love

How we treat one another with our thoughts, words, and actions matters.

Jesus calls us to be holy, each and every one of us. Our life is to be lived with the end goal being our ascent to heaven, to be in union with our Loving God and Father for all eternity, and to assist others to do the same. Jesus provides for us a concrete example of the heights to which we are called to reach: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna” (5:21-22). Jesus is building on the Torah, the Law or the Teachings, by helping us to realize that we cannot only kill with weapons but also inflict dehumanizing damage with our words.

To resist this temptation of inflicting mortal wounds, we need to start participating in a deeper examination of conscience which gets to the roots of our own thoughts, words, and actions. If we are not able to discipline our thoughts, what will follow is undisciplined words, and then undisciplined actions, which can lead to entertaining and embracing the deadly sin of wrath. Wrath is unbridled anger that leads someone away from the capacity to think or behave in a rational manner, such that this individual would no longer acknowledge the dignity of the person they would inflict their wrath upon.

Jesus never settled for a minimalist approach to our faith. He is helping us to see that we can be free of the temptation of wrath if we recognize the danger and destruction of unleashing words as weapons. He offers us the examples of calling someone, Raqa, meaning something along the lines of an air-head or an idiot, and calling someone a fool. These words directed at another have no other cause than to demean, degrade, belittle, and harm. This language, and worse, has no business coming out of the mouths of a disciple of Christ. If we are serious about being one of his followers, we need to make a decision regarding how we think, speak, and act.

I remember a moment in sixth or seventh grade unleashing a derogatory word or two toward a classmate. Even though they were loosed in jest, I felt a sinking feeling in my gut after hearing myself say them. God convicted my heart in that graced moment and I felt contrition, actual sorrow for the negativity and poison I had unleashed. I remember making a commitment to myself not to speak that way toward another person going forward.

We need to be aware that words have the power to wound or to heal. If we are serious about following Jesus, fasting from gossip and from words that belittle, divide, diminish, or dehumanize is a good practice to engage with this Lent. Jesus wants us to remove any and all obstacles that would prevent us from growing in sharing his unconditional love with one another. Instead of an unkind word we can share words that empower, uplift, and comfort or at least listen more and speak less. Even when we disagree with another’s point of view, we can do so by still respecting the person and fostering dialogue.

Our words are not enough. Our words will be more kind when we are willing to go deeper and resist entertaining negative or dehumanizing thoughts. Even when we have defensive musings resulting from another’s disparaging tone, words, or actions, we need to resist entertaining them. Instead of reacting, we can breathe, pray for the strength from the Holy Spirit for understanding, hold each other accountable when necessary with respect, and ultimately seek to love, to will the good of each other in all circumstances. We begin this by praying for one another and seeing each other as brothers and sisters.

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Photo: May God bless you with a peaceful mind and heart this day that you can share with others!

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, March 14, 2025

Give somebody a Gospel Five today!

Our readings today help us with one of the pillars of Lent. Almsgiving. We can give alms monetarily as well as through our thoughts, words, and actions. How we treat each other matters. How we speak to each other or about each other matters. Even how we think about each other matters. Not only do our actions come from our thoughts but we also project them out to others whether we are aware or not that we are doing so. When we are able to be more intentional regarding how we think, we can be more aware of our actions. We really do not have to immediately react in situations independently or with others. We can first take a few deep breaths, think, and seek some guidance from the Holy Spirit before we act. We can discern how what we are about to do will affect ourselves and others around us.

One way to put this into practice is to follow the psychologist, Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 principle. When you think a negative thought about someone and before you share that thought, think and write down five affirming thoughts about that person. Many times we will find that by the time that we get to the fifth compliment we will have forgotten the negative quip that sought the light of day.

Jesus is very clear in today’s Gospel from Matthew, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:45). All of us are interconnected. What we do to one another affects everyone. Jesus is very clear that what we do or do not do to each other we do to Jesus. It would be very helpful for us then to get to know Jesus. One way is to continue to read the daily Gospel offered to us each day or read them at our own pace. The Gospels reveal to us Jesus’ words, teachings, life, ministry, and actions. A daily, prayerful and meditative reading helps us to not just know about but to know him.

In meditating on today’s gospel account, Jesus helps us also to know that we will come to know him better in serving one another. For as we do or do not, we will come to know or not know Jesus better. When we throw a stone into the middle of a pond, the ripples of the water circle out to touch the bank and go even beyond. When we think a thought, offer or withhold an action, speak or not speak, this same ripple effect happens.

When we refuse to engage, to give into cynicism, apathy, or disinterest regarding the needs of another, we are cutting ourselves off from Jesus. These ripples of inaction do have a negative effect that ripples out. When we are moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to help someone in need, to be more understanding, kind, and willing to move beyond our insecurities, prejudices, and biases; when we do listen, risk, and move out toward another in love by willing another’s good, and put Jesus’ teachings into practice, we begin the healing of our relationship with God, ourselves, and each other. We will then love our neighbor as ourselves as we received from Leviticus 19:18 in the first reading. We can certainly experience a few more of these ripples!

St. Mother Teresa loved her neighbors radically well by putting into practice what she called her Five Finger Gospel, which is a summary of Matthew 25:31-46. She taught each person in her order and anyone she had the opportunity to pass it on to that each finger on her hand represented the words: “You – did – it – to – me.” When we entertain a thought today, are about to form a word, and are about to follow through on an action, may we first take a breath, ask Jesus to guide us, and then look at the five fingers of our hand before following through. Would we continue to think the thought, say the word, or follow through on the action if Jesus was in front of us? Because he is. For what we do to each other, we do to Jesus.

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Photo: Photo in my office that I took of Mother Teresa walking by me in New Bedford Mass in 1995 as she was leaving Mass from St. Lawrence of the Martyr Church.

Dr. John Gottman’s 5:1 principle I learned from Dr. Arthur Brooks’s discussion with Bishop Robert Barron through the Word on Fire Institute. To watch Dr. Brooks talk on loving our enemies and to consider becoming a member of the Institute: wordonfire.institute/bishop-barron-presents-nov-2019/

Link for St Mother Teresa sharing her five finger gospel starts about 30 seconds in:

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, March 10, 2025

Seeing Jesus as he is will help us to experience the love of his Father!

Today’s Gospel reading is a sad account. For the first time since beginning his public ministry, Jesus has returned to his hometown of Nazareth. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and preached and taught in his “native place”. Unfortunately, this was not a roaring success of the hometown boy returning home to make good. Initially, it seems that the immediate reaction was the same where he had been preaching before. People were “astonished”.  This astonishment though was not received in the same way as his other audiences. The outsiders he preached to were amazed at the authority and power of his teaching. The hometown crowd looked at Jesus more with contempt.

This is a window into this small town of not more than 500 at the highest estimates. It is also a window into what really happened when Jesus returned home after being lost when he was twelve. What happened in those missing years from twelve until the beginning of his public ministry around thirty was most likely insignificant at best. As Mark mentioned, Jesus was merely a carpenter and the son of Mary. This identification is only used by Mark. Was this because of the roots of Jesus’ conception happening while still during Mary’s betrothal period to Joseph? Or, speaking of Jospeh, could this reference be to the fact that Joseph had already died, although, Jews more often than not during this time, referred to sons by addressing the name of their fathers, such as Jesus the son of Joseph, not by their mothers.

Most of the people here did not accept that he spoke with authority, healed, exorcised demons, or tamed violent winds and waves at seas as the lead stories coming into town had said. Jesus’ words were not received, and so he was not able to bring those who knew him for the greater majority of his life into deeper communion with his Father. The whole reason that he came was to bring light to a world suffering in darkness, and those closest to him refused the invitation such that: “he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk 6:6).

For the first five chapters that we have been going through each day with Mark as our guide, many were amazed at the power of Jesus’ preaching, presence, and miraculous works. Jesus was amazed that those who probably he was closest to more than anyone else, refused to believe. They had heard about and now witnessed themselves, the power of his preaching, but they could not see past the simple carpenter.

Is our world today becoming more and more like Jesus’ “native place”? Do we take Jesus for granted, if we pay him any attention to him at all? Where miracles are dismissed as hoaxes or coincidences at best? At one point, CS Lewis, I believe, wrote that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. He cannot be anything else upon a close reading of the Scriptures. Today, some circles would add that he is just made up.

We seek to know in the depths of our hearts, all of us, atheists and believers alike, as well as everyone in between. We seek to know the truth. Authentic faith seeks understanding. A questioning and searching mind are the ingredients for a living, relevant, and vibrant faith and life.

Yet, we can limit ourselves for many reasons and experiences that we have gone through in life. We can, like the Nazoreans, limit the truth of Jesus by accepting a caricature of him. As St. Thomas Aquinas taught: “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary; to one without faith, no explanation is possible.” There are reasonable ascents we can make to the reality and truth that Jesus is the Son of God, but our reason can only go so far. God’s grace builds on nature. God has given us an intellect and will to seek and to know, but we also are not only limited to our ability to reason. God also reaches the deepest core of our being when we are willing to trust him a little and open our hearts and minds to his revelation.

May we resist setting limits, settling for a minimalist or cynical approach, and the hardening of our hearts, and instead open ourselves up to the limitless possibilities God opens up before us! There is so much to experience when we just slow down and are still to experience the wonder of everyday, miraculous moments happening all around us. The Holy Spirit touches our hearts in our encounters with one another when we resist keeping each other at a distance, in a box neatly defined, and/or lead with our fears instead of love. God wants to share with us the gift of his Son and the Holy Spirit. Are we willing to open our hearts and minds to him, even a little, and allow the love of God to happen today?

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Photo: The wonder of looking up! Stopping for a moment a few nights ago on my Rosary walk!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, February 5, 2025

“Love listens.”

Having been led by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus fasted for forty days and was tempted by the devil. Jesus resisted these temptations and then, in Luke’s account, began his public ministry by preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. After some time, Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth and on the Sabbath, Jesus “went according to his custom into the synagogue” (Lk 4:16).

This time his presence was different. Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah and as Jesus sat, all were silent. Jesus broke the silence with the words, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:18). This was no ordinary reading, this was Luke’s inaugural address for Jesus. Jesus was sent on mission by his Father through the love of the Holy Spirit to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and return sight to the blind, to free those from oppression and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Jesus came to restore us to wholeness, to be present with us so that we can experience his closeness, and to lead us to reconciliation with his Father. Jesus calls us, just as he called his disciples to share in this same mission of drawing close. We are also to be present to one another, to love one another, and lead each other out from our imprisonment to sin. Turning in upon ourselves, and away from others keeps the focus on ourselves. Instead, we would do better to open ourselves up to embrace God and one another.

USC professor, Dr. Leo Buscaglia, was devastated when he heard the news that one of his students had committed suicide. He was crushed by the loss of such a young life full of potential and promise, but more so by the fact that none of her classmates were even aware that she was missing or struggling with such pain. Dr. Buscaglia then began his non credit course called Love 1A in 1969. He wanted not so much to teach but to facilitate ways in which his students could be free from the barriers that keep people at arm’s length and at a distance.

Dr. Buscaglia allowed God to work through him to bring about a greater good from the devastating loss of one of his students. His class grew beyond the campus of USC through his books and public speaking where he continued to facilitate for his listeners the vital importance of allowing ourselves to be loved and to love in return.

To continue the mission of Jesus we too need to have ears to hear and eyes to see the ways in which we can say yes to our unique invitation to spread the Gospel. Because of watching a video presentation by Dr. Buscalglia in my Sophomore year of college in a search in education course, I chose to switch my major and seek to become a teacher. He inspired me to want to help others and to help make a difference in their lives. No matter our station in life, we can be more intentional, more aware, and more present to each other through our willingness to care, understand, support, love, and empower those in our realm of influence.

Photo: Dr. Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1988. “Perhaps if we listened to another person, truly listened, we could hear his joy or his cry. Love listens. Love hears.” – from his book Love, p. 180.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, January 26, 2025

May we choose to align ourselves with the Lord of the Sabbath and lead with love.

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath” (Mk 2:27-28).

In making the above statement, Jesus was not discrediting or devaluing the observance of the Sabbath. He was weighing in on one of the common debates that Jewish people engaged in about what was considered work, and thus what could and could not be done on the Sabbath. Jesus went deeper to address the origin of the Sabbath observance in that it, “commemorates God’s creative and saving action for humanity, and alleviating hunger might be an example” (Donahue and Harrington, 112).

Although, the Pharisees who confront Jesus are most likely looking at a strict interpretation of Exodus 34:21 in which even during the time of harvest, one “must rest” on the Sabbath. The rubbing off of the husks in their hands to access the kernels of wheat within constituted such work. Jesus offers David and his followers doing the same thing in their time of hunger when they were fleeing from the soldiers of King Saul. In claiming this account, Jesus is aligning himself and his disciples with King David and his men. The Pharisees in this comparison would then be aligned with the followers of King Saul.

God created us, formed us, and breathed life into us. God seeks intimacy and closeness between himself and us his created beings, his children. God is our source and we are interconnected in our relationship with him and with one another. God continues to deal with us in a personal way. The Torah, the Law or the Teachings, is meant to enhance the intimacy and closeness of that relationship with God and one another, to provide boundaries and definition so that we can resist going astray.

Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law, to restore it from distortion, while at the same time bring it to a higher level. When asked what commandment is the greatest, Jesus announced that we are to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (cf. Mk:12:30-31). To live out this commandment then, we need to foster our relationship with God if we are to experience his love, mercy, and forgiveness, to fill up to overflowing, so to share with others what we have received, otherwise, we have nothing to give.

With or without a relationship with God we can experience emptiness, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. Without a relationship with God, and the community of the Church, we are more vulnerable to the temptations to satiate our hunger with the material, finite, and false goods, that are readily available, and hungering more, falling deeper into the lures of power, pride, prestige, ego, and addiction. We then seek to protect that false sense of self at all costs, and react defensively, as we feed our fear and pride. We buffer ourselves off from the very one we have been created for, and those we consider as other. In following this path, we isolate ourselves from God and one another and this provides fertile ground in which fear, prejudice, sexism, and racism can grow along with the manifestation of the dehumanization and objectifying of human beings.

As a part of the Church and actively engaged, we are constantly reminded that we are not alone and that all of us and creation are interconnected. As Pope Francis shared in his homily in 2018: “Having doubts and fears is not a sin. The sin is to allow these fears to determine our responses, to limit our choices, to compromise respect and generosity, to feed hostility and rejection. The sin is to refuse to encounter the other, the different, the neighbor when this is, in fact, a privileged opportunity to encounter the Lord.”

The Pharisees that were confronting Jesus felt threatened. They refused to see who he was. We know there were other Pharisees that came to trust in and follow Jesus, Nicodemus and most famously, Saul who became Paul. They were able to see past their blind spots and come to believe that Jesus was the Son of Man, the Son of God. We are offered a choice to see Jesus as a liar, a lunatic, and blasphemer, or as our Lord.

My invitation is for us to align ourselves with the Lord of the Sabbath, who walked with his disciples among a field of wheat one day, and who is now our Bread of Life this day. Empowered by the Eucharist we are filled with the love of Jesus, we will then better be able to let no evil talk to pass our lips and to say only the good things that people need to hear (cf. Ephesians 4:29). Receiving God’s love, we will better be able to will each other’s good, even toward those who profess hate. Feeding hate will only contribute to it. Meeting hate with love can provide an invitation for hearts to soften. As with Dr. King, whose memorial we celebrated yesterday, we are called to be instruments of the light to dispel the darkness and conduits of love to transform hate.

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Photo: Rosary walk among the sea oats back in July, Riomar Beach, Vero Beach, FL.

Donahue, S.J., John R., and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Gospel of Mark in Sacra in Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 2. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Pope Francis full text of homily at Mass on World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Sunday, January 14, 2018: http://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=79091

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Like Anna, may we do our part to allow God to work through us with great love.

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 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 just that, to 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 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: May we, like Anna, speak about how Jesus has changed our lives.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, December 30, 2024

May we receive God’s light and love, so to dispel any darkness, and walk in his peace.

“In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (cf Luke 1:78-79).

This promise of the Holy Spirit is spoken by the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah, as his ability to speak has returned to him after he confirmed that his son, as Elizabeth stated was to be called John. This evening at the Christmas Vigil we will begin to celebrate whaat we have been preparing all Advent to celebrate – the fulfillment of those beautiful words. The fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Judges, David, and the Prophets. We will celebrate that the Son of God is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the fulfillment of the promises preserved in the Old Testament and he is to be a light to the nations.

The words of Luke were as relevant to those he wrote to in his day as they are to us as well in our day. God’s tender compassion has surrounded us and has been a part of us since before our conception. He knows the number of hairs on our head and he knows each one of us by name. Totally transcendent, infinite beyond our beyond our wildest imagination, comprehension, beyond all space and time, while at the same time, God knows each one of us more intimately than we know ourselves. He cares for us, guides us, and invites us to experience his joy and the fulfillment of who he has created us to be.

The ultimate love that God expresses is that he invites us to be in relationship with him and we are given the choice to say “no” or “yes”. He gives us the freedom to choose anything but him. Some would say, he should just make us follow him. That would not be love, but oppression and tyranny. The invitation to receive the light of God is a gentle one, and when we say “yes”, he enters our life and begins to heal and transform us from within to the level and pace we are willing to accept. The choice remains, we can recede back into the darkness or continue to walk into his brilliant light.

When we accept the invitation of relationship and follow God’s guidance we will better be able to identify the darkness and the lies of the enemy that cloud our discernment and keep us from experiencing the fullness of his grace. Choosing to allow the light to dawn in every aspect of our being, our wounds, our prejudices, our defense mechanisms, our false comforts, all those areas where we deny the truth or where we are supporting false realities or apparent goods, will help us to let go of unhealthy attachments so that we will be free to receive his light and love.

May we continue to repent and prepare our hearts and minds as we celebrate the gift of the incarnation one more time. Let us, “who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,” not hide or withdraw from God’s invitation, and instead walk into the “dawn from on high,” so that God may “guide our feet into the way of peace.” The closer we are to God, the more we experience his love and his peace, that peace that surpasses all understanding, and having received, then we are better able to share his love, light, and peace with others each day of the Christmas season and into the new year.

Photo: Morning Rosary walk experiencing the dawn from on high at the end of a winter retreat back in January, 2023.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 24, 2024

This Advent, more anxiety and stress or more joy and peace?

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I shall say it again rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

There is a running theme in each of our readings and why we call today, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word for rejoice. We rejoice because we are half way through Advent, and Christmas, our celebration of the incarnation, is only eleven days away. We are also called to rejoice because as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians that we can rejoice always!

Can we really?

Yes, because Paul is not inviting us to rejoice, he is commanding us to do so and he did so not only once but twice. But how can we actually rejoice always? One way is to distinguish between happiness and joy. When we are happy it is because we are reacting to a pleasurable experience that we find good. Yet, what often happens when the experience goes away… so with it goes our happiness. We then seek more of the same to fill that need to be happy and we need more and more of what stimulation we seek. Our happiness can linger on a bit or return as we call to mind the memory of the experience, but even then, the memory will fade after a bit.

Joy is not dependent on external experiences. Joy is dependent on our closeness to God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us. That is why even when we experience challenges, trials, and conflicts, we can still feel joy. The key is where we put our focus. Focusing on the externals, we will sink.  Keeping our eyes on Jesus, like Peter, we will walk on water! As long as we stay close to Jesus, we will experience his joy within. 

Paul gives us to recipe for rejoicing always when he says, “Have no anxiety about anything”. As soon as we experience the first stirrings of anxiety, we are to turn to God in prayer and thanksgiving and let our “requests be made known to God.” I first remember experiencing this when I was in my late teens. I had been experiencing a period of desolation and anxiety about the future ahead beyond high school. I had recently purchased a Bible and one evening opened it at random to Luke 12:22: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, or about your body and what you will wear.”

Then I heard God letting me know that I would never win the lottery but he would continue to provide me with the means to work. He would provide for and take care of me. Having heard these words in the quiet of my heart, I then returned to reading the whole section about placing our dependence and complete trust in God. A feeling of not only joy but peace welled up within, and the anxiety and insecurity I went into the reading of the Bible with dissipated. Light and darkness, love and hate, nor anxiety and trust, cannot exist at the same time and in the same place. We actually can choose which we want to experience.

The word anxiety comes from the Greek merimnaō. Biblical scholar, Dr. Brant Pitre describes Paul’s usage of merimnaō as, “an imperative; it’s not just a suggestion. And he’s saying not to have it about anything. Now this Greek word merimnaō is closely related to the verb for ‘to remember’. So when a person is anxious about something, it keeps coming to their mind. They remember it” (Dr. Brant Pitre).

What we place our focus on is what governs our thoughts and also has a tremendous influence on what we feel. If we are consistently attentive to what we are stressed about, like a dog drilling down, worrying on a bone, we are going to be anxious – always. The other side is just as true. The more we focus on Jesus, breathe, receive, rest, and abide in his love for us, and we consistently place our trust in him in all situations, the good as well as the bad, we will move closer to aspiring to Paul’s command to, “Rejoice in the Lord always”.

We will also rejoice more often when we are willing to make time to stop and think about what we are grateful for. It is so easy to get caught up in the busy, in our work as well as our perceived recreation, pass out at the end of the day, and start over again the next. Taking time to wind down each evening away from channel or social media surfing, we could instead choose to truly relax and let go by being still, quiet and reflecting upon the day to see where God has been blessing us, where we have said, “yes” to his invitation and where we have said, ‘no.”

Calling to mind what we are thankful for and having the humility to ask Jesus for help to correct or sins and missteps, also deepens our relationship with him and rekindles the awareness of the love of the Holy Spirit within us. What then wells up again from his eternal spring is not only joy but God’s peace, that peace that surpasses all understanding. Knowing and experiencing that God is close, that his Son is at hand, will help us to experience more regularly the love that is shared between them, the Holy Spirit.

Being filled with the joy, love, and peace of God to overflowing will then move us to share what we have received with others in very practical ways. In giving and sharing the joy, love, and peace that we have received, does not diminish in any way the what we have received. Instead, our giving only increases the joy, love, and peace God has given us. Not a bad way to spend our final days of Advent which will lead us into celebrating the miracle of Emmanuel – God with us, always. And because he is, let us rejoice always!!!

Photo: A different Advent. We were preparing for Jesus to come to bring JoAnn home to heaven. Because we had a better idea of the time and hour, we were able to appreciate each moment we had together. God blessed us with his joy, love, and peace to overflowing. I still look upon the last six months we had together as a blessing.

Dr. Brant Pitre. “Anxiety and Gratitude” from his video commentary: The Mass Readings Explained.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, December 15, 2024

Mary’s Son will forgive us and fill us with joy!

“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste” (Lk 1:39). Why? Because she was filled with joy. She had just experienced an incredible encounter with the angel Gabriel telling her that she was to bear the “holy, Son of God” (Lk 1:35). She also learned that her relative Elizabeth, who had been barren, was six months pregnant. Who better to understand and appreciate what she had gone through than Elizabeth? When we hear good news we want to share it with someone, especially when we believe another will fully appreciate our experience.

Is there a time when you felt overjoyed about something that you felt like you were going to burst and you couldn’t wait to share your experience? A memory may have already started forming in your mind, a smile and glow may already be radiating from your eyes as you re-experience that moment.

One such graced encounter I had was when I was in my early twenties and dealing with a heavy personal issue. I was living in Sharon, Connecticut at the time and had an opportunity to go to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts to participate in a penance service. I walked up hesitantly to a kind-looking, elderly, polish Marian priest. His name alludes me now, but not his face. He radiated invitation and mercy. After a few stammering words, I let loose and shared what I had been dealing with. When he offered absolution, I felt the burden physically lift, I felt almost like levitating. Then a surge of joy welled up in me that lasted for days.

There is a great gift in sharing a burden with a trusted friend or family member, being heard and supported, and/or receiving absolution from a priest. We need to resist the temptation of turning within ourselves, trusting in the lie that we can handle our conflicts, challenges, and trials all on our own. There is a pearl of great price, God’s healing grace, that is available to us when we share our experiences. In this way, we come to realize concretely that we do not have to go through our pain and suffering alone!

Many of us are struggling with a lot, and sometimes we are not at our best, nor do we make our best decisions. We react instead of act, we get caught in the momentum of behavior that we know is not acceptable, and we continue to slide. The key is not to beat ourselves up and walk around feeling guilty. There are enough people who would be happy to sign up to do that. Instead, we will be better off to choose to practice a healthy sense of guilt, examine our conscience, be mindful, and admit when we have done something inappropriate, sinful, or wrong.

The key to reconciliation is to embrace in humility and  admit our sin, be contrite – sorry for what we have done, not upset, defensive or rationalize away our behavior, and to follow the counsel of James and “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Having experienced the joy of forgiveness, while still experiencing the grace of our reconciliation, may we be like Mary who is full of grace, and go in haste to share with others the wonderful gift we have received!

Photo: Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 12, 2024

No matter how lost we may think we are, God remains close.

“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. It is the love that we can only 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 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. 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 a bit, 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 and he loves us more than we can ever imagine. 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 lead us a few steps at a time forward to complete the good work he has already begun in us.

Photo: God’s light leads us when we are willing to follow.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, December 10, 2024