Today’s Gospel seems to be the perfect message at exactly the right time.  Tomorrow morning (Saturday), my teammates on the Minnesota route, as well as missionaries on eight other routes will travel to meet in-person, getting ready to start the National Ride for Biking for Babies.  Sharing the Gospel of Life and our faith with others as we travel across the country, we will experience some of what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel.  Each of us must remember that the Holy Spirit will provide the courage that we need to endure to the end.

In today’s culture, it is quite clear that many people are hostile to faith and the truth that all life, from conception to natural death, is a gift.  As we travel through different towns and states, we will share about the joy of life and the gift that it is.  From encounters at the side of the road, in gas stations, at parks, and more, we will meet and talk to many people who support what we are doing.  But, we will also meet others who are opposed to the mission, people who are against pregnancy resource centers, and people who do not value and respect life.  We will, at times, find ourselves “…like sheep in the midst of wolves…” (Matthew 10:16, NABRE).  While we will encounter people who reject Jesus and the truth about the gift of life, we must remain at peace, trusting that the Holy Spirit will provide what we need.

When God calls us to do something, He always gives us what we need.  God calls each and every one of us to share our faith, to evangelize and share the Gospel by our lives, in both word and action.  That will look different for each of us, depending on where we are at.  Jesus did guarantee that we would face persecution, even if just in very small ways, but he also promised that He would be with us, helping us to endure to the end.

How is Jesus asking you to be a witness for Him?  Whether it’s in your own neighborhood or somewhere across the country, He is calling you to something.  Do not fear, have faith that He will provide exactly what you need right when you need it.  My prayer for today is that each of us can boldly share our faith always, even when we are in the midst of people who reject Jesus.

If you want to support pregnancy resource centers across the country and support the formation of young adult missionaries in the Gospel of Life, donate to Biking for Babies to help us reach our fundraising goal for this mission year! 🙂 

Link here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2026missionary/account/2328294/    

In the Old Testament, things like the Golden Calf and pagan gods were idols.  Today, the idols in our world look a bit different.  A group of fifth and sixth graders were discussing the 1st commandment and listing off different idols that people might have today, and they came up with a pretty solid list including; money, sports, social media, and Taylor Swift.  As the discussion continued, one girl raised her hand, with a little concern in her voice, and asked, “Wait, can we still love Taylor Swift?  We just have to love God more than her, right?”  This kid gets it!  We can love other people and enjoy things in our lives, but we have to love God above all.

When it comes to modern idols, we typically don’t see people bowing down before them in adoration and praise.  But rather, the idols in today’s world include anything that is placed before God.  When other people and things are placed above God, we are pulled away from Him.  Ultimately, this is often what leads people to not go to Mass.  The desires for pleasure, power, and possessions pull us away from God.  We see this when people choose things like comfort/sleep, vacation, or sports instead of Mass.

When we say we believe in and love God, our lives must reflect it.  Otherwise, it is just an empty phrase.  Since love is an action and not simply a feeling, our belief in and love of God must lead us to pray, worship Him at mass, and serve generously.  It is only when we do these things that we can make God the priority in our lives, honoring the 1st commandment.

God is not against us enjoying the good things in life, as He is the giver of all good gifts.  We can enjoy sports, listening to artists, using technology and other items that enhance or make life easier.  It’s when we love and enjoy them more than God that it becomes a problem.

Today, there is so much that can compete for our attention.  We must always make sure that we are putting God in the number one spot.  So, go to that football game, take time for a hobby or activity that you like, go on vacation, but don’t allow these things to become idols that pull you away from God or from Mass.  In the wisdom of a 6th grader, continue to love Taylor Swift, but just don’t love her more than God!

Today’s Gospel is Jesus calming the storm while the disciples are in the boat and afraid.  We can all probably relate to having storms in our lives and being afraid.  But we can also probably relate to feeling like Jesus is resting while we need Him.  As the boat is rocked by waves, Jesus is asleep.  (Matthew 8:24, NABRE).  Have you ever felt like Jesus was asleep, like you are praying and not getting an answer or the answer you think you want?  Jesus is always with us and He always gives us what is best for us and responds in the ways that we need.

This Gospel passage is ultimately about trust and our faith in Jesus.  Do we trust that Jesus never abandons us?  Do we have faith that He will get us through the storms?  Oftentimes, it is easier to be focused on the storms and challenges in our lives, and we allow those storms to cloud our faith.  But the greater the trust and faith we have, the more aware we are that Jesus cares and that He is with us always, ready to help us.

Jesus being asleep in the boat tells us that He was at peace and He had things under control.  This should remind us to be at peace in the storms of life, trusting that Jesus is in the midst of the storms.  And the only way we can be at peace is if we stay focused on Jesus, keeping our gaze fixed on Him.  Often, it is through the storms that we can be drawn closer to Jesus and grow to know Him more deeply.  But we just have to trust and keep our faith.

If you are going through anything challenging right now, know that Jesus is with you in the boat.  If it seems like Jesus is silent or asleep, surrender to Him and believe that He is in control.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would always live with an awareness of Christ’s presence in the storms and trust that He is right there with us in the boat.

Throughout our lives, we get glimpses of God in both big ways and small ways.  From large events to ordinary moments, He reveals Himself to us.  Do we notice when He does?

My grandma Mart (Martha) had a prayer card with Pope John Paul II on her refrigerator for as long as I could remember.  I remember being captivated by the image and looking at it whenever I was at her house.  When she died in 2019, the grandkids had a chance to pick out items from her house to keep.  With St. John Paul II being my favorite saint by this point, I wanted that prayer card.  However, my younger sister grabbed it.  A few years later, I bought some books from a friend who started thrifting and selling Catholic items.  I opened up the package of books that she mailed to me, and in that package was the same exact prayer card.  I couldn’t believe it.  What are the chances she would stick this card in with my order?  She would not have known about this card being on my Grandma’s fridge and me having wanted the card.  Some people would say that it’s just a coincidence, but as people who have faith, it points to the reality of nothing happening by accident.  St. John Paul II once said, “In God’s plan, nothing happens by chance.” God has His hand in everything.

While the prayer card is not a big deal, and just a small material item, receiving it one random day gave me a glimpse of God.  When something good and unexpected happens, we have God to thank.  Oftentimes, people are inspired to do something because of a prompting from God, whether they know it or not.  This is one of the many ways that God makes Himself known.  Do we recognize Him?

We need to look for God in our days.  He is there and He is working.  We must be open to see His hand and His providence in our lives.

Where have you seen God at work in your life in a seemingly small and ordinary experience?  My prayer is that each of us can recognize that maybe the moments that seem like a coincidence are actually orchestrated by God.  Keep your eyes open, He may just send you a prayer card or something even greater that you never expected! 

In the Gospel from this past weekend, we were reminded that we are all sent on a mission, tasked with the responsibility of helping to build up God’s kingdom.  When we are called to something, how do we respond?

The Gospel passage speaks of the needs of the people and how the apostles are called to serve.  Jesus tells His disciples, “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).  Upon hearing this, we may typically think of the need for more priests and religious vocations, and that certainly is what we must continue to pray for.  However, this passage should remind us that we are all called to be laborers, no matter where we are in life.

Each and every baptized Catholic is tasked with the mission of living our faith and sharing the Gospel.  This is not just reserved for priests and religious.  We are all called to holiness.  It would be easy to just sit in the pews at Mass each week and think that evangelization is the job of others.  But the mission field is far and wide, and we each have a part to play in sharing Christ with others and making Him known.  Can other people tell that we are Christians when they see us outside of church?

Being a laborer for Christ means loving Him and serving Him.  This means, we must be serving Him through serving others and bringing His love to the world around us.  The field that we work in will vary depending on wherever we are, but it may be school, the workplace, among our families and friends, or in our local community.  We don’t have to go far to share the Gospel, we are called to serve and live our faith, right where we are.

Jesus tells His disciples that there is a lot of work but a lack of workers.  The same is true for us today.  We each are called to say “yes” to be a laborer for Christ.  May each of us find the field Jesus is calling us to tend to and get to work, because the harvest truly is abundant! 

Today’s Gospel, from Matthew, is one that most of us are probably quite familiar with.  Jesus tells His disciples that they are the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”  If we live as salt and light, we would have a huge impact.

Reading through the Gospel this morning, I was reminded of something that Bishop Robert Barron said in a talk at the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024.  In his keynote address, he said, “Think – what if 70 million Catholics, starting tonight, began to live their faith radically and dramatically, and became body offered, blood poured out. It would change the country”.  Each of us is called to live our faith radically, to be “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.  If each and every single baptized Catholic did this, the country and world really would change.

We should want to have a faith that is not surface level and hidden, but deep and bold.  And this sort of faith is not something that happens by doing nothing.  We need to cultivate this kind of faith by taking steps each day to become the disciples that Jesus is asking us to be.  If we all did this, not only would the world change, but we too would be changed.

We cannot force anyone else to live their faith.  We must simply start with ourselves.  If we live our faith radically and authentically, it can have an impact on other people, possibly inspiring them to do the same.  So, we can ask ourselves, “am I being the salt and light?”  If not, how can I change?

Jesus calls us to more than a surface level faith.  He calls us to a radical and life-changing faith.  If our faith is truly being lived out, our lives will point to Him.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would contemplate how to be the salt and light for Christ, because when we do, others will see Him!

I recently spent a week and a half with my nephew who is almost 2 ½ years old.  Seeing him run down the sidewalk, run around on the playground, find fascination in a certain toy or random object, and just laugh so often about little things was a great reminder to me.  Kids find delight in the world around them and recognize God’s love and goodness in the little things without even knowing it, it just comes naturally.  God loves us so well through everything in our life, big and small.  Do we have the eyes to see?

Any good thing we experience in our lives is God at work because He reflects goodness and is the source of all good.

Feeling the warmth of the sun, a beautiful sunrise or sunset, listening to water running, receiving a handwritten card or letter in the mail from someone, time spent with family, a text that comes at the right time, someone holding open the door for you, reading words that you needed to be reminded of, enjoying a good meal, getting ice cream with a friend.  These are just a few examples of many where we can find delight and be reminded of the goodness of life and God.

Kids so easily teach us that it’s not always about the grand and big moments.  It’s often in the small, ordinary moments and gifts that we can see God’s love for us and His desire for our good.  What small moments or gifts from God have you found delight in recently?  

On Friday morning, I was meeting with someone about a potential job opportunity.  Something that this person said has stuck with me since.  He said, “how cool would it be to have a job where your mission is to help set people’s hearts on fire?”  Regardless of what our jobs are or where we are at in life, that is the mission for all of us.  With the Holy Spirit, we can work to help spread the fire of God’s love.

This past weekend, the Church celebrated Pentecost.  This feast marks the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles, giving them courage to go out and spread the Gospel.  The apostles were emboldened in their mission to share Jesus with others.  This mission was not just for the apostles, long ago.  We too have this mission and it is only by being filled with the Holy Spirit that we can do this.

In order to share Jesus with others, we need to have the fire in our own hearts.  In prayer, we can ask the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire, to increase the flame so it burns brighter.  We must ask ourselves, does my life reflect that of someone who is on fire with the Holy Spirit?  If not, how can the flame be ignited?  How can the fire be increased?

Each of us has a mission to carry out.  And that mission is to help spread the fire for God.  We must be like the apostles, ready to share our faith and help others to encounter the transformative power of God’s love.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would invite the Holy Spirit into our lives in a deeper way and ask for His guidance to be a bold witness of our faith.  Holy Spirit, fill us with your love, set our hearts ablaze, and help us spread the fire to those around us. 

I’m reading a book called Your Eucharistic Identity by Father Gregory Pine and there is a part that I was really struck by when reading a few days ago.  When talking about Jesus and His 33 years on earth, he says, “He came to bestow the depth and breadth of God’s love for us in the most excellent and extravagant fashion.  So great is His desire to be near us that He personally enters into every dimension of our human lives, transfiguring them with His love and enabling our own response of love” (Pine 48).  He transfigures every dimension of our lives with love.  Have we experienced that love and how do we respond? 

When we encounter the love of Jesus, our lives are transformed in the best way possible.  We cannot encounter Christ and not be changed.  This encounter should make us move from just knowing about Jesus to actually knowing Jesus.  It should move us from seeing Jesus as someone distant and far off to having a personal relationship with Him.  Are we taking time to deepen our relationship with Christ each day?

These lines from the book speak of the desire that God has to be near us.  The Psalm for today also speaks of this; the Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149).  God does not merely tolerate us or love us out of obligation.  But rather, He takes delight in us and desires to be close to us.  That is an amazing reality.

It’s sad to think about all of the people who do not know of Christ’s love for them, or who do not believe in His love for them.  Part of our job is to help extend His love to others so that they might encounter Him and so that they might know of His desire to be close to them.  How are we doing with loving the people around us, those who we know and those who are strangers? 

The fact that Jesus enters into every dimension of our lives is truly transformative.  He doesn’t have to, but He does.  He desires to be near us, do we desire to be near Him?  My prayer for each of us today is that we would allow the love of Jesus to transform our lives and not forget that He will never leave us!

Today’s Gospel passage contains one of my favorite lines in scripture.  Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).  Back in February, I was at mass right before a retreat I was leading was going to begin.  During the sign of peace, someone said to me, “I hope you have real peace right now.”  This was profound because this person’s comment was about the true peace that comes from Jesus, hoping and desiring that any fears or worries I had about the retreat were handed over and that I was trusting that Jesus was going to be in control and lead the way.  This is the peace that is unlike anything else and it is the peace we should hope for everyone to have.

The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of challenges or suffering.  It is however a deep awareness of Christ’s presence and trust in Him.  If we stay focused on Jesus, we can maintain this gift of peace He gives us, regardless of what is going on around us.

The world offers a totally different version of peace.  It is fleeting and superficial.  It is based on external circumstances.  People hope for others to have happiness, success, and to accomplish great achievements.  These things on their own do not mean much.  And if they bring peace, it disappears after some time.  As Catholics and Christians, we should hope for others to have peace, the true peace that only can be found in Christ.

The peace Jesus gives changes everything.  It gives us a whole different way to live.  It doesn’t take away our problems or challenges, but it helps us to know that Jesus is walking with us through them.  My prayer for each of you today is that you remember the real peace that Jesus gives and do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid!