Know - Grow - Go

We’d like to think that following Jesus, taking up the cross, just means “being good” and giving up things that are sinful. But there’s a bigger cross, a deeper invitation, to love your enemies and do good to those who annoy you. To love both those who deserve your love as well as those who don’t deserve it. Ask the Lord to show you the undeserving person in your life that you’ve been avoiding or...

What are you thankful for? That’s the question Fr. Bill asks of our Thanksgiving Day Mass attendees. Consider what you are thankful for as you listen to their responses!

Hopelessness and suffering, for many of us, is what makes or breaks us spiritually. Many of us turn away from God because of such experiences. But God continues to pour His presence into our hearts so that, when we encounter the challenging moments of our lives, we can recognize that He continues to be with us and that we can call on Him. You have heard many times of the different ways we can rely...

There will be all kinds of obstacles, sufferings, and tragedies in our lives - things that can steal away our hope like war, terrorism, corruption, division, arrogance, pride, and cynicism (just to name a few). But Jesus isn't worried. Why? Because Christ crushed sin, death, Satan, and his demons when He died and rose again. Jesus has already won. The game of our lives hasn't ended, but our knowle...

In any relationship, it takes work, patience, and a dedicated back-and-forth to truly come to know the other person, not just know about the other person. Unless we’re talking to the Lord and letting His word work on us, regularly, we’ll never develop the strength, freedom, and trust to stand when the world’s storm winds blow against us. So talk to Him this week, and let Him talk to you. There’s n...

As a saint in the works, it is a response of our faith to go out and help others. We each have a calling to do something, each day, to respond in faith to some need. Ask yourself: "What is that one need? Lord, help me to be aware and sensitive to the need when it presents itself to me." Then press into that need and give of yourself; you won't regret it.

Living out the greatest commandments - to love God and to love our neighbor - is a principle embedded deep within our hearts. This Christian way of life is driven by ourselves being Christian. You share the good news of Christ to others by just being you: your actions, your way of life, your being Christian makes you an authentic role model and a beacon of hope to those around you.

Everything and everyone belongs to God. There's no possible way to "pay" God back for all he has done for you, but a sincere prayer of thanksgiving from the heart is priceless. So, when you wake up and put your feet on the floor, thank God for another day, a day which you did not create and is sheer gift to you.   This was recorded at the 11:15am Mass due to partial audio loss during the live stre...

We journey through life knowing that our goal is to be in the wedding feast of the Lamb (eternal life in heaven) and how important it is to be ready for the feast and adorn our wedding garment (our soul). But there are moments when we fall short and lose focus on eternal life; our wedding garment becomes stained and unfit. By reconciling with God in confession and receiving Christ in the Eucharist...

Among the greatest fruits we have received as members of Jesus' Church is the Eucharist. Our mission to "GO": go out into your neighborhoods, work, and social groups and share with other Catholics who you know have been away from the Church about the great fruit of the Eucharist in your own life.   Click here to read the CARA report that Fr. Bill refers to in his homily.

Jesus invites us to enter into a deep and abiding relationship with Him, and to share that experience with others. It doesn't matter how late you have come to this game. God's Church, his ballpark, is inviting each of us to enter into a deeper encounter with Him. Such an invitation will likely require a change about something in your mind, heart, or lifestyle. Let Him change you and so be open to...

It is our tendency to compare ourselves and what we have with others, but that can lead us down the path of becoming envious. When we are envious of others, we forget the blessing that God has given us as unique individuals with our own gifts, talents, and abilities. We imprison ourselves with our envy and rob ourselves of the grace, peace, and joy that God is bestowing on each one of us equally....

To truly experience the healing power of God’s mercy in our lives, to have the sense of inner peace and well-being (shalom in Hebrew) that comes with God’s forgiveness, we have to share that forgiveness with others. If you want to experience the liberating power of God’s mercy in your life, then share that mercy with others. Forgive your brother or sister from your heart, that your heavenly Father...

In a world that’s all-in on judgment, condemnation, and cancellation, we need to be a sign of something truer and better and far more difficult: the work of reconciliation. It’s not that there’s never a time for argument or speaking the truth, but until there’s trust - until the other person really feels heard and knows we care about them, not just getting our way - arguments only drive the wedges...

As Christ’s disciples, we are going to face stumbling blocks in our path. Our tendency is to assess the situations we face from a very human perspective and make important decisions based on our own logic - thinking in the worldly way and not the Godly way. Instead, spend time in prayer to discern God’s will and remember the transformative power that Jesus came to bring via suffering and the cross...

Beyond knowing the details of who Jesus was, we are called to enter into a relationship with him: to know him, not just about him. This week, concentrate on once again answering the question he has put forth to us: "Who do YOU say that I am?" Then, commit yourself to deepening that knowledge by inviting him personally into your heart. Yes, we must know about Jesus and his teachings, but far more c...

Jesus isn't interested in a transaction with us, like He gives us a good life if we follow the rules. He wants a relationship that's honest, intimate, and capable of changing you, even if it involves a bit of friction between the two of you. So be bold with God. When He leads you into the dark places, grab His hand, tell Him exactly what you need, and then hang on for dear life. That's how we chan...

Mary not only helps us to contemplate the events and mysteries of Christ’s life, but she is also a mediator and intercessor for us. She gives us the greatest example of surrendering to God, and her words to the angel Gabriel are words that we need to meditate on: “Let it be done to me according to your word."

There are two competing voices within each of us, attempting to influence us: the attractiveness of the world and the still, small voice of God saying, “Come; be not afraid”. But Jesus is not just any influencer. For two thousand years, he has transformed those whom he influences by being perfectly God and yet willing to die on the cross out of love for us. Jesus is reaching out to take you by the...

Ultimately, all the changes, conversions, reversions, and transfigurations we encounter in this pilgrimage of life are practices for the final transfiguration of our lives when we die to this world and pass into the next. Christ's Transfiguration was intended as preview of things to come for His faithful - of the destiny He desires for all of us.

There’s nothing God longs for more than your friendship; nothing he wants more than your well-being; nothing he searches for more persistently than your heart. God doesn't just love humanity - He loves you. You, with all your gifts, faults, and struggles. Will you believe that? Can you open your heart to that possibility? Will you take a chance to choose Christ, who gave up everything to choose yo...

Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to how the small mustard seed, once planted, becomes a large tree, a place of refuges for all the different kinds of birds. The "seed" is Jesus, planted by God, which died and rose again to give rise to a "large tree" - the universal Catholic Church. Holy Trinity Parish is a branch of that tree in which all of us - a diverse community of "birds" - take refuge, to...

Start memorizing scripture verses that speak to your heart. God’s word is not empty. It’s not just words on a page; it’s living, powerful, effective. It accomplishes God’s purpose. And whether we have years ahead of us, months, or just days, God has a purpose - and it’s His word that will help get us there.

Through our baptism, we die and rise with Christ, and through the spirit of adoption we become the children of God. It is through Christ that we have access to the Father, and Jesus invites us to maintain that access by cultivating a deeper intimacy with the Father in our prayer. To increase intimacy in prayer is to enter into a dialogue with Him, heart to heart, in an encounter at the innermost c...

God is the source of our very being and the ultimate fulfillment of our every desire. He places desires of all kinds in our lives - but he wants them to be enjoyed in their proper place or order so that we don’t become enslaved by them. When God is first, our hobbies, interests, desires, loves, and relationships can all be encompassed by God’s love; by doing so, we are not only free of the temptat...