Friday night, my brother and I were on a walk and as we were waiting for a car to turn so we could cross the street, something really weird happened.  The guy driving the car, who looked to be in his 30s, rolled down his window, stuck his head out the window, turned to look at us and screamed really loudly.  Neither of us knew who this man was and we were confused as to what had just happened and why.  We continued on with walking our normal route and were a few steps past our church when we decided to go back, pause our walk, and stop in for eucharistic adoration that was taking place that evening.  We stayed only for about 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes of sitting before Jesus in the blessed sacrament were filled with quiet and peace.  Going to adoration provides a quiet and peace that the world does not offer.

As I kneeled in the church, I could not help but think about what had happened a few minutes before, as we were waiting to turn onto the street.  The man who screamed was a perfect representation of the world.  The world around us is screaming and yelling- telling us what to believe or not to believe, telling us what we should fill our time with, and showing us what is supposed to make us happy.  The world around us is oftentimes angry and mad.  And if we let our minds be consumed by everything in the world, we will never find peace or experience the stillness and quietness.

Stepping into a church or chapel for adoration is by far the best place to encounter this peace that the world does not know.  It is the best place because we get to sit before Jesus who is truly present and who is peace Himself.  It is an opportunity to step away from the outside noise and spend time speaking to Jesus, but also listening.

Aside from mass, eucharistic adoration is the best way we can spend our time.  St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori summed it up well saying, “know that perhaps you will gain more in a quarter of an hour of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than in all the other spiritual exercises of the day.”  Any time spent with Jesus is time that makes a difference in our relationship with Him, even if just for 10-15 minutes.
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Find time to go to eucharistic adoration.  It will not only fill you with peace and help you escape from the noise of life, but it will also change your heart.  It will help you to know Jesus better so that you can love Him more deeply.  The world is screaming because it does not know Jesus and the peace He gives.  May you take time to leave the noise behind for a while and sit before Jesus in the blessed sacrament, even if just for 10 minutes at a time.

A few days ago, I listened to a podcast episode from a show called “Pints with Aquinas” about how we are living in a post-Christian era and as we go forward, will be entering into an era that is more explicitly post-Christian.  In the over two hour podcast, one thing the host and guest said that really stood out is that we are in a cultural battle, and “there is no politician or political movement that is going to reverse what we’re describing here.  The only thing that will reverse it is a restoration and a revival of lived Christianity, of an active and bold and emboldened Christian faith” (Neo-Paganism, Abortion, and the Fall of the West w/ John Daniel Davidson).  Are we living with an active, bold, and emboldened faith?

We cannot look to other people to change the culture we are living in.  As the podcast mentioned, politicians, leaders, and groups part of any political movement cannot restore Christian influence in the country.  It is only through Christians living out a bold and authentic faith that we will be able to persevere and stand up to a culture that wants to silence Christians and the beliefs we have.

A lot of Catholics and other Christians right now are falling into the culture’s lure of complacency.  People tell themselves things like, “I’m a good and nice person and I believe in God.”  They believe they’ve done their part and that it’s all that really matters.  The culture does not want to see Christians who take their faith seriously and who live it out boldly.

But Christ calls us to give Him everything, to follow Him, to take up our cross, and to rid ourselves of whatever prevents us from doing this.  It WILL cost us.  Christ promised us that it would not be easy, but that He will be with us every step of the way.
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We must rise out of complacency, in hopes of bringing others with us, and helping others find their way back to Christ.  The only way this can be done is with an active, bold, and emboldened Christian faith.  Jesus, help us to follow you and live our faith well.

A few days ago, the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Philip Neri.  I came across these words from him, “there is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer.”  I know I have experienced this reality in my own life.  Prayer itself is simple, but it is not easy.

When it comes to prayer, we can often feel inadequate.  We feel like we don’t know how to pray.  We can feel unmotivated and would rather do a million other things than pray.  We can be distracted, feeling like we got nothing out of our time in prayer.  We think it has to look a certain way and that we aren’t doing it right.  All of these thoughts and feelings we experience when it comes to prayer are not from God.

If you are a parent, you have probably experienced receiving artwork from your kids when they were little (or you were probably that kid giving artwork to your parents).  That artwork was messy, the colors weren’t all in the lines, and maybe it was hard to tell exactly what the artwork was supposed to be.  Yet, you appreciated it, cherished it, and loved it, because it was from your child.  It is like this with God.  No matter what our prayers look like, how messy they are, or how uninterpretable they seem to us, God doesn’t care.  We are his children and He loves that we are coming to Him.  He wants to receive whatever it is we are giving to Him.

The only way we can know God is if we spend time with Him in prayer.  We will face obstacles in this, but we must push past them and keep making an effort.  There are many ways to pray and many forms it can take, so what really matters is that it is part of our daily routine.
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We tend to make prayer more complicated than it actually is.  If we have sat down with the intention to pray, we are off to a good start.  God wants nothing more than for you to spend time with Him sharing your heart and listening.  When you feel tempted to give up, ask God to help you to begin again.

A few weekends ago, the Gospel at mass was John 15:1-8, a passage known as “the vine and the branches” and three days later, the daily gospel was this same passage.   Last week, I was reading a book when I came across a part that reflected on some of the ideas from this scripture passage.  Then, last Thursday I was at a banquet for Vida, a pregnancy resource center in Appleton, and Bishop Ricken gave a reflection on John 15.  John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”  As this scripture passage kept popping up over the last few weeks, I realized that God was clearly reminding me that without Him, I can do nothing and will not bear any fruit.  In everything we do, we must remain in Him.

In the book I was reading, This Present Paradise: A Spiritual Journey with St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, by Claire Dwyer, she talked about how we have all been given a mission and wrote, “we have to believe that the measure of our call is undoubtedly higher than we are and then get out of the way enough for Christ to glorify the Father through our transparent souls” (Dwyer, 207).  If we try to do things on our own, we are not going to be able to do this.  If we let pride take over our lives, we will doubt the mission God has given us and we will feel as if we cannot do what He calls us to each day because we will be relying on our own abilities.  She continues on, “so yes, we must be humble and know that without Christ, we really cannot bear any lasting fruit- but with Him, there will absolutely be basketfuls left over” (Dwyer, 207).  For me, this is a work in progress and I recognize I have a long way to go.  Maybe that is the case for you too.  In the mission He gives us, not only for our whole lives, but in each day, we must get out of the way so that when we do what He asks of us, God will be glorified and we will bear good fruit.  To imagine basketfuls of fruit that would come from our reliance on Christ is a powerful image that can help us remain in Him.

In Bishop Ricken’s reflection at the banquet, He reminded us that the work that we do will not produce any good fruit unless we remain in Christ and His love.  He talked about how it is easy to let the lies from Satan convince us that we cannot do what Jesus asks of us, but we must not be discouraged.  We must let Jesus’ voice be louder so that we can continue doing whatever work that He asks of us.
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It’s easy to think that we are not capable and that we do not have what it takes to do what Jesus asks of us.  But if He asks us to do something, He never abandons us and leaves us to do it on our own.  We cannot do what He asks if we rely on ourselves.  But if we rely on Him, we can do whatever it is He is calling us to.  If you are worried about saying “yes” to anything in your life, big or small, just remember that without Him, we can do nothing.  But if we remain in Him, we will bear good fruit.  May we always remain in Jesus and produce basketfuls of fruit

This past weekend, the church I am a member of held a meeting after mass to discuss a change that is taking place July 1st.  Throughout Holy Trinity’s history, there hasn’t been a clear designation of what the church is.  While it was most often referred to as a mission church throughout the years, it has been operating more as a parish, with trustees  and with a separate checking account.  To ensure the church is in proper order, it is being designated as an oratory of the larger parish, All Saints, July 1st.   At the meeting, I was shocked by the angry responses, the attacking questions, and the comments that people made as if they knew better than the Bishop.  As the representative from the Diocese explained that those attending Holy Trinity would be members of All Saints when the change happens, it was disappointing to see how people acted.  For some reason, there are people who are anti- All Saints, and some who even refuse to step foot into the church to attend mass there.  This is not the way that Jesus calls us to.  We are one universal church with the same mission.

Every week in the creed, we express that we believe in “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”  Jesus established one Church, the Catholic Church.  This means that every single Catholic church is the same and professes the same beliefs and teachings.  We can walk into any Catholic church anywhere and know exactly what is going on and what to do.

For some reason, some people seem to have too much pride in which church they belong to and where they go to mass.  It is good to belong to a church and be an active member, contributing in different ways and with our time and money.  But at the end of the day, what really matters is that we are attending mass weekly.  It doesn’t matter where we are going to mass, as long as we are going.  In the Green Bay diocese, we are blessed with so many Catholic churches.  We live in an area with tons of options.  We should never take that for granted and should be grateful that we don’t have to go far.

I’m not sure what people are so defensive about when it comes to other parishes.  Whether it is a concern about money, an issue with other people, or something else, if that’s what people are worried about, they are probably approaching church with the wrong mindset.  Every Catholic church we walk into has Jesus, and that’s what really matters.

There seems to be a lot of separation and division among people within neighboring churches.  We must not be separated by different church buildings, but rather joined by our faith in Jesus Christ, the eucharist, and the one true Catholic Church.  We are only, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.  Let’s start acting like it.

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church.  Probably her most famous quote she is known for is “if you are what you should be, you will set Italy ablaze, which is commonly altered to “be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”  I think this is a good quote to reflect on every so often.

Oftentimes, I ask myself if I am being who God meant me to be.  I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, this is something I often have a hard time answering.  How do we actually know if we are being who God created us to be?

Maybe you too have had a hard time determining if you are living as the person God meant you to be.  I think the best course of action is to place ourselves before God in prayer and ask Him to reveal the gifts that He has given us to use to share Him with the world, to set it on fire.

God is calling all of us to holiness, to be like His son Jesus.  And as we deepen our relationship with Christ and come to better know who He is, we will hopefully be filled with a blazing fire, a fire that cannot be extinguished by anyone or anything.  And once we ourselves are on fire with His love, we can go out and spread that fire, sharing our faith and love of Jesus in our daily lives.  It may sound like a daunting task, but by trying our best to live our faith and being authentic disciples of Christ, it may just ignite a small spark in someone’s life, igniting their faith and starting a fire.
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Even if we struggle with knowing if we are being who God created us to be, we can be assured of one thing: He is calling all of us to follow Him and to be a witness to Jesus and what He has done in our lives.  He wants all of the world to know Him and to be filled with His love.  Let’s go set the world on fire!

Today’s Gospel contains one of my all-time favorite lines from scripture.  John 14:6 says, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.’”  I think these simple, yet profound words, very clearly sum up who Jesus is.  Thomas questioned Jesus, asking how the disciples would know the way if they do not know where He is going.  We too might sometimes be like Thomas, questioning where to go.  And we must be reminded that the answer lies in Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.

There are a million different directions we can go when it comes to how we live our lives.  And it seems as if the world is trying to pull us into every single one that is contrary to Christ.  Jesus doesn’t just tell us which way to go, which path to walk down on the journey, but that He Himself is the way.  To follow Jesus, the way, is to adopt a whole way of living that reflects who He is.  And it is through this way that we come to know the truth.

Each and every single person has a hunger for the truth, whether he or she realizes it or not.  Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as absolute truth.  And it is found in Jesus Christ alone.  To acknowledge Jesus as the truth is to accept all of His teachings.  If we call ourselves followers of Jesus, we must not be swayed by the influence of the secular world in terms of what to believe.  Apart from Christ and His Church, we cannot know truth.  It is by our knowledge and understanding of truth that we will find life.

It is Jesus who not only gives us life, but also gives meaning to our lives.  It is in Him that we find a deep and rich life-  life that is full and abundant.  Our relationship with Christ is the strong foundation on which our lives should be built.  Without Him, nothing we do would matter.  Our lives and very existence depends on Him.
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There are a lot of things that we don’t know.  But what really matters is that we know where Jesus goes and we know the way because of our faith.  We know that He has prepared a place for us and is drawing us to Himself.  Jesus tells us, “do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1).  Today and every day, take this message to heart, and remember in all of the uncertainties to cling to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.

When I was going into college, I was really scared about the prospect of having a random roommate.  What if I got put with someone who had totally opposite beliefs or someone who was anti-Catholic?  What if I got put with someone who was an angry feminist?  What if I got put with someone who was going to party every night of the week and come back to the dorm room drunk on a regular basis or someone who was going to bring a boyfriend to the room at night?  I had thought of every worse-case-scenario.  But with some help from my older sister and the UWGB  Catholic campus minister and club advisor at the time, I got connected with another Catholic who was looking for a roommate as well.  Early that summer before we started our freshman year, we were able to talk a little bit and signed up to be roommates so that we were not left to the random selection we would have otherwise faced.

During the first week on campus, there was a welcome week for freshmen with tons of events for us to attend- some required and others optional.  There were student leaders on campus who were in charge of helping out and encouraging us to go to as many events as possible.  After lunch one of the days, there was some sort of Sex Education event.  My roommate and I did not really want to attend this event.  However, we were sort of pushed into the room and told to just go in by some of the leaders standing outside the room.  We agreed that we would go but that if it was weird, vulgar,  inappropriate and went against our beliefs, we would leave.  Within the first five minutes, we looked at each other, not even having to say a word, and we got up and left the room filled with several hundred other students.  And in that moment, I knew God had put a true, faith-filled person in my life who was not only going to be a great roommate all four years, but also a great friend who I could walk with in my faith.

As I reflect on my years in college and the time since then, I am filled with gratitude for the faithful, Catholic friends that God has placed in my life.  Regardless of our age, we all need friends who will walk with us in our faith, friends who have the same values as us, and who will hold us accountable.

The journey is not easy.  But, God makes it possible in the form of good friends.  He provides people in our lives to walk with us, because He knows we cannot do it on our own.  We need people who will pray with us and for us.  We need people who will encourage us and lift us up.  We need people who will challenge us and push us along when we get a little lazy or unmotivated in our faith.  We need people who will help us when we think we’re doing good, but when they know we can be doing more to grow spiritually.

Whether it’s a note from a friend letting you know of prayers for you, a suggestion from a friend to read a certain spiritual book, or a text from a friend saying, “See you tomorrow? :)”, asking if you will be at early morning eucharistic adoration, there are countless ways that friends can help us on the journey.

Pray for good, faith-filled, and holy friends.  We truly do become like the people we surround ourselves with.  And if we want to grow deeper in our faith and closer to God, being around people who want the same things will help us.  God sees and hears our desires and will provide if we ask Him.  Over the years, I have prayed for strong Catholic friends in my life and I have seen how God has answered these prayers in the form of placing some great friends in my life.
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If God has put holy and inspiring friends in your life, thank Him.  And if you’re searching for more of these kinds of friends, keep praying.  We all need prayers, we all need encouragement, and we all need people to keep us accountable in our faith.  We are all on a lifelong pilgrimage, a spiritual journey, that can be challenging and difficult at times, but the great thing is, we don’t have to walk alone.

I googled the word trust, not because I don’t know what it means, but because I was curious about the actual definition and what we are really saying when we say we trust someone.  The first definition that came up, from Oxford Languages, is as follows: “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.”  As the Church celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday, we were reminded of the devotion to Divine Mercy that Jesus gave to St. Faustina, and the powerful image, with the message, “Jesus, I trust in You.”  These five simple words pack a powerful punch.  To trust Jesus means to firmly believe that He is reliable, He is truth, He is able, and has strength.  If we trust Jesus, it means we are not afraid to entrust ourselves to Him because of who He is.  Do we firmly believe that He is who He says He is? 

“Jesus, I trust in you” has become a favorite prayer of mine over the last several years.  Throughout the day, at random moments, I find myself praying “Jesus, I trust in you.”  When I’m driving over bridges or through busy traffic, before a meeting or big project at work, when I have to do something I’m worried or nervous about, or when He calls me to say “yes” to something.  The five- word prayer has become a sort of natural response to whatever is going on around me, almost like a subconscious reminder of Who is in control.  It is a reminder that whatever is going to happen in the next month, the next week, the next day, the next hour, or the next moment, we need to entrust ourselves to Jesus and sincerely say, “In the unknown and in whatever is next, I trust in You.”

We will fail many times at trusting in Jesus.  But I believe that the more we sincerely pray, “Jesus, I trust in You”, the more it will sink into our hearts and help us to surrender ourselves to Jesus and live lives fully dependent on Him.

When we say, “Jesus, I trust in You,” we are telling Him that we trust He will give us what we need, rather than what we may want.  When we say, “Jesus, I trust in You”, we are telling Him that we know He will always walk with us.  When we say, “Jesus, I trust in You”, we are telling Him that we love Him above all else.  And the greater the trust we Have in Him, the deeper peace we will experience.
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Jesus deeply desires for each and every single one of us to trust Him.  He is inviting us to a deeper relationship with Him, by way of greater trust.  It is a life-long practice that we need to continue to work on.  Let the phrase, “Jesus, I trust in You” become a regular, daily prayer.  These five simple words can change everything.  May you pray them sincerely and experience a deep trust in Jesus!

In today’s (Thursday) gospel, the disciples are with the resurrected Jesus.  One line that caused me to stop and reflect as I read it is, “While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” (Luke 24:41).  Although the disciples were startled by His presence and a bit hesitant, they experienced joy and amazement that the risen Lord was standing before them.  Are we too filled with joy and amazement by the resurrection of Jesus?  We should be.

The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.  And without it, our faith means nothing.  The resurrection is what gives us hope and gives meaning to our lives.  And this should be cause for us to lead lives marked by joy and a sense of amazement, not just on Easter Sunday, but as we continue throughout the Easter season and every week after.

We must allow the resurrection to change and transform our lives.  The disciples went forward and continued to be witnesses for Christ.  And we too must be witnesses to Christ and to what He has done in our lives.  Because of the resurrection, we can share the reason for our hope, joy, and faith with others.

The resurrection of Jesus should change the way we live.  It helps us to focus on the power and glory of God, instead of the sins, weaknesses, and problems in the world.  The reality that Jesus defeated sin and death by rising from the dead should inspire in us a desire to share this good news by our words and actions.
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Today, and every day, may we continue to be filled with joy and amazed by Christ’s resurrection!