Living in Love with God

Today’s Readings In today’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus “did not work any mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.” Mark’s Gospel puts it even more starkly: Jesus was “unable” to perform any mighty deeds because of their unbelief (Mk 6:5–6). That may sound surprising—Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person… Continue reading

Today’s Readings I’m a fan of Patrick Lencioni, a leadership consultant who works not only in the corporate world but also with Catholic parishes. He founded The Amazing Parish, an organization that helps parishes apply leadership principles found in healthy and successful businesses. One of the first tasks he emphasizes is clarity of purpose—understanding why… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Reflecting on today’s Gospel from Luke 6:43–45 for the Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, I was reminded of the opening lines of The Imitation of Christ: “‘He who follows Me walks not in darkness,’ says the Lord (Jn 8:12). By these words of Christ we are urged to imitate His life and habits,… Continue reading

Today’s Readings We hear it often in Scripture and throughout our lives: the greatest commandment—to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. In his First Letter, St. John tells us why: because God, who is perfect love, first loved us. Despite our… Continue reading

Today’s Readings The first reading presents a very familiar and dramatic scene—one many of us can vividly recall from the classic film The Ten Commandments: the Israelites dancing around the golden calf, Moses descending the mountain in righteous anger, and the dramatic moment when he shatters the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. This moment… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Today’s Collect reminds us that without God, nothing has firm foundation. Yet how easily we forget that truth. We often rely on our own strength and fall into the illusion of control. Saint Augustine spoke of two cities: the earthly—marked by love of self—and the heavenly—defined by love of God. Our life’s defining choice… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, “For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord.” All of us who have been baptized are disciples of Jesus Christ. We have a share in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world today, each according to our state in… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Life can wear us down—not just from the demands others place on us, but also from the expectations we place on ourselves. This is especially true in our spiritual lives. We often struggle with sin, and in response, we may create burdensome rules or standards for ourselves that only end up discouraging us… Continue reading

Today’s Readings In today’s Gospel, Jesus offers a prayer in which He praises the “childlike.” This refers to those who have simplicity of heart—those who approach God with trust, humility, and openness. So often, our hearts and lives become cluttered with worries, distractions, material concerns, the pursuit of power or status, and endless self-reliance. We… Continue reading

Today’s Readings Today, the Lord teaches us the importance of humility in the life of a Christian disciple. This humility is not demanded out of God’s need to be appeased, but is a posture of love. As we were reminded last weekend, love is at the heart of the Christian life: love of God and… Continue reading