Our culture puts a big emphasis on growth and progress.  We are urged to focus on the growth and progress in countless different aspects of our lives.  Whether it’s our fitness, careers, or various life skills, we are continually urged to improve and achieve progress that can be measured and is visible to others.  It should be no different in our spiritual lives.  This should be the one area that takes precedence over all others when it comes to focusing on change and growth.  Ultimately, it should be the area of our lives in which the most growth and transformation can be seen, by ourselves and others, and of course, by God.

Something I enjoy doing is looking back at old journals, notes, posts, and anything else that helps indicate the faith I had in high school, college, and really any time before the present moment.  Being able to look back and reflect on the disposition of my heart and level of my faith at different times and see how I have grown in my love for God and in the depth of my faith is good and worthwhile.  In my reflecting and looking back, I have been able to recognize how God has worked in my life, even in the times I may not have noticed Him.

Growth in our spiritual lives is absolutely vital.  If we’re not moving forward, it means we’re either standing still or moving backwards.  We must not be satisfied with this.  Each day, our focus should be on drawing nearer to God.  Strengthening our faith and cultivating a deeper prayer life is where we should work to see the most progress.  There is no end to growing closer to God on this side of heaven.  We will never be close enough until we see Him face-to face.
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Growing in our spiritual lives does not happen overnight.  It is a long, challenging, and sometimes arduous process.  There are many obstacles that get in our way.  We can be dragged down by the culture.  Whether it’s the media, various temptations, the influence of other people, or simply our own weaknesses and doubts, it can often feel like an uphill battle.  The path we walk to grow closer to God will be challenging and not always smooth.  But it will be beautiful and fruitful.

When I think of my faith journey, I can recognize that I have been transformed and have seen a lot of growth and progress over the years.  However, I know that I have a long way to go.  I have a lot more to learn and much more growth to experience.  I am not even close to where I need to be, but with the help of God, I am taking small steps.  

Each day, we must open our hearts to God and invite the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.  It is through our ‘yes’ to God and our willingness to be changed and transformed that we will see and experience a deeper and stronger faith.  Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo’s personal motto and a commonly repeated phrase was “piccoli passi possibili,” which means “small possible steps.”  That is all it really takes.  A willingness to let God work in our hearts and lives and a desire to make progress in our faith day by day.  May we all take small, possible steps walking closer to God always.

I’m currently reading a book called, Sr. Clare Crockett: Alone with Christ Alone.  To sum it up in a few words, the story is of a young sister who experiences a deep transformation in her life and comes to solely desire the love of Christ.  Looking through the profound statements and passages that have stood out to me so far, there is a line I highlighted that says, “‘We have to be saints!  It’s all or nothing!  We can’t remain in mediocrity.  We have to fight with all our strength against the obstacles that impede us from growing.’”  What’s stopping us from holiness and working towards sainthood?  At my Bible study last week, someone brought up a podcast episode from Father Mike Schmitz in which he discusses that we are given everything we need to become saints and if we don’t, it’s because we don’t want to.  Those words cut like a knife but it’s only because they are true.

Do you ever have moments of intense spiritual dryness?  These may be times where you’re unmotivated, apathetic, and experiencing difficulty in praying and in your faith in general.  It can feel like you’re just going through the motions or like prioritizing your relationship with Jesus is the last thing you want to do.  It’s easy for me to tell myself that Christ is my number one focus in my life.  Oftentimes, that is a lie and Jesus  being above all is a good and nice thought, but it’s not my reality.  It seems like too much effort and then I realize I often choose other things first.  It is in these times that we must cling to our faith and continue to draw nearer to God through prayer, scripture, and the sacraments.  We are given all the graces we need to get to heaven.  Do we really want it?  Real faith is continuing to show up, pray, and love Christ even when our spiritual lives seem stagnant.

No matter how strong our faith is, we will all experience these times; times when we feel like it’s us alone against the whole world, times when we feel like Satan is working harder, times when we feel like something is wrong with us.  It’s not a matter of whether or not we will experience these moments in our lives, but it is how we respond to them that matters. 

The path of holiness and the road to sainthood never stops.  It is a daily journey we must walk, even in those times where we may be experiencing dryness or struggle in the spiritual life .  God has given us other people to help us along the way- a community of people to pray for us and who we can draw inspiration from.  We can turn to these family members, friends, and other parishioners when our faith lives are weak and mediocre and when we need accountability and to be challenged.  We must spend extra time in prayer and immerse ourselves more fully into scripture.  We need to go to the sacraments and spend time before Jesus in adoration.
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It’s all or nothing.  If we desire Christ, we will fight against the obstacles that come our way.  We will keep walking the path to holiness and continue choosing to grow through the dryness, difficulty, and mediocrity.  Are you all in?

Opportunities for us to talk about and share our faith, even if only in small ways, present themselves on a regular basis and more often than we think.  Are we open and ready for these moments?  Are we living in ways in which our faith is reflected in our daily living, rather than keeping our faith in a box separate from everything else?

Last Thursday at work, some co-workers and I were on our post-lunch walk.  As we approached the parking lot to go back inside, one of them caught up to me, and asked, “Katie, do you go to mass every weekend?”  This question was followed by questions about where I go, what time I go, and if I go with anyone.  She then proceeded to tell me that she wanted to start going to mass again after a long time, but didn’t want to go alone.  I expressed that I would be more than happy to go with her any time.  While her question took me by surprise, it made me excited.  The night before, I had been telling my brother about how I knew a few of my co-workers had either grown up Catholic and left the faith or who were still Catholic but did not really practice.  We had discussed how I could evangelize in small ways and share my faith in ways that were not forceful, but authentic and loving.  I had prayed for God to provide opportunities and asked the Holy Spirit to help me see and be open to these opportunities.  I figured that there was no way any conversation at work would naturally turn towards faith.  But God sure provided.

Earlier that day, my co-worker was looking at the Holiday schedule for 2022.  She commented, “I feel like we should have Good Friday off.”  I simply responded, “yeah, me too.”  She then asked if I was Catholic and said she was too, which is something that had briefly come up before.  That was the end of the conversation.  I didn’t think anything of it until later that day on our walk.  It is these simple conversations that God wants to use to inspire and open doors.
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How often do we leave our faith at the door when we get to work, school, or anywhere else that is not the physical church building?  Maybe we find ourselves compartmentalizing our lives, separating our faith from everything else.  We should have a desire to integrate God into every aspect of our lives, allowing Him to be reflected in all we say and do.  Of course, this is easier said than done.  But when we open ourselves up to be a vessel of God’s love and truth, He can draw others closer to Him and give them a desire to know Him more deeply.  Our words and actions can be an invitation to others.

Whatever you are doing today, pay attention to those invitations from the Holy Spirit to enter into a conversation about faith, even if it is very brief or seems insignificant.  Whether the conversation is about your weekend plans to go to mass, the latest spiritual book you are reading, or a prayer intention, God may be stirring something up in someone’s heart and it just might lead to a small spark that ignites a fire.

I recently read an article that discussed a study about religious affiliation in the United States.  The number of people who are identifying as religiously unaffiliated is growing rapidly.  Referred to as religious “nones,” this group includes those who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or “nothing.”  This study, released earlier this month, revealed that around three in ten Americans fall into the religious “nones” category.  Reading this reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, from St. John Paul II, which says, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you.”  If we’re not seeking Jesus, we will be left disappointed and unsatisfied with the things of the world that we are chasing.

As a Catholic, my main goal each day is to seek Jesus in all things so that I can grow closer to Him.  Of course, I often fail at prioritizing this goal in my life, but it still is my number one goal.  What do people without faith seek?  What are their goals in life?  If the only goals I was striving to reach were ones regarding power, money, status and other worldly successes and pleasures, I feel as if I would often find myself hungry and yearning for more, for something deeper.  What or who are people without faith living for?  I ask this not in an attacking way but out of genuine curiosity.

Not having any sort of faith would mean not having any real reasons to live in a certain way and doing whatever we want.  We can fill our lives with everything we could possibly dream of and all the things we would ever want.  But what happens when that is not enough?  What happens when we are let down, hurt, disappointed, or experiencing changes in our lives?  We will find ourselves feeling empty and searching, with no one to turn to and nowhere to go.
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When we seek Jesus instead, we will find that we have everything.  A life with Christ does not mean that we will not be disappointed, hurt, or let down at times.  However, the difference is that He will never be the one to cause these feelings.  When we seek Jesus, He reveals to us that He is complete love, joy, goodness, and everything in between.  He knows our hearts and is the only one that can fill the empty spaces.  While more and more people are trying to find their happiness in nothing, may we all live in a way that shows that it can only be found in Jesus, who is everything.

I have a friend who teaches at a Catholic school.  This Catholic school held adoration with the main prayer intention being for the unborn.  This resulted in parents becoming angry and arguing with administration whether it was appropriate to discuss the sanctity of life at a Catholic school.  Hearing this was quite sad, yet, these kinds of situations occur all the time.  Whether it’s people who have fallen away from the Church, people who are Catholic but only believe some teachings ,or the media, a common mindset is, “how dare a Catholic church teach Catholic beliefs?”  We cannot pick and choose what we believe.  We must walk boldly and confidently in the opposite direction of the world.

Sometimes, people will blatantly disagree with various teachings of the Church and act like the Church is wrong and must change and bend to meet their own personal ideas and attitudes.  This often presents itself in phrases such as, “I’m Catholic, but…” or “I was raised Catholic…”.  These types of phrases usually indicate misunderstandings, being misinformed, and poor catechesis.

The problem is, so many barely scratch the surface when it comes to the Catholic Church.  They briefly glance at the beliefs and teachings and see them as rules and requirements that must be followed, rather than as a way of life that allows us to follow God’s will for our lives, live more fully, and experience true joy.  When we examine what the Church teaches and strive to see the world through a lens of faith, what we believe makes sense.  There is a reason for everything that we profess.

How do we help those who may be Catholic but disagree with certain beliefs?  While we cannot change any minds ourselves, we can help open that door.  We can strive to be that strong Catholic example in the lives of others, especially for those who may not have had anyone like that at specific or formative times in their lives.  Nothing will change by being forceful or arguing angrily.  It is by our love and authentic Christ-like lifestyles that will make a difference.
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Jesus, thank you for giving us the Church that is filled with good, true, and beautiful teachings.  Help us to have the courage to go against the ways of the world.  Fill us with wisdom and knowledge so that we could help others understand the truth and lead them closer to You.  May we always strive to enter more deeply into the Church and move farther away from the lies of the world.  Amen.

Think about the moments where you have been the most at rest and filled with peace.  Think about the environment that you’re in during these times.  Think of the sounds that you hear, or maybe don’t hear, around you.  What do you see?  Bring yourself to this place right now.  Maybe you’re in a chapel, in adoration, sitting in your big comfy chair at home, in the mountains, or by flowing water.  Have you made time and room for these restful and peaceful places recently?  Have you made time and room for Jesus?  As we journey through this last half of Advent, we must be working on opening our hearts and lives to Jesus, who is peace Himself.

The world does not want you to be quiet and calm right now.  According to the world’s standards, if you’re not busy, stressed, and rushing around to get ready for the “perfect” Christmas, you’re not doing it right.  There are parties to attend, gifts to buy, food to prepare, and decorations to hang, all which are good things when we don’t allow them to make us lose our focus.

During this remaining time of Advent, we should be emptying ourselves of our distractions, selfish desires, and anything that is taking up space meant for Christ.  We must be slowing down and listening in a world that seems to be always moving faster.  To really stop and listen is a spiritual exercise that requires a great deal of discipline.  It will not simply happen on its own.  We have to be committed and enter into those places and spaces of prayer and silence.  It also takes patience- to wait, listen, and watch.

Advent is a time of waiting, listening, and anticipation.  By the time Christmas arrives, we should not feel burned out and ready for the holiday to be over.  We should be prepared and renewed in our faith, ready to allow Jesus to come into our hearts more fully, so that we can love Him and others more deeply.  We should be filled with the hope, love, joy, and peace that only He can offer.
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Jesus, thank you for giving us this season of preparation .  Help us to seek out the quiet and peaceful places so that we can listen better and become more like You.  Lead us away from the temptations to be sucked into the noise and chaos.  May we use this time to prepare to welcome you into our hearts with humility and joy.

Last week, I asked my 8th grade religion class where they had seen Jesus in the last week.  I asked them to reflect on that question for a few minutes so that we could go around the room and share.  Immediately upon asking the question, they shouted out, “What do you mean?  This question doesn’t make any sense! We don’t understand!”  This got me thinking about how there are so many people who see Jesus as just a man who lived and died 2,000 years ago and who died on the cross a long time ago for our sins.  This mindset makes Jesus irrelevant and outdated.  However, this could not be further from the truth.  Christ is with us always, alive and moving in our lives and He wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us.

Our task is to learn to recognize that Jesus is present in the moments throughout our days.  This takes faith.  The stronger our faith is, the easier it becomes to be aware of His presence.  He is continually loving us, speaking to us, and calling us to love and serve Him.  We must continually seek Him and invite Him into our lives.  

To have a relationship with the God of the universe who created us and loves us changes everything.  It allows us to be fully alive and to live more abundantly.  It allows us to love others better and see the value and dignity of every person we encounter.

We can experience Jesus every day if we open our minds and hearts to Him.  Whether it’s through the people around us, inspiring words we read or hear, or a situation that we witness, He is there.  We can only begin to recognize Jesus in our lives when we spend time getting to know Him more.  Jesus is more than just a statue hanging in church.  He is working in our lives and in our hearts, as long as we invite Him in.  Jesus is always present in our lives, it’s just a matter of us recognizing Him.
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Jesus, thank you for your presence in our lives.  Help us to see you and hear your voice in the noise of the world.  Give us a desire to deepen our relationship with You so that we could become more aware of your constant love for us. Amen.

Recently, I was at a meeting where a discussion of Mass came up.  The conversation essentially centered around  the million dollar question of, “how can we get people, especially young people/families, into the pews?  The statements and comments that were made reflected the mindset that the mass should be about what we want and how we feel.  We will never get anywhere as a church if we don’t understand that mass is about God and for God, not us.

Being at this meeting and hearing the comments and statements about what should be changed or added to mass was quite uncomfortable, especially considering these comments came from adults.  There were comparisons of the mass to Protestant and non-denominational services.  “We should have music that makes us want to dance in our seats.”  “The choir should sing a new song every week.”  “We should add special things to make it more exciting and lively.”  “People should be more social and friendly before mass instead of just facing forward and sitting silently in the pews.”  These were all real comments that were made out loud.  The problem with these comments is that they all miss the point about mass.  Being Catholic, we are set apart from any other denomination or service.  Just because one church does “this” or “that” or does things a certain way, it does not mean that we should too.  Another statement someone shared was that “they do not know why they show up to mass every week because they don’t feel happy and good after leaving, but they keep going because they might just get something out of the homily that day.”  (We definitely can be inspired and touched by homilies and hear something we may need to hear.  However, this should not be the sole reason we go to mass.)  When we stop making it about ourselves and turn the focus to Jesus, it changes everything.

Jesus makes Himself fully present on the altar in the bread and wine at every single mass and yet people are having conversations about how to make the mass more exciting?  We can change the music, have the best homilies, and have the most vibrant community.  But if Jesus is not enough for people, none of the other stuff matters.  If people think the mass is for our entertainment, we have it all wrong.

At every mass, Jesus is fully present in the Eucharist-body, blood, soul, and divinity, and He gives Himself fully to us.  If that is not enough to bring Catholics to mass, nothing is.  We don’t go to mass to experience warm and fuzzy feelings.  We go to mass to worship and encounter the living God who has breathed life into us and given us everything.

Jesus, thank you for loving us so much that you make yourself fully present to us at every mass.  Help us to appreciate this amazing gift that you give us.  Open our eyes and our hearts and deepen our faith so that we would strengthen our love for the Eucharist and the mass.  Give us a desire to share this love with others.  Amen.

About a month ago, I started a new job.  As I look back at the process and timing, I can easily recognize that it was completely God at work.  Do we fully and completely trust in Him and His promises? 

I had decided to pray a novena to St. Therese of Lisieux leading up to her feast day, October 1st.  My intention for the novena was for a new job.  I ended up being offered a new job on the last day of the novena.  This seemed almost unreal.  Was this just a coincidence or God?  Two weeks later, on the first day of my new job, I woke up to see the organization I had just finished working for in the news, and not for good reasons.  An arrest was made that morning.  The crazy and perfect timing of me starting a different job seems unbelievable.  I knew in that instant, without a doubt, that it was God.

The prayer and desire for a new job, I realized, was secondary.  Although that was my petition for the novena, what I was actually praying for was greater trust in God and confidence in His promises.  Part of the prayer each day was “Your trust in God was complete.  Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions…(x).  Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God.”  Those are some powerful and life-changing words.  To be able to trust God in all things is a sign of true faith.  We can see this in St. Therese and so many other saints.  Their lives are great examples of how we can grow in our trust and love for God.

We can pray for a lot of different things but ultimately, we need to be able to trust God and believe fully in His goodness, love, and mercy, regardless of how He answers our prayers.  The more we trust God, the more it spills into every aspect of our lives.  When we trust God, it becomes easier for us to see Him working in our lives.  It becomes easier for us to recognize the gifts and blessings he pours out upon us.  It becomes easier for us to count on His timing rather than our own.  The next time you pray for a specific intention, you may just be praying for greater trust and confidence in God’s goodness.
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God, thank you for loving us and providing what we need when we need it.  You created us and know our every need.  Give us the desire to do Your will and to trust You with our lives.  Help us to see Your goodness and mercy in our lives every day.  May we never fail to recognize You in our midst.  Amen.

A few days ago Taylor Swift released a new album.  I don’t pay too much attention to her, but talk about the album has been blowing up on social media and people were weirdly emotional about the songs that were released.  While most of the discussion was praising Swift and hyping her up, I came across some commentary that was the opposite.  What this person essentially said is, Taylor Swift has built her career on the hate she has for others.  I agree with this opinion, as it seems some of her most recent music is a reflection of the anger, hatred, blame, and bitterness that is built up in our culture.  As Catholics and Christians, we must do better.  We cannot let ourselves fall into this trap of resentment and bitterness.

It seems as if almost every area of our lives is permeated by this attitude of revenge and destruction.  Music, TV shows, and movies are just the beginning.  People so often complain about being offended by the smallest things, yet, will blatantly speak curse words directly to or about another person.  Using derogatory and negative language towards another person is what is truly offensive.  When we walk over other people to try to lift ourselves up, we walk over Jesus himself.

We are called to live in a way that reflects Christ- his mercy, forgiveness, humility, and love.  If we all strived to be a little more forgiving, a little more humble, and a little more loving, the world around us would change.  To do this, we must remember that we are all sinners who fall short of perfection.  But even greater than our sinfulness and weaknesses is Christ’s life-giving healing and love.

Look at a crucifix.  Look at the wounds, the scars, and the beaten and bloody body of Jesus.  This love that he poured out on the cross is for you and for me and for all who have ever lived.  He died for every single person in this world; even those who you think have wronged you or those who you may have been hurt by.  It is only by His example and help that we have the capacity to love, forgive, and humbly admit when we are wrong.
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Jesus, thank you for your unending love and forgiveness.  Help us walk in your path.  Give us the grace to live counter- culturally and in a way that takes others by surprise.  We are far from perfect, but may all that we do and say be a reflection of You- who are perfect in love, mercy, and humility.  Amen.