peace

May we bring any anxiety to Jesus and receive his love and consolation in exchange.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Lk 10:41-42).

My wife, JoAnn, and I used to have more than a few spirited discussions on this Gospel passage each time that it arose because, at first reading, it appears that Jesus does not show any empathy or regard for Martha’s gift of hospitality nor for all the work that she is doing, she who was “burdened with much serving”. All the men are sitting around listening to Jesus, and Mary… she is doing the same, and who is left to do all the work? Martha.

Blessed to serve as a permanent deacon for ten years, I saw my own, as well as other deacon’s wives, carry extra weight and burdens in support on the home front to allow their husbands the time to serve. Many of us also still held full time jobs. Not only deacon’s wives, this reality is also true for many wives who are full-time homemakers, run in-home businesses, or carry a job outside the home, as well as care for the children, overseeing the bills, the day to day grind. They too may find themselves, feeling under-appreciated, undervalued, not respected for all they do, and “burdened with much serving”.

Husbands can do a better job of being present, more patient, respectful, and attentive to their wives and be more of an equal partner on the journey. There are challenges of being overwhelmed being single as well. Not having someone to help out to share the load, especially as we age. Our mortality, married or single, is a little closer on the horizon.

The point Jesus is making, that he makes throughout the Gospels, is to put God first, then family, work, and our unique vocation. The expression of that is going to be different for each station in life. There will be more time constraints for parents of infants. No matter how little time we may have, setting time aside to pray daily, to allow time to as Mary did, sit at the feet of Jesus and receive his nourishing word, rest and receive his love, and confer with him our challenges to receive his guidance is so important. Doing so, will then help us to properly order the chaos of our day as well as feel peace even in the mundane. The more we can “choose the better part”, we will find that time we did not think we had and Jesus will help our lives to be properly ordered.

This short account acknowledges the reality of how much we all juggle with in all ages. There is much to do and much to be done. Jesus was not disregarding Martha’s hospitality. Especially in the Gospel of Luke, there are many instances in which Jesus empowers women so far beyond the cultural reality of his time. We read this as we do any biblical account from our twenty-first-century mindset. Contextually, the men sitting at the teacher’s feet in a different room, the women cooking, and most times eating separately were commonplace for those in the ancient near east of the first century AD. Mary was the only person out of step with the times.

The interpretive key to understanding this account is what Jesus said. He pointed out that Martha was “anxious and worried about many things.” Mary could have been one of those worries, and not so much that Mary wasn’t helping in the kitchen, but because she was breaking the social norm of sitting with the men. When Martha calls Jesus to redirect Mary, she probably expects him to support her plea. Yet, Jesus acknowledges that: “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:42).

Mary, sitting and having her primary focus on Jesus was the posture of a disciple. Jesus was not only allowing her to do so, he was commending her for doing so. I can visualize Martha being taken aback at first, but then slowly feeling the muscles in her face relax as the lightbulb went on. We don’t know. But could Martha in that moment have experienced peace, that peace that surpasses all understanding, such that the anxiety and worry left her? Feeling the peace instead of fear, she too like Mary approached Jesus as Mary had done. Did Martha then take her apron off, throw it to the side, and sit down next to her sister and also become his disciple?

There is biblical evidence that beyond the Twelve, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, were Jesus’ friends. When Jesus came four days after the death of Lazarus, as soon as Martha heard Jesus was outside, she, not Mary, came immediately out to Jesus, and in that exchange, it was Martha who made the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God (cf Jn 11:27). Would she have had this insight, the same as Peter, if she was still holding a grudge from this encounter?

Our modern reaction and push back to this Martha and Mary account in Luke may not so much be a reflection on Jesus but how poorly men have treated women over the generations and how poorly women continue to be treated even today. No matter their ages, young, old, and everywhere in between, women are human beings created in the image of God. No one has the right to abuse, demean, disparage, devalue, or exploit any woman. Women are to be appreciated, heard, respected, cherished, and valued. Jesus showed that truth time and again, especially in the Gospel of Luke.

God has given each of us gifts to participate in his Father’s plan. May we resist the temptation to fear coming close to Jesus and taking time out to sit at his feet, to engage in mental maelstroms, to be “anxious and worried about many things.” Instead, when we experience the beginning tremors of any stress or strain, catch the effective movement, stop, breathe, be still and rest in Jesus’ presence as Mary, and hopefully Martha, did.

In Jesus’ presence, we will feel safe and can then share with him what is going on and hopefully be able to identify the source of the anxiety, share it with him and receive his love and consolation. Entering into this dance with Jesus of bringing him all that comes our way from within and without will help us to better know Jesus, his voice, and his teaching, know and follow his will, love others as he loves us, and live our lives respecting, encouraging, and supporting one another with the gifts and guidance that God has given us.

When we choose the better part of sitting at Jesus’ feet before making a decision, we can experience less chaos and more of his peace and guidance. Instead of living in a perpetual state of chronic stress and anxiety, being “worried and anxious about many things”,we can instead choose to breathe, rest, receive and abide in God’s love. Then from that place of stillness, like Mary, and I believe Martha, instead of reacting, we can make a choice based on God’s guidance.

Photo: Mary, Jesus’ mother, was the premier disciple for she “pondered” the mysteries she experienced with Jesus “in her heart” (Luke 2:19) and “heard the word of God and observed it” (Luke 11:28).

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, October 6, 2026

We are tenants serving in the vineyard of our loving God and Father.

“Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43).

With these words, Jesus is speaking to the leadership of Israel, those entrusted to shepherd God’s chosen. Jesus is not, as some have unfortunately suggested, advocating supersessionism: the claim that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. The Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, Declaration on the Relation of the Church and Non-Christian Religions, states clearly: “It is true that the Church is the new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture” (741).

There is clear evidence that there have been anti-semitic movements and supersessionist views in the Church and it has created division instead of interfaith communion, and there are traces that still support a view contrary to Nostra Aetate. There is still much to do to heal and promote better mutual understanding. We must remember that Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Apostles were Jewish. Pope Paul VI stated that we are all spiritual Semites.

What we need to glean from Jesus’ words is that we who say we believe in God are given a sacred trust and duty to care for one another and all of creation. In the parable that Jesus shares, God is the owner of the vineyard, echoing a similar analogy from Isaiah 5:1-7 which is our first reading. The appeal of each telling is an appeal to the leaders and elders to repent.

Jesus is speaking to us as well. The Church is not our Church, just as in the parable the vineyard does not belong to the tenants. We are to serve God by following his will and bear good fruit by living our baptismal call to live holy lives dedicated to God. We cannot go through each day with blinders on to the needs of those around us. Though we cannot meet all the needs everywhere and for everyone, we can begin to approach each day with an intent of being good stewards to those we engage with.

We can begin by looking at our own home. First, on the material level, do we have more than we need? Are there material goods that could be used better elsewhere rather than just taking up space? Then, going forward, we can purchase what we need and resist what we think we need. I need to apply this to books!

“Wealth, explains Saint Basil, is like water that issues forth from the fountain: the greater the frequency with which it is drawn, the purer it is, while it becomes foul if the fountain remains unused” (Compendium, 329). We need to seek God’s discernment so to better manage the gifts and resources that God has entrusted us with. We are to free ourselves from the attachment to our material goods and seek God first. He gives us more in one loving glance than any possession we have or ever will have. We are to be people of generosity giving freely with joy, not choking on our own stagnation of excessive acquisitions.

Assessing daily how we treat one another is also important. A good practice here is to follow St. Mother Teresa’s five finger Gospel: “You did it to me.” This was an embodiment of Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus emphasized what you do to the least of my brothers, you did it to me. If we can approach each person we meet, in person as well as online, not as if they were like Jesus, but in fact Jesus, we might treat others with more dignity or respect.

The act of respecting the dignity of one person makes a big difference, certainly to that person. Respect ripples out to counter the negativity that permeates growing cynicism, distrust, division, and polarization. A waterfall begins with one drop. Helping people to feel they matter, that they have worth and dignity begins with one smile or a listening ear is just such a drop. Kindness and caring begins by listening to God tell us how much he loves us, be still long enough to rest in his healing embrace, and allow him to love us where we may not want to be loved or feel unlovable.

We can often get stressed, strained, frustrated, and angry when we consume too much of the news and allow ourselves to be saturated with the negativity of the world. Very little is within the realm of what we can have an impact on. Might be a good practice to consume less of the negativity, pray for the needs of the world, and allow the light and love of Jesus to reveal to us where we need to repent. repentance, forgiveness, healing, help us to receive more of God’s love. We are better able to resist serving ourselves but instead serve God in his vineyard in the unique way he calls us to serve.

We are called to work toward the common good of all, within our country and throughout the world. Doing so not in some abstract or utopian way, but in specific ways where we are invested in the lives of others. “Collaboration in development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all, and must be shared by the four parts of the world, East and West, North and South” (Compendium, John Paul II, 446).

We are not the owners of the vineyard, we are the tenants placed in charge by God. How we use our time, talent, and treasure matter. This is a good point of daily meditation and focus when examining our conscience each evening before we retire to the land of dreams. How have we done in the matter of being grateful to God, caring for one another, ourselves, and our environment? For those places we have fallen short, may we seek God’s forgiveness, and commit with God’s help to begin anew. Where we have done well, may we thank God for his guidance and continue to receive his love and follow his will, such that the water of generosity we draw continues to be pure so we may bear good fruit that will last.

Photo: When we remain connected to the vine of God’s love, we will bear good fruit.

Link for the readings for Sunday, October 4, 2026

Flannery, Austin. Vatican Council II. Fifth ed. Vol. 1. 2 vols. New York: Costello, 1998.

Compendium of the social doctrine of the church. Cittá del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005.

The love, rest, and peace we seek, we will find when we place ourselves in the arms of our loving God and Father.

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me” (Mt 18:4-5).

Children during the time of Jesus were seen, if they were acknowledged at all, to have little worth. They were vulnerable, had little if any status in society. They were often nothings, nobodies, and completely dependent on their parents for survival. Jesus invites a child to come to him, identifying himself with the child, as a response to the disciples’ question as to who would be considered the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.

Jesus taught his disciples, and through his teaching that we get to hear or read today, he teaches us also that we need to be completely dependent on our loving God and Father, just as a small child is totally dependent on his or her parents. What leads us to greatness in the Kingdom of heaven is our turning away from the temptation to curve in upon ourselves, resisting the urge to feed our ego, place ourselves first, rely on a radical self-sufficiency that says we have to take care of ourselves because no one else will.

St Thomas Aquinas taught that we are to resist the cultural lures and substitutes for God: power, pleasure, honor, and wealth. In and of themselves, each of these four are neutral. Yet, when we seek our security in any, some or all, above and before God, we will be disillusioned and let down, because there is not enough power, pleasure, honor or wealth to fill the infinite need in our soul. Only God can fill that deed need to be seen, loved, and heard, especially in our deepest places of hurt, vulnerability, and those places we ourselves don’t feel all that lovable.

We are also to reject the image of the Übermensch, the super man, popularized by Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th century German philosopher. Nietzsche wrote that God was dead and promoted the idea that humanity needed to create a world that would create new values based on the power of human will alone. Supermen and women striving for complete autonomy and self-sufficiency. Jesus teaches the exact opposite. We need to place our complete dependency and trust in and on God and rely on him for everything.

Participating in the reign of God is not one of lordship over another. Jesus teaches us to assume the humility to accompany, walk along with, and serve each other along our journey in this life. Jesus embodied this reality. He, as the Son of God, entered into our human condition. He did not grasp at his divinity but instead surrendered it to his humanity. While remaining fully divine, he became fully human when through the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived in the womb of Mary. In such vulnerability and weakness, he developed through his period of gestation, and was born into our fallen world. As an infant and child, he was completely dependent on Mary, Joseph, and God his Father.

As Jesus continued to grow as a young child, he experienced the fullness of the human condition. He laughed, he cried, he got sick, he was tempted, he felt pain, he experienced heartache and joy. Throughout his life, and especially during his public ministry, he experienced human suffering up close and personal. More so than we ever will, because there was never a filter or compensation or disordered affection that Jesus would utilize to cover up the pain. He received any pain full on with no filter. He understood the suffering of his neighbor and experienced his own human and finite limitations. He loved and wept as we saw in his encounters with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. All that Jesus experienced he brought to his Father in prayer and received his love, strength, guidance, and consolation.

Jesus invites us to do the same as he did, to relate to our loving God and Father often in the best sense of that intimacy of dependence. St Thérèse of Lisieux, whose memorial we celebrated yesterday got this. “Jesus has chosen to show me the only way which leads to the Divine Furnace of love; it is the way of childlike self-surrender, the way of a child who sleeps, afraid of nothing, in its father’s arms.”

Accepting Thérèse’s image is an acknowledgment that we are just as dependent on God and others, that we are not self-sufficient, that we are not capable of living radically independent lives, nor are we supposed to. God created us to be loved and to love, to be in community, to care for, respect, and support one another.

Our guardian angels, whose memorial we celebrate today, are at the ready, awaiting our call. When we have the humility to ask for their help, we will realize that we are not alone. When we experience some supernatural support, from God, his angels and the saints, we might just be willing to seek help from and support each other. We can offer a shoulder to lean on, a smile, a hug, a voice that speaks for the voiceless, a text, email, or phone call if at a distance, a soul open to pray with and for others, an ear to hear, and we can embody the courage to serve and stand up for the dignity of each other.

St Mother Teresa who took her name from the Little Flower, Thérèse, was willing to come close and pick up that first dying man in the street. She did not ask his religion, was not concerned if he was of a different race or nationality, was not afraid to risk illness or injury by attending to him. She knelt down and was present in his time of dire need. We are at our best when we follow Jesus, St. Thérèse, St Mother Teresa, the saints, and our guardian angels, and surrender to, and place our dependency and complete trust in our loving God and Father and support each other by doing little things with great love.

Painting: Jesus found rest, peace, and love in trusting in Mary, Joseph, his Father and the Holy Spirit. We along with our guardian angels as well can too!

Mass readings for Friday, October 2, 2026

When making friends with silence, we will begin to experience God’s love and presence more.

Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples and said to them, “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals”(Lk 10:3-4).

The opening of today’s Gospel continues the same theme of the past few days and that is the call of a radical dependence on God. Jesus sent his disciples out with no money, no credit cards, no sack, no luggage, no sandals, no Crocs. They were to rely solely on divine providence. They were taught by Jesus to believe and trust in the Father, and now they would put both to the test.

How well could we fare today? Are we even willing to leave the house or go to the next room without our cell phones?

Jesus meets us and accepts as we are and where we are but calls us to go deeper, to invite us to expand beyond our present understanding and practices. We may say to ourselves that we are not capable of being a great saint like the Apostles, or even the seventy-two disciples, but that would miss the point of who a saint is. A saint is not necessarily one who sought to be great but one who was willing to surrender all to God, and most did so, step by step. They accepted and put into practice what God invited them to do.

We are given the same invitation that the saints received but we may still be allowing ourselves to be lured away by distractions, diversions, demands, material enticements, and emotional twists and turns. It is good to assess often, if not daily, where and how we expend our energy. How much of what we are thinking about and spending our time doing is aligned with God’s will? The material things we have accumulated, are there things we can let go of? Can we allow ourselves a breath or two or three and a prayerful pause before entertaining any thought, before speaking any word, or choosing to put into action any deed.

Feeling overwhelmed? Feeling like you would like to have some more time with God, St. Mother Teresa offers us some good advice. “God speaks in the silence of the heart.” Making some time for silence is a good place to start. Find a comfortable place to sit, take some deep slow breaths, and then ask God to reveal to you what he would like you to bring into your life and by doing so what you would need to let go of to make the space. Who better to guide us than the one who gave and continues to sustain our life?

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Photo: Quiet moments to walk outside and look up provide nice moments to be still, breathe, and appreciate the wonder of God’s handiwork.

Mass readings for Thursday, October 1, 2026

When we remember to keep God first instead of ourselves, we will experience more peace within.

The Apostle John attempted to prevent someone from casting out demons in Jesus’ name because he was not one in their “company”, he was not one of those handpicked by Jesus as were each of the Twelve. This person casting out demons in Jesus’ name was not like Simon the Magician (see Acts 8:9-25) who sought to buy the power of God from the Apostles to perform feats to boost his own fame and ego. He was doing what the apostles were doing and in the proper way, by invoking the name of Jesus, as well as better than the apostles!

Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you” (Lk 9:50). The important part about being a disciple is surrendering to the will of God. Jesus consistently pointed this out to his followers. Being a disciple of Jesus had nothing to do with whether or not someone was in or out of their company, or whether or not they were related to Jesus, as was recorded just in the last chapter, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, is pointing out the danger of groupthink for its own sake. This is something we desperately need to understand in our present-day and age. What is important is not putting our self, our family, our tribe, our party, or our nation first. What is most important is putting God first.

The man in today’s Gospel did not rely on his own strength or willpower but called on the name of Jesus to cast out demons and he did so not because he was seeking to be great but following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. John was more focused on the fact that this man wasn’t in their company, instead of being amazed that he was exorcising demons in the name of Jesus. The man was doing what Jesus had called the apostles to do. Maybe John was a bit jealous that this man was doing a better job of it as well.

We and John can learn a bit from the humility of Job from our first reading. After losing all his livestock, workers, and children, Job turned to God in humility and said: “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21-22).

“Blessed be the name of the LORD!” Job felt the anguish and pain of his loss, tearing his cloak, cutting off his hair and here is the key, he kept the proper perspective and trusted in God. He prostrated himself before God and did not speak his name in vain, but blessed him instead!!! Job trusted in God who was the creator of his life.

John’s misstep and rash judgment of the man could have come from the fact that he and the other apostles were arguing about who was to be the greatest. They had taken their focus off of God and were focusing upon themselves. Jesus reminded them that the one who is least is the greatest. The one who is willing to depend on God, as a small child depends on their parent for everything, will have greater access to God as did this man and Job. We are at our best when we remember who we are, beloved daughters and sons of God. Let us trust in our loving God and Father today.

Photo: Giving ourselves time to seek God’s will for our lives in silence, we will experience his peace no matter the challenges.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, September 28, 2026

Let us trust in God. His greatest joy is that we will be free to experience his love and joy!

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man” (Lk 6:22).

Feel like this statement is a little counter to our sensibilities? Who of us seeks to be hated? Do we wake up each morning and say to ourselves, “Self, I hope I receive a good deal of hate from those closest to me today.” No. We want to be affirmed and loved and that is a good. The important point is that we are to have our desire to be loved properly ordered by first allowing God to love us before anyone else. Knowing the love of God helps us to then not be left unbalanced like someone just pulled the rug out from under us when they are a bit short or snarky with us.

If we read the statement a bit closer, we see Jesus is going deeper than just the normal everyday conflicts that we experience. He is not asking us to seek to be hated. He is saying that we will be blessed when we are authentically living our faith and then we receive disdain or hatred. Jesus received it from those of his own hometown when he began his public ministry. We don’t live our faith with the goal of being liked or loved by the world, we live our faith as we have been loved by God, and then share what he gives us to share. In the words of St. Bernadette of Soubirous, our “job is to inform not to convince.”

The Beatitudes are contrary to much of what too many of us are tempted by when seek our satisfaction, security, and fulfillment. Much of us are lured in some form or fashion, by power, fame, wealth, pleasure, and celebrity. What is more, how many of us who proclaim to be people of faith resist Jesus’ teachings because of self-centered reasons? We hold on to things that keep us from God, that really do not make us happy. We do so because we do want to be loved and belong. The challenge is we are “looking for love in all the wrong places” as sung by Johnny Lee.

In today’s Gospel account from Luke, Jesus began to teach his disciples on this deeper level. He had just chosen the twelve by name and that number would not have slipped by them. Their thoughts were more than likely moving closer to the realization that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised heir of David. Would he be gathering them together to restore the twelve tribes of Israel and overthrow the occupying power of Rome? Yes, but not in the way they were thinking.

Jesus’ presentation was not about taking up military or physical armaments, but spiritual ones of attaining the  kingdom through four blessings and dashing the common hope with four woes. Jesus’ message is a universal message, an invitation to and for all who have ears to hear as well as hearts and minds open to receive. Jesus spoke not only to his twelve newly hand picked followers as wells as those from “Judea and Jerusalem” but also those from the “coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (Luke 6:17). That Jesus did not dismiss but was teaching those from Tyre and Sidon would not have been missed either. They were from Gentile territory.

Jesus’ teachings challenged all present and they challenge us today to evaluate where we are placing our trust and security. If we are placing our trust in the things of this world, the four woes section is for us, for that which is finite and material are fleeting and passing. By placing our trust in Jesus, his Father and the love shared between them, the Holy Spirit, the beatitudes will lead us to experience joy, peace, and love.

Being poor, hungry, in mourning, hated, excluded, insulted and denounced as evil will bring us happiness? Yes. When we are faithful to God, each of them counter the typical substitutes that we can put in place before our relationship with God. Each of the beatitudes that Jesus offers are invitations to experience true, deep and abiding joy. We just need to be willing to relinquish putting self first and seeking pursuits counter to God and his will.

When we rely more on God and less on material things, even relationships; when we depend more on God alone, our relationships and our pursuits will be more properly ordered. With God first, we will experience order and peace and… that all elusive rest of the soul! That rest is so fleeting to so many of us because we are looking to so many other things but God to find rest and love. To be serious about being Jesus’ disciple, we are to look to the things of heaven and not of this world. Learning and living the beatitudes is just such a move. No easy task but when we look at each one and begin to detach from the attachments they allude to, “we will rejoice and leap for joy” (Lk 6:23)!

Joy because we will no longer be ensured by the things of this world and instead experience the inner freedom to enjoy the good things that God gives. We will be fueled not by the advancement or aggrandizement of self, but by the emptying of our ego. We will have room in our hearts to receive the love of Jesus, the source of our joy, which wells up from within and never runs dry! Jesus is the kingdom of Heaven that is at hand and he will lead us, if we are willing to follow, to the ultimate desire and deepest craving and hunger of our being, to be in communion with God and one another.

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Photo: EnJOYed another beautiful sunset painted on God’s canvas of creation last evening. Lightning strikes in the central smaller cloud, not visible. May you experience a taste of the joy God is seeking to bring you today!

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, September 9, 2026

With Jesus, may we pay a little more attention to the inside.

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing” (Mt 23:27-28).

How many of us spend an inordinate amount of time regarding physical externals? Washing, makeup, the right clothes, the correct scents, teeth whitening, plucking, nipping, and tucking. How about time spent exercising through gym memberships, home exercise equipment, physical trainers, sports, stretching, running, or cycling. How about time spent towards a career through education, updating, professional learning, seminars, webinars, and networking. There are other categories that I can add, and the point is that there is not anything necessarily wrong with any of the above when they are properly ordered and each is in a healthy balance.

Yet, if external activities and how we define ourselves externally are all we are investing our time and energy in, then Jesus has a point. We may “appear beautiful on the outside” with great looks, a body that doesn’t quit, and a career to die for, but what is going on inside? Are we empty, unfulfilled, achieving goal after goal, yet feeling adrift or hollowed out? Do we have all the right social skills and etiquette down, know the right things to say in public, we have friends in the hundreds or thousands on our social media accounts, yet we feel alone and not a part of anything meaningful?

Worse yet, do we go to Church, say the right prayers, are active in ministry, tithe, are members of boards, involved in the community, and doing some great works of charity, but when the door is closed, and no one is looking… what kind of “hypocrisy and evil doing” are we up to? It is easy to rest in a false sense of security while Jesus chews out the scribes and the Pharisees, right now, yet, do Jesus’ words have an effect on us if we allow his light to shine also on the imperfections and shadow sides of us as well.

We can spend our time whitewashing the outside, projecting a perfect image, while chasing finite and material pursuits alone, which will more than likely leave us still feeling anxious, restless, unsatisfied, and worn out. Maintaining and protecting a false image on any level is exhausting. Instead, we can take a good look at the time we invest, where we focus our energies, examine our conscience, and assess the health of our relationship with God, family,  significant friendships, our vocation instead of occupation, and our service to those within and beyond our intimate circle.

Instead of expending energy maintaining a perfect persona, we will do better to be in touch with our weaknesses, our faults, wounds, and poverty of spirit, so that we can resist defending or rationalizing and seek healing, reconciliation, and transformation. By doing so, we may be more accepting, patient, understanding, and forgiving of others because we will come to realize that we are not all that perfect, the world does not revolve around us, and we are in need of help.

The path lit by Jesus will reveal our imperfections and sins and also will help us to distinguish between apparent goods and what is authentic and truly good. When we can step off the treadmill of chronic stress, come to a stop… breathe… press pause, we will begin to experience our vulnerabilities, insecurities, and fears. When we allow Jesus into those places and ask him for strength, forgiveness and healing, we will experience the peace, love, and rest we have been made for. We can rest in just being, just being ourselves and loved by God as we are, imperfections and all – no whitewash necessary.

Photo: Sending some quiet time while the sun was setting to reflect on where I can improve and need God’s help and healing, and thanking him for what I did well with his help.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, August 26, 2026

God offers his saving grace to all who are willing to accept his love.

“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Mt 19:25-26).

The disciples are “greatly astonished” about Jesus’ comments about how difficult it would be for the rich to enter heaven. Their astonishment came from the belief system that those who had wealth did so because they had been blessed by God for following his commandments. Just remember the rich young man’s attitude from yesterday. He had followed God’s commands and was blessed with riches and had many possessions, but Jesus turned his world upside down when he asked the man to give up all he had, give it to the poor, to follow him.

Jesus attempted to help the man and his disciples to understand that what we have, all that we have, is a gift from God, starting with our very existence. He is the ground, the source, and sustenance of our life as well as our ultimate fulfillment. A problem arises when we place our security in material things and that is our possessions can possess us. We instead to place our focus on God who provides for our needs.

When we place our security in and become dependent upon that which is finite, we are always going to be left unfulfilled, attached, and/or at worst addicted, and so like the rich man, unwilling to give of ourselves to those in need, because we are afraid that we won’t have enough. Also, when we look to our own effort and work ethic, we can build an unhealthy self-reliance on our self alone. We can place ourselves as the supplier of our security instead of God. Pride then becomes a dangerous and corruptive idol. We think and start to believe that we don’t need God because we can do well enough on our own, thank you very much.

There is another side of self-reliance. Because of past wounds, because we may have been hurt by those we trust, we may have trouble not only trusting people but also trusting God. We may even believe in God and seek to follow him, but unconsciously keep him at a safe distance because we don’t want to be hurt. The enemy preys on our wounds and attempts to sew untrusting thoughts in our minds and hearts because he seeks to keep us isolated. We can always trust God no matter what and he will not let us down. We may not understand at times and we can even let him know when we are angry at him, because that is honest prayer. Once we give him an earful, though, let us take a few deep breaths, and trust him.

“Who then can be saved?” The disciple’s question appeared to be agreed upon by all, since Matthew infers that all of them were asking the same question. This can be our question as well. If we can’t buy, earn, or achieve our way into heaven, how will we get in? Jesus is clear. For men, this is impossible because there is no means for us to get there on our own merit. But for God, all things are possible because our salvation is a gift freely given by him.

As with any gift though, we need to be willing to receive, accept, and open it. One way is to be grateful for what we have and recognize that the source of all we have comes to us from God. In this way, we can share freely from what we have, because God, who is our source, is unlimited. As we give from what God has given, God will continue to supply. What is primary then is allowing ourselves to receive, rest, and abide in the greatest gift we can receive, God’s love. We hunger and thirst for intimacy with God and only he can satisfy our deepest yearning.

What is essential in our life is not the material things, not even the gift of God’s blessings and consolations. What is essential is to experience the love and intimacy of the gift giver. Time goes fast. Even when life is a bumpy or downright challenging, when we rest in the truth that we are God’s beloved daughter or son, not in the things that he gives us, we will know God, his love, and experience his peace which is beyond price. Let us not take time, nor each other, for granted. Let us place our trust in Jesus who is our true foundation and with him we will experience that “all things are possible.“

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Photo: Resting in and receiving a moment of quiet to be with and thank God.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, August 18, 2026

“Take heart, I am.”

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

Jesus speaks these words at the fourth watch, sometime between three and six a.m. The disciples are in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, some four miles from shore. He is walking to them in the midst of a storm at sea, on the water. Because of the ferocity of the storm, there most likely is no moon, no stars. It is dark, the wind is howling, the waves are rising and falling, and it is dark – can barely see hand in front of face dark. In the midst of this tumultuous scene, being pelted by rain and waves, deafened by the wind, somehow the disciples see a figure approaching.

That they could see anything implies that some light was emanating from ghostly image. Jesus is assuring them that he is no ghost. He is providing comfort to his band of followers in the midst of their fear. The intensity of the storm may have waned a bit for them to hear Jesus speak. Emboldened by Jesus’ words, Peter then addressed him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to the water.” He said, “Come” (Matthew 14:28).

The storm roared again. Peter was undeterred and fixed his gaze on Jesus. He got out of the boat, and walked toward the light that was overcoming the darkness. As he walked on and got closer to Jesus he realized how far away he was from the boat, maybe realized what he was doing, then the strength of the wind led him to turn his gaze away from Jesus, and sank. “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately grasped him and pulled him up. Peter may not have realized how close he was to reaching Jesus. Together they then walked back and “got into the boat and the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:32-33).

Just the day before, Jesus had multiplied five loaves and a two fish and fed thousands. They all rose up to make them their king. He removed himself from their sight and told his disciples to go ahead of him. Jesus was not the messiah the people sought. A military king or great prophet from their frame of reference. Jesus was and is so much more. He is the Son of God incarnate come to love us and help us to build a foundation of security and safety so that we can move beyond our defensive postures, heal from our wounds, and confess our sins. Jesus is the light that shines in our darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.

When Jesus said, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid”, he was not only encouraging the disciples in the boat, he was revealing to them his divinity. A clearer translation of the Greek is egō eimi, meaning “I am.” A more literal translation of Jesus’ statement is, “Take heart, I am.” This could have been the source of Peter’s courage to step out of the boat. More than his impetuousness, he would have remembered “I am” as how God spoke to Moses, God said, “I am who am.”

Peter recognized Jesus as God and so boldly stepped into the turbulent sea and walked toward Jesus. He was able to do so through the power of Jesus as long as he was connected to him. Once he turned his eyes away and focused on the wind, then he sank. The good news is that he immediately called out to Jesus and Jesus saved him.

Once, they returned to the boat, Jesus calmed the sea and all “did him homage”. The Greek word proskyneō is better akin to each of them fully prostrating themselves before Jesus. An act only offered for God. The disciples recognized the Son of God, I am who am, was in their midst. This account is just as powerful an account as the transfiguration moment we read a few days ago.

This truth is not just for Peter and the disciples. The reality that Jesus is both fully God and fully man is just as relevant for us today. For we too experience our own storms and Jesus comes to us as he came to his disciples being tossed about at sea. The challenge is, do we have the eyes to see him and the ears to hear his voice when he calls out to us, “Take heart, I am.” Will we have the courage of Peter to take the risk and come to Jesus and even when we fall, to call out for Jesus’ help?

We are able to develop the ears to hear when we do as Jesus at the beginning of this account. When we too make time to go off by ourself alone to pray. When we come to a place of stillness and quiet, God speaks in the silence of our hearts. When he speaks, he speaks words of encouragement. God’s words throughout scripture has always been one of – be calm, do not be afraid, trust in me, and let me fight for you. Let us come to a place of quiet today, trust in Jesus, brings our trials and challenges to him, walk on the water with him by rising above our posture of fight or flight and instead experience God’s peace.

Photo: May Jesus also be our light in the darkness that calms or guides us through any storm.

Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, August 9, 2026

In spending time with God in silence, we come to know him and his will.

[H]e went up on the mountain by himself to pray (Mt 14:23).

Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him and went further up the mountain to pray by himself. There is a consistent record of Jesus praying in the Gospels and beyond this written record I am sure that Jesus practiced this one on one time with God often.

The goal of Jesus spending time in prayer was not to amass enough spiritual energy so that he could do miraculous things like walking on the water. Spending silent time in prayer was an example of Jesus answering the invitation of his Father to spend time with him. Jesus knew the will of his Father because of this consistent time they spent together. Jesus knew the will of his Father because he knew his Father.

If we are to come to not just know about God, or worse, have some vague image of God as an idea, it is important that we spend time with and then we will truly know him and his will for our lives. It is imperative to make consistent time, to be still and open our minds and hearts to be present with God. True, God doesn’t only speak to us in our quiet and still moments. God engages with us in our everyday activities. When we are spending consistent time with him in quiet we will be more aware of and attuned to his presence. Otherwise, we can often miss or dismiss daily happenings with God.

Setting consistent, daily time, ideally the same time each day, will help us to slow down our pace. The first thing in the morning is best. We can slow down before we even get started. Start with five or ten minutes. If this is new, even those few minutes of breathing slow and sitting still can be a challenge. Just continue to show up!

As we begin to slow down more consistently, turn off the automatic pilot, set aside the gadgets, and step away from our harried pace, we will begin to discern and come to know God’s voice which he speaks in the silence of our hearts.

God invites us to move beyond our mere survival instinct and disposition of defense and reactions or settling into a comfortable and protected cocoon. God encourages us to be fully alive and to be engaged in the lives of others. How this takes shape will be different for each of us. We each have a particular and unique role to play in our collaboration with God, which we will come to know when we set aside and show up for some consistent time to pray just as Jesus did, by himself and in the quiet.

Photo: Experiencing God’s invitation to be still and rest awhile.

Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, August 4, 2026