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The Fruits of the Spirit

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I don’t remember the exact path of the conversation but the Fruits of the Spirit came up and my daughter who was 17 or 18 at the time rattled them off as one word, ending with “self-control oh oh!” After I stopped laughing (because who expects their teen to know the fruits let alone sing them), I gave a little thank you to God for both Catholic education and this amazing girl he allowed me to be the mother of. My daughter quickly directed me to a YouTube video of the song she was singing and I quickly learned that the fruits of the Spirit aren’t a banana, a watermelon, or a lemon. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

These are important virtues for us to strive for and are needed now. Paul warns the Galatians of the works of the flesh and sadly these are still present in our world today: immorality (abortion), impurity (sex outside of marriage), idolatry (spending more time pursing money than Jesus), hatred and rivalry (it’s an election year), outbursts of fury (violence and looting), acts of selfishness (so many examples), dissensions and factions (lack of civil discourse). Paul is very clear what the consequences are: “those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Gal 5: 21). This is where we may say “whoa! too far. Are you saying these people are going to hell?” Well, it kinda reads that way.

Our job as Catholics is to avoid that list of things and focus on the fruits by keeping our gaze on Jesus. We can put the fruits of the Spirit into action not only pro-actively but reactively as well. Just because we are surrounded by immorality, selfishness, and division doesn’t mean we have to join in. We can pray for others and avoid getting sucked in.

We can fight against the evil of abortion through how we vote. We can leave work at a reasonable hour to spend time with our families or go to Mass on our lunch break. We can respond to those who disagree with us with patience and self-control.

Sometimes I get frustrated that I can’t change the world but then God gently reminds me that it’s not my job to do that. I can change me and how I interact with the world. It may be a tiny ripple but it is important. If each of us commits to living our lives with the fruits of the Spirit, there will be a lot of little ripples that, I believe, will one day create a wave. So don’t be a banana, be a fruit of the Spirit.

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Merridith Frediani’s perfect day includes prayer, writing, unrushed morning coffee, reading, tending to dahlias, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids.  She loves finding God in the silly and ordinary.  She writes for Ascension Press, Catholic Mom, and her local Catholic Herald in Milwaukee. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Eucharistic Adoration is expected to be released summer 2021. You can reach her at merridith.frediani@gmail.com

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Relationship over Regulations

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I love today and the Gospel for a few reasons. To start, today Nathalie and I celebrate our two year anniversary. I am so blessed by her in new ways every single day and she has truly shown me the love of Christ through our still young but full marriage. It is also the Feast of Fatima, which has always been close to both of our hearts. We got engaged on May 13th and married on October 13th. And finally, I love the Gospel today because it’s about food.

If we know one thing about Jesus in the Gospel’s, it’s that he loves to eat, a man after my own heart. Here we see Jesus again correcting the Pharisees for following the letter of the law and forgetting that the whole point is the disposition of the heart and relationship with God.

I like to think of this in terms of the difference between someone who follows a recipe exactly and someone who is willing to improvise. Following a recipe is not bad, you will turn up with a pretty good dish, but the heart and soul will be missing. In the same way, just following the law for the sake of the law removes the heart and soul behind it.

Someone who is used to cooking is freed up to improvise, to change flavors, to go bold, and to not be stuck in a certain box. The end result can either be much worse or much better, but at least there is heart. It reminds me of a quote I heard once in reference to when Jesus walked on the water. The quote was: “It is better to get out of the boat and sink then to not get out at all.” Now, it is still bad to get out and sink, but at least that means we are trying and starting to trust in the Lord with that initial step out of the boat.

Jesus presents this idea in the Gospel today. You can wash your hands out of symbolism all you want, but you are too afraid to trust and get to the heart of the issue, relationship with God. How many times is this us? Especially today where it’s so easy to just pull up the Mass online instead of going in person. I realize some are still worried about health concerns, and that is legitimate. If that is you, take advantage of the live-streamed Mass. But have you been out on vacation, parties, dinners with friends, etc? If you have and you still aren’t returning to Jesus in person, I wonder if we have put the law over relationship. This can apply to anything in our lives, not just the Mass. Where have we put laws over the love of Christ? From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and the Director of Faith Formation for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith. Contact Tommy at tommy@rodzinkaministry.com or check out his website at rodzinkaministry.com.

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Open Up The Old Testament

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Salvation history is a story, a story of how God revealed Himself to be a Father, a story of how God invites each and every person to be a part of His family.

It’s a beautiful story, weaving through the Old Testament and culminating in the New Covenant Himself, the person of Jesus Christ. It’s also a difficult and trying story, full of so much sin and heartbreak and regret as the Israelite people struggled to accept God as their Father and their one true King.

I spent the entire summer walking through salvation history with my high school youth group. When we came to the final night where we talked about Jesus as the New Covenant, I closed out the whole topic by posing a question, the same question(s) I pose to you today.

What’s the point? Why does salvation history matter?

Salvation history isn’t just a long and drawn-out story that happened thousands of years ago in a place far, far away from here. Salvation history is our story, right here and right now.

How so?

Because God is still revealing Himself as Father to us, much like He did with the Israelites of long ago. Because we are invited to be part of His family.

We are welcomed into God’s family through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus. Through His passion and death, we were reconciled with God the Father and the gates of heaven were opened to us.

Today’s First Reading from Galatians takes us back into the story of salvation history to the time of Abraham. In Genesis 12, God established a covenant with Abraham, a three-part covenant actually, in which He promised to make Abraham a great nation, to make his name great and that, through Abraham’s descendants, all families on earth would find blessing.

Abraham pleaded with the Lord that the covenant be made with his son Ishmael, whom he had with Hagar, his Egyptian maidservant. But the Lord insisted that the covenant be carried out through the son he would have with his wife Sarah, Isaac.

Later on in Genesis 22, Abraham was called to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice upon Mount Moriah. Because Abraham did not withhold his only son, God promised to bless all of Abraham’s descendants, the blessing being a fatherly one.

What we learn from what almost took place on Mount Moriah is what would need to happen for Israel’s salvation, a faithful Father who was willing to offer up His only Son as a sacrifice.

I could go on and on but then I’ll end up going way past the allotted word count so I’ll leave you with this. Don’t be afraid to dive into the story of salvation. But most of all, keep your eyes and your hearts open to how God your Father calls you to be a part of His family.

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Erin Madden 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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Living in the Lord

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A couple weeks ago I was having a conversation with a coworker about how hard it is sometimes to pull even one positive, uplifting comment from the Sunday Gospel. Some of them tend to be a little more gloom and doom. Today’s readings are the exact opposite and they happen to be some of my favorites.

Listen to this: “…the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” I love how the prophet Isaiah takes the time to use descriptive adjectives. “Rich” and “choice” were not enough, he had to go on to say “juicy” and “pure”. Now, I don’t know about you but I. Love. Food. So just reading these words has my mouth is watering already!

But he doesn’t stop there, he goes on to proclaim even more profound truths: “…he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face…” In my book, this one reading alone is enough to drive every last inkling of gloom and doom away!

Psalm 23 prolongs the beautiful imagery.  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me…” Today provides a perfect opportunity to sit with these words in the quiet and simply bask in God’s goodness.

Maybe our life is in fact looking a little gloomy. Maybe our table has the same things on it over and over again, a far cry from a feast. Maybe our day to day reality resembles enclosed walls more than verdant pastures. Maybe the noise of our children or our work place or our own thoughts reminds us of a bursting dam more than restful waters.

If that is the case, I hope this one phrase brings you comfort: “…and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” Yes! This earthly life is not the end! We were created for our heavenly home.

I think our Second Reading gives us a good tip for experiencing that joy that we long for in the meantime. “I know how to live in humble circumstances; I also know how to live with abundance…God will fully supply whatever you need…”

In the end, it doesn’t really matter whether we are rich or poor, happy or sad, warm or cold, but rather that we have the Lord. Although sometimes it seems we may ask and ask for our “needs” to no avail, God knows our hearts and provides for what we truly need.

So I invite you to purposefully seek out a few moments of silence today to let these inspirational readings enrich you. May they cause you to fall deeper in love with our amazing God.

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Tami Urcia 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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Blessed Are Who?

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In today’s short Gospel, we have much to ponder. A woman from the crowd, acknowledging Jesus’ goodness, acknowledges also the presumed blessedness of his mother. It is a compliment of the highest order, perhaps inspired by Mary’s presence there, a way of honoring Jesus’ history, his mother, his belonging.

At first it may seem that Jesus is dismissing this compliment, as if he is saying, “Actually, the blessed ones are those who hear and keep God’s word, and not my mother.” But isn’t Mary the first one to “hear the word of God and observe it”? In fact, Jesus is acknowledging that the real reason Mary is to be honored is not her biological motherhood, but her total faithfulness to the Word of God. His words apply in the deepest way to her: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it.” She is the one who heard the Word of God, opened herself to it fully, received that Word so completely that it became Flesh within her. Mary is the first disciple, the one who believed, whose loving and obedient “yes” made the Incarnation possible. By looking at Mary, we can see the whole mystery of our redemption, from the Son’s conception in her womb to our own conception in the womb of Mother Church, “until Christ be fully formed in us” (Gal 4:19).

Mary encountered the Word of God, accepted it, assented to it, and never wavered, all the way to the Cross and beyond. Her whole life is summed up in her words at the Annunciation: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).  Later, Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy will be done” (Matt. 6:10). Our own daily “yes” should echo this complete willingness to do the Father’s will. But we must remember that God doesn’t want us to do His will because He wants submissive subjects; He wants children who live the joy and peace of a life of love. Love is not just obedience (though lovers often submit to the desires of the other); love is encounter, relationship, and union! Jesus reminds us that this life of real loving union begins with hearing God’s word and aligning our lives with it. In keeping the commands of love, we find the One who IS Love, and our hearts and wills are one with His. This is the “blessedness” and joy and peace Jesus desires for each of us.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Human Fraternity

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The themes in today’s readings, beginning with the prophet Abraham saying, ‘through you shall all the nations be blessed’ and the Alleluia, ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord’,  have been pulling me to Pope Francis’ new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti.    

Why? The subtitle of the document, Fraternity and Social Friendship, ring true in my heart, just as it did during my first reading of the Gospel. ‘Whoever is not with me is against me, whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Lk 11:23

The Grand Imam, Ahmed el-Tayeb and Pope Francis signed a document in February of 2019 on human fraternity and world peace. The Grand Imam described this joint document as: “… a document that invites all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.”

Fratelli Tutti is a document that needs to be read slowly to allow yourself to go deeper into the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, which is the framework of Pope Francis’ writing. John Carr, Director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at GU wrote a summary of the Twelve Themes on Sunday and Georgetown University held a forum on the encyclical on Monday.

The Alleluia acclamation today states: ‘I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.’ I believe this is what Pope Francis calls us to throughout Fratelli Tutti. The relationships we have with all of humanity and creation are sacred and entrusted to us through the Divine.

This recurring theme delights my Franciscan heart and soul. Click on the links above, read the documents, and find what is yours to do. Pray with me the words of Pope Francis as we begin this journey and necessary work.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication that does not build communion.

Help us to remove the venom from our judgements.

Help us to speak about others as our brothers and sisters.

You are faithful and trustworthy; may our words be seeds of goodness for the world:

where there is shouting, let us practice listening;

where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony;

where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity;

where there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity;

where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety;

where there is superficiality, let us raise real questions;

where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust;

where there is hostility, let us bring respect;

where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.  Amen.

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Beth Price 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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Total Abandonment To The Will of God

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that we should pray with faith and persistence. When we pray faithfully and persistently, we admit how much we need God in our lives.

Oftentimes we think of persistence in prayer as continually asking God for the same thing until He gives it to us. Sometimes that looks like “I promise I’ll stop gossiping if I get that promotion at work”. Sometimes it looks more serious like, “I promise I’ll come back to church if you allow my loved one to live through this disease”. But I think the prayer Christ is speaking about is the prayer in which we genuinely ask for His will to be done in our lives. Christ says, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

We get so caught up in asking for material things, those things which we need most immediately, that we forget that the greatest gift God can give us is the Holy Spirit. When God doesn’t grant us the sign we prayed for, we think He denied us our desire. But God’s will is greater than our own and He knows what we need even when we do not. In those moments that we feel as though God has not given us what we prayed for, perhaps He has given us what we need: the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we have been granted the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to help us bear whatever cross we are carrying. We learn that ultimately, we need God and God alone.

Since I was very young, my mom has told me “God’s delay is not God’s denial”. As a kid (and sometimes even now) that’s a hard thing to accept. It helps to remember that His greatest gift to us is Himself and that is always enough.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. 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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Our Lady Of The Rosary, Our Lady Of Victory

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Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Where does this title and celebration come from?

At the last apparition of Fatima on October 13, Mary identified herself in this way, saying, “I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day.” But nearly 350 years earlier, the history of this memorial celebration began. The troops of the Turkish Ottoman Empire had invaded and occupied the Byzantine Empire by 1453, and brought a large portion of the Christian world under a version of Islamic law. They continued to expand westward for the next 100 years, determined to invade Rome. In 1571, a fleet of 300 ships of the Ottoman Empire was preparing to wage a battle to conquer Europe, off the coast of Western Greece. Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States – three Catholic powers of Europe – formed an alliance called the Holy League, to defend Christian civilization against the looming Turkish invasion, sailing to confront them near Lepanto. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory, and the crew of the 200 ships of the Holy League prayed it as well.

Lepanto was a decisive battle, setting the trajectory of European history for hundreds of years. The pope attributed this to the intercession of Our Lady through the Rosary, and in thanksgiving instituted the celebration of “Our Lady of Victory” on October 7 and inserted the invocation “Help of Christians” into the Litany of Loreto. The name of the feast was changed by several popes, but always with the intention of giving thanks for this victory.

It is interesting that it was at Fatima that Mary revealed herself as the “Lady of the Rosary”, as the name of this little village refers to the youngest daughter of the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam (Portugal and Spain were occupied by Muslims for centuries). Mary is also the only woman named in the Quran, which describes her as being chosen above all other women. This indicates the possibility of a connection between Islam, Mary, and the Rosary.

At the July apparition, Mary told the children to “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world…because only she can help you.”

Pope Francis called the Rosary a “simple contemplative prayer, accessible to all… In the Rosary we turn to the Virgin Mary so that she may guide us to an ever closer union with her Son, Jesus, to bring us into conformity with him, to have his sentiments and behave like him… The Rosary is an effective means for opening ourselves to God.”

So let us make or renew our resolution to pray this simple prayer, as so many popes, saints, and Mary herself have encouraged us to do; for peace in our hearts, in our homes, in our families, and in our world!

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Working Against God

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Pride comes before a fall, the old saying goes.

When we succumb to pride, we find ourselves insisting that our way is the right way. Over time, we might come to find, like Paul and Martha, that we were actually working against God, and our failure to humbly and honestly examine ourselves has led us down that path.

In the First Reading, Paul is looking back on how he thought that, by persecuting the early Church, he was nobly defending the faith of his fathers. In reality, he was actually fighting against the God of his fathers.

Martha thought she was doing the right thing by busying herself with serving and being a good hostess. In reality, she was quite literally failing to listen to the words of Jesus, and asking her sister to do the same.

One of the antidotes to this type of stubborn pride comes in today’s Psalm: “Guide me Lord on the everlasting way”.  If we turn to God and ask him to guide us, it helps prevent us from unwittingly working against God.

Fortunately, both Paul and Martha changed their ways. Paul became a great defender and preacher of the Faith. The wiser Martha of John 11 goes out to meet Jesus and has confidence in Him as the Messiah.

So as we reflect on today’s readings, let us pray that God will guide us on His everlasting path, and give us the humility to see when we have veered off it.

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J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”

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Seeing All the Characters

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The story of The Good Samaritan is referenced widely in religious and secular circles. We all want to be the Samaritan, the one who reaches out and helps. We see the Samaritan as the hero of the story. The role of the Samaritan is indeed critical. Without him, the robbed man would have probably died on the road. However, we shouldn’t dismiss the other characters in Jesus’ story. In particular, the robbed man and the innkeeper.

As much as the Samaritan offered his assistance, the robbed man had to accept it in order for this scene to work out. He could have curled up, expecting the worse, and turned aside as the Samaritan came down the road. He could have rejected the help since it came from someone considered “unclean.” When we are hurt, excluded, or in the depths of pain and sorrow, it can be easy to lash out at those who would help us instead of raising our head and hands to accept what they are offering.

There is also the innkeeper. A few years ago, I read a book by Jane Knuth, a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer, entitled Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25⍧ at a Time. In one section, a donor is feeling that she doesn’t do enough for the organization, since all she does is give money. She does not dedicate time, doesn’t encourage others to come to the store, etc. Jane responds to her:

A careful reading will reveal that it’s the innkeeper who actually does the work of taking care of the hapless traveler. The Good Samaritan gives some preliminary help and foots the bill, sure, but the innkeeper is put in charge of the long-term effort.

The parable shows a need for both immediate assistance and a long-term refuge.

As we continue on in this pandemic, I believe it’s important to recognize that there are times we fill each one of these rolls. There may come a time when we feel like the robbed man. Circumstances swirl around us and everything is beyond our control. We hurt, we bleed, we cry out for aid.

There may be days we need to be the Good Samaritan. We can reach out to a friend or neighbor who is struggling. We can drop everything to listen when a friend loses a job, or isn’t sure how they are going to handle working from home while their children participate in virtual learning.

We may also be called to be the innkeeper. We are in this for the long haul. We may have the opportunity to walk with someone through loss, grief or sorrow. Perhaps we have had to take on caregiving duties for a family member, or find ourselves serving our children’s education in a brand new way. The innkeeper is the daily grind, the one who gets up each day to meet the same problems head on.

Jesus continues to reveal truth to us through this parable, even today.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

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Have No Anxiety At All

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I’m a worrier. Probably as a typical American, I worry about money a lot. Perhaps many people’s goal each day is to make money. How much can one make in how little time.

I also worry about something bad happening a lot. What if a loved one gets hurt or sick? What if I’m given something I just can’t handle?

Have you ever wondered just how many times the words “fear” or “anxiety” are found in the Bible? When I recently tried to look, it quickly became too many for me to count.

I realize now that more than anything else that what weakens my relationship with God is my lack of trust in Him. In today’s society, we often want to see results immediately. Instant messages, live-time social media feeds, we hold the world in the grips of a quick swipe on our cells or the click of a computer mouse. We tend to concentrate on what’s next without recognizing what’s already in our midst- God’s presence within us.

Today’s readings remind us: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And, what more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?

The Gospel calls us to ask ourselves, why do we turn against His beloved Son through sin? Is it for genuinely evil ways? This is probably not as common as it may be for the underlying anxiety and distrust we often have.

Perhaps more than anything else, we must take refuge in Him knowing His love for the world will surpass all our flaws.

Ultimately it is only by turning to our Father that we will find the peace we so yearn for. Prayer, indulgences, genuine self-care are some ways to cultivate our relationship with the Lord and demonstrate trust in His saving grace.

What can you do today to re-focus your priorities on His guarantees for His people rather than our doubts?

“Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God is unchanging.” – St Teresa of Avila

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Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.

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Potential Forecast of a Fair Weathered Disciple

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Today’s Gospel reading is one that I had to read a couple times in order to understand what was going on. Jesus sometimes throws these curved balls where it’s hard to understand exactly where he’s coming from.

The disciples are rejoicing because they’ve seen the power of Christ at work in casting out demons. He reminds them that we should rejoice not because of what we can see God doing or our own ability to share the Gospel, but because we are children of God and he desires us in heaven with him.

It reminds me of how we work so hard at our faith and we don’t always see results. It gets frustrating. How many times have we talked to someone about our faith and they shut us down or treat us like we are weak. Whether it’s praying for an end to abortion or for the conversion of a loved one, sometimes it seems like God doesn’t hear us.

It is easy to be a disciple when we see progress.

It’s easy to be a disciple when the culture is on our side and we have “Catholic Celebrities” encouraging us along the way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeing progress or rejoicing when we have our prayers answered. However, Jesus himself reminds us that we shouldn’t rejoice at results but at the fact that “our names are written in heaven.”

In the first reading we hear of Job and how God blessed him with beautiful daughters. But we all know Job was also blessed with severe trials in order to prove his faithfulness. Trials that would leave most people cursing God. Can you imagine losing your children in a terrible accident? Losing all your animals and livelihood? The only thing left were three servants who were the sole survivors of the tragedies. I pray to God that I can still rejoice and praise him even when faced with hardship.

It’s much harder to wear your faith with pride when you realize being Catholic means that people might not invite you to the neighborhood barbecue. Or when we have to defend Mother Church amidst a period of horrible scandal.

Praising God is much harder when we don’t get the things we want. Catholicism might lose a bit of its appeal when things aren’t going great. But none of that matters. Christ is real and he’s in the Church. He’s present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass all around the world. God the Father calls to us every day in the simple things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told lately that God talks to us in the silence.

Whether we’re in a period of consolation (where we see and feel God in our lives) or we’re feeling desolation (alone and abandoned) God is still with us. We are still called to be saints and there is a great plan for our lives that ends in our union with God in heaven.

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Patrick produces YouTube content for young Catholics on Catholic Late Night and Overt TV. He loves using humor to share the Truth of the Catholic faith with anyone who will listen. He resides currently in Chattanooga, TN and is a parishioner at The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Patrick graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a degree in Communication Arts and a Minor in Marketing.