Reflections of a beloved son

“Is it not you alone, O LORD, our God, to whom we look?” Jeremiah 14:22b When things are going smoothly, where do we look to? When things are growing increasingly difficult, who do we turn to? When times of trouble come and hardships arise, who do we ask for help and guidance?  Do we face them or do we hide from them? Do we ignore them and find a distraction? Do we turn to people or do we turn to drugs or alcohol or some other quick fix and temporary comfort? None of those things will bring us the peace and solution we so desperately want and need. We ought to look to the Lord, to God, to Our Father. In our time of desperate need, we must turn and look to God for He alone can give us what we need – not escape from our pain, but – to walk through those dark valleys, to weather those violent storms, and to climb up from the bottomless pit, trusting that all the pain and suffering we come to experience will only bring about good. The good that makes us strong and that enables us to ...

What comes to your mind when you hear “living freely?” Living freely does not mean living without pain or suffering, but it does mean embracing them. We may have a tendency to want to hide those pains and sufferings because we are taught that we ought to be ashamed of them and that any appearance of pain is a sure sign of weakness. Hiding your pain and suffering is weakness. Embracing them and owning them is strength and freedom. Jesus did not hide His pain. He cried. He wept. He grimaced. Jesus embraced His suffering because He knew somehow that the Father was going to bring about great good from it. So, how can we label as shameful or an embarrassment something through which God can bring great good?   We must not fear our weaknesses or our past. God knows them well and He will use them for good. The best example a father can give to his children is to show them that a real man loves and allows himself to be loved, and by doing so experiences pain and is not afraid to show it...

As Catholic Christians we believe in the Trinity, that is that there are Three Divine Persons in One God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of the same substance, and each is not a part of a whole. There are one but distinct. Drawing from St. Augustine, they are a community of love where the Father is the lover, the Son is the beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the love that exist within that community. The Trinity exists as a relationship. Our God is a relational God, and God wants a relationship with us. The Father calls out to us and sent us His Son, Jesus who came to give us life and to bring us to the Father, who sent the Holy Spirit to be with us always, reminding us of how much we are loved. The Trinity is a mystery, which means we may never really fully understand it, but we don’t need to. We only need to believe. Our faith and belief is our response to the call of the Father. This call of the Father is an invitation to be in relationship with Him and the Son and the Holy Spiri...

Eternal life does not only begin when we die. The world preaches a world of immediate pleasures and gratification and a disordered understanding of "living in the present moment." For today's world "living in the present moment" means to take advantage of everything and everyone for our own benefit and pleasure. "You only live once." We all want to live joyful and full lives but living it in a way that pursues selfish pleasure does not lead to it. Jesus tells us that to know Him and the Father is to have eternal life. Eternal life begins now. To live in the present moment and to seize the day is to live eternal life - living life to the full, living life knowing we have been so loved and blessed. So loved and blessed not because we earned it, but because we have a Father who loves us for who we are.

Our lives do not come from ourselves and we do not live on our own. Our life is a gift from the Father. And we know that any life is dependent on so many things, but among them is oxygen as transported by the circulatory system. Our network of blood vessels is so intricate (how can anyone say it just so happened to be that way! It must have been designed by a Creator) and they each are joined together and are grafted onto a source. As Christians, we must be grafted onto a similar source of life, and that source is Christ Himself. Apart from Christ we have no life, and any life that we think we would be living is one that is unfulfilled and is one that we ultimately will feel to be lacking. So, we must graft ourselves onto Christ. Our Lord implores us to remain with Him as He remains in us so that we may truly be one with Him and the Father.

What does it mean to love someone or something?  Our modern world today tells us "do what you love, do what makes you happy, and do what feels good." So then love makes us happy and feels good.  Yes and no.  When you are in the presence of someone you love, there is a peace and joy in our hearts that do not get troubled.  Even when there are challenges and hardships, where there is true love, peace and joy and hope remains.  Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.   "Where charity and love are, there is God." True and genuine love is the love that comes from God.  The love with which God created us and for which God created us.  Loving is wanting and willing the good of the other.  Sometimes this love feels warm and fuzzy, but sometimes this love comes in the form of discipline. When a parent disciplines his child, he does not because he enjoys it but because he wants what is best for his son.  Likewise, when the son disrespects his father ...

" Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us" (Jn. 14:8).  That is what Philip asked of Jesus.  At this point Jesus had said that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can go to the Father except through Him.  But then Philip wanted more.  He wanted to see the Father.  In being bold, Philip may seem to not have been not listening well!  But, nonetheless, Philip wanted intimacy with the Father. Initially Philip may come across as "What?  Why is he asking that?  Did he not hear what Jesus just said?"  But on the other hand, it could be because Philip listened intently to "No one comes to the Father except through me," that He then asked Jesus to show him the Father.  If Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and all who wishes to go to the Father must go through Him, then it was fitting for Philip to ask Jesus that question.  Though Jesus seemed a bit annoyed and disappointed, "Have I been with ...

"Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you" is how the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary at the Annunciation  ( Lk. 1:26-38 ).  What a greeting, and what a woman.  Today we are reminded of God's unwavering love and boundless mercy towards us.  He loved us so much that He was willing to send His only Begotten Son into the world, being born in this blemished world of ours.  He chose to be born into poverty.  He chose to take on sin so that we would not die, but have eternal life. Take some time to read through the Annunciation account.  Try to imagine yourself as Mary, a young teenage woman who was being diligent in her chores at home and suddenly this happened.  Imagine God sending His messenger to you and asking you to take on a certain mission.  How would you feel?  How would you respond? Consider this reflective imagery: In many respects, God comes to us everyday and greets us warmly and lovingly as Gabriel did with Mother Mary....