Listen to Him

 

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There are moments  
when God speaks softly—  
so softly the heart must lean in  
to hear.

I think of a couple in marriage prep.  
Her life marked by abandonment.  
His life marked by quiet fidelity.  

And one Sundy morning

on group trip with friends—  
no car, no ride—  
he rose early  
and walked miles  
just to be at Mass.

No pressure on her.  
No sermon aimed at her life.  
Just love for God  
lived out in the open.

And she said,  
“If he loves God that much,  
he can love me that way too.” 

That witness brought her home  
after twenty years away.

Saint Peter tells us  
we do not follow myths—  
we follow the steady light  
of a faithful life.

On the mountain,  
the disciples looked up  
and saw Jesus alone.

That’s where safety rests.  
That’s where healing begins.  
That’s where love learns loyalty.

Today, raise your eyes.  
See Jesus alone.  
And let His quiet fidelity  
reshape your heart.

Prayer  

Lord, let Your quiet voice steady my heart.  

Teach me to trust the love that walks toward You.  

Lift my eyes to see Jesus alone.  

Heal what fear has broken within me.  

Make my life a witness of faithful love.

Amen

The Reach of Mercy

 

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A man once shared his story with me.  

His mother—Hindu, widowed, four children,  

alone in a foreign land—  

walked into a Christian church  

seeking help,  

seeking mercy,  

seeking a hand to steady her life.  

They turned her away  

because she wasn’t a Christian.

Years later, he marries a Catholic woman,  

sits beside her at Mass,  

feels the quiet pull of grace,  

and enters OCIA  

with honest questions.

One day he asks,  

“Will my mother go to heaven?”  

And the instructor answers,  

“No—she is not a Christian.”  

He looked at me,  

eyes heavy with grief,  

and whispered,  

“But my mother was the most Christian woman I ever met.”  

He left OCIA  

and did not return for many years.

And here—right here—  

the Gospel offers its gentle correction.  

We do not judge the soul of another.  

We do not measure the reach of God’s mercy.  

We do not decide who is inside or outside  

the embrace of grace.

Because God’s love 

is stronger than our categories,  

stronger than the borders 

we draw around salvation.  

His desire is always  

to bring His people home.

“God has visited His people”—  

not as metaphor,  

but as Incarnation,  

as the God who steps into the story,  

crosses every distance,  

and gathers the forgotten.

A Canaanite mother—  

outside the covenant,  

outside the chosen people—  

comes to Jesus with bold, humble, persistent faith.  

And Jesus receives her.  

He listens.  

He heals.  

He shows us that faith, not labels,  

opens the heart to God’s restoring love.

So today, let this truth settle in your spirit:  

We are not the judges of God’s mercy.  

We are witnesses to it.  

We are recipients of it.  

And we are called to recognize it  

in every soul who seeks Him with faith.

Prayer

Lord, 

gather every searching heart 

into Your mercy.

Teach us to see as You see, 

without judgment or fear.

Let Your compassion rise 

where our limits fall short.

Heal the wounds caused 

by human rejection and misunderstanding.

Lead all Your children home 

by the light of Your love.

Amen