Know - Grow - Go

All earthly institutions, political divisions, and worldly successes are ultimately passing away. Christ calls us to stay awake and be fully present to the eternal reality that people are forever, recognizing that we only truly succeed when we prioritize our irreplaceable relationships and enter the kingdom of God together.     Readings at this Mass: Wis 6:12–16 | 1 Thes 4:13–18 | Mt 25:1–13

We are the children of God. That is the truest, most important thing about us. That’s the bedrock on which we can stand, surrounded by the embrace of a Heavenly Father who knows us, loves us, and accompanies us through the ups and downs. Before we belong to anyone or anywhere else, or even if we feel we have nowhere to belong, we belong to a Father whose providence surrounds us and whose tender ga...

Jesus tells us, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." And in today's second reading, St. Paul praises the Thessalonians because they became imitators of the Lord and examples for other believers. Their faith became something others could see. What would people see in us? Would people encounter something of the God we worship through our actions?  ...

Our deeply divisive culture tempts us to elevate politics into a substitute religion. Christ reminds us to fulfill our civic duties while recognizing that we ourselves are the coins stamped with God's image, called to render our hearts, relationships, and ultimate devotion entirely to Him.   Readings at this Mass: Is 45:1, 4–6 | 1 Thes 1:1–5b | Mt 22:15–21

A pure heart loves without constantly asking, "What's in it for me?" A clear conscience seeks what is right, even when no one is watching. And genuine faith does not merely profess belief in Jesus — it also seeks to live as Jesus taught us. That is the wedding garment. Before going to work, getting behind the wheel, or beginning a difficult conversation, or any time you feel anger starting to rise...

This world isn’t just a backdrop against which human salvation takes place and is then abandoned. We’re not saved out of the world; we’re saved with the world. Part of our stewardship and vocation, then, as baptized members of Christ, is to love and engage the world — so that, working through us, God’s grace might bring salvation for all of His creatures. But when the environment in which we live...

When we receive difficult things, when we're in difficult situations, when we have things that are hard to deal with, let us ask Mary to help us as we pray the Rosary this month. Let us ask her to inspire us to receive those difficult things as coming from God, and to be able to accept them, to embrace them, to say with her over and over again as we repeat this beautiful devotion of the Rosary, "L...

Living with a resentful heart is a dark place to be. St. Thomas Aquinas described envy as “sorrow over another person’s good.” Envy makes us resent the good that others receive. Gratitude does just the opposite: it teaches us to rejoice in God’s generosity, even toward someone we think doesn’t deserve it. But God’s grace is not measured out according to what we have earned. It is gift: freely and...

Mercy isn't just about rules; it requires a willingness to change. If we would have God’s life within us, then we, too, must learn to become merciful.   Readings at this Mass: Is 55:6–9 | Phil 1:20c–24, 27a | Mt 20:1–16a

Many of us have a gift in at least one of the three areas — Goodness, Truth, and Beauty — but focusing on just one should not negate the others.   Readings at this Mass: Ez 33:7–9 | Rom 13:8–10 | Mt 18:15–20

Love is shown in many ways; those forms of love point towards God and heaven. Our love points to God's love for us.   Readings at this Mass: Jer 20:7–9 | Rom 12:1–2 | Mt 16:21–27

If we truly know who Jesus is, that knowledge cannot remain only in our minds or on our lips. A relationship with Christ inevitably begins to reshape the way we live. Jesus still asks each of us, "Who do you say that I am?" The most powerful answer will not be the one we give with only our lips — or post online — but the one we give with our lives.   Readings at this Mass: Is 22:19-23 | Rom 11:33–...

Beauty is still one of the most - maybe the most - potent way we have of experiencing and encountering God. It retains this ability to disarm us, to lower our defenses, to capture and captivate us, to invoke a sense of the transcendent. God uses beauty to touch hearts, to lift people out of despair, to soften their cynicism, to lighten their darkness - and He wants to do that for you as well.   Re...

Following Christ requires trust, and trust involves risk. The good news is that, when we follow Jesus, we are never alone; even when we falter, He is there. We may prefer to cling to whatever makes us feel safe — our routines, our plans, our familiar ways of doing things. But sometimes Jesus asks us to let go of those things and trust Him instead.   Readings at this Mass: 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11–13a | Rom...

One of our most fundamental desires, whether we recognize it or not, is a hunger for God. Because of our brokenness, however, we often try to satisfy that hunger with created things. Our desires, in their deepest sense, come from God and are meant to lead us back to Him. The key is to keep our hearts directed toward the Giver, not merely toward His gifts. Every daily blessing points beyond themsel...

Christ does not offer us material prosperity or worldly success. Christ offers us true happiness, true fulfillment, true joy, everlasting bliss. And His question to us is, "What are you willing to give – or, unwilling to give – to make that possible?"   Readings at this Mass: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7–12 | Rom 8:28–30 | Mt 13:44–52

We have a choice whether we are going to be a problem or the solution, whether we will be a weed in the garden or the good wheat that the Master has planted. It is up to us to prepare ourselves. Instead of seeing the outside world as our garden and going around canceling, blocking, or cutting off other people, we must take care of the garden inside ourselves and pull out the internal weeds that ge...

What fruit is God producing in your life? And through that fruit, what seeds are you scattering into the lives of others? There are parts of our lives where God’s Word has taken deep root and is bearing fruit. There are other parts crowded by anxiety, distracted by the world, or hardened by disappointment and sin. If that’s you, don’t lose hope: God is still in the business of cultivating hearts....

When the world, social media, or certain politicians and podcasters, would have us see one another as enemies, remember that this is demonic in the most basic sense of the word — “demon” from the Greek word meaning to divide or to scatter. As we celebrate 250 years together, my challenge to you is to resist that scattering. Cast out the demonic. There’s a lot of good out there, my friends, if we’r...

Our true freedom can only come from dependence on God, who has endowed us with the gift of life won through His suffering and death. And that it is only through our humble acceptance of Christ into our lives that we — ourselves and this dearly beloved country of ours — will not perish from the earth, but will truly inherit the freedom of the sons and daughters of God, and will have true and eterna...

The problem, as we know, is that we don’t get heaven until we get to heaven. There is no human solution to all of our ills and troubles. So here’s the question we all need to sit with: can we find peace living in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people? Can you be patient and trusting with the ups and downs, the insults and injuries, even the tragedies of life, trusting that God will accom...

Sometimes, we slip into the mindset that Catholicism is just a strict recipe: a bunch of rules we must execute perfectly to get God to love us. Many of us still imagine that God operates transactionally. But God's love doesn't react to our behavior — it precedes our very existence. He does not love us only when we finally clean up our lives; we are only capable of changing our lives because He lov...

Christ is not inviting us to excess or self-indulgence, but in making Himself bread and wine, He is blessing the ordinary and the extraordinary. Sustenance and celebration. He comes to us through symbols of the fullness of life in every stage and season. And these elements of bread and wine become not only our life-giving food, but much more. When we eat this bread and drink this wine we receive C...

The way to protect our hearts from ever being broken is to seal them off and never take the risk of love; to close ourselves off. And that is the opposite of what the Trinity is. The Trinity is outpouring, complete self-giving. And that means being broken. It means taking a risk. Love means we are going to be hurt, but love doesn't care. Love is willing to take the risk. And love knows that life i...

Whatever obstacles you feel stand in the way, God has not given up on you. The Spirit placed within you is still there, waiting to be stirred into flame. But if you desire the Holy Spirit to become more alive and active in your life, then you must ask; He won't force Himself on you.   Readings at this Mass: Acts 2:1–11 | 1 Cor 12:3b–7, 12–13 | Jn 20:19–23