We’ve all heard the parable of the prodigal son countless times.  In a book I started reading, the author brought up this story to demonstrate a point about trust.  She explained that neither son truly knew their father.  The younger son thought he had lost his father’s love due to leaving and disobeying him.  The older son thought his hard work could earn his father’s love. I have never looked at the story with this perspective and thought of it being a story about knowing and trusting the Father.  But if we truly know and trust God, we will know that there is nothing we can do to lose or earn God’s love.  He loves us just because we exist.  And as the parable of the prodigal son demonstrates, His love is much greater than our expectations.

In a worldly sense, we have to work to achieve more and earn approval.  Whether it’s at school, at work, academically, or athletically, the more work we put in and the more “stuff” we do, the higher up the ladder we will be and the more other people around us will notice.  It’s good to work hard and show effort in our daily activities.  However, we must remember that this does not translate to our spiritual lives and relationship with God.  There is nothing we can do that will make God see us or love us more.  He already sees each one of us individually, knows us, and loves us.

Think about the love that parents have for their children.  If you are a parent, think about how much you love your kids, not because of anything they have done or achieved, but because of who they are and the fact that they exist.  Or, think about how you, as a son or daughter, have experienced the unconditional love of your parents.  Now think about how much more God loves us- no matter what we do or don’t do.  That is something that always blows my mind.  If we can trust that our parents will never stop loving us and that we don’t have to earn their love, why would we ever not trust that God will never stop loving us and that we cannot earn His love?
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Of course, the fact that God loves us unconditionally is not an excuse to live recklessly, do whatever we want, or choose to turn away from Him.  However, it is a reason to remember that when we sin and choose something other than Him, He loves us just the same and is waiting for us to run back to Him.  The fact that God loves us unconditionally is also a reason to realize that God loves us too much for us to stay the same.  He is always calling us to more- to a deeper faith and greater trust.

My prayer for today is that we would not just love God, but also fully trust in Him and His love.  May we all trust that God is a good Father who will never turn His back on us and who will embrace us with open arms no matter what.

I recently listened to a homily from Fr. Mike Schmitz where he talked about how comfort breeds complacency.  This is something we’ve probably all heard before.  However, when it comes to our spiritual lives, it can be so easy to fall into this way of living without thinking too much of it.  When we are complacent, it means we are satisfied and not willing to change.  How often do we become comfortable in our lives and feel as if we don’t need to change?  How many times do we take a look within ourselves and think that it is good enough to keep doing the same things?

It’s really easy to tell ourselves that our lives are good the way that they are and that we don’t want them or need them to change.  If we go to mass each Sunday, pray every day, and treat others with kindness, that’s good enough, isn’t it?  That’s what we can sometimes tell ourselves because we are comfortable with our routines and what we are already doing.  However, when we do the same things over and over, we get comfortable, which leads us to become complacent.  And we become complacent, we stop growing and we are not allowing ourselves to be stretched and transformed.  Our faith cannot become deeper when we become comfortable.

Each time we have an encounter with Christ, we must change.  How could we experience Him working in our lives and not go to greater heights?  If we are really following Jesus, we will continually work to become more like Him.  And that means that we will not allow ourselves and our lives to be cushioned by comfort and complacency.  We will work to love those around us better and love those who may be hard for us to love.  We will give more generously and without counting the cost.  We will make more sacrifices, big or small, for others in our lives.  We will serve with love.  We will speak the truth when it is inconvenient and hard.  We will do these things because Jesus has shown us how.  And even if we think we are already doing these things, we must keep working because our lives should look significantly different than those who don’t follow Christ.

If we are not deepening our faith and moving closer to Christ, we might as well be going backwards- losing faith and moving further from Him.  The key to strengthening our faith and deepening our relationship begins with recognizing that we cannot be satisfied with doing the same things over and over and believing that our current habits are good enough.  Otherwise, our faith will stay the same.  
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My prayer is that we would not become comfortable and content in our daily routines and that our sights would always be set on living lives that reflect Christ.  May we reject complacency and comfort and choose to walk the path that leads us closer to him.

A few weeks ago, I was at a meeting and was struck by some words from the person leading us in the closing prayer.  We were sitting outside and she prayed, “Lord, thank you for these mosquitoes, because being able to feel these bites means that we’re alive.”  Wow- what a powerful perspective. She took something annoying and inconvenient and turned it into something to be seen as a blessing.  Gratitude is everything and we must challenge ourselves each day to look beyond the struggles and crosses to see all of the blessings in our lives and the goodness of God.

When our prayer lives and really just our whole attitudes are ones of gratitude, we are able to see the world around us in a different light.  When we live lives that are rooted in gratitude, our faith grows deeper.  God loves us and wants only what is best for us.  Everything he gives us and all that happens is for our good, whether we can see it or not.

If we truly believe that God loves us and is always working in our lives, we will respond by living with hearts that are filled with gratitude.  We will find joy in the small things, count our blessings, and acknowledge that all that is good in our lives is a gift from God.

Living with gratitude does not mean that we will not suffer or have struggles and difficulties.  However, it does mean that we can go through these times with a different perspective- a deep awareness and trust that God is always walking with us.  When our hearts are filled with gratitude, we are able to see times of suffering and hardship as an opportunity to be drawn closer to the Lord.

The most joy-filled people I know are those who are always grateful.  Living with gratitude helps us to cultivate other good fruits in our lives such as generosity, humility, patience, peace, and more.  It helps us to turn our focus away from ourselves and towards God.  When we have a grateful disposition, we expand our capacity to love both God and others because we are able to better recognize the blessings that they are.  We are able to receive the people in our lives and the experiences we have as a true gift.
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My prayer is that God would fill our hearts until they are overflowing with gratitude and help us to thank Him always.  We are alive today and that is reason enough to praise Him.

I’m currently reading a book called, Heart of the Christian Life: Thoughts on Holy Mass, by Pope Benedict XVI.  The book has been filled with countless pieces of wisdom and many statements to reflect on.  One passage towards the beginning of the book that jumped out as I was reading is, “The Sunday precept is not, therefore, an externally imposed duty, a burden on our shoulders.  On the contrary, taking part in the Celebration, being nourished by the Eucharistic Bread and experiencing the communion of their brothers and sisters in Christ is a need for Christians, it is a joy; Christians can thus replenish the energy they need to continue on the journey we must make every week” (Benedict XVI 13).  If attending and participating in the Mass weekly is essential for our journey, why are the churches so empty?

There are likely a wide range of reasons why so many Catholics choose not to attend Mass.  But I think it really comes down to ignorance about the “source and summit” of our faith-the Eucharist.  How many Catholics either just don’t know or don’t believe?  Because once one knows that Jesus Christ is truly and fully present at the altar, how could anyone skip out on Mass?  How could anyone who knows and believes in the Real Presence turn his/her back on Him?

People can know and believe every single teaching of the Church.  But if they don’t know or believe the truth about the Eucharist, then everything else loses its significance.  Because in reality, it is the Mass and the Eucharist that transform everything- our faith, our hearts, our souls, and our lives.  And if we are not going to Mass, we are missing out on the greatest gift He has given us. 

The world is a broken and hurting place.  There is a lot of suffering and weariness.  But God doesn’t leave us to walk through each week alone.  He gives Himself to us completely in every single Mass.  It is in the Mass where we can find hope, peace, joy, love, strength.  It is where we are nourished and replenished for the journey.  
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It takes faith to believe that Jesus is present under the appearances of bread and wine.  And when we have that faith, we have to share it with others, so that they too would come to know and believe.  As the Eucharistic Revival takes place across the country over the next several years, pray that lives would be changed, faith renewed, and hearts filled with love for Jesus in the Eucharist.

Last Wednesday was the first session of faith formation.  As we worked through the first class of the year, the moments of quiet were few and far between.  Most of the students just kept talking and having side conversations.  Eventually, we began working through the first lesson in “Encounter: Discovering Jesus”, which is an exercise/experience provided by the Diocesan Office of Discipleship Formation.  It is meant to be a reflective experience that shares the core message of the Gospel.  And as this first lesson of the reflective experience unfolded, I was amazed at how God so clearly revealed Himself.  How often do we find ourselves forgetting the power of God, especially in the small, ordinary moments of our days?  Do we remember that God is working, even if it’s hard for us to see?

Teaching eighth graders, it can sometimes feel like talking to a brick wall.  Are they really hearing anything that is said?  Do they even care?  So many of the students seem to be so resistant to faith and God in general.  The first lesson we worked on that night was “God is love and has created me for relationship with Him.”  The class went through the scripture passage and the guided reflection questions.  Then, we made it to the song.  As the song played, they were asked to reflect on a letter from God.  The letter detailed God’s love for each of them individually.  They continued to talk during this part of the exercise.  But what happened after is what convinced me that even if it seems like they are not listening to what I say, they are hearing what God wants to say to them.  There were a wide range of reactions and emotions to this portion of the exercise and I truly believe that they were being hit with the realization of the deep love God has for each one of them, whether or not they wanted to accept it.

I looked up towards the end of the song as one of the girls was crying, asking if she could leave to go to the restroom.  I didn’t know what was happening at first, but felt moved to pray before dismissing her from the room.  In these next moments, the room was silent.  For the first time in the whole class period, every single student was quiet.  Everyone suddenly stopped with the distractions and extra conversations and turned their focus away from themselves and to their classmate.  God broke through their resistance in those moments, as the class lifted up the girl in prayer.  They opened up their hearts and allowed God to use them.

Maybe you have family members, friends, co-workers, or neighbors who are resistant to faith, the church, and a relationship with God.  God’s love can touch and soften the hardest of hearts.  If we don’t believe this, we are doubting the power of His love.  Continue to share God with others and just know that He will reveal Himself.  
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God is more powerful than we can even imagine and will draw others nearer to Himself.  Trust that He has the power to break down walls that people have put up around their hearts.  All in His own time and in His own ways.

A few weekends ago, we painted our living room.  Now, we are preparing to paint the kitchen this week.  Over the weekend, we moved stuff from the kitchen to the living room and to other parts of the house so that we could get the ceiling done.  Our kitchen table chairs are in the living room and everything else is also out of place.  There are old sheets spread out on the floor, serving as drop cloths, paint supplies and materials sitting out, and the house is just a bit chaotic to say the least.  It’s one of those times that you just hope no one shows up at your door.  Who wants guests in the midst of mess and chaos?  Maybe we’ve had this thought about our relationship with Jesus and about letting Him into our lives?  Maybe we sometimes feel like our lives are not in order and question why Jesus would want to come into the mess.  Maybe we sometimes feel unworthy.  We ARE unworthy.  But Jesus gives Himself to us anyway.

In today’s (Monday) Gospel, we read about the Roman Centurion asking for his ill servant to be healed.  He says, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.  Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed” (Luke 7:6-7).  With deep trust, faith, and humility, He acknowledges his unworthiness for Jesus to come into his home and asks that Jesus heal his servant just by speaking.  We echo this line of the Centurion right before communion.

Every time we go to mass, we say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”  In that moment, as the priest holds up the consecrated host, and as we are about to go up to receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist-body, blood, soul, and divinity, we acknowledge that we are in the presence of Jesus, and that we are unworthy of His sacrifice, unworthy to receive Him.  We acknowledge our weaknesses and our sinfulness and trust that Jesus can come into the mess and chaos and strengthen and heal us.
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We are unworthy of this deep encounter with Jesus.  And yet, He allows us to receive Him in this way because He loves us and wants to dwell within us- to heal us, strengthen us, and nourish us.  With deep faith, we must humbly acknowledge His presence and trust that He can heal us.  Our lives may be chaotic and out of order.  We are weak and sinful.  Just open the door of your heart.  We are not worthy.  But Jesus wants to come in anyway.

Last month, as I sat at the front of the church basement as my parish held the annual meeting, I hoped that someone else would volunteer to be a new nominee for treasurer.  Not to my surprise, no one jumped up to volunteer or to nominate anyone else for the position.  Instead, I was voted in for another two years.  No one asked if I wanted to continue or even gave me the option; the vote just happened so quickly.  I don’t mind doing it, but I just didn’t really want to.  Was it selfish to have these thoughts?  Was not wanting to serve another term saying “no” to God?  These are questions I’ve reflected on over the last several weeks.  When we are involved in our parish, we are saying “yes” to God.  And sometimes, we may not really want to do something we are asked to do.  How do we remain generous with our gifts and time while also keeping in mind that we cannot do everything?

Serving on your parish’s finance/parish council, taking part in other parish committees, volunteering at church events, teaching religion, being involved with retreats, just to name a few things, are all ways we can be involved in our parishes.  All of these areas are opportunities to serve God.  But we cannot do it all. 

God calls us to be generous and giving and to share our time, talent, and treasure.  We are asked to make sacrifices to serve and to give of ourselves.  But how do we discern the line between being generous and involved and saying “yes”, and doing too much that it isn’t helping our relationship with God?  How do we discern how much to give and serve but also set boundaries without being selfish with our time?

Imagine that you are at a potluck with tons of options.  There is so much food available, you want to try it all.  You have a plate in front of you.  You start adding food to the plate.  At first, it is manageable.  Everything is side by side on the plate, only taking up small spaces.  Pretty soon, you start adding more and more.  You start piling it on.  As you stack everything up, the plate is no longer visible.  There is just a mountain of food and it is too much.  This is what we can so often do in our lives.  Our parishes, communities, and other organizations we may be a part of have so many options and opportunities to be involved.  Maybe we want to try it all or maybe we are asked to volunteer for many different areas.  Maybe one week, we have three different meetings, two events we are volunteering at, countless projects we are working on, and more.  What are meant to be good things that allow us to serve and that may nourish our faith can quickly become tasks to get done simply for the sake of accomplishing them.  As we add all of these things to our plate, piling them higher and higher, God gets pushed to the bottom, no longer visible.  We lose sight of our foundation.
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God is the foundation in our lives and all that we do.  We must be generous with our time.  This often means making sacrifices to serve and give.  We must “give without counting the cost.”  Whether we are helping with the things we really enjoy or the things we may not really want to do as much, we need to remember why we are doing it and Who we are doing it for.  If we lose sight of God in all of the meetings and events, nothing that we are doing matters.  My prayer for today is that we would all have the ability to discern how to give generously, while keeping God and our relationship with Him at the forefront.

I spent the weekend helping paint our living room.  As we worked on this project, I was thinking about how much work and preparation there was before we could start painting.  We moved all the furniture to the middle of the room, took picture frames and all decorations off the walls, washed the walls, taped the trim and taped around the window/doors,and covered the furniture with sheets.  Anyone who comes into the house will only see the freshly painted walls.  They will not see all of the extra work, preparation, and effort that went into the project.  But all of these things were necessary for a good end result..  It is like this in our spiritual lives.  There is a lot of work we must do in order to grow in our relationship with Jesus and to deepen our faith.  We must put in the effort on a daily basis.  And most of the time, no one will see what we are doing.  But we must do it anyway.

What are we doing to develop a deeper prayer life, cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit, strengthen our relationship with Jesus, and learn more about our faith?  It’s easy to show up to volunteer at some parish event where others see how generous we can be with our time.  It’s easy to drop kids off at faith formation every Wednesday night so they can learn about their faith once a week.  It’s easy to show up to mass each week and check it off the to-do list until the following weekend.  If people see you at mass, they see that you’re a “good” Catholic, right?  But we can’t do the bare minimum and expect to become holy.  We need to put in the behind-the-scenes work and continually nourish our spiritual lives.  If we don’t, the end result will not be good. 

How committed are we to knowing and loving God and to becoming who He created us to be (saints!!!)?  God has given us everything we need to become the best versions of ourselves.  But we need to put in the work- even the work that no one else sees.

There is so much we can do to grow in our relationship with Christ and to strengthen our faith.  Try a new way to pray or add in extra prayer time.  Spend time reading spiritual books about the saints and other topics.  Open up your Bible. Reflect on the daily Mass readings.  Crack open the Catechism and learn what the Church teaches on certain topics.  Listen to a Catholic podcast.  Go to Eucharistic adoration.  The options are endless.
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As with the painted living room, even though people did not see the preparation and work that was done beforehand, they will be able to look at the walls and know that extra effort was put in to get the end product.  Similarly, when people see us, our goal should be for them to see Christ in us- and to see individuals with a strong faith and deep love for Him.  While they will not see the extra work we are doing in our personal lives, they will hopefully know, just by the way we live, that we are, in fact, putting in the effort.

Over the weekend, I heard a song called, “Just Want You” by Sarah Reeves.  In the chorus, the artist sings, “I don’t want it if You’re not in it, I Just want You.  No, I don’t want it if You’re not in it, I just want You, God.”  It is a beautiful song that allowed me to reflect on the fact that we were created by God because of His love for us and our lives are all about how we respond to that love.  Everything else is secondary.  What do we really want?  Are our desires and wants of God or of the world?

Sometimes, as I reflect at the end of a day, I find that there were more moments than not that I wanted things that were not of God.  I realize that, in many moments, I wanted the approval of others, worldly success, to put my needs in front of others, or many other things that pull me away from God.  How often do we find ourselves wanting all that the world tells us we should want?

It is probably easy for a lot of us to tell ourselves that we want God- that we want to love Him and serve Him alone.  But then, we do or say something that shows we want something else more than God.  Or maybe, it is the things we choose not to say or do, for fear of what other people will think or how they will respond.  Maybe we worry that others might be offended so we decide to withhold our beliefs.

We all want to be seen and loved.  Naturally, we want others to like us and to accept us.  This desire is written in the human heart.  But so often, we look to other people for this desire to be met.  We can spend so much time seeking approval from others.  However, we must stop trying to fit in, go with the flow, and be like everyone else.  God sees us and loves us.  And His love is greater and deeper than the love and approval of every single person in the world combined!
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God doesn’t need us.  But He wants us.  And He loves us.  How are we responding?  Once we realize this basic truth, we cannot just sit back and do nothing.  Our days should be focused on how we can better know, love and serve Him.  May we each develop a deep desire for God that is the foundation in all we do and the way we live.

I bought an alarm clock a few days ago.  A basic alarm clock that many of us probably had to use back before we had iPhones.  I bought this alarm clock in hopes that it will help me to stop being so dependent on my phone as an alarm.  The dependency I have had on my phone has caused me to develop poor habits such as scrolling through social media right before going to sleep and opening up social media before doing anything else upon waking up.  Our last thoughts before going to sleep and our first thoughts upon waking up should be directed to God.  Using my phone as an alarm had become a barrier to my relationship with God.  When we notice anything that is distracting us and preventing us from growing closer to God, we must make a change.  We must ask ourselves, “What do I really value?  Who or what has the number one spot in my life?”

When we stop and ask ourselves these kinds of questions, we may become uncomfortable as we look deep within ourselves and face reality.  There are so many other areas of our lives that may easily make their way to the forefront of our lives.  But what it really comes down to is our priorities.

We all fall short of what God is asking of us.  And we will as long as we are on this Earth.  But if we truly have the desire to put the Lord first in our lives and strive to do so in the choices we make and the way we live, God sees that.  When we wake up each morning and even as we move throughout our days, we should ask God, with a sincere heart, to give us the grace to choose Him over and above all.  He will help us if we ask and as long as we are committed to growing, changing, and being challenged, no matter how difficult it may be.

Each day, we have countless opportunities to choose God, whether we realize it or not.  When we decide to speak kind words to a co-worker rather than harsh words of criticism or gossip, we are choosing God.  When someone cuts us off in traffic and we stay calm and say nothing, rather than get angry and honk our horns, we are choosing God.  When we turn off that inappropriate TV show and open up a good spiritual book, we are choosing God.  When we let someone go in front of us in a line or give up a selfish desire, we are choosing God.  
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We either choose God or choose something other than God in how we live our lives.  And if our relationship with God is the number one priority in our lives, we will do everything we can to remove all that is hindering us from growing closer to Him.  

Lord, thank you for loving us unconditionally, even when we fail.  Help us to choose you always.  Give us the desire to love you more than anyone or anything else in our lives.  We give you our hearts.  Remove all that is distracting us from knowing you more deeply.  Amen.