Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 17:1–9 A few years ago, my family and I spent a month volunteering at a youth camp in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Week after week, groups of teens would come from all over the West Coast for activities, talks, music, and fellowship. The weather was absolutely perfect, […]
[…] original sin and the brokenness of humanity, pain, and evil will always be part of our story on earth. Jesus, Himself, warned us of this: “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). But it does mean that God’s plan for our lives goes beyond […]
[…] but it's not in my nature. I need the power of God to go beyond my limitations to enable me to act in His strength. The good news is that He has given me that power through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and He has given it to you as well. This week […]
[…] have come alive for us every time we read them. We aren’t going to have an amazing, mind-blowing homily every time we attend Mass. But the good news is that these things aren’t required for us to encounter Jesus in a personal way. Theologian Peter Kreeft says, “The two disciples did not yet recognize […]
[…] as a beloved son of God. Our Lord intentionally stopped and entered this man’s story, because He knew it was not finished yet. In opposition to the world’s view of this man, Jesus saw a person not condemned to suffer. This man was chosen for that moment “so that the works of God might […]
Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Matthew 5:17-37 I’ve been walking through a set of circumstances where I’ve had a really hard time knowing the right thing to say and do in my interactions with people I love very much. This has been a strange thing for me; normally, I have a good sense […]
[…] Epiphany of the Lord - Mass with Fr. Mike Schmitz, YouTube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exwg_UWeYKI. David Paternostro, S.J., Godwards: The End of Man, Magis Center for Catholic Spirituality (February 17, 2010): https://www.magisspirituality.org/spex_reflection/godwards-the-end-of-man/. Christopher Brito, "Survivor" winner Mike Gabler says he'll donate entire 1 million prize to veterans in need. CBSnews.com, (December 16, 2022): https://www.cbsnews.com/ news/survivor-mike-gabler-donate-veterans-season-43/. Bible Study
[…] message wasn’t 'You’re a sinner, you need to repent.' John’s main message was 'Messiah the King is coming.' The call to repentance was the response to the news that the King and His kingdom were coming—indeed, already here in one sense.” The secular response to the approaching birth of our King is equally urgent […]
What do you think of when you think of soul-piercing beauty? Where would you go if I asked you to step out of this world for a moment and enter into pure, unadulterated peace? When I find in myself the desire to leave this world for another, I long to sit in the eternal […]
[…] is to focus on our circumstances, to keep our gaze inward and downward. Not the best posture to run the race set before us, is it? The world grows very small, and our vision fatally narrows when we do this. If we remain looking down, how will we see the finish line? If our […]
