Today I Pick It Back Up

 

Readings 091526

Memorial Our Lady  of Sorrows

During this quiet stretch of the day,  

I confess my own hesitation,  

my laziness,  

my habit of setting down the very prayer  

that would steady my heart.

I pray the Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows in Lent,  

but the rest of the year I drift.  

I pick up that Seven Sorrows rosary,  

realize it’s not the one I meant to grab,  

and I put it right back down.  

And Lord, I don’t pick it up again.

But today…  

today I will.

Because Mary’s heart was pierced  

by seven swords,  

and each one carries a grace  

for the weary, the distracted,  

the ones who start and stop  

and start again.

Her sorrow in Simeon’s prophecy.  

Her sorrow in the flight to Egypt.  

Her sorrow in losing Jesus for three days.  

Her sorrow meeting Him on the road to Calvary.  

Her sorrow at the cross.  

Her sorrow holding Him in her arms.  

Her sorrow at His burial.

And still—she stayed.  

She stood.  

She loved.

So Lord, let me pick up this rosary today  

not out of guilt,  

but out of love.  

Let me walk with Mary  

through every sorrow she carried,  

and let her steady my steps  

as I carry my own.

And may that sword‑pierced heart  

teach mine to be faithful—  

even if all I can offer today  

is simply picking it back up.

Prayer

Mother of Sorrows,  

Steady my wandering heart.  

Let each sword 

that pierced your soul  

shape my love for Jesus 

more deeply.

Amen

Lift High the Cross

 

Readings 091426

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

In my 65 years,

I’ve seen a lot of preaching.  

One television evangelist—

charismatic, bold—

who preached the message of the cross. 

But, the cross he preached was empty.

For Catholics, 

the cross is never empty.  

It is the body of Christ 

lifted high.

For God so loved the world

He gave His only Son.  

Not to condemn… 

but to save.  

To heal.  

To draw every heart 

back into the Father’s mercy.  

We adore you, O Christ, 

and we bless you. 

By you holy cross 

you have redeemed the world.

And because of this, 

the Father exalted Him—  

gave Him the Name above every name—  

so that at the Name of Jesus 

every knee bends,  

every tongue confesses,  

every heart remembers:  

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Lift your eyes to the crucifix.  

That is where eternal life begins—  

in believing the One 

who hung upon it.  

Prayer

We adore you, O Christ, 

and we bless you. 

By you holy cross 

you have redeemed the world.

Crucified Lord, 

Hold my heart close to Your mercy.  

Remind me of the price of my redemption.  

Keep me faithful beneath the Cross.  

Teach my soul to bend in adoration.  

Amen

A Living Note from Heaven - Homily Reflection 24th Sunday

 

A Living Note from Heaven

Readings 0913

Blessed be God.

Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.

Come Holy Spirit—

fill us with joy,

set our hearts ablaze

with Your presence.

My grandson Liam said something the other day

that stopped me in my tracks.

He told his mama,

“When I die and go to heaven,

I’m gonna come back and leave notes for people…

notes that say, ‘Jesus is real.’

People will believe me because I will sign it

Liam ‘the ghost’ Fox.”

A couple of days later I told him,

“Baby, you’d be a Holy Ghost.”

And he grinned—

because in his little heart

he already knows something

the world keeps trying to forget:

Jesus is real.

And when Jesus is real to you,

you want the whole world to know.

You want to leave notes everywhere you go—

in kindness,

in mercy,

in forgiveness—

little messages that say,

“He is real…

and He is love.”

But the world doesn’t always welcome that love.

Scripture tells us plainly:

“Wrath and anger are hateful things,

yet the sinner hugs them tight.”

And Lord, we see that today.

We see it when faithful Catholics are watched,

monitored,

treated with suspicion

for simply worshiping Jesus.

We see it when the Little Sisters of the Poor in Pennsylvania

and the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, NY

are pressured to facilitate things

that contradict the Gospel of Life—

abortion pills,

doctor‑assisted suicide,

and gender‑affirming residential care

in palliative settings.

We see it when Father Bob Caudill in Florida

is fined again and again

for feeding the poor—

for offering showers,

for restoring dignity,

for preaching Christ to the homeless.

We see it when Father Gary Smith in Portland

is cited for letting the unhoused sleep on church steps

and giving them something to eat—

or when parishes in New Mexico

are threatened with fines

for serving soup

and handing out clothes.

We see it when a Christian preacher in Ohio

is charged eighteen times

and arrested

for opening church doors in winter

so the homeless wouldn’t freeze to death.

Wrath and anger are hateful things.

And sometimes the world hugs them tight.

But Jesus says:

“Blessed are you

when people insult you and persecute you

and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely

on account of me.”

And He tells us what to do

when the world is against us.

He does not say,

“Fight back.”

He does not say,

“Hold grudges.”

He does not say,

“Match anger with anger.”

He says,

“Forgive.”

Peter asked Him,

“Lord, how often must I forgive?

As many as seven times?”

And Jesus answered,

“Not seven…

but seventy‑seven times.”

In other words:

As long as it takes.

As often as it’s needed.

Until mercy becomes

your way of life.

Jesus’ message is clear:

If we want mercy,

we must give mercy.

If we want forgiveness,

we must forgive

from the heart.

And here’s the deeper truth:

The world may fine us,

misunderstand us,

pressure us,

or stand against us—

but none of us lives for ourselves,

and none of us dies for ourselves.

Whether we live or die,

we belong to the Lord.

So when the world pushes against the Church,

we don’t push back with anger.

We push back with love.

We push back with mercy.

We push back with forgiveness

that confuses the angry

and converts the humble.

We leave notes—

just like Liam said—

notes written not on paper

but on human hearts.

Notes that say:

“Jesus is real.”

Notes that say:

“The Lord is kind and merciful,

slow to anger,

rich in compassion.”

Notes that say:

“You may be against me,

but I am still for you—

because Christ is for you.”

So today,

set enmity aside.

Let go of wrath.

Let go of anger.

Let go of the need to win.

And pick up mercy.

Pick up forgiveness.

Pick up the quiet courage

to love even when the world resists it.

Because when we forgive,

when we show mercy,

when we keep loving

in the face of opposition—

our lives become little messages from God,

little signs that say:

“Jesus is real…

and His love is stronger

than anything set against us.”

So let your life speak.

Let your mercy speak.

Let your forgiveness speak.

And let the world hear it.

Become little Holy Ghosts

walking through the world

whispering this Good News

by your life:

“Jesus is real.”

Praise be to Jesus Christ,

now and forever.

Amen.

Leaning Toward the Rock

 

Readings 091226 

Sometimes in the quiet work of spiritual direction,  

a tender question rises in the soul:  

Who are we mad at?

Mad at God?  

Mad at the Church?  

Mad at a priest…  

or maybe mad at ourselves.

And most folks will say,  

“I’m mad at God.”  

But when you listen deeper,  

when you sit still with the ache,  

you find the anger didn’t start with God at all.  

It came from a wound carried too long,  

a fear tucked away,  

a belief picked up somewhere along the road.  

Sometimes it’s a lie the enemy whispered—  

and the blame gets placed  

on the One who never stopped loving.

But God stays close.  

God keeps whispering.  

God keeps healing.  

Mercy moves like a soft river,  

but too many times,  

we don’t listen.

And Jesus asks us gently,  

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’  

and not do what I command?”  

He tells us the one who listens,  

the one who acts,  

is like a man who digs deep  

and lays his foundation on rock.  

And when the river rises,  

that house stands firm.

So today,  

let your heart lean toward the Rock.  

Let the anger loosen its grip.  

Let the listening begin.  

For God has never been against you—  

He has always been for you.

Prayer  

Lord Jesus Christ, 

Calm the storms 

that rise within my heart.  

Let Your mercy loosen 

every hidden anger.  

Teach me to listen 

when You whisper truth.  

Set my feet firmly upon 

Your holy rock.

Amen

Coaching for the Kingdom

Readings 091126 

I think of all those years on the ballfields,  

sitting on a bucket catching pitches,  

teaching how to drive a javelin,  

a discus, a shot through the air—  

strength, form, grit,  

and the quiet courage to try again.

Now my son‑in‑law steps  

into the same career field  

I’ve walked for forty years,  

and that old familiar joy rises—  

the joy of guiding someone forward,  

of passing on what was once passed to me.

And I see in him a witness—  

a man whose life coaches others  

toward Christ without even knowing it.

That is the coaching I hold closest  

coaching others toward Christ:  

my family, their families,  

the souls in CCD, OCIA, marriage prep—  

hearts I’ve nudged toward grace,  

toward truth, toward the One  

who runs beside us.

Saint Paul says all runners run,  

but only one wins the prize.  

Jesus says a disciple, fully trained,  

becomes like the Teacher.  

Every act of coaching  

is a quiet invitation  

to run the race that matters  

and grow into His likeness.

I pray that every word I write,  

every witness I offer,  

be gentle coaching—  

a pointing in the right direction,  

a whisper of encouragement  

for a tired heart.

May we all keep running,  

not to be the fastest,  

but to be faithful—  

becoming, day by day,  

a little more like the Teacher  

who leads us home.

Prayer 

Lord Jesus Christ, 

Guide my steps

to bring hearts toward You. 

Let my words be gentle

and my witness true. 

Strengthen those who run the race. 

Shape us into

the likeness of Your Son. 

And bless every soul

striving toward Your holy prize.

Amen