Every time I reflect on the Stations of the Cross, I am reminded of the saint name I chose for confirmation.  In the sixth station, Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.  This station has always stood out to me.  I remember choosing Veronica because I found her simple act of compassion towards Jesus to be so profound and moving and for some reason, it really resonated with me.  Each one of us has the ability to show compassion and love to each and every single person that we encounter each day, to wipe the face of Jesus.  Just as the face of Christ appeared on Veronica’s veil, our lives can reflect the image of Christ to others, by our words and actions.

Whether we realize it or not, every day, we have opportunities to reflect the image of Jesus to those around us.  When we complete an act of kindness, offer to pray for someone, listen to another in a time of need, or simply serve someone in any way, we are wiping the face of Christ.  The love and compassion we show to others is love and compassion that we show to Jesus.

It would have been much easier for Veronica to not step out from the crowd and to remain indifferent.  In her feeling of helplessness and knowing that she could not alleviate Jesus’ suffering, she came forward and wiped the blood and sweat from His face.  Oftentimes, it is the same for us.  It is easier to stay hidden among the crowd, to follow the way of the culture, to not take a stand for what we believe, to ignore the suffering and hurting of those around us, to be indifferent.  But this is not the way Christ calls us to.  We are called to reach out to others and to walk with them just as Christ walks with us.  We cannot all do big things or accomplish tremendous tasks.  But we can love.  And many times, it is in the simplest and most seemingly small gestures that we can make a difference.
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Jesus, thank you for suffering and making the ultimate sacrifice for each and every one of us.  Give us the courage to step out of our comfort zones to wipe the blood, sweat, and tears from your face.  Help us to know that whatever we do for others, we do for you.  Imprint Your image onto our hearts so that we would show the world who You are and be a reflection of Your love.  Amen.

Last week at work, an excel spreadsheet was sent to staff members and we were asked to “list our pronouns” on the document next to our names.  New email signatures and ID badges are being made and some staff from the DEI committee wanted to encourage all employees to have their “preferred pronouns” included.  (For anyone unfamiliar with this, it involves listing pronouns of how people should refer to you, like “she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs or a variety of other options which make absolutely no sense.)  As I scrolled through the spreadsheet, I was shocked by how many people had obliged to the request.  Almost all approximately 40 people in my department had typed in a list of pronouns next to their names.  I could only wonder about the organization’s other 100+ employees and how many of them would be including pronouns on their IDs and email signatures.  What I did know was that I could not support or affirm this practice by participating in it.  I did not submit anything to the spreadsheet and when a follow-up email was sent, I stated that I did not want anything listed.  

In today’s world, this issue is quite prevalent and I knew it was only a matter of time before it would likely come up in this setting.  As Catholics, we cannot support the trend of “identifying  pronouns” and the rise in the gender ideology movement.

A lot of people may say to just give it up and that it’s not a big deal.  Others may think that there’s no harm in something so seemingly insignificant.  Many people have the mindset that going along with it is respectful and the loving, compassionate thing to do because it shows support.  But this is a hill I’m willing to die on.  I disagree with all of these arguments.  As males and females created in the image of God, we do not get to choose pronouns nor do we need to let others know what pronouns people should use to refer to us.  Knowing what words to use when talking about men and women is just a basic part of the English language.  

​God has created us all- as either a man or woman, and this is something that cannot be changed.  We live in a society that reduces gender to feelings and appearances.  We live in a society that rejects truth.  To reject the reality that there are only two genders is to reject truth and God Himself.

In the midst of this insanity and all of the people just going with the flow in order to not be seen as bigoted or hateful, there are some people who truly struggle with accepting who they are.  We need to affirm them in their goodness and see their dignity.  We need to walk with them in their struggle.  When it comes to men who think they are women, women who think they are men, or those who think they are neither, we need to treat them with the same love and compassion that we would anyone else.  However, to love is to want what is best for someone and desiring good for that person.  And this means speaking the truth.  We must be firm in our convictions and not back down.  Our witness on this issue is an opportunity to be Christ to others and share the truth, beauty, and goodness of the human person and who we were created to be.

If you’ve paid any attention to the media recently, whether the sports world or political world, you’ve probably heard about Lia Thomas and Rachel Levine.  Both of these males, now identifying as women, have insulted womanhood by reducing it to surgeries, clothing, and how they think it “feels” to be a woman.  And to be honest, my heart hurts for the people in our country who accept and celebrate this ideology.  It is disheartening that there are so many people who believe that who we are as male and female, and how we are different, doesn’t matter.  However, this simple truth is the basis for humanity.  God created men and women to complement each other and to reflect His love in unique ways.  This can never be changed, no matter what the world thinks.

As our country continues in this direction and we try to navigate this gender and pronoun war, we need to keep our focus on God.  We need to immerse ourselves in His love and the truth of how he created us- male and female, and in His image.  As we continue to encounter people sharing pronouns and asking us to go along with this whole ideology, we must give every person the respect and dignity they deserve, always speaking and acting with love.  However, “we can’t surrender to a lie.” -Chris Stefanick

For those of you who work desk jobs, you can probably relate to the struggle of trying to maintain good posture and being attentive for hours on end.  It is easy to become restless and to lose motivation.  What helps me to sit up straight and stay focused is my desk chair with a solid back to lean on.  There are a lot of things we probably lean on and depend on to get us through the day.  Whether it’s something like a chair, a favorite activity to give us a break, or other people, we all turn to different places for support.  But above it all, what, or who, are we leaning on the most?  Matt Maher, a contemporary Catholic artist, has a new song, “Leaning.”  These lyrics, “Let my restless soul be still and know, I am leaning on your everlasting arms” sum it up quite well.

In all that is happening in the world around us, we need to be still and be aware of the presence of God in our lives.  We need to let ourselves lean on the arms of Jesus.  This is the strong foundation we all need in our lives.  If we don’t lean on Jesus, we will lean on the things of this world.  These things cannot hold us up and we will fall into temptation, weakness, sin.  But to lean on the arms of Jesus is to know that we will never be dropped. 

Leaning on the arms of Jesus does not mean that we will never fall.  However, it does mean that we will be lifted up and embraced with an infinite and transformational love and mercy.  How do we lean on Jesus at all times?  We must fully put our trust in Him and surrender ourselves to Him.  We must deny ourselves, carry our crosses, and offer up sacrifices, asking Jesus to help us.  We are called to live every day with joy and use each moment as an opportunity to love.  It is only by leaning on Him that this can be possible.  

Think of people you know who have a really deep and strong faith that is unwavering.  The people that come to mind for me are people who are humble, but confident in Christ’s real and personal love and they are aware of their deep need for Him.  I want to be like these people, always leaning on His everlasting arms.  
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Jesus, help us to be still and know that we can lean on You because You are the only one who will never let us down.

A few days ago at work, conversation with a co-worker turned to faith.  (This is the same co-worker who had asked me about my faith and going to mass earlier this year).  The conversation involved discussion of Ash Wednesday, giving up things for Lent, not eating meat on Fridays and involved several questions.  She also asked if churches still had Stations of the Cross and told me she used to always go with her grandma when she was young.  She stated that she should go back to mass and in an attempt to offer encouragement, I simply responded, “yeah, you should!”  She said that I would have to go with her because she would not want to go alone.  What she said next is something that I’ve been reflecting on since.  “God wouldn’t welcome me back.”  I told her that God welcomes everyone back.  As Christians, this is what we are called to do.  To help others know that God loves them and pray that they would experience that love.

Maybe this is something that we focus on as we journey through this Lent.  As we walk with Jesus through the desert and reflect on His suffering and death, we have the opportunity to invite others to enter into their own spiritual journeys of prayer, reflection, and purification.  Everyday, as we work to turn our hearts and minds toward God and deepen our prayer lives, the hope is to become more like Christ.  And as we become more like Him, the hope is that others might see a glimpse of the love Christ has for them by the words we say and the things we do.

​Imagine if every single person would look at a crucifix and know that Jesus died for them because of a deep and personal love He has just for them.  Imagine if every single person would not only know this in their minds but also believe in their hearts that if they were the only person to ever exist, He still would have suffered and died for them.  

As we walk this journey and reflect on the passion and death of Christ, may we allow Him to remove every distraction, material attachment, worldly desire, and sinful habit in our lives so that after these 40 days we would be more like Christ.  When we become more like Christ, we can better reflect Him and His love to the world around us.  

My prayer for these next several weeks is that every Catholic, who has left the church or fallen away,  would look at Jesus on the cross, with His arms stretched wide open, and know that He is ready and waiting to welcome them back to Him.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you can probably recall my last post in which I shared about the good weekend I had.  (If you’re a new reader, welcome!)  This weekend was even better.  It was my turn to be on a retreat.  And this retreat was the Women’s CEW (Christian Experience Weekend).  To try to even begin to describe it seems impossible.  In my attempts to sum it up, I will say that God is so good and so powerful.  Of course we know that God is good and powerful.  We hear this all the time.  But this weekend, this wasn’t just something I knew in my mind.  It was something I experienced on a very real and deep level.

On the weekend, someone made a statement that sums up the experience quite well:  “The Holy Spirit is working overtime this weekend.”  The theme of the retreat was “Hearts on Fire” and there could not have been a more perfect theme.  The Holy Spirit showed up and set hearts on fire.  There were countless moments throughout the retreat in which the Holy Spirit made His presence known.  In fact, it wasn’t merely a few moments, but rather, the whole experience that was filled with His presence.  For me, one part that stands out is being prayed over and given a blessing before giving my talk, being prayed for during the talk, and then once again being prayed for after the talk as well.  It was an experience unlike anything else and there was no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit is real and was truly with us.  Having people lay their hands over me and pray took away every feeling of unease and it was as if I was lifted up and put right into the hands of God.

The whole weekend was so good and to try to convey the experience through words doesn’t seem to do it justice.  One retreat candidate from my table shared that, on Friday, she was not excited to come and did not really want to be there.  By Sunday, she didn’t want to leave.  I think this describes the Holy Spirit well.  Having an encounter like this is an experience you don’t want to leave.  You want to live in this sort of space forever.  It was filled with love, joy, peace, and goodness, all fruits of the Holy Spirit.  As I soak in all the graces from the weekend, the one thought taking over my mind is that I wish every single person, Catholic or not, could have this experience and know the power and realness of the Holy Spirit.  I think a lot of people, myself included, have often disregarded the Holy Spirit due to not being familiar with Him or being confused or unsure by Him.  I believe that if every Catholic could experience and be hit with the power and working of the Holy Spirit, the world would change.  It would be set on fire with hearts that are burning intensely with the love of God.

I think it is safe to say that anyone who has had a profound experience with the Holy Spirit wants others to have the same thing.  We all have friends, family members, co-workers, and other people in our lives who don’t have a fire burning in their hearts.  Maybe the flame went out, maybe it is there but very dim, or maybe it was never there to begin with.  We all want the people in our lives to have their hearts blazing. 

While we cannot make anyone experience the Holy Spirit, there are ways we can help.  We can invite people to retreats and events.  We can share books and other resources to help them learn more about how the Holy Spirit works.  Most importantly, we can share our witness of how the Holy Spirit has worked in our lives and how we have encountered Him.  Doing these things can help people recognize the small, ordinary moments that the Holy Spirit is present throughout their days because while the Holy Spirit can work in profound and powerful ways, He is also in the regular, everyday moments of our lives.  And sometimes, it takes huge and profound encounters with Him to recognize this.  

As I continue to reflect on the CEW retreat I was on this weekend, some lyrics from the song “Shine Jesus Shine” come to mind.  “As we gaze on your kingly brightness, so our faces display your likeness.  Ever changing from glory to glory, mirrored here may our lives tell your story…. Blaze, Spirit, Blaze.  Set our hearts on fire.”  It is easy to see when people’s hearts are on fire and when they are filled with the Holy Spirit because their lives are a reflection of Him.

​My prayer is that everyone would encounter the Holy Spirit in this way and know of His power, recognizing the work that He is doing in their lives constantly.  I pray that each and every one of us would be filled with the Holy Spirit and have our hearts set on fire even more than they already are, so much so that it would overflow into the lives of those around us, touching their lives and setting the world on fire.

This past weekend was one of the best in awhile.  I didn’t have any big plans and didn’t go anywhere far.  But what I did do was something more valuable and better than anything else I can think of.  With the retreat going on at my parish, I was able to spend a good amount of time sitting before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  To be able to drive just three minutes late at night or early in the morning to spend time in Eucharistic adoration not one, not two, but three days in a row was truly a gift that I didn’t know how much I needed.  Spending time in the small, cozy and warm makeshift chapel, lit by a few lamps brought so much peace to me.  I could have stayed there all weekend.  We all need these these kinds of experiences to help remind us of God’s love for us and to be filled by that love.

This weekend, I read a book called Breath of God, Living a Life Led by the Holy Spirit by Father Dave Pivonka.  One of the chapters discussed the concept of expanding our hearts.  He explained how we need to continually ask God to fill our hearts because they may leak over time due to things like lack of attention and sin and they can slowly deflate.  “God wants to give more of his spirit to us, to expand our souls, to bless us with more of his grace, his gifts, and more of his very life.  ”As I sat in adoration this weekend, I asked the Holy Spirit to fill my heart up so that I could love more and have a deeper faith.  And I am not lying when I say that I truly felt my heart being filled and expanded.  Sitting before Jesus, I experienced love that is more powerful than anything in the world and an increased desire to deepen my relationship with Him.

To the outside world, this all probably sounds crazy.  But when you experience those moments of intense peace and love, there is no denying the reality of our faith and the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  It is these moments that expand our hearts and our capacity to love.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with this love and this peace and all of the fruits of the Spirit, they will overflow into every aspect of our lives and permeate our whole being.

So how do we fill and expand our hearts?  The simplest way is to sit before God in prayer and ask Him.  As Father Dave explains in the book, “God wants us to ask for more of His presence.”  We need to continually pray and not be afraid to ask.  If we ask God with a real desire and sincere hearts, He will provide.  Whether it’s in big, overwhelming moments or the small, ordinary moments of our days, God will show us His love and fill us.    
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My prayer is that you would be able to sit before Jesus and experience your heart being expanded by the love and peace that only He can bring.  

I recently came across a video clip of Princess Diana and St. Mother Teresa together.  I was struck by the beauty in this video.  While Princess Diana served others and did a lot of charity work, she was also seen as beautiful by the world’s standards because of her physical appearance.  St. Mother Teresa, aged and wrinkled, small and hunched over, while not beautiful by the world’s standards, radiated beauty.  There is something about her smile that drew people towards her during her life (and still draws people towards her when we think about who some of our favorite saints are).  This is because of her holiness and her deep love for Jesus.  The closer we grow to God, the more our lives reflect a certain beauty that can help draw others to the beauty of God and a relationship with Him.

When people looked into the eyes of St. Mother Teresa, they saw Jesus.  She allowed Jesus into the deepest parts of her heart and invited Him to work in her life.  She prayed deeply and chose to follow His will each day.  She depended and trusted fully in God and knew she was in need of His mercy.  She recognized the dignity of every single person she encountered and served with great love and compassion.  Do we do these things?  This should be the goal for all of us- that people would look at us and see Jesus, that people might be drawn to Him because of the way we live our lives.

We are drawn to people who radiate Christ in their lives.  When we see people striving for holiness, we want to experience what they have.  Think about people in your life-  family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers.  When we see their joy, humility, and love, it draws us in because it is Jesus in them who is the cause of these fruits.
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We can see great beauty in the words St. Mother Teresa spoke and wrote and in her actions.  This is because all she did was for God and she allowed her life to be a reflection of Him.  God not only created beautiful things, but He is beauty Himself.  Beauty reveals God, which in turn reveals truth, love, joy, and all that is good.  May we all live our lives in a way that reflects God, so that others may come to know Him and find the beauty they are seeking.

Before the opening ceremony of the 2022 Olympics, some political commentators were discussing everything going on in China including, but not limited to, the abuse, human rights violations, and torment kids experience at boarding schools.  If anything, it was a reminder of how good we have it here in the United States.  Sure, our county has its problems and there are areas that could use improvement, but we are truly blessed.  This is especially true when it comes to our faith.  Catholics in various other countries around the world are literally risking their lives to attend mass and practice their faith while we have all the freedom to do so, yet so many often choose not to.

What are the excuses?  “It’s boring or too long.  I don’t get anything out of it.  My kid has a (insert sport) game/practice.  I can’t understand the priest.  We’re going on vacation.  I can pray at home.  I just don’t feel like going.”  This non-exhaustive list covers just a few of the many excuses we often hear when it comes to mass attendance.  And to be honest, it is quite embarrassing.  People in certain parts of the world are putting God above everything else, risking their lives and here we have people whining and complaining that sitting in church for one hour a week is just too long.

I think what it really comes down to is our understanding of the mass and how we prioritize everything in our lives.  Something that came up in conversation at my Bible study last week is how it seems like when our parents and grandparents were growing up, mass was a priority.  Churches were full and going to mass was an expected part of the weekend.  While I wasn’t alive then, it just seems like faith had a much larger role in people’s lives.  What changed?  

​If people knew that they could encounter Jesus Christ Himself in the Eucharist, maybe more Catholics would attend mass.  If people understood the need to worship God in praise and thanksgiving, maybe more Catholics would attend mass.  If people recognized the graces and fruits that come from mass, maybe more Catholics would attend mass.  People in certain countries realize and see the value of the mass so much that they do whatever they can to get there; whether that means traveling far distances or risking the possibility of violence and extreme persecution.

We can give thanks to God that we do not have to put our lives in danger to attend mass at our parishes.  This is a real blessing that we must not take for granted.  While we cannot force anyone to see the value of the Mass or make anyone change their beliefs, we can be witnesses and share about why the Mass is important to us and how it impacts our daily lives.  Let us pray that all Catholics would experience deeper faith and be filled with a greater desire to go to mass.

Do you ever fall asleep on your couch or in your recliner and wake up in the middle of the night, or the early hours of the morning?  For me, it is a regular occurrence.  When this happens to me, upon randomly waking, it is always perfectly silent.  There is no noise, all is still, and it is as if the world is on pause.  It is in these moments that I realize our great need for this kind of silence.  In our world that is loud, busy, and full of distractions, it seems impossible to cultivate this level of stillness and quiet at any point through our days.  However, it must become a priority, especially if we want to hear God more clearly.

While our world craves silence, they are also afraid of it.  To many people, silence can feel empty, pointless, and unproductive.  But silence is a powerful and life-giving place, where God comes into our minds and hearts.  It is in silence that we are able to become more aware of God’s presence.  It is in the silence that we can truly enter into prayer.

In the stillness and silence, we allow ourselves to listen, wait, and be receptive.  When we take time to rest in it, we are allowing ourselves to receive God’s deep love for us and the immense peace that He provides.  There is a lot of power in just being, rather than doing.

It is so easy for us to fill any potential moments of silence with noise and distraction.  Often times, this may be because it is uncomfortable and we find the silence too overwhelming.  We turn on the TV, open up social media, or find things to do that help us avoid the stillness.  When we encounter opportunities for silence, we must work to fully embrace them.  This is definitely not easy.  It requires commitment and determination.  It is something we need to practice continually throughout our lives.
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When we take time for quiet, we are filling a deep void in our lives- the void that we so often try to fill with everything else in the world.  In order to truly satisfy our deepest longing, we must fill ourselves with God.  This is done best in the quiet and still moments of our days.  This week, as you go throughout your days, challenge yourself to intentionally seek out silence.  Whether it is when you wake up, on your lunch break, or right when you get home from work, start with five minutes.  It will have a profound impact on your relationship with God.

Last Wednesday, after teaching my eighth grade faith formation class, I went home and cried.  On top of the facts that the class is one of the most disrespectful classes I’ve had in the past five years and that there are only two or three students, out of the 16, whose families attend mass, a group of them let me know that attending weekly classes was not the slightest bit important and that they didn’t understand why they had to go “just so they could get confirmed.”  We were having a discussion and they clearly and directly stated that “they never learn anything, it is a waste of time, and there should be other options.”  For some reason, hearing these things really hurt.  

As I was thinking about that evening and why those words seemed to sting more than they should have, I thought maybe it was because I try hard each week to engage them in the content through discussions and activities rather than spending 75 minutes just reading from a textbook.  I try to teach them about topics that they maybe are not really familiar with.  I introduce a new saint each week to help them learn about some of the many incredible examples we have of those who loved and served God with everything.  And ultimately, I try to do all I can to help the faith come alive and for them to come to know that experiencing the infinite love of Jesus through the Catholic Church is exciting and life-changing.  Different thoughts ran through my head.  I wondered if what I was doing was pointless and asked myself if I should even bother. 

A few days later, I came across a quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta in which she says, “Don’t give in to discouragement.  If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers.  Never bother about people’s opinions.  Be obedient to truth.  For with humble obedience, you will never be disturbed.”  As usual, God came in and revealed this profound truth, gently revealing my weaknesses.  As I reflected, I was reminded that I need to rely on God and his abilities, rather than my own.  I realized that through this difficult and challenging class, God has been providing me with opportunities for humility.  I need to let Him do the work and humbly submit to Him, so as not to be discouraged.  If I cling to the truth and trust more in the power of God, I will be able to continue on when it seems impossible.

How many times do we stand in the way of what God wants to do in and through us?  How many times have we blocked Him out, putting up walls around our hearts and thinking we can do something by our own strength and abilities?  How many times do we think we can do anything in our lives without Him?  Relying on ourselves will always leave us discouraged.  If we are not inviting God to fully take charge of all that we do, it might be because we do not fully trust Him.
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Lord, please empty me of myself so that You are all that is left.  Flood my soul with your love and mercy so that my life would bear the fruits that come from serving You.  Help me get out of the way and know that without You, I can do nothing.  Give me the grace to cooperate with Your promptings and to serve You with complete obedience and confidence in Your ability.  Amen.