, and love. As we encounter Jesus close at hand, may we offer our hand to one another.

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Photo: Blessed with this view walking back to the rectory after morning Mass.

Grunow, Stephen. Introduction to the Gospel of Mark in The Word on Fire Bible: The Gospels. Park Ridge, Illinois: Word on Fire, 2020.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, December 14, 2025

Lost in the busyness, anxiety, and noise? Stop, breathe, and pray. Jesus is right there.

“What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray” (Mt 18:12)?

Many of those Jesus asked and us reading or hearing this Gospel today might share our opinion that the man leaving the ninety-nine to find the one would not be a wise choice. Jesus again appears to be turning the normal order of things upside down in painting a word picture of God’s folly. This parable clearly shows the abundant and extravagant love of his Father for each and every one of us. The act of this shepherd can appear not only unreasonable but unbelievable.

Yet, this is not the feeling to the sheep or the one who is lost. This extravagant love is a relief. God as a shepherd is presented in the Old Testament as well. God is the shepherd and Israel his sheep. This was presented in today’s first reading: “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care” (Isaiah 40:11).

This expression of love and care we can also experience if we are willing to resist slipping into judgment and pride, as did the elder son who was not willing to forgive his brother who was lost but found. The father loved the elder son with the same love as the son that was found, but he was closed off from receiving it for years, not realizing that he was just as lost as his younger brother.

God gives us a choice to reject or accept him because of his extravagant love for us. His greatest joy for us is that we will experience being be fully alive. He also knows what will make us so, yet he won’t impose even what is best for us, on us. God is willing to risk us going astray such that we can come to realize the emptiness in any pursuit that ultimately does not bring us closer to him. God does not wish for any one of us to be lost.

God constantly coaxes, invites, and urges us to fulfill who he created us to be. He guides us along as a parent urging his child to walk with tender chords of love. Yet, though he lovingly implores us along, we can be distracted, turn, crawl away, and go in a different direction.

During Advent, we are invited to slow down, to breathe and examine where we have taken our eyes off and turned away from our Father, where we have crawled away from his invitation to walk with him. No matter how far we think we have gone astray, no matter how lost we may think we are, God always remains close, following, watching, ready for us to turn back to him. When we do turn back, we will find him there waiting for us, urging us to run back into his open arms and to experience his loving embrace.

God is eternally present. He is not in the regrets of the past nor the anxieties and insecurities that blur the promise of our freedom in the future. God loves us more than we can ever mess up, more than we can ever imagine, and even in the midst of the committing of our most egregious of sins. God not only refuses to define us by our worst choices and moments, but when we trust in him, when we ask for his help, he will forgive us, offer healing, and lead us a few steps at a time forward, carrying us “in his bosom” if necessary.

Once forgiven, healing, and back on the path, we are to then also follow Jesus and seek out the lost sheep. “Christ follower’s should imitate the Father’s pastoral care, seeking and saving the disciples who have gone astray” (Mitch and Sri, 230).

Photo: Jesus will lead us through the unclarity, insecurity, and stress if we are willing to stop, change course, and follow him.

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

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 9, 2025

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt 3:11).

John is offering a baptism of repentance. The people are coming to him, some traveling up to twenty miles through the desert. They were not coming to the Temple, the formal place of worship, but to the wilderness. John, the son of a priest, and so a priest, represents an answer to the hunger of the people that is no longer being fulfilled by much of the religious leadership of his time. He is the embodiment of the prophet who has returned – Elijah, who himself also dressed in “a hairy garment tied with a leather belt” (2 Kings 1:8). He speaks for God and the people are willing to listen and follow him because of his authenticity. And in his time he was most likely more popular than Jesus was in his. Jesus himself said that there was no one born on the earth greater than John (Matthew 11:11).

Yet, John the Baptist is clear that he is not the long-awaited Messiah. He is just the precursor as was promised. “John’s appearing in the desert dressed like Elijah would have signaled to the Jews that he was playing the part of the long-awaited Elijah, preparing for the Lord’s coming” (Mitch and Sri, 63). John as with the prophets like Elijah who had gone before him was preaching the need for repentance. He is preparing the hearts and minds of the people, inviting them to repent, to turn away from their sins and self-centered ways so that they will be prepared to recognize the Lord when he comes.

The baptism of Jesus was and is different than John’s. It is a baptism not just of repentance, but also of “the Holy Spirit and fire.” The baptism of Jesus will be wholly transformative. Fire consumes and transforms that which it touches and the Holy Spirit is often symbolized by fire. Within the Jewish tradition and found in the Old Testament, fire is associated with purification. The purifying and transformative fire of the Holy Spirit is love.

Love is an expanding, unitive force. It is a direct counter to the self-focused, curving in upon oneself and divisiveness of the fallen nature of our humanity. Love is an act of the will and draws us out to be engaged with the betterment of others. When we experience the love of God we are changed and transformed. This is not a one time be all encounter, but one that is to be experienced and shared consistently. The more we share the love of God the more we receive, and the more love we receive, the more we are transformed.

John the Baptist reminds those coming to him and us who read the Gospel of Matthew today that none of us are worthy of God’s love. That does not mean that we are bad. We just fall, short on our own, of the glory of God. We do not deserve nor can we grasp God for ourselves. No matter our will power and diligence, we must be willing to receive the Holy Spirit on his terms, not ours. We simply accept the invitation to receive the love of God, allow him to heal and expand us beyond our limitations, and share what we have received with others.

Photo: A quiet moment with the setting sun between the 4:00 and 5:30 Vigil Mass.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, December 7, 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

“The fruit of love is service.”

He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me” (Lk 18:38-39)!

The difference between the blind man who shouted to Jesus and the people walking in front of Jesus was that the man knew he was blind. Those preventing access to Jesus were not aware of their spiritual blindness. Luke does not say why the people were preventing access to Jesus, just as Jesus in his parable of the Good Samaritan did not say why the priest or the Levite did not help the man dying on the road to Jericho.

Why would the people prevent the man from having access to Jesus? Especially since he was asking for pity or mercy. One practical reason could be time. They were on the way to Jericho, their mind was set to get there, and stay on the schedule they would. Another could be that the man was a beggar. He was not seen to have dignity and worth, so they attempted to quiet him so he could go back to being invisible. The Jericho road was a dangerous road, maybe this was just a setup, a way to lure Jesus into an ambush.

Ultimately, we do not know why they attempted to prevent the man access. The more important question is how often do we prevent others from accessing Jesus? We do not have the time, they are other, we may not see their dignity and worth as human beings, and/or we are afraid, so we keep others at arm’s length. Could it be we are just indifferent to the suffering of others?

Jesus responded differently to the call of the beggar in today’s Gospel account. He stopped and had the blind man brought to him. He made the time, saw him as a fellow brother with dignity and worth, and he took the risk to reach out to someone in need, and healed him. As Pope Francis has said, “[Jesus] understands human sufferings, he has shown the face of God’s mercy, and he has bent down to heal body and soul. This is Jesus. This is his heart” (Francis 2014, opening page).

This is to be our response as well. Even if we do not understand the suffering of another, Jesus does. We are invited to stop, to be aware, to enter the chaos of another, and trust that Jesus will be present through us to provide mercy. Are we willing to resist indifference and fear and instead see each person we encounter, not as other, but as a fellow human being? We do this best by making the time and being present. Are we willing to ask Jesus to heal our blindness that we may be willing to see the dignity and worth of each person that we meet so that those we encounter see in us the face of God’s mercy? We will be more apt to do so the more we spend time being still, breathing, resting, receiving, and abiding in God’s love.

Photo: “The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace” – St. Mother Teresa. When we put into practice the words of Mother who put into practice the way of Jesus, we will also have the eyes to see and serve Jesus in those around us.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 17, 2025

Praying persistently helps us to grow in our relationship with God and one another.

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary (Lk 18:1).

In the parable that Jesus offered in today’s gospel account, he is not saying that persistence in prayer is changing God or somehow bending his will to our’s. We are not wearing him down like the woman did with the judge. God does not need us. God is completely and totally self-sufficient. We are the ones who need him. Our persistence, our daily habit of prayer, changes us, transforms us, helps us to develop our relationship by interacting with God more consistently. Things happening in our lives help us to see that we are fragile and vulnerable and in need of help. Our persistence in prayer will help us to experience that we are not alone in our challenges. When we are dealing with a crisis or very real trauma, our persistence and faithfulness in prayer will help us to experience the closeness of Jesus in our midst as he accompanies us through our suffering and grants us the strength not just to endure but to overcome.

In fact, the practice of stopping everything and praying for five minutes when a crisis arises, often helps us to resist slipping into a fight or flight mode and helps us to resist reacting automatically based on our emotions. Consciously choosing to breathe while praying helps us to act more prudently than impulsively. We may also come to see that what we thought was a crisis, may have been more of a problem to be solved rather than something catastrophic. Our instant reactions to perceived crises can often escalate an issue rather than de-escalate one.

In the greater scheme of things, God answers all prayers of petition or intercession by saying yes, no, or not yet. Most seem to fall in the not yet or not the way we originally intended category. Remaining patient and faithful can help us to move away from seeking to conform God to our will and instead allow him to expand our hearts and minds to his will. Through this expansion, we can come to see the situation from a broader perspective. Our persistence in prayer also helps us to move away from seeking instant gratification and instead trust more in God’s will and timing. Sometimes we are blessed for unanswered prayers because with time, hindsight, and some distance, we find our original request was more an apparent than an actual good.

Persistence in prayer is also a discipline that deepens the roots of our relationship with God. Ready access through our modern technology, higher internet speeds, one-click access, and overnight shipping, can offer plusses, but we have to be careful that this mindset does not shape our mental, psychological, and spiritual growth. Physical fitness, wisdom, or spiritual maturity is not instantaneous. More importantly, development as human beings and our relationships take time, experience, discipline, prayer, and trust in God’s plan.

Patience, persistence in prayer, freeing ourselves from attachment, developing an authentic and intimate relationship with God and one another are all worth the effort. We need to take some time to breathe deeply, slow down our pace, discipline ourselves to resist even seeking small acts of instant gratification each day. No matter how busy, it is important to slow down. Even when we stop to pray and feel like nothing has happened and that doing so feels like a waste of time, God is present. God loves us, has our back, and we can trust in that.

Photo: Blessed to have a moment to pray evening prayer back at St. Peter Catholic Church. Keeping our eyes on Jesus helps us to quiet our minds.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, November 15, 2025

We have been created to love and to serve as Jesus loves and serves.

“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do'” (Lk 17:10).

This closing line from our Gospel reading today can be a hard verse to digest at first glance, especially with our track record of slavery in the U.S. We need to remember and recognize that this was a teaching that Jesus shared in a different time period, in a different culture, and in a place far removed from any clear modern context. The master/slave relationship is also a theme that Luke returns to often.

Another important point to touch upon when reading the Gospels is that when Jesus made the statement that, “we are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are obliged to do”, we are not to read this verse in isolation from the full context of Scripture. Jesus also shared a parable about a master and servants in which when the master returns, he waits on them (Luke 12:35-40). Jesus himself modeled this same service at the last supper when he washed his disciples’ feet (cf. Jn 13:1-17). This was the lowest of menial tasks. St Paul wrote to the Galatians informing them that in the Body of Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male nor female (cf. Galatians 3:28). The ultimate point is that God is God and we are not. We all have a part to play in participating in and promoting the kingdom of God by following his lead.

As a disciple of Jesus, we are not to seek adulation and glory. We are to serve God and one another without hesitation. We serve God because he is the director and we are the directed. He is the master and we are the servant. In aligning ourselves in this way, we also experience the intrinsic joy of following his will. As we follow Jesus’ lead and guidance, we grow in our relationship with him, his Father, and experience more of the love of the Holy Spirit. As the apostles followed Jesus, there came a point where he said to them that he no longer called them servants but his friends (see John 15:15). That is to be our hope as well.

No task is too menial or beneath us, nor do we need to be concerned about doing big and grandiose things. We just need to be obedient and act as God leads. Instead of reacting, losing our temper, fuming in anger, or twisting ourselves in anxious knots, we each can choose to smile, to hold a door, to respect and appreciate one another, to be patient and present to one another. When conflicts arise, breathe and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us before we react. We serve best when we listen with understanding, give others the benefit of the doubt, forgive, and allow ourselves to love and serve as God directs us.

Pope Leo shared during a recent gathering of bishops on September 11, 2025 that: “Service is neither an external characteristic, nor a way of exercising a role. On the contrary, those whom Jesus calls as disciples and proclaimers of the Gospel, in particular the Twelve, are required to have inner freedom, poverty of spirit and readiness to serve, which are born of love, to embody the same choice made by Jesus, who made himself poor in order to enrich us (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9). He manifested the style of God, who does not reveal himself to us in power, but in the love of a Father who calls us to communion with him.” We may not be bishops, but we are disciples. We begin in simple ways and with each act of kindness, our hearts expand, we are moved to serve, to love and to grow in communion with God and one another. As St. Mother Teresa said, we are to be a pencil in God’s hand. In our willingness to be moved by God to serve, we as well as those in our realm of influence that we serve, will be better for the effort.

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Photo credit: In giving ourselves prayerful pauses we can experience God’s love and so are recharged to love and serve some more.

Link of Pope Leo’s address to the bishops

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, November 12, 2025

Forgiveness helps us to walk the path that leads to our healing.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him” (Lk 17:3-4).

Forgiveness is one of the foundational principles of our faith tradition as Christians. If we question or struggle with the degree of forgiveness we engage in, we are in good company with Peter. Thinking he was being generous, Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive, seven times? Jesus responded, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (cf. Mt 18:21-22).

Luke records the exchange of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. He taught them the Our Father or Lord’s Prayer. While reciting this prayer often each day or multiple times each day, we say, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” or “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Mt 6:11-12).

One of the barometers of being a faithful disciple of Jesus is that we are people who practice the sacred art of forgiveness. To forgive does not mean in any way that we condone or justify the offense or even necessarily forget about it. We are to hold people accountable, as Jesus said, we are to “rebuke them” in the hope that they will repent and come to a greater appreciation and respect of our dignity and the dignity of others. When they do repent, we are to then forgive them.

Holding on to grudges, seeking revenge, being unwilling to forgive, can be incapacitating, debilitating, and can lead to a premature as well as eternal death. What can be of help is if we can choose to be more mindful of our thoughts and actions. At the moment we experience discomfort from what someone says or does, instead of giving in to the temptation to react or to let our mind run with the offense, it is very helpful to take some deep breaths, relax our shoulders, and/or loosen our grip. As the negative thoughts attempt to rise again, don’t fight or feed the thoughts, just return to being aware of our breath and ask Jesus to help us be more understanding and forgiving. This will also help our body to discharge the stress and experience God’s peace.

We may struggle with being forgiving because we may not have sought or received much forgiveness ourselves. Advent is coming. It is a season to prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus into our lives. This season provides a wonderful opportunity to prepare and participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Forgiveness is a healing gift of God’s grace. Once we have felt the healing balm of forgiveness, we might be more willing to forgive others.

A good practice to engage in is to go to a place of quiet and ask God to help you to forgive someone or a few people. Even if your prayer begins, “God, I cannot forgive, I hurt too much, but help me to let go, please help me to forgive, (insert name).” Return each day until you can bring yourself to say, “I forgive, (insert name).” Visualize yourself saying that you forgive the person face to face and imagine a healing between each of you. If the opportunity presents itself you may want to say that you forgive the person directly, send an email, or write a letter – even if you do not press send or mail it.

With the intent to forgive and asking for the help of Jesus, who has forgiven us, even if in the beginning we are unwilling, with time, reconciliation is possible. Depending on the hurt that has been inflicted, you may not reach out to the other person as it may be healthier to stay apart. Forgiveness will help you to heal and not allow the person who has hurt you to continue to do so. Forgiveness is an act of love, for to love is to will the good of the other. In our willingness to forgive, there is freedom. Let us remember: “Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

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Photo: Our willingness to love will help us to walk the path of forgiveness.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, November 10. 2025