Musings of a One-eared Catholic Priest

What is your goal for your life? It better be eternal life in heaven. The other option is eternal life in hell. Lent is a great time to start receiving the graces we need to get to heaven.

February 22, 2023 When we abstain from meat and fast, we grow our ability to control our desires instead of our desires control us. The world says freedom is the ability to do whatever I want whenever I want. The world is wrong. True freedom is the ability to choose the good.

Year A; February 19, 2023 Jesus was serious when He said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Thankfully, if we don't reach perfection in this life, we have Purgatory to complete the process. The truth of Purgatory is one of the hidden gems of the Catholic faith.

Year A; February 12, 2023 To live a virtuous life, we need to do what we ought to do; not what we can get away with.

Year A; February 5, 2023 We are called to be a light to the world. Fill up on God's love and then go light up the world, a world that is in deep darkness.

Simeon and Anna were ready to meet Jesus when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple because they were there day in and day out. We need to be ready to meet Jesus by being in the Temple of our hearts day in and day out. We need to be in prayer everyday.  * I was wrong. I said that the Ark of the Covenant was in the Temple at the time of Jesus, but that is incorrect. The Ark had been gone...

Year A; January 29, 2023 Are you teachable? Athletes become better when they are teachable. In your spiritual life, are you teachable? Do you allow God to teach you so that you can grow in virtue and holiness in order to become a saint?

Even the demons (fallen angels) know who Jesus is. They know He is the God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Believing in Jesus is not enough. The demons believe in Jesus, but will not submit to God's authority. So what about us? Yes, we believe in Jesus, but will we submit to His authority in our lives?

We are called to do three things as Christians: 1) Receive God's love 2) Love God back 3) Evangelize so that others may know the gift of God's love

What we do today matters. Don't put things off to tomorrow. The things we do today either strengthen or weaken our habits of virtue and holiness. Becoming a saints starts today, not tomorrow.

Year A; January 8, 2023 Jesus gives us the gift of Himself. All He wants is you to make a gift of yourself back to Him. He will take you right how you are and where you are.

Once we understand that Jesus is one divine Person, with two natures, human and divine, then it makes sense to call Mary the Mother of God. And if we are the Body of Christ, she is our mother. May we ask for her intercession in our daily lives.

December 24, 2022 God came as a baby boy to attract people to Himself. Are we attracted to Jesus? Are you going to make extra room for Him in our hearts this Christmas season?

Year A; December 18, 2022 Like Joseph, entrust your life to God. Surrender your life to God. If you do, amazing things will happen.

Year A; December 11, 2022 Hope and patience are such important virtues. We must always have hope that God can bring about a greater good. And we must have patience and trust in God to bring that good at the appropriate time.

Right after the Fall of Adam and Eve, God reveals His plan to save humanity from sin and eternal death. It involves the defeat of Satan and his offspring by the Woman (Mary) and her Offspring (Jesus). If the Ark of the Old Covenant was made out of the best of the best (silver, gold, etc.), how much more would the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary, have to be pure; the best of the best?

Year A; November 27, 2022 Are you surviving or thriving? Is your life like a desert? God wants you to thrive. It might seem counter-intuitive, but if we surrender our lives to God, we will live our lives to the full. (John 10:10)

Year A; November 27, 2022 What is your Temple Mount? What is it that you worship? Is it Jesus or is it something else?

Human beings are fallen and so no form of government is perfect, especially a monarchy. However, God is perfect and so it makes sense that the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of God would be a monarchy with Christ as our King. As King, He only wants what is best for us.

We must persevere in our faith in Jesus Christ and the Church. We all need forgiveness, mercy, and healing. This especially true when it comes for those who have been involved in an abortion in any way. Healing is available through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

We can't just call ourselves Christians; we have to live it in the way we love God, ourselves, and others.

Eternal life is more important than our life on earth. Not that we should ignore our life here. We are called to make the world the best place we can. However, we need to make sure that spend at least as much time on our eternal soul as we do on earthly things.

Jesus risks losing the other 99 just to pursue us. No shepherd would do this. But Jesus does. Every day.

Purgatory is a great gift. We are called to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. However, if we don't reach perfection in this life, we have time and space for God to continue to purify our souls so that we are ready to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Today we celebrate the Saints, the Church Triumphant. They don't need our praise, but by praising them, we are inspired by their journeys of faith to our own call to be holy, to become saints.