Perhaps They Will Listen and Turn Back

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He wanted to be a hero—  

a soldier admired by men,  

a figure women noticed,  

a life built on glory and applause.  

But the battlefield broke him.  

Dreams scattered like dust in the wind.  

Still, the hunger for greatness burned,  

he devoured every tale of knights and honor  

until even those stories fell silent.  

Then grace slipped in quietly—  

a book about the saints,  

heroes of a different kind,  

fighters for the Kingdom of Heaven.  

And, Ignatius turned his gaze  

from the crown of men  

to the crown of Christ.  

But the path was hard.  

Older now, slower to learn,  

he turned to prayer,  

to contemplation,  

to the whisper of God  

in the quiet of his heart.  

He shared what he found—  

the spiritual exercises—  

teaching others to listen  

for the truth that speaks within.  

No one expected  

this broken soldier  

to become a saint,  

a champion of heaven.  

But God delights  

in raising up the unlikely.  

And in Nazareth,  

they said of Jesus,  

“Isn’t he the carpenter’s son?  

Isn’t his mother Mary?”  

They could not see  

that divine power hides  

in ordinary lives.  

Jesus said,  

“A prophet is not without honor 

except in his native place

and in his own house.”  

So today—  

perhaps we will listen,  

perhaps we will turn back.  

And let grace find us  

in our wounds,  

in our disappointments,  

in the places others overlook.  

Lives shaped  

not by glory,  

not by applause,  

but by surrender—  

and by love.  

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, 

Open our hearts 

to Your quiet truth.  

Turn us back from every path 

that dims Your light.  

Let grace rise 

in the places we hide.  

Shape our desires 

toward surrender and love.  

Make us faithful 

to Your whisper today.

Amen  

St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

God Who Makes Us New

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I see it all the time—

that moment when someone finally shakes loose the old life.

They realize Jesus is truly the One they love,

and suddenly pride, wounds, and long‑held struggles begin to fall away.

 They step toward Him with a heart ready to be made new.

Jesus said the Kingdom is like a net 

cast into the sea,

gathering fish of every kind.

In the end, the good are kept,

the wicked are cast aside,

there is weeping for those

who refused His mercy.

That image invites us to look honestly 

at ourselves and ask God to reshape us

before that final sorting comes.

And He will.

He told Jeremiah, “You are clay in My hands.”

The Potter does not discard the broken—He reforms, restores, and remakes.

His hands never stop working.

Yet so many people say,

“God could never forgive what I’ve done.”

But through Jesus Christ, forgiveness has already been given.

The deeper struggle is learning to forgive ourselves

and allowing God to create a new you.

Ask Him for mercy.

Ask Him for renewal.

Ask Him to shape your life again.

Because the Potter is still at the wheel,

and He delights in making all things new.

Prayer

Lord, 

shape my heart 

with Your healing hands.

Break away the pride 

and burdens I still carry.

Form in me the new life 

You desire.

Teach me to trust Your mercy 

more than my past.

Make me a vessel of Your grace 

in this world.

Amen

Real Friends with Jesus

 

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There are three people 

Scripture dares to call friends of Jesus.

Not just disciples… 

not just followers… 

but friends.

The kind of friends 

whose home He returned to,

whose table He sat at,

whose sorrows made Him weep.

I sometimes wonder 

If they were childhood friends—

people He had known so long

that their faces felt like home.

Martha bustling, trying to make everything perfect.

Mary listening, resting at His feet.

Lazarus steady and quiet,

the one whose death broke Jesus’s heart.

And like real friends, 

they weren’t afraid to speak plainly.

Martha says, “Lord, if You had been here…”

A cry from a wounded heart.

Jesus doesn’t scold her.

He simply asks, “Do you believe?”

And she answers,

 “Yes, Lord… You know I believe.”

We say we believe too.

But do we trust Him 

with the honesty of Martha,

the devotion of Mary,

the quiet faith of Lazarus?

Do we love Jesus enough to bring Him our anger,

our confusion,

our grief—

and still hold fast to Him?

Lord, make our faith steady,

our friendship with You real,

and our love unshaken.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, 

teach my heart to welcome You 

with honesty and love. 

Steady me when faith feels thin 

and questions rise. 

Hold me close when grief 

or frustration spills over. 

Make my friendship with You 

deep, real, and unshaken. 

Amen

Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus - pray for us

When His Voice Finds Us Again

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I look around and see people preaching Jesus,

yet sometimes I wonder  

if they truly know Him.  

And that question turns inward—  

toward the quiet place  

where Christ Himself speaks to the heart  

with a voice both tender and true.

He whispers softly:  

“Follow Me…” 

Just two words—  

yet they open a sacred doorway  

into learning to hear Him,  

learning to recognize His movement  

apart from the world, the enemy,  

and even our own pride.

Scripture shows the cost of losing that voice: 

“If I walk into the field—look, those slain by the sword.  

If I enter the city—look, those consumed by hunger.  

Even prophet and priest forage  

in a land they know not.”

When His voice fades,  

even holy people wander  

into places they never meant to go.

Jesus deepens this truth

in the parable of the weeds:  

The field is the world.  

The good seed are the children of the Kingdom.  

The weeds are sown by the Evil One.  

And the harvest reveals  

what has quietly taken root in our hearts.

So the questions become gentle and personal: 

If I truly follow Him,  

does the Spirit ever ask,  

“Do your actions and words  

witness that you are really following Him?”

If I truly follow Him,  

am I living what He instructed?  

Does following Him bring good seed

joy, peace, and comfort—  

even in trying times?  

Or has my idea of following Him  

led me toward the weeds of anger, resentment,  

or darker places I never intended to go?

These questions are not burdens. 

They are invitations—  

invitations to return,  

to listen again,  

to let His voice shape our steps  

with compassion and clarity.

For the Son of Man still sows good seed.  

And when we stay close to Him,  

His life grows in us—  

steady, radiant,  

and true.  

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, 

Teach my heart 

to recognize Your voice. 

Let Your whisper rise 

above the noise around me. 

Guide my steps when I wander 

into unfamiliar places. 

Plant Your good seed 

deep within my soul. 

And let Your peace 

grow steady and true in me.

Amen

 

A Picture for God

 

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My granddaughter Scarlett 

came with a picture she had drawn.

She held it up with pride and said,

“This is for God.”

A little while later, 

she went into the backyard,

lifted that picture high,

and threw it toward heaven.

It fluttered back down.

She looked at me and said,

“Pop… I drew this picture for God,

but He won’t take it.

How do I get it to Him?”

“Let the little ones come to Me.”

A child’s faith is innocent,

pure,

and astonishingly great.

Scarlett had no doubt

that she could get that picture to God.

No hesitation.

No fear.

Just trust.

Jesus tells us that all we need

is faith the size of a mustard seed—

so small,

so simple,

yet like yeast in bread,

it makes great things rise.

But for many of us,

our faith has become worn —

hidden away,

tucked in a crevice,

left to rot and tear.

Not because we don’t love God,

but because life wears us down.

Lift your heart again.

Lift your prayer again.

Lift your trust again.

Even if it feels small,

even if it feels worn—

offer it to God.

He will take it.

He always does.

Prayer

Lord, 

Awaken in us a simple trust

Let our worn faith be lifted again 

into Your hands.

Heal what has torn, 

restore what has faded.

Teach us to offer 

even our smallest gifts with love.

And receive them, Lord,

as only You can.

Amen

Hearts Called by God - Homily Reflection 17th Sunday OTA

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 Blessed be God. Praise Jesus Christ—now and forever.

And may the Holy Spirit fill us with joy,

set our hearts ablaze,

and make His presence burn within us.

My friends,

Jesus began His public ministry with a message

simple, direct, and urgent:

Metanoia—repent—change your heart—

for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

The Kingdom is not far away.

Not someday.

Not distant.

It is at hand.

Right here.

Right now.

And in today’s Gospel,

Jesus opens that mystery for us wider

with three images—

three windows into the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of Heaven, He says,

is like a treasure buried in a field,

or a pearl of great price.

When someone discovers it,

they give everything—

every possession, every comfort, every plan—

because nothing compares

to the joy of belonging to God.

These images are not only about heaven.

They are about the Kingdom that is at hand—

the way God calls each of us

right where we stand,

right here in the ordinary rhythm of life.

But Jesus also says the Kingdom is like a net

cast into the sea,

gathering fish of every kind.

Some will claim the name Christian

yet never allow their hearts to change.

And at the end of time,

the angels will separate the good from the bad.

A sobering reminder

that the Kingdom demands conversion—

a real turning of the heart.

Saint Paul tells the Romans

that vocation is never accidental:

Those whom God calls, He justifies;

and those He justifies, He glorifies.

God does not call us without purpose.

He does not place us randomly.

He plants us

where our hearts can serve.

There ws a man discerning the diaconate.

But he was also a judge.

As he prayed, the bishop met with him and said:

“A judge must impose the law of man.

A deacon must carry the mercy of God.

These two hearts cannot live in the same place.”

So the man prayed again.

Listened again.

And he remained a judge—

not because he failed,

but because God had already placed him

where his heart could serve best.

Friends, the parables today are not 

just images of heaven.

They are images of our lives,

our vocations,

our daily callings.

Each of us finds our treasure

in the field where we live.

Each of us finds our pearl

in the vocation God has already given.

Each of us discovers God’s will

not by changing roles,

but by letting God shape our hearts

in the place where He planted us.

Because the Kingdom of God

is not only found in sanctuaries.

It is found in courtrooms,

in classrooms,

in kitchens,

in workplaces,

in families—

wherever God has placed you

with a heart called by God.

Trust this promise:

Those He calls, He justifies.

Those He justifies, He glorifies.

So be good.

Be holy.

And preach Jesus Christ

by the example you live,

the love you share,

and the forgiveness you offer.

Praise Jesus Christ—now and forever. Amen.

Prayer

Lord God,

Send the Holy Spirit upon us,  

to shape our hearts for Your Kingdom.  

Let Your light guide us each day.  

Make us faithful 

in the place You have planted us.  

And teach us to love as Christ loves.

Amen