Known and Belonging

 Readings 100326

One of the greatest blessings of my life
is not that I know a lot about God,
but that I know God knows me.

In seasons when sorrow pressed hard,
when answers were few

and burdens were many,
He did not stay distant.
He spoke peace into the noise.

Sometimes through a whisper to the heart.
Sometimes through simple moments of grace.
Even a frightened old dog 

 climbing into my lap during a storm
reminds me of a deeper truth:

We run to the one who knows us.
We cling to the one we trust.
We rest in the one who can truly protect us.

So often we ask God for explanations,
while God desires to give us Himself.
Job stopped demanding answers 

 and found wonder.
The disciples stopped celebrating power 

 and learned to celebrate belonging.

The greatest blessing is not understanding every mystery,
not accomplishing great things for God,
not even knowing all about Him.

The greatest blessing is this:

 

My name is written in heaven.
I belong to Christ.
I am fully known, fully loved,
and never alone.

Prayer

Lord, 

When I seek answers, 

teach me to seek You.
When storms arise, 

draw me close to Your heart.
Remind me that my greatest blessing 

is not what I do for You,
but that I belong to You. 

Amen.

Guided by Grace, Guarded by Angels

Readings 100226

From your first breath to your final heartbeat, 

you are never alone. 

God, in His loving providence, 

has entrusted holy angels 

to watch over you, 

guide your steps, 

and gently lead your soul 

toward Him. 

They do not seek attention for themselves. 

Their mission is to point your heart 

toward the Father whose gaze never leaves you.

When life becomes confusing, 

when trials arrive 

without explanation, 

our instinct is often to demand answers. 

We ask, "Why this?" 

"Why now?" 

Yet faith invites us 

into something deeper 

than understanding. 

It invites us into trust.

The God who commands the stars 

also knows every detail of your life. 

He sees what you cannot see 

and works in ways 

you cannot yet understand. 

The saints and angels remind us 

that holiness is not found 

in controlling every circumstance, 

but in surrendering ourselves 

to God's wisdom, 

His timing, 

and His care.

Rest in this truth: 

you are watched over, 

deeply known, 

and lovingly held by God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for the angels 

who guard and guide me.
Teach me to trust Your wisdom 

when I cannot see the way ahead.
Help me surrender my need for answers 

and rest in Your loving care.
Lead me safely to You 

through every joy, trial, 

and a grace-filled day. 

Amen

Dust Between My Toes

 

Readings 100126

Sitting on the back porch,

I looked down at my dirty feet,

dust clinging to my toes

after a long afternoon working in the yard.

Sandals weren't the smartest choice,

but there it was,

the evidence of a day well spent.

And somewhere in the dust,

God began to speak.

I remembered the words of Jesus:

"Carry no bag, no sack, no sandals."

And if you're not welcomed,

"shake the dust from your feet and move on."

It reminded me 

the Holy Spirit often speaks

through ordinary moments,

through simple things 

we would normally overlook.

We have to listen.

Listening is a spiritual act.

When we slow down 

long enough to pay attention,

we discover the Kingdom of God 

is not far away.

It is right here,

close enough to touch,

close enough to believe.

Jesus said the harvest is abundant,

but the laborers are few.

He sends us out into the world,

vulnerable and exposed,

like lambs among wolves,

yet never abandoned.

Life can hit hard at times.

Dust gathers.

Trials come.

But the One who fights for us still lives.

So today, take a breath.

Look down at your feet.

Listen closely.

Because even the dust between your toes

may have a sermon to preach.

Prayer: 

Lord, 

slow my heart 

to sit still and listen today, 

Clear away the clutter 

so I hear what You say. 

When trials feel heavy, 

remind me You stand, 

And guide every step 

as I rest in Your hand.

Amen.

Faith to Trust

 

Reading 093026

Today we remember Saint Jerome,

who spent years translating Scripture

so ordinary people 

could hear God’s Word clearly.

Not everyone welcomed the gift.

When one small change in wording

disrupted what was comfortable,

a congregation nearly erupted in protest.

They clung to what was familiar.

Jerome called them to trust what was true.

Isn’t that so much like us?

It has always been our human tendency—

a struggle woven right through today’s scriptures.

Job could not see what God was doing.

The psalmist could not feel His presence.

The disciples could not trace where Jesus was leading.

Yet beneath every struggle stands the same quiet question:

Will you trust me when the answers are missing?

Jesus teaches that the Kingdom 

requires complete commitment.

Faith is trusting God’s call enough

to place Him above every other priority.

Faith is not seeing the entire road ahead.

Faith is taking the next step anyway.

Hold on when God seems silent.

Move forward when the path is dim.

And believe that the One who calls you

is already waiting where He leads.

May we trust His truth

over our comfort,

His wisdom

over our understanding,

and His presence

over our fears.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

When answers are missing

and the path ahead is unclear,

give us the humility

to trust Your truth.

Anchored in Your Spirit,

may we step forward in faith,

knowing You go before us.

Amen.

The Feast of the Archangels

 

Readings 092926

Today we celebrate 

Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, 

the holy archangels 

who stand in the presence of God, 

faithfully carrying out His will.

What do we have in common with these heavenly messengers?

We have the Holy Spirit.

The angels are not the Holy Spirit, 

nor are they merely divine powers. 

They are God's creatures, 

filled with His grace, 

living in His presence, 

and perfectly attentive to His voice. 

They serve Him with unwavering fidelity, 

reflecting His glory

 and carrying out His purposes.

Yet the same God 

who fills the angels with His grace 

has poured His Spirit into our hearts.

The Holy Spirit unites us to the Lord, 

guides our steps, 

forms our hearts, 

and strengthens us 

to serve when the road is difficult 

and the task seems greater than our ability.

Through grace, 

we become dwelling places of God. 

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 

abide within every faithful soul.

What a gift.

What a mystery.

What a reason to walk each day 

with confidence, hope, and trust.

Jesus reminds us:

"You will see heaven opened 

and the angels of God 

ascending and descending 

on the Son of Man." (John 1:51)

The archangels point us toward Christ. 

They remind us that heaven is not distant, 

but actively at work in God's plan of salvation.

May we listen as attentively as Gabriel, 

stand as courageously as Michael, 

and walk as faithfully as Raphael, 

trusting the Holy Spirit 

to lead us ever deeper

 into the heart of God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for the gift of Your holy angels 

and the presence of Your Holy Spirit.
Like Michael, give us courage; 

like Gabriel, give us obedience; 

like Raphael, guide us on our journey.
May Your divine presence strengthen us,

lead us, and draw us ever closer to You.
Amen.

Service Becomes Surrender

Readings 092826

 Sometimes, if I'm honest, 

I find myself doing too much.

A call comes from another parish. 

A need arises. 

A place is empty. 

And I step in.

At first glance, 

it looks like service. 

But prayer asks deeper questions.

Am I doing this for God? 

Or am I doing it for myself?

The disciples wrestled with that same struggle. 

They argued about who was the greatest. 

Jesus responded by placing a child at His side 

and reminding them that greatness 

is found in humility, not recognition.

We all carry subtle obstacles. 

Not usually the obvious sins, 

but the quiet desires to be needed, 

to be noticed, 

to feel important.

Yet the Holy Spirit gently calls us back.

Back to simplicity. 

Back to dependence. 

Back to serving Christ, 

not ourselves.

Someone asked me after Mass 

one Sunday morning, 

"How can you be so joyful this early?"

The answer is simple.

I'm bringing Jesus. 

I'm proclaiming the Gospel. 

I'm standing in the presence of God's people.

Every day my prayer remains the same:

Come, Holy Spirit. 

Fill me with Your joy. 

Set my heart ablaze with Your presence. 

And let everything I do begin with You, 

flow through You, 

and return to You.

Amen

Who Do You Belong To? - Homily Reflection 26th Sunday

 Readings 092726 

Blessed be God. 

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever. 

Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit. 

Fill us with Your joy. 

Set our hearts ablaze with Your presence. 

Open our minds to Your truth, 

and soften our hearts 

to receive the grace You offer us today.

A few days ago, 

I was spending time with my eight-year-old grandson.

As only a proud grandson can do, 

he walked up to me carrying his children's Bible and said,

"Pop, I've read all the way to page 142."

His mother smiled and quickly corrected him.

"Dad, he probably hasn't read all of it. 

He may have looked through the pages 

and called it reading."

And honestly, that may be true.

My grandson has dyslexia, 

with a little ADHD thrown in on top.

Reading is not always easy for him. 

Paying attention is not always easy for him. 

Sometimes his struggles show themselves 

in ways he wishes they didn't.

Sometimes he misbehaves. 

Sometimes he gets frustrated. 

Sometimes he falls short.

And he knows it.

But what struck me that day 

was not what he struggles with.

It was where he turns.

He turns to Jesus.

Not with complicated theology. 

Not with polished prayers.

But with the simple faith of a child.

Recently, he got a haircut 

and asked the barber to cut a lightning bolt 

into the side of his head.

Then he asked him to place a cross at the end of it.

When asked why, his answer was simple.

"So people will know I love Jesus."

I thought to myself, 

there is something beautiful about that.

Because that little boy 

knows something that many adults forget.

He knows who he belongs to.

And that is really the question 

placed before us in today's readings.

Who do we belong to?

Saint Anselm described God as, 

"that than which nothing greater can be conceived."

God is not simply one good thing 

among many good things.

He is Goodness itself.

He is Truth itself.

He is Love itself.

He is the One for whom every human heart was created.

And yet, if we're honest, 

we often allow lesser things to take His place.

Our pride. 

Our comfort. 

Our plans. 

Our opinions.

We may never say it out loud, 

but the way we live 

can sometimes reveal 

we trust ourselves 

more than we trust God.

That is what lies beneath the complaint 

we hear in the First Reading.

The people accuse God of being unfair.

And through the prophet Ezekiel, 

God responds:

"Is it My way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?"

That question reaches across the centuries 

and speaks directly to us.

The problem is rarely God's way.

The struggle is that we want God's will 

to look more like our will.

But discipleship is not 

asking God to follow us.

It is learning to follow Him.

That is the beautiful prayer from Psalms:

"Teach me Your paths."

"Guide me in Your truth."

"Remember Your compassion, O Lord."

The Psalmist is a not asking God 

to affirm him.

He is asking God 

to transform him.

That is the essence of conversion.

Conversion is not merely 

feeling sorry for our sins.

Conversion is allowing grace 

to reshape our hearts 

until we begin thinking, loving, 

and living more like Christ.

Day by day.

Choice by choice.

Surrender by surrender.

The example Saint Paul points us to is Jesus Himself.

The Eternal Son of God 

did not cling to His glory.

He emptied Himself.

He humbled Himself.

He became obedient, 

even unto death on a Cross.

Friends, humility is never weakness.

Humility is the doorway 

through which grace enters.

It is the soil where holiness grows.

It is the way of Christ.

Jesus gives us the parable of the two sons.

One son says "no."

But later he repents 

and does the Father's will.

The other son says all the right words, 

but never follows through.

Jesus is reminding us, 

salvation is not found in appearances.

It is found in surrender.

God desires faithful hearts 

more than religious performance.

The saints understood this.

They were not saints 

because they never struggled.

They were saints 

because they continually returned to God 

whenever they fell.

They allowed mercy to have the final word.

Friends, that is the hope of today's Gospel.

The Father never tires of calling His children back.

The vineyard is still there.

The invitation is still there.

The grace is still there.

The only question is 

whether we will be there.

God is less concerned 

with where we have been 

than with where we are willing to go.

Less concerned with yesterday's failures 

than with today's decision.

That is conversion.

Most conversions do not arrive like a lightning bolt.

Most happen quietly.

One prayer at a time.

One act of forgiveness at a time.

One surrender at a time.

It is that daily moment when we stop saying, 

"Lord, bless my plans,"

and begin saying,

"Lord, teach me Your paths."

May our words, 

our choices, 

our prayer, 

our charity, 

and our witness proclaim:

"I belong to Jesus Christ."

Be good. Be holy.

Humble yourselves before the Lord.

Receive His mercy. Follow His will.

Love one another. Forgive one another.

And let your life become a living proclamation of the Gospel and of the One to whom you belong.

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.