Reflections of a beloved son

“The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.” Matthew 12:14-15a   Sometimes we just need to take a step back and breathe. It’s tempting to get caught up in the moment, especially when in a place of darkness. When the Pharisees gathered together like a brood of vipers to plot against Jesus, Jesus withdrew from that place. He withdrew, He did not hide. Jesus saw danger and, in His wisdom, He decided to step away and go somewhere else. That does not make Him weak. He stepped away perhaps also because He saw that the Pharisees’ hearts were so hardened and no matter how much He said or tried to do they would not listen. And so, He needed to move on. Stepping back is not giving up. It is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of deep and profound trust in the Lord. Sometimes stepping back or stepping away can be the biggest and most important step we take. There are times in our lives and maybe ev...

“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27 When asked “Why did God make you,” the Baltimore Catechism teaches, “to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” Before we can serve Him or love Him, we need to know God. But how? Through prayer. Not just the prayers we learned to memorize, but rather conversing with God. Speaking with Him, sitting with Him, sharing with Him everything that is on your heart, and listening to Him. It is only in conversation and in spending time with the Lord will you come to know Him, and in knowing Him and how much He loves you, you will come to love Him. And this “belovedness” or being loved by the Father will only increase in you the desire to love Him more so that everything that is important to Him is important to you. This then moves us to service. When we come to know God we will come to lov...

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.’”   Matthew 9:2   We are told that “when Jesus saw THEIR faith” was when the paralytic was healed. Jesus was so moved by the people and their love for this friend and brother of theirs that He healed him. Love, my friends, bring healing. Not the kind of love that seeks pleasures or self-interest, but the kind of love that wants only the good for another. The kind of love the moves us to sacrifice our own comforts and wants for the sake of another, even to the point of sacrificing our own lives.   That is the kind of love that those friends had when the put aside their own wants and struggled to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus.   We need one another. Intercessory prayer is crucial. We are not alone on this journey of faith. Sometimes when we are paralyzed by our sinfulness and shame, we must ask others to help bring us to Christ. We can not do this alo...

“‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.’ He said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’”   Matthew 8:6-7 Sometimes people ask me “Does prayer work?” I always say “Yes, it does.” Prayer matters. Prayer is our relationship with God and anything and everything we say to Him and bring to Him matters. We often hear people say “pray for me” or “pray for me mother” or something similar. There’s something inside our hearts that know that it means something when we ask others to pray for us.   In essence we are really asking to be a part of a relationship, a loving relationship together with God. The Roman centurion went to Jesus when his servant was dying. Though he was not a professed believer he believed in the healing power of Christ. How did he know? He must have asked around and heard people talking about Jesus. But it was time for him to find out for himself. When he brought his plea and request before the Lord, Jesus simply said “I will go and he...

As humans we have a longing for intimacy and for relationship. We are wired for love because that is from and out of which we are created. Whether on the surface or deep down we have a desire to be with people. In my experience, sometimes being in a place at night with no one around, especially in new and unfamiliar places it can be daunting and sometimes there is fear. But once there is another person there, this fear usually goes away. Have you ever experienced that before? This deep longing for relationship comes from an even deeper desire – the one relationship from which all others become possible, our relationship with God. Sometimes we may feel far and distant from God or that we do not know how to “get in touch” with God. So, we try to look for Him in things and other people. But, first we ought to go to the place were God speaks to us – in the stillness of our heart. The Prophets tell us that God was not in the earthquake or fire, but rather God was in the “tiny, whispering so...

How do you pray?  When I begin to pray, I usually start with “Hey Jesus. How are you?” Then I thank Him and ask Him for the graces and things I need. However, sometimes my prayer can seem to formal. When facing the followers of a foreign god, Elijah wanted to show them that there is only One God, and so he asked them to ask their god to send down fire for the offering. No matter how much they called and asked, no fire came. And so Elijah turned to heaven and asked the Lord to send down fire so that those present would come to know and believe in the One True God. Elijah prayed and said “Answer me, Lord!”  And guess what?  God sent down fire. Oftentimes we are too “gentle” and “safe” in our prayer.  Like Elijah we ought to be bold in our prayer!  God is all-powerful and all-good! There is NOTHING that He cannot do. Don’t withhold anything from God. He wants to hear it. There is nothing He can’t handle. He wants to hear from you. He created you. He loves you and H...

Before Jesus died, He entrusted Mary into John’s care.  At the same time, Jesus was entrusting John and the entire Church to Mary. One of the very last things Jesus did before He breathed His last was to make sure Mary had someone to look after her and that the Apostles had someone to look after them. Even at the Cross, in His pain and agony He thought about others. As Son he made sure His mother will be taken care of, and as Teacher he made sure His disciples and followers will have a familiar face to remind them of His love. Today, we honor Mary as Mother of the Church. How blessed are we that we have a Mother who intercedes for us and brings all our needs to Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ! When you feel all alone and that no one cares, remember and know that Mary does. She is your Mother. Jesus entrusted you under her care. Knowing how the world is having lived in it, Jesus knew we could not be left to our own devices. We needed someone to lead us, guide us, encourage us, care...

After Jesus told Peter what would happen to him, he turned to John and asked Jesus, “ What about him?” Peter was so interested in the affairs of others that Jesus had to remind him to focus on what he had been asked to do. Sometimes in our lives we may get carried away in the affairs of others that we forget what we are supposed to do. In the midst of trying to make sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do, we neglect what we’ve been asked to do. Our mission as disciples is not to micromanage and become busybodies but rather to root who we are and what we do in Christ and from there bring others the hope and the joy of the Gospel not merely by our lips but by our actions and example.  After Jesus had reprimanded him, Peter shifted his focus on what the Lord asked him to do – “Feed my sheep.” He kept his eyes on Christ, knowing that only by doing so will he be able to carry out what Jesus instructed him to do. As Christians our focus can sometimes be lost in the world of...

When tragedy strikes or when people find themselves in a situation where they feel helpless, they might say, "All we can do now is pray." It is a good thing people turn to prayer, but prayer is not something that should happen just when bad things happen! Prayer is not some meaningless and time-passing activity. Prayer is an ongoing relationship with the Father who fashioned us, created us, and loves us. We can pray wherever and whenever. Every moment of our lives can be prayer.

Do you sometimes find doing things without really knowing why makes it less interesting? When you do something out of routine does it get boring or even sometimes meaningless? For some of us our faith can unfortunately turn out to be the same thing. If we do not know why we pray or what we are really doing when we pray, we may come to find it boring and quickly find something else more interesting to do. When he saw that the Athenians were praying at an altar to "an Unknown God," St. Paul quickly turned it into a teaching moment. It is for us today too. When we pray we really are not only reciting words and sentences that our ancestors said centuries ago. We are also talking with someone. We are engaging in a relationship - just like our relationships with our family and friends. Prayer is our relationship with God, and our God is a living God, the One, True God, not an unknown or unfamiliar god. Our God is also not a god who lived two thousand years ago or so, but He is a LI...

God wants to hear from you! Prayer is not just the lines and sentences you may have memorized as a child; prayer is your personal relationship with God. Tell Him whatever is on your mind, what you need, and how you feel. Prayer is when you speak from the very depths of your heart and when Jesus speaks to you from the depths of His pierced, sacred heart. Jesus promises to hear you and He even says "I will do it." Trust in Him and know and believe that Jesus means what He says. After you tell the Lord all that is on your mind and in your heart, be still and listen to Him. Prayer is a conversation. Don't forget to listen.

Do we know what we are reading? We do not have all the answers but that is why we have each other. We must together turn to the Lord for His guidance for He so wishes for us to be with Him. He wants a relationship with us, but do we? And if we do, how much are we willing to put it to make this work? He gave us His life.

God does not require us to do anything extraordinary. We do only what we can and are able to do. It is God who transforms our ordinary acts and offerings into extraordinary ones. So, let us give what we can and the little that we are able to give God will make more than enough. #GodProvides #Providence #FiveLoavesandTwoFish #BelovedSonMinistry