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Have Eyes Only For Jesus

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Much ink has been spilled around Jesus’ words to Martha: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.” Does this mean the contemplative life is better than the active? That time in prayer is more important than time doing our duties? That there is no way to integrate the battling aspects of our life for solitude and responsibility?

If Jesus was holding Mary up as the epitome of the one who has chosen “the better part,” then what exactly did he mean? If he meant that contemplative life was a more truer form of discipleship than any other, then every other person in the Scriptures who was called as a prophet, priest, king, apostle, evangelist, was invited into a lesser form of discipleship. Jesus himself chose to stay and teach the multitudes rather than take much earned, and much wanted time away with his apostles in prayer and rest. His heart reached out to them who were like sheep without a shepherd. The many nights Jesus spent in prayer were followed by days of intense teaching and healing. Jesus even called his mother into a lifetime of daily chores and hospitality.

Is the life of witness and testimony and servant of less value than sitting at the Lord’s feet? Or is that what the Lord was talking about at all?

Perhaps what the Lord may have been holding up to us all, was Mary’s single-heartedness, her “undistractedness,” her poverty of spirit in the face of her sister’s complaints. Mary’s eyes were only for him, and her ears listened only for his voice. Mary, Jesus’ mother, had a similar round of duties to prepare meals and care for Joseph and Jesus. But I can only imagine the singleness of purpose, the gentle focus, and intentionality, the deep and quiet love, with which the duty of every moment was carried out by the Mother of God. Perhaps Jesus was suffering for all Martha was going through, knowing that the vexation she was experiencing was hurting her, and was not necessary. He wanted so much more for her to be at peace with her soul soaking in his tender love.

So, the Lord sent his apostles to the whole world to baptize people in the name of the Father, of the Son, of the Spirit. However, they were first to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Spirit. Their work was not to be their own, marred by competition, rivalry, anxiety and stress, and other “distracted” emotions. Through the Spirit they were to have their eyes only on him, be the conduits of God’s grace to the world, be obedient servants of the Word, and spend themselves for the Master they loved up to and including their ultimate death.

Therefore, on this Feast of St Martha, let us look to our own hearts that we might have the grace to live without distraction as we eagerly fulfill all that God calls us to do in life.

Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com

Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/

For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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Modern Day Wheat

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Upon reading the first few lines of today’s Gospel, I thought to myself, “Yes, the Parable of the Sower! I can write about this!” Then I kept reading, and I panicked. This parable, the “Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat” is not a Gospel passage I’m familiar with at all.

So I kept reading Matthew 13, a chapter full of parables and explanations of parables. Thankfully, verses 36-43 offered a far more intelligent explanation for the “Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat” than I could ever provide. I encourage you to read those verses if you are as confused as I was.

Taking all of these words of Scripture to heart, what I wish to offer you today is a modern-day take on this Parable.

Put yourself in the shoes of the man who sowed. Your good seed is the word of God, the good news of the Gospel, while your field may be your work, your school, or your community. While your back was turned, your enemy came and sowed weeds of hatred, intolerance, and every kind of evil and left. What is the result? You see good and evil at war within your “field,” both coming up together and intertwining in the hearts you are trying to reach.

Fellow disciples come to you, asking how evil got mixed in with your group. You recognize it as the work of the devil, of Satan, and so you come up with a plan. Then comes the time for repentance, the harvest time, where choices will need to be made. Times get tough for the man doing the sowing as he has to continue to share the good news in the face of adversity.

What are you going to do? Let your field – your work, your school, your community – get caught up in the works of evil, or will you bring them into the light, into a relationship with Christ?

We talk about evangelization a lot. I know it has been the subject of a few of my blog posts. But it is time for us to take responsibility and action. Let today’s Gospel be another call to action for us to evangelize, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The more that we share Christ with others, the more laborers we will have in the field.

Erin is a Cleveland native and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Following graduation, she began volunteering in youth ministry at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Her first “big girl” job was in collegiate sports information where, after a busy two years in the profession on top of serving the youth, she took a leap of faith and followed the Lord’s call to full-time youth ministry at St. Peter Church. She still hopes to use her communication arts degree as a freelance writer and statistician, though. You can catch her on the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter @erinmadden2016.

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Sanctify Your Mind

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Your words, Lord, are more precious than gold.

“Yes, Lord, we agree, we wholeheartedly accept that first reading today…the commandments you have delivered through Moses. Why? Because you, Lord, have the words of everlasting life!”

Imagine this cry rising from the subways, the courtrooms, the board rooms, homes and schools, and industrial parks, theaters, newsrooms, universities and social media posts, comments on blog and news streams.

“You, Lord, have the words of everlasting life! Yes, YOU, Lord, refresh the soul with a law that is perfect, that is trustworthy, that gives wisdom, that rejoices the heart, that enlightens the eye” (from today’s Responsorial Psalm).

Those I know who absolutely would never be caught saying those words about the commandments of God are often, as the Gospel parable of the sower hints, “without understanding.” Their hearts have been taken in by what seems to them to be reasonable or comfortable or fair or compassionate. God’s law seems, by contrast, to be harsh and unbending.

When the seed of the word falls on the heart of one who is without understanding, the parable states that the “Evil One comes and steals it away.” So it seems it is essential to have “understanding” or to sanctify our minds, as Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline Family, taught.

Here are three things you can do to “sanctify your mind” to grow in “understanding”:

1) Spiritual Reading. Devote yourself to reading the Scriptures or a book of spiritual reading several times a week. It is important to confront our human way of thinking with God’s thoughts, to wrestle with God’s word, to bow before the Father, whose every action is perfect.

2) Humility. Ask the Lord to help you understand things from his point of view. When our mind is riddled with distraction and arrogance and fears and inquisitiveness, our mind is ill. We naturally believe whatever we come up with as true or just or right. In this state, it can’t bend in adoration to Almighty God without growing first in virtue of humility. As Bishop Sheen, whose path for beatification has been cleared, once said: “Our intellects do not make the truth; they attain it: they discover it.”

3) Pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of understanding. Our intellect by itself can only reason humanly, even if it is filled with faith. It is incapable of seizing the infinite, even though it lives of faith. When we receive the Holy Spirit’s gift of understanding we “experience” what is true, we grasp divine mysteries with the knowledge of God himself in a way that profoundly affects us, a spiritual intuition that impresses itself on our soul. This kind of understanding changes us. We can never not know what we have come to see through the gift of understanding.

Your words, Lord, all of them,
“are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.”

Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey.

Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com

Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/

For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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From Death to Life

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When reading the book of Genesis, I try to put myself into the perspective of Adam and Eve. Here are two people who had a perfect love with God and each other, they had no suffering, pain, despair, anxiety, stress, loneliness, sin, and the list goes on. They also had no concept of death. We hear in Genesis that God commands them not to eat of the tree, or they will surely die. But imagine what that would have been like for Adam and Eve to hear. They didn’t have an experience of death; they had nothing to compare with it. All they knew or could theorize is that death is the opposite of what they had. It was unknown.

This is taken further in that after the fall they realized they were naked and hid. They hid for many reasons, shame, embarrassment, fear, confusion, but it’s clear that they were now afraid they would use each other. In the beginning, human beings acted only one way, out of love, but now there is a fear of use. This fear came through the rupture between body and soul. After all, what is death besides the soul leaving the body? In the beginning, Adam and Eve could look and see the whole person in all it’s glory, body and soul, after the fall they look and conceal themselves out of fear that they will no longer see a person, but just an object. Not as someone but as something.

All of this is set up in Genesis, but how does it relate to today’s first reading? Well, Adam and Eve changed the course of human history, and death has entered the world. So what’s the cure? If death happens in the body, then there must be some way for the Divine to literally enter into the human experience to transform what was tainted by sin and resurrect it. There must be some way for God to become flesh.

Thankfully, unlike Adam and Eve, we now know the answer is Jesus taking on our bodies, taking the human body to the most extreme and terrible suffering imaginable, conquering it, and rising. Giving death the proverbial kick in the face on Easter morning.

Relate this to the readings of the day. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are persecuted but not abandoned and struck down but not destroyed. This is such a beautiful paradox that just like Christ, we must suffer for a time to live for all time. Our bodies are dying more every day to get closer to life.

Last week one of my dear friends passed away in a car accident, and everyone in our community was rightly emotional at the loss of such a good person. But in the back of our minds, we couldn’t help but proclaim that his death, as evil and tragic as it was, was the next step in his journey of life. He loved rock climbing, and as our priest so eloquently put it in his homily, he has now reached the peak. The climb was treacherous at times, it was uncertain, it was scary, but death was not the end, the height of the climb was new life.

This week, I am reminded in quite a tangible way of the beauty of what Christ has done for us. God created us good, sin entered the world and brought death, God became man and took on death, and in rising conquered it once and for all. I can’t help but smile as I write this and think of 1st Corinthians where we hear, “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”

As the Catechism puts it, “The flesh is the hinge of salvation. We believe in God who is the creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh.”

So let us grieve when we are confronted with death, as is right to do, let us affirm that death is not a good, but let’s not believe the lie that death is the end. Thank you, God, for dying so that I may truly live. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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The Parable of the Sower

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In today’s Gospel we hear a parable that I’m sure we’re all familiar with: the Parable of the Sower.

If you continue to read Matthew 13, you will find Christ’s explanation that the three different types of soil are representative of three different types of people.

The seed that falls on rocky soil but is scorched by the sun because it has no roots is the person who hears the Gospel and is blessed with great joy but soon falls away because of persecution.

The seed that falls among the thorns is the person who hears the Gospel but is preoccupied by worldly things and does not live or share the Word.

The seed that falls on good soil is the person who hears the Gospel, understands, lives it, and shares it with others.

We will all encounter each type of soil, each type of person in our lives. Perhaps we will even act as the sowers and talk to each type of person about the faith. But we will also encounter each type of person within ourselves.

How many times have we gone on a retreat or something similar and been so on fire with the Holy Spirit and for our faith while we’re there, but then as soon as we return to our ordinary, daily lives and to our routines and the fire dies out a little bit? That’s the seed falling on rocky soil.

How many times have we been afraid to share our faith at work or in our communities? Or how many times have we not paid attention in Mass because something else in on our minds? That’s the seed falling among the thorns.

But how much joy do we find in sharing the Gospel with others? How often do we find great joy and peace in participating in the Sacraments? What does it feel like when we recognize Christ in others? That’s the seed falling on good soil.

We are all capable of being rocky, thorny, or good soil. If we recognize what our thorns are and when we have a tendency to shy away from the faith because of persecution, then we are able to overcome those obstacles and replace the thorns and rocks with good soil.

St. Sharbel, pray for us!

Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO is studying for her Master’s in Spanish, and loves her job as an elementary school librarian. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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Tell Your Story

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“Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.”

Such a nice story, so evident the power of God thousands of years ago, I wish his power didn’t fade over time. Ever felt this way? Well, God’s power was there way back with the Israelites, but today, he clearly isn’t as powerful or doesn’t care as much about us. Obviously this is not true, but I think we start to have these thoughts in our minds because we don’t often share how the Lord works in our lives.

We may be afraid that if we share how God has worked in our lives we will be made fun of, or we may have a sense of false humility where if we talk about what God has done through us that somehow we will take credit for it. I want to renounce these thoughts as the lies they are.

The reality is that God could have chosen any number of ways to free his people, he chose Moses. He could have chosen any number of ways to feed the poor in Calcutta, he chose a short and frail sister. He could have chosen any number of ways to free Russia from communism, he chose St. John Paul II. He could have chosen any number of ways to free us all from sin, he chose his son.

God works through human beings and though he doesn’t need us because he is all powerful, he has chosen to need us. He has chosen the human person as a tangible way to transmit his love to the world and that means that your life has prupose, has meaning, you are important. He chose you.

With that importance comes power. When we start to realize how God wants to work in our lives and how he wants to communicate his love through us we need to ask and believe that he will do what he says. Let’s not fall into the common trap of believeing that God wants to speak powerfully through others but not through ourselves.

We can all think of a time when God has worked in our lives and I invite you to share that story. When I was younger I fell asleep reading a prayer book and the lamp I was using fell into my bed and caught it on fire. Long story short, the whole mattress was burning but I didn’t wake up. Finally, my parents came running into the room screaming and I jumped up and ran away from the bed without a single mark or burn. The prayer I was reading was the St. Joseph prayer which promises that anyone who reads this prayer will not be burned in any fire. God works and has power. Your story may not be as intense or dangerous, but God works through us and in us. What is your story? I invite you to listen to this video by Jon Foreman. It is a phenomenal video about the importance of story. It is a little long but I promise it is worth it. Once you have watched it, share your story with someone else of how God has touched your heart. The world needs to see the power of the Lord, and they are shown that power through you.

From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Through the Tears

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“Jesus said ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’”

I love these words from today’s gospel. I imagine these words being said in the most gentle and comforting way. Jesus to Mary Magdalene…”Why are you weeping?”

I’ve always felt close to Mary Magdalene. Her feast day today is celebrated the day after my birthday. Note that it is no longer a Memorial on the liturgical calendar. Mary has been elevated to the status of the Apostles with her own Feast Day. How appropriate for the woman who had the privilege of being the first to see Jesus after his resurrection, though she didn’t at first recognize him. Through her tears, her overwhelming grief at not being able to properly prepare his body for burial after the Sabbath, thinking he has been moved. Through her tears she could not see that the man, whom she mistook for a gardener,  was her Lord. Through her tears, it was only in the gentle and comforting words of Jesus speaking her name, “Mary!”, that she was able to see that it was him. Let’s add to our reflection the power of our spoken name in times of sorrow.

I don’t believe there is one person reading this today who has not experienced some profound loss, in some form or other. Grief and weeping come as part of the healing, but only after the anger at the loss. The tears often will hide something from our view. That something is the realization that life will continue after the grief and laughter will return. I like to think of the tears as a cleansing of the eyes to allow us to see more clearly, not only what is to come, but also that Jesus himself is there, walking with us through our sorrow.

Some years ago, I was experiencing a very emotionally trying time. As was my habit, I visited my good priest friend, Fr. Donn (now passed), for some comfort and guidance. I recall him saying to me, “ You will get through this.” I asked how. He answered that when the hurt comes, don’t hide it or try to bury it. Let the tears come – let them flow. They will give you comfort, and Jesus will show you the way out. I’ve never forgotten that advice, and it has served me well.

For Mary, her tears first blinded her to what was just before her, unrecognizable. As with us, we will often be blinded by our tears and sorrow to what is right before us. But as with Mary, those tears will dry, and joy will return. Should you not have a Fr. Donn to lean on as I did, find someone who can help. But also, don’t forget that Jesus is right there for you. Pray for him to call your name to let you know he is holding out his hand for you to take the first steps out of your grief.

And then, with May, we can joyfully exclaim to all we meet, “I have seen the Lord!”

God Bless.

Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager at Diocesan, is a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. Jeanne has worked in parish ministry as an RCIA director, in Liturgy, and as a Cantor. Working word puzzles and reading fill her spare time. Jeanne can be reached at jpenoyar@diocesan.com.

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Wishing To Go Unnoticed

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I wonder how many times in the Gospels Jesus tells those he has healed not to tell anyone about it, or not to make Him known. It seems contradictory, doesn’t it? I mean, isn’t the whole reason He came to Earth to save the whole world, so that everyone could have a relationship with Him and reach heaven? Why did He insist that people not spread word of His miracles? Was it because He would have literally been bombarded by people from every side, never able to eat or sleep? Was it because His “time had not yet come” and he didn’t want the “bad guys” to find Him before then? Or was it an act of simple and true humility? He didn’t want to be known, so that they wouldn’t applaud Him…

If the latter is the case, I have a lot to learn…

As complex human beings made up of the physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological and otherwise, we seem to tend to seek affirmation that we’re ok people, at least I do. I don’t expect to be a famous superstar, but I do wish to be loved and liked and I would hope that people appreciate the efforts I put into all I do. It almost seems like I would be working in vain if at least ONE person didn’t notice. Right? I appreciate a pat on the back, a congratulatory comment or a “good job!” but maybe I put too much emphasis on it. I know I have a lot to work on when it comes to humility.

Let’s just say that I continued my everyday life, went to work, did my job to the best of my ability, helped out a family member or coworker, came home and took care of the kids, put them lovingly to bed, spent quality time with my husband, listening to him and tending to his needs, and throughout the whole day, not a single person said “thank you” or “you look nice today” or “you did a great job with that”. At the end of the day, how would I feel? Would I be happy to be able to identify with my Lord and Savior who wished to go unnoticed?  I kinda doubt it.

I get defensive and upset whenever anyone decides to correct me or tell me something I did wrong. God forbid I make a mistake! I realize I’m only human, but I find it soooo hard to accept my shortcomings. I want to do everything right and get it right the first time. I want to have the answer before you finish the question. I want to guess what you’re going to say next and have that cute quip ready at the tip of my tongue to make you laugh…

“And in His Name the Gentiles will hope.” (Matthew 12:21)

People do not and should not hope in yours truly, but rather in the Lord.

Dear Jesus, help me to be a beacon of your truth and goodness, your love and joy. May I not seek praise or affirmation for myself, but rather may all the attention be reflected back to you. Amen.

Tami grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling home improvement projects, finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for almost 20 years.

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I Desire Mercy

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Today’s Gospel has Jesus saying, “I desire mercy,not sacrifice...”  In an article by Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, he explains the concept this way:

The Latin word, which is the ultimate root of our English word “mercy,” is misericordia. It, in turn, derives from two words: misereri, meaning “to have pity on” or “compassion for” and cor, meaning “heart” (genitive case — cordis: “of the heart”). Mercy, therefore, carries the idea of having compassion on someone with all one’s heart. The latter phrase expresses the idea: “From the very inmost depth (or core) of one’s being.

The Sacred Scriptures show clearly that mercy is the greatest “relative” characteristic of God, the attribute that extends over all He created (e.g., Ps 145:9); and it explains the whole plan of salvation: the power (virtue) of a compassionate heart that shares another’s misery to come to that other’s rescue. Saint Thomas, therefore, can fearlessly profess and demonstrate that, with relation to all that exists in creation, mercy is the greatest divine attribute (Summa Th., IIa IIae30, 4c).

A “composite” definition of “mercy” (based on definitions found in various dictionaries) would go like this: A feeling of tenderness, aroused by someone’s distress or suffering, which inclines (causes) one to spare (abstain from killing/hurting) or to help another who is in one’s power and has no claim whatever to (or is completely undeserving of) kindness. Another definition would be: pardon given to someone who could be punished (often used with reference to God when He forgives sin).

Both these definitions make quite understandable what Pope John Paul II expounded in his encyclical on the Mercy of God in Part VII, no. 13, par. 4:

It is precisely because sin exists in the world, which “God so loved … that He gave His only Son” (Jn 3:16), that God, who “is love” (1 Jn 4:8), cannot reveal Himself otherwise than as mercy.

The essence of mercy is to take into account not only that which is strictly due (as is the case with justice), but also weaknesses, infirmities, and defects of all kinds; and in considering them, to give more than is required by merit and to soften the blow that guilt deservingly brings upon itself through the shutting off, by sin, of the flow of God’s goodness. Divine Mercy, therefore, by no means signifies some sort of sentimental emotion (as certain pagan philosophers saw it, branding it “a weakness excusable only in old people and children”)

Mercy is love, plain and simple. However, as humans we tend to conditionalize love, by placing “if [blank] then I can love” types of boundaries on it. We pray for the issues that we can relate to, people we know and judge (sometimes judging unconsciously, many times not) that other situations are not as dire and choose not to include them in our prayers, our mercy. That is not part of our beliefs as Catholic Christians. God’s love is unconditional and we are meant to imitate his love. 

I forget that I need the mercy of the Lord just as every person in the world does. I am not called to judge or withhold love and mercy. I am called to bring forth the mercy poured out by Christ on the cross into the world. We do this by embracing and embodying the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 

You know what’s on your heart and on your mind regarding mercy. Listen to this song as a closing prayer, “What Mercy Did for Me”. You know what needs to be done.

Beth is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She brings a unique depth of experience to the group due to her time spent in education, parish ministries, sales and the service industry over the last 25 yrs. She is a practicing spiritual director as well as a Secular Franciscan (OFS). Beth is quick to offer a laugh, a prayer or smile to all she comes in contact with. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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My Burden is Light

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The headphones go in, the music or Netflix goes on, and for just a while we can forget that we are human, that we have responsibility, so much so that we call it vegging. The height of the human experience after a long day of work is acting more like a vegetable than a human.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that people don’t work hard. My life is very busy between work, home life, and teaching classes at our local church. Lots of people have sports or study. Many people in our community are hard working farmers. Our burden is often heavy.

But what do we do to help us with that burden? In today’s Gospel Jesus is calling us to rely on him. He is calling us to trust. Something my wife and I have been working on lately is praying more instead of watching another episode on Netflix. Have you noticed how the shows that are being made up aren’t even that good anymore, but we watch them for hours and at the end we realize we didn’t even care for it.

Now I am not saying get rid of your Netflix or stop flipping through social media. What I am saying is that we need a better awareness as a society of what actually matters. Jesus is reaching out to give us his peace and love and often times we push him away with our headphones and tell him to take the back seat. Imagine if when we were stressed or worried or had the obstacles of life pile up on us leaving us exhausted, that instead of vegging out and forgetting our humanity, instead embracing the humanity of the ultimate human. Letting Jesus into our hearts and from there finding rest. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Growing Up

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Today is my birthday and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to wish for when I blow out my candles. I began to run through the list of things I wanted but realized that there’s not much on that list that couldn’t be bought on my next grocery store trip. I try to run through the list of things I need but I already have a family that loves me, a job at which I feel fulfilled, and more physical possessions than I can shove into the closet when guests come over. God has blessed me with all of this and so much more.

This year, instead of trying to come up with which physical possessions I want or what basic and psychological needs I have, I began making a list of things I want out of life over the next year, goals for myself. Things I want to achieve, hobbies I want to explore, and how I want to see myself grow. 

As I turn the ripe, old age of 25 (ha!), I am understanding that material wants aren’t going to satisfy me. Nope. Instead, my satisfaction and joy will come from meaningful relationships, personal growth and spiritual growth. 

My relationship with my boyfriend gives me the support and encouragement I need to take new risks and know that it’s okay to be scared. My deepening relationship with my parents has proven that it’s okay to make mistakes and there is always forgiveness to be given. My ever-growing, ever-changing relationship with my siblings and friends remind me of the person I am and reflect the kind of person I want to become. My relationship with my Heavenly Father will help me to better understand this crazy world that we live in and reminds me of what my ultimate goal is. 

Catholic speaker Mary Bielski said that we must define ourselves by our relationship to God, not by our jobs and possessions. The world tells us that since we do a certain job and have certain possessions, then we can figure out who we are and where our place is in the world. What we should be telling ourselves is that we are God’s, which means that we have already been given not just this life, but the next, and we can do anything through God.

This shift in thinking has reminded me that today, my birthday, is a reminder of the life that I have been given by God. Knowing that my heart belongs to God means that I can appreciate the people in my life rather than being upset about the excess and the nonsense. I can see who I am through the eyes of God rather than through the lens of society. My flaws are loved, my sins are forgiven, my heart is nurtured, and my love is guided. 

I could ask you to examine your relationship with God and others, but as I celebrate my birthday, I just feel so happy and blessed. I want to share this encompassing joy with you through our short Gospel reading of today:

I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
(Matthew 11:25-26)

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Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.

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Finding Our Essence

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Picture a chair in your mind’s eye. What do you see? What kind of chair is it? Where do you use it? Is it a rocking chair? Your favorite recliner? Did you picture a chair unique to your home or something more public like a shared park bench? If we could line up each of our mind pictures, each picture would be different, but each would be a chair. What makes these different images all “chair”? What is it about the concept of “chair” that allows us to see both a dorm room bean bag and a castle’s throne and label them both as “chair”? 

In philosophy, the word essence is used to describe the properties of what an object fundamentally is and without those properties, the object loses its identity. The essence of chair allows us to see those properties that make it a chair in any form or setting. Essence is more about fulfilling a purpose than in physical make up. In today’s readings, Jesus is getting at our essence, the basis of our identity and he goes about it by what sounds on the surface like a rejection of Mary, but is it really? And what does it have to say about who we are? 

 “Someone told him, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.’ But he said in reply to the one who told him, ‘Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.’”

Wait a minute! Did Jesus just say Mary is not his mother? First of all, deep breath, on this Memorial of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, we need to be confident that we can never love Mary more than Jesus does. So what does Jesus mean?  

Jesus is making a point about our essence, those properties without which we lose our identity. “Becoming a disciple of Jesus means accepting the invitation to belong to God’s family, to live in conformity with His way of life…” (CCC 2233) It isn’t about belonging to a specific family, tribe or nation. Jesus is telling us that in order to belong to God’s family, in order to fulfill our essence, our identity as God’s children, we need to do the will of our heavenly Father. 

And throughout all of history, since God created Adam and Eve, who has most lived her life completely conformed to the Father’s will? Who gave her fiat as a young girl and lived it out for the rest of her earthly life and continues in heaven? Mary, of course. 

Jesus is telling us that to belong to the family of God, it doesn’t matter where we are born, to whom we were born. It isn’t our circumstances or anything else beyond our control. Like Mary, we can give God our yes, our own fiat and align our will with his own. When we do this, we fulfill our essence, we embrace those properties about ourselves that make us who we were created to be, we come into our identity as a child in God’s family.

And when we claim our identity as part of the family of God we get Mary as our Mother. As our Mother, Mary doesn’t leave us without her aid. 

According to Carmelite tradition on July 16, 1251, Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock and gave him the Brown Scapular with the promise, “Receive, My beloved son, this habit of thy order: this shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire …. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace.” 

The Brown Scapular is a sacramental approved by the Church for over seven centuries. We can wear the Brown Scapular after enrollment by a priest or authorized person. This makes one a part of the Carmelite family of God. Our Lady called the scapular a privilege and as always, with privilege comes responsibility. Enrollment requires the wearing of the scapular, observance of chastity according to one’s state in life and a commitment to pray the rosary. Wearing the Brown Scapular is a sign of the decision to be open to God’s will, guided by faith, hope, and charity, to pray always, and like Mary, commit to following Jesus. 

Which brings us full circle to the message of today’s Gospel. Our God is not an absentee landlord, or merely a great force which put the world in place and then stands back unconcerned. We were created by love, for love, to love. It is our essence, the core of our identity. We are invited to be a part of God’s family. We have the opportunity to give Him our yes on a daily basis and to live according to His will. Jesus tells us that when we imitate Mary in this, he will acknowledge us too as family. 

“For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Mother Mary, intercede for us all and on this day when we honor you as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, help us to be more like you and to live out our shared identity as children of God. Amen

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If you catch Sheryl sitting still, you are most likely to find her nose stuck in a book. It may be studying with her husband, Tom as he goes through Diaconate Formation,  trying to stay one step ahead of her 5th and 6th-grade students at St Rose of Lima Catholic School or figuring out a new knitting or quilting pattern. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.