The Father's Joy

God created all things good, but through the rebellion of Satan and his apostate angels, man was deceived and evil was introduced into the world. He is the real enemy, and we are the prey. With Jesus, however, our victory is assured. How He reclaims us from the enemy is the next part of THE Story...

Part 1 of the 4 part series on the "Kerygma" or the basic message of the Gospel. We are not here by accident: we were created with a purpose for this moment in time! We were created out of love, for love.

When Jesus is truly King of our lives and hearts, there is no room for forces of darkness!

We might not be as close to Jesus as we think. If we have truly encountered His love, we will want to more deeply commit to our friendship with Him.

When we feel insecure about ourselves, we tend to compensate in other areas to show to others and ourselves that we are "good enough." When we bring our insecurities and weaknesses to Jesus in vulnerability, our hearts are filled with love and the truth that we are known and loved by Him.

My life is radically transformed when I live in the awareness of Jesus actively loving me right now...

"Prayer united to sacrifice is the most powerful force in human history."

One of the main reasons we don't persevere in prayer is that it doesn't feel like anything is happening. Fortunately, our feelings aren't an accurate measure of the quality of prayer. Prayer is primarily God loving us and our becoming more aware of that love!

Gratitude is at the heart of our faith. The Eucharist is thanksgiving itself.

As our culture drifts further from Jesus, the urgency for discovering and cultivating the gifts of the Holy Spirit we received through baptism and confirmation is all the more pressing. We have been given divine power for mission!

If we lean into St. Thérèse's "Little Way," we are freed from harshness with ourselves and in our relationship with God. Jesus, I trust in You; take care of everything!

Suffering draws us out of complacency and is an invitation to recommit to our relationship with Jesus.

On the feast day of the Holy Cross, it's helpful to understand how it fits into the greatest story ever told. This is THE Story, and we're sticking to it!

It's possible to be far from God in our hearts while still "following all the rules"!

Work was always a part of God's plan. Too easily we fall into one of two camps: avoiding work or putting too much of our identity into it. Entering into authentic rest helps put us back in right relationship with work.

Only One can fulfill all of our expectations. Bringing our expectations to anyone else will only lead to sadness, disappointment, and resentment.

Jesus only asks of us only what He has first done for us. The unmistakable sign of humility of heart is obedience to rightful authority and God's revealed will.

We do have varying degrees of responsibility for others' faith journey, but we are not ultimately their savior. The best thing we can do for other's relationship with God is to become saints ourselves and surrender them to our God who loves them even more than we do... 

Jesus is knocking on our door, especially in the hard times. If we don't open the door to Him now, He may not open the door to us when we knock...

Jesus wants to draw us out of the mud of apathy and into the fire of His love...we have only to keep our eyes fixed on Him!

We easily fall into the evil one's trap of doubt, discouragement, depression, and despair when experience suffering. It is normal to feel sad when bad things happen, but Jesus never desires us to lose hope in the midst of darkness!

In this time of societal trauma, we have been deceived into believing other people are our enemy and the cause of our suffering. Jesus invites us to fix our eyes on Him, to praise Him so we stand in right relationship with Him and fortified against the deceptions of the evil one.

When we don't trust God, we can easily grasp at money and material possessions for a false sense of security and control. Jesus, I surrender control to You!

For the sake of a tiny percentage of faithful intercessors, God desires to have mercy on the whole world. Come, Holy Spirit!

Jesus is always loving us and always speaking to us. Are we disposing ourselves to hear His voice?