Reflections from St. Ann DC

What do we ultimately want? To be known and loved by God.

An attempt to find balance can prevent us from truly living in the way God calls us to. Jesus and the saints did not live with balance, but with radical love, passion, and ambition.

We are guaranteed to fail in a broken world, but God calls on us to try again and not be intimidated.

If we are truly attempting to live out our vocations, we will repeatedly fail. However, God calls on us to keep pushing through our failures.

This Sunday, Msgr. James Watkins reminds us how Jesus still performs miracles today, 2000 years later.

Msgr. Watkins reflects on the history of the incarnation, when Jesus becomes man. Jesus gets his human nature from Mary, and Mary gets hers from her parents Ann and Joachim. Let us reflect on this together, and take His humanity seriously.

"There are a lot of people in this congregation who are suffering right now," Msgr. Watkins said. "Don't dismiss it. Don't try to deny it. Don't try to make it go away. Give it to Him, right now, and He will take that faith through your weakness, and give you strength." "He is moved by your faith if you're suffering."

Jesus' sacrifice, offered in every Mass, is infinitely greater than the sacrifices offered before Him.

This week, Msgr. Watkins tells a story recounting the innocence of our parish altar server, Joseph, connecting his childhood innocence to the trust and innocence Adam and Eve exhibited to God before their fall into temptation.

This week, for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Msgr. Watkins discusses misconceptions about Christianity regarding the Holy Trinity and the importance of all three Persons.

Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. In this Pentecost homily, Msgr. Watkins discusses the chance that such anniversaries offer us for reflection in our own lives, what the Lord's wish is in our lives, and the works of His Church.

This Sunday Msgr Watkins reminds us and the children receiving their First Holy Communion that God wants to be close to us. The Eucharist brings God so close, that He is within us.

Msgr. Watkins speaks on our need for a Good Shepherd who knows us and whose voice is known to us. A recent convert shares his experience encountering that Shepherd.

Christ expresses His resurrection in our lives by sharing with us authentic, pure joy.

The primary fact of Easter is that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, and we have lots of time to contemplate how it changes our lives. But first we have to believe in the resurrection.

We wish you a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! Learn from St. John Paul II and St. Peter about the incredible mercy of God and the Resurrection of Jesus.

We are called to forgive not for the other person's sake, but for our own.

God the Father's blessing gives us the freedom to serve others without self-consciousness or shame.

Our union with Christ gives us authority to participate in salvation.

Jesus seeks to drive out the false ideas that are embedded in our souls, just as He drove out the moneychangers from the temple.

This Sunday, Msgr. Watkins shares how great our God's love is for us. He is always there for us and never forgets us.

Repentance frees us from sin, but we are often scared that it is too much a part of us to give up.

Christians should expect to be separated from the world as a result of following Christ, but this remove also provides benefits.

We recognize that God has created us for a great purpose, but we can become frustrated when our daily lives do not reflect that.

Msgr. Watkins raises the importance of self-sacrifice in the Catholic Faith and discusses the Archdiocese of Washington's work to build and preserve a strong Catholic community through the support of the Annual Appeal. The Appeal supports over 90 Catholic Schools, as well as Catholic Charities, and the ordination of new priests.