The Christmas season is always a beautiful time in the Church. The 4:00 PM Christmas Eve mass I attended was full, which is always a great sight to see. The birth of Jesus is one of the most significant events in history and one of the most important parts of our faith. If we truly recognize the beauty and significance of Jesus’ birth, our celebrations will continue throughout the whole Christmas season and our worship will continue every week after.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ the King into the world. Most of us know this. But we know the story inside and out, so maybe this reality doesn’t impact us as profoundly as it should. The moment Jesus was born humbly into the world, He shows us how to live and how to love, His presence changing everything. And His presence continues to remain with us.

The same Jesus that was born in a manger, is fully present to us, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the Eucharist. That is worth celebrating not only throughout Christmas, but forever after too. This reality should make our churches full every weekend, not just at Christmas Eve or Christmas Day masses.

Jesus is the ultimate model of humility; from His humble birth in a manger, to giving Himself to us in the humble appearances of bread and wine. Perfectly humble, He is the king of the universe. Is He the King and ruler of our lives? When we go to Mass and receive Him in the Eucharist, may we recognize that this truly is Christ the King! Have a blessed Christmas!

On Sunday morning, I was at mass at a church in North Carolina.  I arrived 20 minutes early and the parking lot was already filling up.  By the time mass was going to start, the church, which can seat 750 people, was full.  It was to the point that ushers were walking around finding space for people.  It’s a large parish, with over 1,500 registered families and four weekend mass times, but I was still surprised to see the church so full.  At my parish, I am used to attending mass with a lot of empty space, where you pretty much always have a pew to yourself, except for maybe someone else on the opposite end.  It’s a small community, but there is not a lack of Catholics in the area, as evidenced by the number of families who send their kids to religious education.  I often wonder, where is everyone?  Maybe they have forgotten or have never discovered the joy of the Gospel and what God has done.

At mass, the priest gave a great homily about joy and what it means in our lives.  He talked about how the nativity story, God becoming man to save us and so we could know Him, is a great reason for joy.  But for many people, we’ve heard it so many times that we can forget how amazing it really is.  He talked about our faith being the one place we find true joy and about how to live it in our daily lives.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what joy actually is.  It’s not always feeling happy and excited, as these are feelings that are dependent on circumstances and can drift away.  Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and it comes from an awareness of God’s presence and a relationship with Him, bringing a sense of peace.  It is a deep inner state that remains no matter what is going on around us.

The greater trust we have in Jesus and the greater love we have for Him, the more our joy will increase.  And this will be reflected in our lives.

It seems like many people are searching for joy in all the wrong places, looking in the world for something that is but a fleeting moment of happiness.  There is a great joy found in Jesus and knowing Him and the Nativity story reminds us of this.  My prayer for each of us is that we would not forget what God has done for us and the joy that comes from it!

Winter is in full swing here in Wisconsin.  And that means cold and snow.  I will quickly admit that winter is not my favorite season.  I prefer warmth and sunshine and enjoy the heat of summer, which is always much too short.  Winter brings slippery roads, getting stuck, and shoveling.  But the long winters we have make me appreciate summer and its warmth so much more.  And I cannot deny the beauty of a fresh snowfall.  The way the snow frosts the trees and blankets the ground is truly a beautiful sight to see.  When you go outside during a snowfall, especially at night, there is a quiet and stillness that is almost unbelievable.  All noise and activity is silenced and you only hear the crunch of the snow under each step you take.  The science behind this is that the snow traps sound waves in its air pockets, muffling noise and absorbing sound.  During a recent snowfall, I was outside at night and reflected on this; how can we bring that same quiet and stillness into our lives, especially during the season of Advent?

Life for most of us can be quite busy, especially around this time of year.  There is so much pressure to do, to accomplish, and to achieve, instead of to just be.  But what if we pushed back against the hustle and bustle of the culture around us and chose to be still?  How can we hear God speaking to our hearts unless we take time to sit and listen?

We have the season of Advent for a reason.  This time is for us to pray, reflect, and prepare our hearts for Christ, to invite Him to enter our lives in a deeper way.  It is a time for us to grow in and experience the virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love.  It is difficult for us to experience these if we allow ourselves to get swept into the commercial Christmas and the hurriedness that it brings.  If we follow the world’s idea of Christmas, we will be burnt out and tired of it all by the time Christmas actually arrives.  But if we move slowly and intentionally in this season, we will be ready to celebrate Christ’s birth with joy and excitement, and allow the celebration to extend the full Christmas season.

There are so many ways we can live Advent well.  There are books to read and reflect on, apps that have prayer challenges to follow along with, podcasts and videos with reflections, and much more.  The main goal is that we are attempting to slow down, find time and space for silence, and to be still.  My prayer for you today is that you would create a beautiful quiet and stillness in your lives, much like the quiet and stillness that a snowfall brings, allowing you to encounter God in a deeper way!

Today’s Gospel reading reminds us of the importance of child-like faith.  God reveals Himself to us in so many ways, but we need to have eyes of faith.  We need to have trust and open hearts, willing to recognize all the ways He is showing up in our lives.  Are our eyes open to everything around us that is a sign of God’s love for us?

The Father reveals Himself to us through the Son.  That is a great gift and privilege that we have.  In the Gospel passage, Jesus tells His disciples, “blessed are the eyes that see what you see.  For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Luke 10:23-24).  If we live with the trust and faith of a child, paying attention and keeping our eyes open, we too can see Jesus throughout our days, in the people around us and situations we experience.  And that is a huge blessing.

Recognizing the presence of Jesus in our lives takes faith and trust that is pure and simple, like that of a child.  Many times, we can allow different obstacles in our lives to prevent us from seeing.  Maybe it’s doubt, the thoughts and opinions of others, distractions, or many other things.

To see how Christ is working in our lives and hear what He is speaking to us is the way we continue to grow in our faith.  We are each invited to see more clearly and listen more closely to how Jesus is revealing the Father to us.  My prayer for today is that our eyes and ears would be open and we would recognize how blessed we are to experience Jesus in our midst!

Memento mori.  This latin phrase means “remember your death.”  Sometime in college, I came across the twitter account of Sister Theresa Aletheia, a sister with the Daughters of St. Paul.  She used this phrase as a hashtag daily and shared reflections on what it means, while also keeping a skull on her desk.  Her daily reminders to remember death kind of changed the way I think about death.  We all know we are going to die.  But the practice of memento mori, or remembering your death, helps us to live differently.  It helps us to keep in mind that our death can come at any time and to be ready.  With November being dedicated to praying for the souls in purgatory, I wanted to wrap up the month reflecting on death, specifically our own deaths.

As Christians, we should not fear death.  If we believe that Jesus is who He says He is, then our faith leads us to have hope in the resurrection and the possibility of eternal life with Him.  Ever since coming across Sister Aletheia’s memento mori tweets, I started thinking about death, specifically my own, more often.  And it’s not in an obsessive and morbid way, but rather, an acknowledgement that I am going to die and to strive to live for heaven.  It is a reminder that life on earth is temporary and to place our hope and trust in Jesus.  It is a reminder to live virtuously and to always be prepared.

The Gospel passage we will hear at Mass this weekend for the first Sunday of Advent also gives us the message that we need to be vigilant and prepared.  The passage is about the second coming and how we do not know when Christ will come, signifying the importance of living with a continual awareness of our words and actions, working always to deepen our faith.  The passage says, “therefore, stay awake!  For you do not know in which day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).  Are we spiritually awake, living in a way in which we are keeping the end in mind?  We are reminded to “be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 24:44).  This passage helps us to remember that our lives here are temporary and that we must  keep our eyes fixed on Christ, so that we are always ready.  It is much like the phrase “memento mori.”

If I’m being completely honest, there are times that I fear death.  There are times that I cling too tightly to the things of this world.  In these moments, I recognize the need for my heart to be purified.  In these moments, my prayer is, “Lord, rid me of any worldly attachments and help me to love you above anyone and everything.” When I love things and other people more than God,  I know that I have work to do in order to be more prepared. 

We will die.  And we do not know the day or hour.  But staying focused on God, frequenting the sacraments, and striving to live virtuously helps us to be prepared.  And taking time to remember our death allows us to live with the vigilance and preparedness that is required of us.  Are we ready?  May the practice of “memento mori” help each of us to live with eternity in mind. 

In a confession I had last month, the priest talked about writing down 20 different things I was grateful for and doing that for a week.  I think this practice, even just thinking of these things and not writing them down, is something that would be beneficial for all of us.  A huge part of our relationship with God is acknowledging Him for all of the blessings in our lives and taking time to thank Him.  Are we doing this often throughout our days, every day?

With Thanksgiving being this week, it’s a day many people take more time than usual to reflect on what they’re thankful for, and this sometimes extends into the following weeks too.  But this should not be limited to just one day or season out of the year.  Our whole lives should center on gratitude.  God has blessed us with so much.  So, we should ask ourselves, how do we respond to the blessings He has given us?

There are so many different ways we can pray and acknowledge the blessings in our lives.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  Simply saying, “thank you God” in moments throughout our days, especially when we wake up and before going to sleep, is an easy way to incorporate gratitude into our lives and to remember that everything and everyone in our lives is a gift from God.  Another way to acknowledge our blessings is to sit in His presence in eucharistic adoration, thanking Him and sitting before Him, with open hearts, to receive the love He wants to pour out on us.  Then there is the Mass.  The greatest and highest form of worship, it is the best place to praise and give thanks to God, showing gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice.  The word Eucharist even means “thanksgiving.”

We are rich in life because God has and continues to bless each of us with so much.  When thinking about what I am grateful for in this moment, there is so much that comes to mind.  I am grateful for my Catholic faith and the Church, for the love of Jesus, the ability to practice my faith freely, all of the faith opportunities I have that help me deepen my faith, for my family, for the ability to write about and share my faith, for everyone who is a part of my faith community and journey and has supported me with prayer and encouragement, for the beautiful sunrises and sunsets God gives us as well as the beauty in the world around us, for the ability to work, and so much more.

May we all live with spirits of gratitude, always thanking God for who is in our lives and for all that we have!  What are you grateful for?

Last weekend, working on a TEC retreat, it was a powerful reminder that there is nothing or no one except for God who can transform people in such a short amount of time, in a matter of three days. To watch the retreatants arrive on Friday morning and to see their transformation as the weekend went on, truly points to the Holy Spirit at work.

There are always at least a few people who don’t really want to be at the retreat, a few who maybe think it’s not cool to be spending a whole three days on retreat, others who would rather be anywhere else. This past weekend was no different.  And one of the best parts of the weekend was watching seemingly hardened hearts being cracked open and softened.

By the second evening of the retreat, it was easy to see Jesus at work.  Walls were being broken down.  A powerful experience of eucharistic adoration led many of the retreatants to tears, with some having more than just a few tears and fully crying.  This included high school boys, which seems like a group of people who are not known to cry in front of others.  It was a beautiful sight, in the sense that I know it was Jesus who was touching their hearts.

To see other people have an encounter with Christ is always amazing.  One of the best parts of being part of a faith community is that we are able to have these experiences with others and be a part of others’ experiences too.

When you are serving on a retreat, you are doing it for God and for those who will be attending the retreat.  But God always pours out countless blessings, and you receive so much from giving.  You also may be impacting the people around you in ways you will not know, and helping them to grow in their faith.

When the world seems bleak and without hope, remember that God is always working. God is in the business of changing and transforming lives and hearts.  Keep your eyes open to how He is working around you! 

The Sunday mass readings from this past weekend had a temple theme, providing some powerful messages.  While there is a lot to unpack from the Gospel, it is the second reading that I want to reflect on.  The second reading that we heard from Corinthians is one of my favorite scripture passages.  It reminds us of the fact that each of us who are baptized are temples of God.  This should impact the way we view ourselves and also the way we treat others.

The second reading that we heard ends with these lines; “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  At the time of baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit.  The fact that God dwells within us is amazing.  It also means that we need to act like temples of God, calling us to a higher way of living.

If God dwells within us, we need to act appropriately.  We must not defile our bodies, meaning we must strive for purity in body, mind, and heart.  We need to take care of our bodies, not drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, using drugs, or participating in other reckless behaviors.  What kind of language are we using?  The way we speak and the words we choose to use matters.  What forms of entertainment and media are we taking in?  What thoughts do we have?  With anything we do, say, and think, we should keep in mind the reality that we are temples of God.  This should change everything for us.  And when we fail to honor God, He welcomes us to come to Him and cleanse our temples, to be forgiven in the sacrament of reconciliation.

Do we recognize the presence of God, dwelling within others?  This should impact the way we interact with and treat the people around us.  We can and will encounter God through other people.  Do other people recognize the presence of God within us?  We can ask ourselves this question, reminding ourselves that we need to live in a way that honors God.

We are called to bring the presence of God wherever we go, remembering that the Holy Spirit is within us.  That God would choose to remain within us is a powerful reality that should impact our daily lives.  My prayer for today is that each of us would remember that we are temples of God and that He is calling us to honor Him by our lives.  

Last week, vice president JD Vance was answering questions from students which included a question about religion.  In answering the question, Vance shared that he hopes his wife will someday be moved by the Church like he was and come to be a Christian.  People in the media lost their minds and Vance has faced intense backlash from his comments.  However, Vance was not out of line in his comments.  As Christians and Catholics, we have the faith we do because we believe it to be true.  And if we believe something to be true, we should want everyone, especially the people we know and love, to have what we have.  The Gospel gives us The Great Commission, where Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19).

We can respect other people’s religious beliefs or lack of while also hoping that they may come to embrace the faith that we have.  The media seems to not be aware of this concept.  Our faith is meant to be shared.  Jesus has tasked us with sharing the Gospel by the way we live, through our words and actions.  When we let our faith be reflected in our lives, it is not to force anyone to convert, but rather to hope that they might one day be drawn to Christ and come to believe.  We hope and pray that people’s hearts are touched and transformed, coming to make a decision for themselves.

As Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ and His Church have the truth and have the power to transform lives.  After all, we’ve experienced it ourselves.  The beliefs we have do not mean that we hate other people who don’t have the same beliefs.  We can disagree with others and still love them.  Each and every single person is included in Jesus’ command to us to make disciples.  We should not be ashamed of our faith and should always be open to the ways God might use it to touch others.

A lot of people out there disagree with Catholics.  And they have the free will to do so.  But that should never stop us from living and sharing our faith and what we believe.  If we love Jesus, we likely have a deep desire for others to love Him too.  That’s what our faith is all about.  May we all continue to live and share our faith, praying that Jesus may draw others to Him through it!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus chooses his 12 apostles.  The names of each of the 12 apostles is listed in the passage.  But before that, it says, “when day came, he called his disciples to himself” (Luke 6:13).  How does this line apply to our own lives?  We too are called to be disciples, and Jesus calls us to Himself.

Jesus loves each one of us as individuals and in a personal way.  He knows us by name.  And He is continually calling us, wanting to draw us closer to Himself.  He calls us to know Him, to serve Him, to love Him, and to share Him with others.

Are we listening?  Do we respond to the ways Jesus calls us each day?  In order to do this, we need to remember that Jesus is the reason for our lives and gives our lives purpose and without Him, nothing else really matters.  We will surely fail to listen and respond how we should many times, but if we keep this reality in the forefront of our minds, we will be able to better do what He asks of us.

Jesus calls each of us to Himself.  As disciples, we are called to follow Jesus and bear witness to Him in the world around us.  It is only with His grace that we can listen and respond.  May we all be drawn closer to Jesus, becoming more like Him so we can do the work of being His disciples!