A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw an abundance of tweets about a new single released by a current pop singer/rapper.  The song was getting all of the hype and the artist was being praised for her supposedly iconic and amazing song that promoted “female empowerment.”  In reality, the song is the exact opposite of that.  To give you an idea of how disgusting and degrading the song is, I felt like I needed to cleanse myself in holy water after simply reading the lyrics.  Since the song’s release, several popular conservative and Christian voices have taken to social media to criticize the song and call it out for the complete garbage that it is.  What shocks me the most are the attacks, hatred, and intense backlash that they have faced for their criticisms and for taking a stand for what is right.  When it comes to entertainment and media, there is a lot of garbage that we can consume.  As Christians, we are called to reject the things that do not align with our faith.

How many of us can explain how our lives would be different if we did not believe in Christ?  How many of us can say our lives look different than those who are not Christians?  How many of us have given up watching certain TV shows or listening to certain music because it is not compatible with our faith?  So much of the entertainment produced these days is filled with everything that is contrary to our faith.  It’s hard to find a show these days that does not include the mockery of religion, constant hook-ups and sexual sins, or destruction of marriage and the family.  Much of the music we can hear on the radio is vulgar and inappropriate.  People have become so desensitized to things like hearing God’s name taken in vain, not only from other people, but also from the media they watch and listen to.

Why do Christians find it so easy to consume these things?  “It’s what everyone else is watching.  It’s entertaining and funny.  What’s the big deal, it’s just a TV show.  There’s nothing else to watch.”  How many of us are willing to give up something for Christ?  Christ gave His whole life and suffered on the cross for us and we can’t even sacrifice a Netflix series?

Of course, we probably cannot avoid every single TV show or movie with some poor language in it or some questionable scenes.  That is not what it is about anyway.  We can however, actively choose what to watch and listen to and what to avoid.  We can take a stand for goodness, truth, and beauty.  Our faith needs to affect every part of our lives, including what we consume.  It’s not like we have to walk around listening to church hymns all day.  However, we can choose to give up the garbage and be different from those who do not profess Christ.

Let’s choose to fill our minds and hearts with all that is good and avoid things that are preventing us from growing in holiness!

Two weekends ago, my family had a rummage sale again after not having had one for a few years.  It was a great feeling to do some major cleaning and get rid of a lot of stuff that had built up over time but that we didn’t need.  It was a time of organizing and decluttering.  I think this experience of decluttering can, in a small way, relate to our lives as followers of Jesus.  

Reading today’s Gospel presents a challenge, especially in today’s world.  Americans love stuff and we have a lot of it.  We live in a materialistic world that tries to tell us we need to have the best and newest version of everything and that our worth is based on what we have.  A lot of our focus is on the “treasures” of this world rather than the treasure in heaven.  Oftentimes, we seem to become consumed by the possessions we have.  While material things are not bad and they allow us to enjoy ourselves, accomplish tasks, and live well, there is always the chance that we can become attached to these things and the pleasure they bring us.  Sure, a new car is great and that big house is proof of our hard work, but do they offer us something that Christ does not?  Having new cars, big houses, and the latest iPhone is not an issue at all.  It is when we become attached to these material possessions and the pleasures they may bring that it becomes a problem.  Do we rely on the things we have more than the real treasure that is found in the Lord?

Most of us are not called to give up all our possessions and live in poverty.  However, we are all called to examine the things in our lives that we cling to that prevent us from growing closer to Christ.  It is not just material items that can keep us from growing closer to God either.  We can dig even deeper and look inward, at the spiritual clutter we may have.  What things are in our hearts and minds that stop us from having a deeper relationship with Christ?  Negativity, comparison, worry, and pride are just a few things that can harden our hearts and make it difficult for us to better follow Jesus and love how we should.  When our minds and hearts are filled with unnecessary burdens, we can miss out on the love, joy, peace, and goodness that we are offered.

​My hope is that we can all remember that Jesus is the only treasure that can fully satisfy our hearts and fulfill all of our deepest longings.  Will we give up what we have in order to follow Him?

A few weeks ago at work, one of the program residents walked by my office and showed me a purchase that he had made.  It was not anything too exciting, just a black oscillating fan.  However, he was ecstatic about it, as he commented, “Check out this fan I bought!  It was only $10, praise the Lord!”  Although his statement was simple, it was so profound.  He recognized that something so small and simple was good and thanked God for it.  I think that is one thing we can all do more of.  How often do we take time to thank God for all of the good in our lives?  How often do we fail to see the goodness around us?

​The word “good” is used so much that it can seem to lose its meaning.  If we want to truly understand goodness, we can look to God.  Good is a word that is all-encompassing for who God is.  He is good in His love, grace, compassion, and mercy.  Even when we talk about God being good, it can be hard to remember what that really means.  “God is good.  All the Time.”  This is one of those phrases that we tend to walk around saying on a regular basis.  It’s definitely not a bad thing, as it is certainly true.  But for me, it is one of those statements I hear so often that I don’t usually give much thought to it.  How often do we actually soak these words in and let them penetrate our souls?  God is so good that we cannot comprehend the depth of His infinite goodness.

I think it starts with recognizing that every single good thing we have or experience, no matter how big or small, comes from God.  We cannot know or truly understand goodness apart from God.  Most of the time, it is easy to recognize the large blessings and gifts in our lives.  When it comes to the news of having a baby, a big accomplishment, or healing from a sickness, we are quick to thank God for being so good to us, our families, and friends.  However, it is in the small, everyday occurrences that we may fail to see God’s goodness.  Whether it is a coworker buying us lunch or someone opening the door for us, these small and simple things are opportunities for us to thank God.  God always gives out of His abundant goodness for our good.

In a world that can seem like it is filled with evil and darkness, God is still good.  In a world that throws us curve balls and changes our plans, God is still good.  In a world where there is pain, suffering, and loss, God is still good.  There are so many blessings we have in life.  It is often in the small, ordinary moments that we can take the opportunity to see God’s providence. Let’s open our eyes to all of the goodness around us and start praising God for the $10 fans in our lives.

Today’s Gospel is one of my favorites.  It is one of the passages I vividly remember hearing years ago at Fun n’ Faith Vacation Bible School.  As a little kid, what stood out to me was how cool it was that Jesus could walk on water!  Reading it now, something that stands out to me is the lack of trust Peter had in Jesus.  This leads me to reflect on my own trust in Jesus.  It is so easy for me to say, “Jesus, I trust in you” as a nice little phrase or in moments of prayer.  But do I really?  When it comes down to it, do I take everything in my life and hand it over to him, trusting that He is in control?

​We all experience so many opportunities in our lives to deepen our trust in Christ.  For me, one of those times came after college.  I was thinking I would get a full-time job somewhat easily, maybe after a month or two.  Little did I know that I’d spend almost a whole year applying to countless jobs, only to be rejected by all 40+ of them.  I would check my email only to find that I was turned down due to my lack of experience and qualifications.  My motto kind of became “another week, another rejection.”  It was a few months after graduating and in the midst of my job search that things changed.  I went to Eucharistic Adoration at my parish one early morning, after having not gone since being on campus.  There was a peace that washed over me and I was reminded to trust.  Jesus was calling me to get out of the boat and have faith in him.  He was telling me to stop doubting and just trust that he had a plan that was better than my own, even if I didn’t understand.  I needed to be reminded that everything would happen in his timing and that He would not abandon me.  It was all for good.  He was using that particular season to help me grow in my trust.

Trusting Jesus is not one of those one time experiences you have and then it’s done.  It is a lifelong process.  We can always grow more and trust more deeply.  Each day, in whatever situations we find ourselves, we have the opportunity to decide to trust Jesus.  When the world around us seems to be crashing, we can take our struggles, worries, and fears to Jesus and trust that he will catch us.

The world seems pretty crazy right now.  There is a lot of wind and we probably feel like we are being tossed about by the waves.  It is easy to feel like we are drowning and lost at sea.  In all of the waves of life, Jesus is ready for us to walk to him, in complete trust.  I pray that we can all get out of the boat, leave our struggles behind, and trust that he will be there to save us every time.

Jesus, I trust in You.

A few months ago, I came across a study about how young adults leaving the church start down that path at age 13.  This got me thinking about the class of eighth grade students I had this past year in CCD (religious education) class.  I was thinking about all of the discussions we had and topics we covered up until the pandemic cut the remainder of the year short.  One evening, I asked the class to make lists with the reasons why they thought going to Mass was important.  Before I had a chance to finish handing out the paper and pencils, I was interrupted by multiple students all at once.  I was bombarded with, “we don’t have time to go”, “that’s when my basketball tournaments are”, “it’s too long.”  I was a bit disheartened by the total dismissal of faith by a large number of the students.  Are these students on their way to abandoning their faith?  Will they be left wandering around life without knowing the power and love of Christ in their lives?

It does not take long to look around and notice that so many people around us are lost and desperately searching.  People are hungry and trying to be fed from empty plates.  They are thirsty and trying to drink from empty wells.  The one place that will truly satisfy them is the one place they are giving up on.  As churches lose more and more young adults in what seems like alarming amounts, hearts are being emptied and minds turned towards some of the world’s most dangerous weapons; power, pleasure, greed, and hatred.

The reasons people often give for leaving the faith sound similar to those of the middle schoolers, except for the fact that they usually sound more specific and personal.  Typical responses seem to be “there are too many rules”, “this teaching is offensive or outdated”, “the church has a lot of problems.”  Instead of taking the questions, confusion, struggles, and misunderstandings of the faith to Jesus at the foot of the cross in prayer, these things are brought into the world and dropped at the devil’s door.  He takes these things, runs with them, and doesn’t look back.

The world we live in is really good at convincing people that they don’t need faith or a faith community and that they can do everything on their own.  The world tells people that what really matters is to do “whatever makes you happy” and successful.  Our culture says that freedom and happiness can be found in doing whatever you want without any consequences.

​Jesus lays out a plentiful feast for us and so many people are digging in the trash.  People are chasing after things that will never truly satisfy them.  How can we fill our churches with people who are on fire in their faith?  When I take time to think about it, it always seems like an impossible task.  Then, I remember that it is God who will work within people’s hearts.  The one job I have is to strive to share the fullness, truth, beauty, and goodness that is found in having faith in Christ, one day at a time.

A few weeks ago, I was at the dentist having a root canal done.  I was zoned out and listening to the mindless chatter between the dentist and the dental assistant.  After some time, their conversation sparked my interest.  To sum up the conversation, the dental assistant was telling a story about her last pregnancy and said that it was a complete surprise.  She had gone to the doctor for a regular checkup and was surprised to find out that she was pregnant and four months along.  The part of the story that really caught my attention was when her doctor asked, “do you want to keep it?”  She was as shocked as I was that the doctor even asked that question.

Do you want to keep it?  This question perfectly exemplifies the culture that we live in.  We live in a culture of death, where life is seen as something that is easily discardable.  Our culture tells us that if there is any suffering, pain, or inconvenience involved, then that life is not worth it.  Our culture says, “don’t worry, we can get rid of it for you.”  Whether it is a baby in the womb, waiting  to take his first breath and remind us all of the beauty of life, or a terminally ill patient fighting each day and reminding us to remain hopeful and trust in God, our culture tries to strip the value of these lives and decide which lives are worth living and which are not.

As a whole, we need to start treating life like the precious gift that it is, from conception to natural death.  We need to live in a way that shows that life matters.  If our culture believed in the sanctity of life, then doctors would never dare ask a mother if she wants to keep her baby.  If our culture viewed life as a gift, then patients who are seriously ill would never be told that they don’t have purpose anymore.  If we are going to talk about the value of life, we need to look at the beginning and end, times in which people are most vulnerable.  If life inside the womb does not have value (it does), why would life outside of the womb have value?  If life at the end stages with old age or sickness does not mean anything, why would life in the young and healthy stages mean anything?

​Regardless of the stage of human life, location of  human life, or health of human life, it has value.  Human life reflects the presence of God.  Each life has value from the moment God calls that life into existence.  Pray that our culture will stop seeing life as a choice and start seeing it as a gift, beginning in the womb and ending with natural death.

Last week, someone asked me what the best bakery around the area was.  I didn’t have to think about it for one second and did not hesitate.  I quickly and excitedly shared that Uncle Mike’s is the elite choice and went on to explain everything that makes it so amazing, especially the donuts.  I explained everything that they offered and made sure the person knew it was my go-to place and that I was a huge fan of the business.  It is a game-changer as far as bakeries go.  We always share the things that we enjoy and the things that make us excited.  We share the things that are important to us and the things that have the biggest impact on us.  Of course it’s easy to share where to find the best donuts.  Who doesn’t like donuts?

What about faith?  Do we share our faith with the same confidence and excitement?  If something is a “game-changer” and has transformed our lives, wouldn’t we want others to know about it?  Nothing has impacted my life more than my faith.

As a Catholic and disciple of Jesus, my faith should be the most important aspect of my life.  If it is the most important aspect of my life, why am I not sharing it and letting others know how it’s impacted my life?  How many times have I covered up my faith in a conversation or situation with friends or coworkers because I was worried about being seen as weird or thought that it might offend them?  Why do I worry about losing friends when Jesus is the most significant friend I could have?  Why do I fear being mocked and rejected by those around me when Jesus experienced this more times than any of us ever could?

Whether it’s in-person or on social media, it’s always so much easier to go with the flow.  It’s more comfortable to agree with what everyone else is saying and just keep our faith out of the conversation.  But Jesus did not call us to be comfortable.  We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  When I think about sharing my faith, I can recall a great homily from Father Scott Valentine in which he emphasized that “yes, our faith is personal but it should never be private.”  In our faith, the idea of having a personal relationship with Jesus is always stressed and talked about.  While this relationship is personal, it is not meant to be withheld from others.  Why would we not share about the one who gives real meaning to our lives?

When I take time to think about sharing my faith, there are a few realities I have to address.  Do I value comfort and approval more than my faith?  Do I worry more about offending or upsetting people than denying Jesus?  Am I more concerned with what others might think of me versus what Jesus knows about me?

My hope is that I can be bolder in sharing my faith; the real game-changer in my life.  Sharing our faith with others doesn’t mean standing on street corners and yelling at people who go by.  It doesn’t even mean talking about Jesus every moment of every day.  I think it means living authentically, sharing the reason for our faith, and showing people how it changes us on a daily basis.  “From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.” 

God sees you.  Regardless of what the world is telling you or how you feel, God sees each and every person.  From time to time, I think we all tend to forget this truth.  However, imagine not even knowing this truth. 

I work for a nonprofit organization that serves individuals who are hoping to get their lives back on track.  The people who often come to the doors are those who have drug and alcohol addictions or have been recently released from prison.  The one factor that unites them all is that they have nowhere to go and they are hoping to transform their lives and get out of the dark places they are in.  

One day, within the first few weeks of my job, one of the residents of the program said something that really struck me.  Towards the end of my interaction with this resident, he said “Thanks for remembering my name.”  I was taken aback and somewhat confused as to why I was being thanked for something so simple.  After reflecting on that interaction for days, and even weeks after, it hit me.  It is likely that this resident often feels unseen, unheard, and forgotten about.  This is why simply remembering his name was such a big deal to him.  It was not long after that I heard similar comments from other residents.  Another remark I heard was “You have a crazy memory.  You remember my name.  You probably only see me once a day and you remember.”  A third comment that comes to mind is “I can’t believe you still remember my name.”

All of these comments have allowed me to reflect on the truth I shared in the first sentence of this post.  God sees every single person, even when the world around them fails to do so.  Many of these people go through their days feeling like no one really cares or sees them.  If they feel unseen by the people around them, it is likely that they feel unseen by God.  This made me think about how I view every person I encounter.  Am I making God known to them through my words and actions?  Am I helping them to remember that they are created in the image and likeness of God and that He sees them every moment of every day?  If the people around them cannot see the dignity and worth they have, how will they believe that the God of the universe sees them?  The first step has been realizing that I need to let God use me to make him known.  It is simple, but definitely not easy.  My prayer is that I can become better each day at sharing God’s love and that every person will realize that they are clearly seen, fully known, and deeply loved by God.