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Friday, May 1, 2026

To Us This Word Has Been Sent

 

Readings 050126 

I’ll be honest with you—
I get discouraged
when I see Christians attacking other Christians.
Because so often,
what they attack
Is what they claim to believe.
I can’t understand their logic.
I can’t understand their plans.
And many times,
I don’t understand their theology.

But into that confusion
comes the peace of today’s Scriptures.
Paul speaks a word
that steadies the heart:

“To us this word of salvation has been sent.”

Not to someone else.
Not to a holier group.
Not to a more deserving generation.
To us—
to you,
to me,
to every heart that still wonders
if God remembers their name.

Paul’s voice echoes across the centuries
and lands right here
in our parish,
in our ordinary lives.
And still today,
so many fail to recognize Jesus—
even though the Church prepares us
day after day,
Mass after Mass,
Sunday after Sunday.

And yes—
even now—
there are those who call themselves Christian
and still try to stop the plan of God,
replacing it with their own.
But even their blindness
cannot dim the light of Christ.
Even their confusion
cannot silence the Word made flesh.

Because the Gospel does not depend
on perfect people.
It depends on a perfect Savior.

For what God promised our fathers,
He has fulfilled for us—
fulfilled not halfway,
not someday,
not eventually,
but fully
in the risen Jesus
who calls us His own.

And so we stand here—
ordinary men and women—
called to be witnesses before the world,
called to say with our lives:
“We know Him.
We walk with Him.
He is alive.”

And in that relationship,
Jesus speaks the most tender words
ever offered to troubled hearts:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

He doesn’t say, “Try harder.”
He doesn’t say, “Stop worrying.”
He says,
“Trust me.”

Because in the Father’s house
there is room—
room for every story,
every wound,
every sinner who dares to hope.
Room for the lost,
the unworthy,
the ones who think
they’ve missed their chance.

“I am going to prepare a place for you,”
He says.
And then He promises,
“I will come back
and take you to myself.”

So on this First Friday,
as we draw near to the Sacred Heart,
hear His whisper again:

“Do not let your heart be troubled.
I am the way.
I am the truth.
I am the life.”

And He will lead you home.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, 

Calm the troubled places in my heart.
Let Your Sacred Heart draw me into Your peace.
Hold me close when discouragement tries to take root.
Teach me to trust the Father’s love in all things.
Make my life a quiet witness to Your mercy.
Lead me in Your way, Your truth, and Your life.

Amen


Thursday, April 30, 2026

A Heart Open to God’s Message

Readings 043026

A heart open to God’s message
is never a proud heart.
It is a heart that kneels.
A heart that listens.
A heart that lets Jesus wash away
the dust we pick up on the road.

In today’s Gospel,
Jesus bends low before His disciples
and teaches something simple and demanding:
“No messenger is greater than the one who sent him.”
Let that humility shape the way we love.

And today at Our Lady of Fatima School,
we saw that same humility in a quiet, beautiful way.
Children came forward with flowers—
simple, bright, unselfconscious—
to crown the statue of Mary.
A small act,
but beneath it was a deeper truth for us adults:

A heart wide open
is where grace begins.

To those hearts Jesus says,
“Whoever receives the one I send receives me.”
And who did He send first?
His Mother.
Jesus loved Mary.
Mary loved Jesus.
And from the Cross He gave her to us—
not as decoration,
not as sentiment,
but as a living gift
meant to draw us closer to Him.

When we honor Mary,
we are not stepping away from Christ.
We are stepping toward Him.
Because her yes, her courage, her tenderness
always lead us back to His heart.

So ask for the grace of an opened heart—
a heart that listens,
a heart that welcomes,
a heart that lets Mary guide us
to the One who kneels to wash our feet.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, 

Open my heart.
Let Your Word find room in me, deep and steady.
Clear away whatever keeps me guarded or afraid.
Teach me to welcome Your presence with trust.
Shape my choices with Your quiet courage.
Make my heart wide open to Your love and Your call.

Amen