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It was in Antioch

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Several years ago my cousins and I went on a backpacking trip to South Manitou Island. Within the first hour on the island I decided it was a good idea, redhead white boy that I am, to go lay in the sun. I was out for about 30 minutes or so and quickly realized that I had the worst sunburn that has probably ever existed in human history. My entire body from head to toe was bright red. This was one of the most painful experiences, having a terrible sunburn and having to walk miles with a backpack on constantly rubbing against my skin.

I grew up with all the ginger jokes as a kid. White boy can’t tan, things like that. I always thought they were funny and went along with them, but here on the island, I started hoping beyond hope that my sunburn would turn into a tan. I would be the first fair-skinned Irish lad to have a proper tan. By the time we made it off the island my burn had peeled and actually did turn into a tan. I was more excited than Winnie the Pooh stuck in the honey tree. The only problem was, it only stayed tan for about a day and turned right back to a white that could blind you if you weren’t careful.

I went from one extreme to the other. From a burn that rivaled most lobsters, to a white that could blend in with a polar bear. Living right in the middle for that one day was glorious, my 24-hour tan. Today in the first reading we hear that the word Christian is first used in Antioch. I have been thinking a lot about the world lately. I must admit, even someone as optimistic as me has been looking around very discouraged. My heart breaks seeing good friends label each other over social media from one extreme to the other. I have been thinking a lot about what it even means to be a disciple, to be a Christian. I think the answer comes from this burn I experienced as a kid.

One extreme was no good, the other extreme was not everything it was cracked up to be, right in the middle was a perfect balance. Jesus is all about balance. When he speaks to the woman caught in adultery he first tells her of his love for her, then tells her to sin no more. A balance of justice and mercy. Today, I think we are forgetting about balance. The Christian is one who follows Christ. Christ is perfectly just and merciful, perfectly God and man, perfectly Lord and servant.

Whenever we start to slip into extremes or label other people with them, we forget love. Love does not divide, EVER. Nathalie and I are totally different, but our love brings us together in the perfect balance. We need to remember this, especially today when our country and world seem so divided. Instead of immediately jumping to one extreme or the other with people on social media, let’s try listening. We may be surprised at how much we all actually agree on. I hope we can all at least agree that we all deserve love. God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Are We Too Far Gone?

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Have we forgotten? Have we forgotten what it’s like to walk amongst a land of freedom, peace, and joy? A land flowing with milk and honey and dominion over the birds of the air and fish of the sea as gifts from our creator.

Have we forgotten the lonely pain that afflicted us striving to give of ourselves but coming up short from what the animals provide, an imitation of flattery, friendship, or affection?

Have we forgotten the deep sleep of our father as he lay to rest and was recreated with a newfound passion and joy? Have we forgotten the look that was given from the first couple in complete and utter love? No use, no ulterior motives, no you vs. me. Just complete trust and acceptance, understanding, and mutual respect.

Have we forgotten the feeling of the breath of our creator filling our lungs as we took each step in freedom from fear? Have we forgotten the experience of wealth beyond our wildest dreams? Not a wealth of this world, but of fulfillment, knowledge, and perfection.

Some would say the chasm between this portal of fantasy and folly is too far to be breached. The past is so far gone it is no longer a distant shadow, but a fading portrait of rumors and tall tales. Swimming around like a massive fish, getting bigger and bigger, but less and less true.

Some would go further and say we misremember our place. That we belong right there next to the animals, not with a dominion but as equals. Equals in freedom, intellect, and will. Debased to the point where our dignity doesn’t come from our creator but wells up from within ourselves. We make our own dignity and it can, therefore, be bought and sold, dragged and destroyed, hung up to dry like a pile of half washed clothes.

We are the “some” who would believe this faux image of man’s original light. The way we treat our fellow man has proven we have bought the bait. Our past not only washed away but erased like it never was. An empty tapestry of hopes and dreams and ambitions. We try to add more paint to cover up the mess, but it gets worse and worse till we cry out in pain for ourselves and others. Something must be missing. Something must have been forgotten. This can’t be all that the human person was meant to be?

“Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?”

That old dusty book grandma used to read to us late at night so we would quiet down or be stricken with the wrath of God? What could that possibly answer about our current predicament of hatred and fear? Misunderstanding and loneliness abound and some 2,000-year-old tired bedtime story is supposed to have the answer to our purpose? The pages begin flipping in a desperate attempt for something to lurch out and give the answer we so desperately need. Shuffling through the first few pages as the dust settles at our toes. Wondering, pleading, hoping. What is the answer? What does it mean to be human? Can we even begin to get back what we have seemed to have misplaced or completely forgotten? What is this modern-day thorn that pierces our very existence and threatens to choke us till we can’t breathe?

“Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness… So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them… God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

We pause with a deep quizzical look of reflection overcoming our face. The question still remains. What is our modern-day thorn? Is it our disbelief in the scriptures or is it our lack of faith in the restorative power of God?

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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The Father and I Are One

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I love to cook and host people. I think it comes from my family. My house growing up was always a welcome place for people. Parties, barbecue, food, friends, fellowship, endless rounds of euchre, great conversation, bonfires, just the type of gatherings that make you feel good.

I have seen in my parents how they allow people to share in their sacrament of marriage. Each time they reach out, serve, help, cook, or host, they are extending their sacrament to others in a beautiful way. The love they share together overflows to those around them and you can’t help but feel like you are home.

My wife, Nathalie, and I try to emulate this in our own marriage as well. We want to invite people in, help when we can, reach out to the community, serve the Church, help the less fortunate, and invite people into the love that we share.

We have all heard that the trinity is similar to a marriage. God the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father and their love is so real it is the Holy Spirit. Similar to a husband and wife and their love becomes a new child. We have heard this but have we let it sink in? Especially in relation to allowing others to share in the love of the sacrament of marriage?

In the Gospel today we hear over and over that the Father and Son are one and that they desire to bring all people into their love, which is the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church 221 tells us that, “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.”

How does God invite people into his love? One of the ways is through our genuine relationships. When my wife and I love each other like Christ, and we invite people into our home, conversation, life, and love, people can experience the love of God through us.

This is what Christ wants, for us to be walking beacons of his love here on this earth and for us to invite all people into the love of the Trinity, for which we are all destined. The hard part of this is do we do it? Do we actually reach out to people and help them experience God’s love here on this earth. If not, why not? That’s the question we need to ask today. My wife and I should ask it every day.

It would be very upsetting to get to heaven and realize that we forgot to bring anyone with us. Let’s make that a priority today. God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Christ Ascends to the Father

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“‘So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.’ Christ’s body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys. But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus’ final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God’s right hand.” -CCC 659

Have you ever been confused by the Ascension? God becomes a man and dies for our sins only to leave us here on this earth? I always struggled to wrap my mind around it. But this quote from the Catechism gives me such hope and joy.

See, Jesus came to die for our sins, but not only that. That’s a reductionist view of what Jesus did for us if that is our only focus. As if that one moment of death was the epitome of his purpose. That’s simply not giving God enough credit. We must look at his ENTIRE life and mission in order to see how deep his love really is for us.

At the fall we sinned against an immortal being, we could not pay back the hurt that was caused. The only possible hope for our fallen human nature is for God to take it on, dispel the bad, resurrect the good, and then bring it to his Father. That is precisely what he did. Salvation history doesn’t stop with the crucifixion. It doesn’t even stop with the resurrection. Jesus resurrected human nature through his power, but he still had to take his place at the right hand of God and bring human nature with him into divine glory.

He is the one mediator between God and man, as we hear in scripture. Our broken humanity is resurrected when he conquered sin and death, but then he brings humanity fully and irreversibly into divine glory through his ascension. Now for all eternity, Jesus sits next to the father to be a constant reminder that we have been redeemed.

There is a lot of talk that the end of the world is coming. I think fear has entered our hearts through the current pandemic and we start thinking and worrying about things that are outside of our control. Whether the end of the world is coming is not the question we should be trying to figure out. After all, we are told that nobody knows the time or place. What we should be concerned with is the gift God has given us through his ascension. He has taken our humanity into the depths of divine love. What is our response to that kind of action? Do we waste it with our time here on earth or do we thank him and live in joy and hope, longing for the day we join him?

This is a tough question to ask, but it’s the one that needs to be answered in our hearts. Have we said yes to God and his gift? Or have we rejected the invitation into divine life? Let’s pray that we all have the grace to one day ascend into our heavenly home, just as Jesus did. God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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A Servant’s Heart

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On May 13th, Nathalie and I celebrate the anniversary of when we got engaged, on the Feast of Fatima. For those who have followed our story, you know we got married on October 13th, the Feast of Fatima.

One of the reasons we stayed so close to Mary during these important moments is because of her example of service. When we got married we chose to wash each others feet instead of doing the typical garter and bouquet. We did this because we wanted to show the world that our marriage would be one of service, not only to each other but to the world.

It’s always great to be hit with this reading again where Jesus washes the disciple’s feet. It’s good because it makes me contemplate whether or not we have kept that mission as a couple. Have we served whenever we could? Have we served each other and God? Obviously that is a complicated question. I think we certainly have tried our best, with some great moments of service and moments when we can try harder.

This is a reminder for me and I hope it is to you as well. Sometimes we make the faith super complicated and heady. it doesn’t need to be. Are we serving? Jesus came and served. He was the master and put himself in the place of the servant. He gave us an example. Do we follow?

Especially in this world today, we need to serve. There is so much suffering, hurt, fear, anxiety, and worry. We can be the light to the world that goes out and serves without an expectation of getting anything back. All of us can grow in this area and that’s my prayer for myself today. That I grow even more in service during this month of Mary and try to do it in the way she did. God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Trusting the Lord’s Power

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I can still remember the laughter, head nods, diligent note-taking, and applause as if it was yesterday. I remember leaving the stage after my talk and feeling like it went very well. Sometimes when giving talks on the faith, I feel like I absolutely nailed it. Then other times, I run through the whole talk afterward and wish I had said this or that a different way.

Preaching and teaching, especially about the faith, sometimes requires a lot of prep, study, practice, and prayer. It can go really well, and other times maybe not as well as one might hope.

In today’s first reading, Peter rocked it. He is preaching with fire. He is not afraid to mince words or try to sugar coat anything. I can almost hear his passion, “You killed Jesus. Jesus was the Lord. Repent and be baptized.”

But notice, Peter was not a trained theologian or scholar. He didn’t know the Catechism because it didn’t even exist yet. The scriptures were still being written and put together. He denied Jesus. And yet, three thousand persons were added that day. So what’s the message here?

The message is that we should use our gifts to the best of our ability for the Gospel. If we are good at speaking, we should try to hone our craft. If we are good at a one-on-one relationship, we should reach out to others. If we are good at writing, we should write for the Lord and let our words be as beautiful and profound as possible. But the ultimate factor that is actually going to make a difference is if we believe in and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is what sets Peter apart. He believed in the power of God. Often, with our gifts, it is easy to think it is all about us. “If I just minister to these teens in the correct way, they will be happy in heaven someday.” “If I could only give a perfect talk, all of our parishioners would fall in love with the Lord.” “If I could only give until I have nothing left, then all the poor people I minister to will see the face of the Lord.” I… I… I…

It’s not about us at all. Why do we put that kind of pressure on ourselves? Should we try our very best and use the gifts God has given us and be thankful for those gifts? Absolutely. But in reality, God is the one who converts. He is the one who softens hearts. He is the one who loves unconditionally.

As we continue to try our best to be disciples, let’s look to Mary during this month of May.  Why is her example, word, and prayer so effective? Because she knows the power of her son. She is constantly pointing us towards him. It’s not about her. Mary is known as the icon of the Church, as the original disciple. Let’s take her example and go out and preach with the fire of Peter, the humility of Mary, and complete trust in the Holy Spirit and power of God. May God Bless you!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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The Road to Emmaus

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You know that feeling when you are walking through the store or in a large public area and all of a sudden think you recognize someone? Typically excitement floods our being as we try to navigate the crowds to meet with our friend from long ago. Or perhaps we try to dodge this person because the last time we saw them it was not a pleasant experience. Lots of emotions are conjured up when we encounter someone we haven’t seen for a long period of time.

I like to put myself in the place of the disciples in the Gospel today. As Jesus broke the bread and started the blessing, I would not have been able to contain my excitement. This man that I had been reading about in the scriptures and talking about is now here in front of me, about to give me his very self in the sacrament of love.

I also like to think that Jesus was being funny and disguised himself just to see what they thought of him and then dramatically took his disguise off to reveal he had been there all along. Jesus playing a funny prank on the disciples. Of course, that ruins the theological significance of this passage, but it’s funny in my mind.

So what is the significance? Jesus is adamant about the reality of the Eucharist as being fully himself and his love. I mean think about it, before he even died, he knew the importance of giving this sacrament. After he resurrected from the dead and was still with the disciples he taught the importance of it. Then, of course, after Jesus ascended to be with the Father, he left us this beautiful sacrament so he would always be with us.

Then there is the significance that they read the scriptures, the word of God, but they did not recognize Jesus. They only recognized him through the breaking of the bread. The bible itself tells us of the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood in order to have eternal life. So as much as we need the bible to recognize him, the word of God reminds us that we have the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus on every altar in every Catholic church in the world.

This is why the world has such a longing right now for the Eucharist. I have had a very unique experience since the stay at home orders came out. I work for the parish and have been setting up the live stream for daily Mass, so I have had the complete blessing of receiving every day. Though I don’t feel the ache that some have now for the Eucharist, I have been offering my presence at Mass for all those who are not able to attend in person and receive.

I must say this has been a time that my faith is coming alive. I have been able to receive so I have been much more intentional about it knowing so much of the world is going without. It helps me not to take the Eucharist for granted.

Jesus wants to be with us in this sacrament, but until the moment when we can all receive publicly again, let’s all pray for a new understanding of the Eucharist; for an increase in faith in the most blessed sacrament. Let’s make sure that when churches are opened back up and we say “Amen” that we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. May God bless you and know of my prayers for you during this time.

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Divine Mercy Sunday

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We all need Mercy don’t we? I am sure this is what Thomas was thinking after doubting the Lord during today’s Gospel. I love the apostles because they are relatable. Here are men who walked with Jesus, saw him perform miracles, saw him literally die and rise from the dead, and still they don’t quite get it. How often is that us? I know more times than not it is me.

We all need mercy. I love the scene in The Passion of the Christ where Peter denies Christ three times and Jesus looks back at him. You can feel the regret and shame in Peter’s look. But Peter did not despair, he allowed God to give him mercy. If you need a little inspiration for this Divine Mercy Sunday I want to encourage two things as a reflection. The first is a beautiful song from Lamb of God where Peter sings about never denying Jesus.

Then from there listen to this video from a friend of mine, Aly Aleigha, who wrote a beautiful song about when Peter denies Christ.

Use these two songs as a starting point and then come face to face with Christ and his mercy on this beautiful Feast day. We have all fallen short, we have all made mistakes, we have all denied Jesus in one way or another. Today, Jesus reaches out. He let’s us know that his love is always stronger.

Don’t think Jesus can forgive you? Your sins are too big? You are too broken? I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from St. Claude de la Columbiere. God Bless you and give you his mercy.

“I glorify You in making known how good You are towards sinners, and that Your mercy prevails over all malice, that nothing can destroy it, that no matter how many times or how shamefully we fall, or how criminally, a sinner need not be driven to despair of Your pardon…It is in vain that Your enemy and mine sets new traps for me every day. He will make me lose everything else before the hope that I have in Your mercy.”

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Christ is Risen! Now What?

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Christ is risen! Halleluiah! We have waited a long time to say those words. This has been a tough Lent, but Christ is risen. The question is, now what? 

Today we celebrate, but tomorrow there will still be a worldwide pandemic, there will still be anxiety and fear, there will still be difficult family situations, political agendas, addictions, sins, and suffering. 

So why is that? Isn’t the resurrection supposed to conquer all death? Here is where we come in. Have you let the resurrection and power of God take effect in your life. See, we are all supposed to allow the resurrection into our lives to experience its full power and bring that power into the world. God is not going to force his love and power on us, he wants us to freely accept it and share it. 

Are you going to allow Christ to take your muck and gunk and sin and kill it so that you may rise? Are you going to trust that he has conquered all fear, anxiety, and hurt in you? Are you going to believe that his resurrection has just as much power now as it did two thousand years ago? 

Check out this brief video reflection and Easter message.  I hope it is a blessing to you and I hope you and your loved ones have a Blessed Easter!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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What is Holding You Back?

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If you missed the last two posts, here they are. They were accidentally posted out of order. We apologize for the inconvenience.

April 3rd

April 4th

Today’s readings are among the longest and most rich that we experience at a Sunday Mass. It is sad that we can’t all experience Mass in a normal way during this Palm Sunday, but we can still dive into the living word.

Instead of writing a novel to start to unpack the rich teachings in the readings, I wanted to include a video reflection that I was asked to record for the Diocese of Kalamazoo on today’s readings. I hope this is a blessing to you as we enter Holy Week. Know of my prayers for you and for health. God Bless!

Contact the author

Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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Risen, Body and Soul

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One of my favorite books growing up was, “We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing.” It’s the heart-wrenching true story of a group of soldiers during WWII who were stranded on life rafts in the Pacific Ocean for weeks. Throughout the story, some of them die, some come very near to death, and some find God out there on those rafts. I always wondered what it would be like if you experienced something like that, but it never changed you on the inside. If your body came near to death and was miraculously saved, but it had no effect on your soul. I wondered if that was possible. This brought me to the thought that it would have been better to die out there lose to Jesus than to live without a relationship with Christ. This brings us to today’s readings.

These readings speak about the beauty of resurrection, not only of the body but of the soul. We need this message of resurrection now more than ever. Lent is always difficult because it’s a waiting period before we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This year, Lent has been particularly difficult, as we hear and witness so much pain and suffering around us. With a massive pandemic like this, it’s easy to ask for physical healing, but this is also a great time to ask the Lord how we need to be saved spiritually, how we need to be spiritually resurrected.

Most parishes are still offering confessions during this time, with proper social distancing measures in place. If we are willing to quarantine for weeks for the health of ourselves and others, how much more should we be willing to do for our souls? Maybe it has been a while since you have been to confession. Maybe it’s a terrifying aspect of the faith to confess your sins to someone else. I don’t know where you are at in your relationship with God, but I do know that we are given a chance to be made new at every confession we make.

If you are unable to make a confession during this time, then I encourage you to make a perfect contrition. Perfect contrition is where we ask God for forgiveness not because we are scared of hell, but rather, because we are sorry we have hurt God. This is a time that we can make sure we are healthy physically by taking necessary precautions, while also taking necessary precautions to make sure we are spiritually healthy as well. The closer we get to God during this time, the stronger we will be when we make it through.

I want to share this Youtube video of a song from the popular musical, “Dear Evan Hanson.” I like to listen to the words as if God is singing to me. He wants to give us His mercy; we need only to ask. God Bless you during this time!

Contact the author

Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.

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What is Light?

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Light: “having a considerable or sufficient amount of natural light; not dark.” -Dictionary.com

We have all heard it a million times. We are supposed to be light. Don’t hide your gifts under a bushel basket. Christ is the light of the world. But what do all of these phrases really mean? Have we allowed them to lose their depth because they are so commonplace?

I think we tend to think of light solely in terms of it brightening something like we see in the first part of the definition above, but I like to think of it not just as illuminating, but as an addition that was not there before. See, dark is not a shade in and of itself, it is the absence of something. It’s the same with sin. Sin is not its own character; it is the absence of good.

Ok, so light is an addition that destroys dark as grace is an addition that destroys sin. Both light and grace are added and cast out that which already lacked. This seems a little heady, but it’s so important. When we are meant to be a light to the world, as the second reading suggests, we are literally meant to add something to the world in order to get rid of a lack. But what can we add if we are fallen human beings? The answer? Grace.

God has given us his grace and repaired our relationship with his divine love. Now we look around, especially today, and see so much darkness, turmoil, fear, anxiety, pain, and worry. Walking into this alone would quite certainly put our light out, we would have nothing in and of ourselves to add. But coming into it with the grace of God, nothing can stop us. There is no void so great that it can’t be filled with the grace of God.

Do we really believe that? Will we take this to heart. Or will we just imagine that God is like the little coloring book picture of the candle that we drew in Sunday School? Does God’s grace have real power or not? Cause if it does, now is the time to illuminate the depths with his love. I want to make the bold statement that it does and that it can defeat any darkness we encounter today, virus or otherwise. Who is with me?

God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. 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. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.