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Body Bad, Spirit Good

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The body is bad, and the spirit is good is the battle cry of a common heresy that I think is still making the rounds today; it is the heresy of Gnosticism. This is essentially the belief that all matter is evil, and only the spirit is good. The first reading today by Paul is often used to affirm this heresy, and, if you read Paul, you will see many verses that seem to confirm this harmful way of thinking.

Paul was not a Gnostic, even with language as strong as we find today. Paul’s point here is not that our bodies are evil, but rather our body disconnected from the spirit of God, and living only for the flesh is an evil thing. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “It is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.”

We are a body and soul together. We cannot think of the body just as a shell in which we dwell until the end of time. The Catholic Church professes, and we do the same every week during the Mass, that we believe in the resurrection of the body. That at the end of time, we will not just become a spiritual being, but that we will get a resurrected body that participates intimately in the divine life of God.

There is something beautiful and profound here. That our bodies are important because they are us. We are not different from our body. When we look at the body, we see a person. And because we are all made in the image and likeness of God, when we look at a body, we see God himself.

Think about this mind-blowing reality for a second. Nature can lead us to the thought that there must be a creator because of its beauty. But most of the created world was not made in God’s image and likeness; human beings were. So as easy as it is to look at a sunset and reflect on the more profound mysteries of God, it should be even easier to look at our neighbor or ourselves and see a glimpse of the divine.

As you go throughout your day today, thank God for your body and especially thank him that he became flesh. That all of theology, as we know it, is profoundly practical because the word of God became living and active on this earth; God indeed became a man. This eternal and invisible being decided to show his love to the world through the body, confirming that the body is good. That is a cause for a grand celebration. From all of us here at Diocesan, God BLess!

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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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Faith and Works

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Today in the first reading, we have the classic text that is used to justify a faith alone mentality or the idea that merely having an intellectual belief that does not involve an act of the will, is enough to be saved. This idea circulates amongst many religions and has quite a level of misunderstanding about Catholic Teaching.

I have heard people say that Catholics have to earn their way into heaven, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The Catechism states that “The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us ‘the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ’ and through Baptism.” (CCC 1987)

So we believe as Catholics that we are justified by the power of God, not anything that we do. We are not able to earn our way into heaven; it is a free and beautiful gift granted to us by God himself. So why all the confusion? When Catholics say we need both faith and works, what we mean is that we are justified by faith, but we have to assent to it in our will, which leads to action. Our faith cannot just be intellectual ideas, but it must be realized and lived.

This is truly a beautiful understanding of faith. You wouldn’t tell your wife you love her and then not act on it. The reality of love would be so strong in your will that it inspires you to do something. This takes love from a fluffy sentimentality or abstract concept into a tangible action of the will. Being baptized is an action; praying for forgiveness is an action, loving God is an action.

We do not believe that loving God will earn us our salvation, but we do believe, in most instances, that we need a relationship with him in order to spend eternity with him. That is biblical. I think about these truths often in relation to theology. I love studying and reading about theology, but it is easy to keep theology on a level of the abstract. Theology must always pierce into the practicals of life. It must go from thinking about God to loving and experiencing him. Otherwise, it loses its depth and beauty.

St. Thomas Aquinas understood this well after seeing the vision of God and then promptly asking his brothers to burn all of his writings because they are but straw in relation to what he just experienced. Today’s first reading allows us to experience in a small way that the vision that Aquinas had. I couldn’t help but read it and be overcome by joy that we are justified by faith in Christ Jesus. No matter how many times we fall, God will forgive. But we still have to do our part and accept and cooperate with that grace.

If you struggle with this at all, be encouraged. I know I have struggled with the fact that God could still love me after everything I have done. We can think our sin is too strong to be given justification. If this is you, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from St. Claude de la Colombiere, who said, “I glorify you God in making known how good you are towards sinners. That your mercy prevails over all malice, that nothing can destroy it. That no matter how many times we fall or how shamefully 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.” From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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Try the Mirror First

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Not long ago, I was out for coffee with an acquaintance when an extremely overweight person was seated next to us—with some difficulty, because there wasn’t quite enough room between the table and the bench to fit his girth. My companion sighed ostentatiously and made a bit of a show of moving over and giving the man more room, and my heart went out to him. He was so apologetic. He looked so miserable. And when, afterward, I asked my acquaintance why she’d responded as she did, she seemed surprised. “It’s his fault for being fat,” she said. “If he’d just buckle down and lose the weight, he wouldn’t be such a freak.”

“But you don’t know,” I said. “How can you blame him when you don’t know his story?”

I couldn’t wait to get away from her, to tell the truth, and as I was walking away there was a flurry of words that went through my mind. Sanctimonious, I thought. Judgmental. I resolved to see as little of her in future as possible.

It didn’t occur to me until much later that I was guilty of the very things I’d accused her of. Because, while no, we didn’t know his story, neither did I know hers. And it also occurred to me that it’s precisely when we’re accusing others of being judgmental that we’re possibly the most guilty of it.

Saint Paul knew us well. You have no excuse, he reminds us. You have no excuse for judging others.

The truth is, God’s the only one who knows what’s behind other people’s (or even, sometimes, our own) actions. And the irony is that being judgmental isn’t even a behavior that serves us. We judge others because we need to feel better about ourselves.  It may make us feel superior or secure in the short term, but the long-term stress of never feeling good enough can lead to a host of health issues. And that’s without bringing Saint Paul into it!

I can’t say how many times I’ve heard the advice of not judging others until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes—or, to be less picturesque, until you know their story, know what drives their behavior. How do you put yourself in someone else’s shoes? I’m not sure I’m always able to do it, but one thing I’ve found helpful is this: imagine that person’s reaction if you were to share your criticisms aloud. Consider how that person might feel, how hurt they’d be, if they heard you making judgments about them… and consider, also, what story they might offer to explain their situation.

You can even try making it a puzzle to solve. When you feel yourself looking down on someone else’s decisions or behavior, on how they dress or speak, what they weigh, try imagining why. Maybe the guy who cut you off is rushing to pick up his kids because his boss wouldn’t let him leave on time, not because (as you might be judging) he’s a jerk. Perhaps that toddler is screaming because of a bad night’s sleep, not because of bad parenting. Your story probably won’t coincide with theirs, but it will make you consider what their lives are like, and… well, honestly, the word that comes to mind is mercy. Mercy is the opposite of judgment. Mercy is offering a clean slate.

And it’s really clear that the times we live in demand mercy. As a culture, we’re harsh and critical of others. All you need to do is read the news to see the growing tendency to analyze and criticize. We attack others through opinions, jokes, Facebook banter, and snarky gossip. We call names, label others, race to characterize (and make sure others know our thoughts!). It’s a kind of public punishment for being different that we get to enforce. We launch toxic, crippling words as a way of inflicting harm. Mercy isn’t a word in our daily vocabulary.

What Saint Paul is reminding us is that God uses both our being judgmental and our mercy (depending on which is more manifest) as the measuring rod of how he treats us. He will act with great mercy and forgiveness. But he will also show his justice and judgment when that’s the path we take with others. “You have,” Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, “no excuse.”

The more you understand, the less likely you are to judge.

The difficulty we have here is there’s something about judging and punishing others that feeds us, and our appetite is insatiable. When we stand as judge, jury, and executioner over someone else, it makes us feel superior and righteous. And the alternative doesn’t give us the same feeling.

The alternative is mercy. It’s seeking to reconcile, to restore, to renew. What’s exciting about that? How does that make us feel better about ourselves? Yet the people of God are called to be merciful. We care called to be ministers of reconciliation.

Love is violent, make no mistake. But the violence of love is far different than the violence, whether spoken, physical, or psychic, that we dole out to others every day. The violence of love—a phrase used often by Saint Oscar Romero—is what we see on the cross. Jesus took the violence on himself. He didn’t strike out at those who mocked him; he forgave them. Showed them mercy. Didn’t judge.

This isn’t about giving others a pass, or pretending everyone is okay. It’s recognizing we’re all broken, and afraid, and angry, and ashamed. This kind of love, this kind of mercy, causes the spiral of violence to cease.

If we’re willing to imitate this kind of love, what we’ll find is it’s increasingly difficult to judge others. If we try the mirror first, if we can look at ourselves honestly and with the kind of mercy God shows us, then the tendency to judge slips away. “God,” says Saint Paul, “shows no partiality.” We might consider doing the same.

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Jeannette de Beauvoir is a writer and editor with the digital department of Pauline Books & Media, working on projects as disparate as newsletters, book clubs, ebooks, and retreats that support the apostolate of the Daughters of St. Paul at http://www.pauline.org.

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Called to be an Apostle

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between a disciple and an apostle, and here the first reading speaks entirely about being an apostle.

I think a lot of the time, us Catholics have an emphasis on discipleship. While this is great, discipleship just for the sake of being a disciple misses the point. The early church didn’t just follow Chirst, the word disciple literally just means followerer of Christ, they took Christ out to the world.

In today’s first reading, Paul is taking the faith out and not just keeping it to himself. This is something we can learn from. In order to go out and preach the word we must of course first have a personal relationship with Christ and be a disciple, but faith is meant to be shared. It’s like a great food. When we taste it we should want to share, not just keep it to ourselves. Well we have the ultimate food, the Eucharist, and at the end of Mass the priest doesn’t just say the Mass is ended so we can be thankful it’s over. He says that so we take Christ out from there to all those we meet.

I have been focusing on this in my own life because I am realizing I have been a disciple for a while, but an apostle goes into the world, and I know that’s the part I can work on. I invite you to ask yourself honestly where you are at currently. Are you a disciple or are you an apostle and what is it going to take to bring the light of Christ into the world? From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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Is There Power?

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Have you ever done the classic God test? “I am going to pray for this specific thing, God, and if it doesn’t happen then you are not real.” We judge God by his power and if a specific thing doesn’t happen then we assume that somehow God has lost his power or doesn’t even exist.

We have to dive into this a little because I know many people who have fallen away from faith due to this mentality. A lot of it has to do with putting ourselves in the proper place. If God did, in fact, created us than he knows ultimately what is good for us. It might be impossible for our human minds to see how a good could ever come from cancer or from terrorism, but if we try to put on divine glasses we can see that maybe someone with cancer drew closer to their family and God through the process or we might see how our country united as one through the events of 9/11.

God is always acting with his power, it’s just not always the answer we may expect, because God knows better than we do. In the Gospel today, Jesus explains this using the analogy of a friend. Have you ever had a friend who was a good enough friend to tell you that you were being an idiot or that they could see when you were making a mistake and they gave you some tough love?

I think we need to draw this part of the analogy in. When we ask for things from God we may not receive it because a greater good is possible and God wants our ultimate fulfillment. It is the ultimate act of love just like a friend would do for us.

But does this take away God’s power? We hear the classic praise and worship song where we sing, “There is power.” Do we still believe it? Do we believe that Jesus has power still to this day and that prayer and the sacraments are effective ways for God to communicate grace? Or are we among those who believe that grace exists on a timeline in history to the point where after so many years it runs out?

If there are three things I take from this Gospel today it’s that God has the ultimate power, I need to be smaller and trust that he will take care of me in the proper way, and that God truly wills my good.

If we start to believe that God doesn’t answer prayers, simply because it’s not the exact answer we expected, then we are essentially saying that the cross meant nothing. I want to proclaim that the cross has real power, Jesus’ sacrifice had real power and still does to this day, and God’s love is still present and active in the world. Let’s ask for the grace to put on those divine classes and see. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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Living a Saintly Humility

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Think back to the last time you anticipated an event that was so important to you that you couldn’t help but tell everyone in the known world about it. You took to social media to share with friends and family and even made an event so you could invite people you haven’t spoken to in years. You may have put up signs, talked to friends, and recruited them to spread the word, and if you were feeling so bold may have even tried to get local news channels involved.

I had a time like this in High School when I had the chance to play Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man. This was a dream role for me, and though it is not many young kids’ dreams to be cast as the funny fat guy, to me, I had finally made it in life. I told everyone about the show, shared on social media, tried to get a pyramid scheme of friends to promote the show, and we even had interviews at the local radio station. I was so excited to be seen as Marcellus Washburn.

Opening night came, all the nerves, joy, fear, excitement, and tension of live theater was in the air. The lights came up, and as the show started, I felt as if I was finally fulfilling my calling. My big moment was at the beginning of act two, where I got to sing my own song wearing a bright pink suit that had been made out of a pair of curtains. It was entirely goofy, and I was so ready.

The song went off without a problem, and I ran off stage for my quick costume switch that was coming up. As I was changing, I quickly realized that I had ripped a hole in my pants down the seam, and the hole was there for the entire song. I was quite embarrassed. To this day, nobody has brought it up, but I am just sure that I scarred the whole audience that evening.

So why do I bring up one of the most embarrassing moments of my life? Well, the Gospel today is a little hard to swallow. The Disciples are asking for Jesus to increase their faith, but he can see that they are just in it for themselves. They want to show how strong their faith is and how good they are. I felt similar on that night so many years ago, trying to show how amazing I was. Jesus shuts that down so fast by reminding them that their faith can be as small as a mustard seed, and God will do incredible things.

He then goes on to explain that a servant who does as he is told is not amazing; he is not a rockstar; he is just doing that which is required of him. This again reminds me of that fateful night. Even if I did a fantastic job and remembered all my lines and didn’t rip my pants, I would still just be doing what is required of an actor.

I think we can relate this to our lives as disciples, as well. We just had four retreats at our parish that were all about discovering our God-given gifts and applying them to build up the kingdom. It’s easy to see those gifts and brag and try to make it all about us. But Jesus reminds us that as disciples, we should imitate him and as apostles, we should go out and share that imitation with the world. We could be the best evangelist, speaker, prayer warrior, mystic, or teacher that the world has ever seen, but at the end of the day, those things are just normal to being a disciple.

I think two things keep us from being saints. The first is that we aren’t dead yet, and the second is that we need true humility. All of us can get better at being humble; I know I can. Humility is genuinely grasping our place in the world, and knowing that everything we have and every gift we have been given is thanks to our God. He holds us in existence; he gives us our gifts. If we use them well, then we should be humbled and realize that that is just what we should be doing. That is what it means to be a disciple.

Let’s all pray for the grace of humility as well as courage and willingness to go out and be disciples to the world. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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A Time and a Place

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Fall is one of my favorite seasons, not only because of the pumpkin spice and everything nice but also because of the change that occurs in nature. We have begun to enter the time where jackets come out, the nights get colder and darker, families come together during the many different holidays approaching, and people spend far too much on their delicious pumpkin spice lattes. Now is the time for a change in the weather. There is a time and a place for everything and now is the time for fall.

In today’s Gospel, we encounter Jesus traveling through various villages and trying to find a place to stay. One cannot help but think back to his birth when they also couldn’t find anyone to welcome them in. This wasn’t new to Jesus, and perhaps a vengeful king would have destroyed the town without a thought. But Jesus is no normal King. While he is just, he is also merciful, and he shows this extraordinary mercy on this little town that was not willing to welcome him.

Now think back again to fall, there is a time and a place for everything. At this moment in the Gospel, Jesus decided this was predominantly a time for mercy, and justice could take a back seat. I think Jesus was always doing this during his ministry. He casts this perfect balance between compassion and justice, showing us that he will be just, but his heart beats with mercy.

I think we can put ourselves in the place of this little town. How often does Jesus approach us, and we turn him away? How often do others approach us for mercy, and we claim that we are not our brother’s keeper? And yet, despite our faults and failings, Jesus does not give up on us. He gives us a merciful chance, just like he did in the Gospel today.

I think it’s easy to look at that town and think, “What was their problem? How could they reject Jesus.” But then we are so quick to turn Jesus away for friends, cultural norms, or sin. I am reminded today of the immense mercy that Jesus has poured out on me and my life, and I can’t help but want to treat others with the same mercy. I pray for this grace and hope we all can open our hearts to the beautiful mercy of God. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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 Virtue of Faith

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“Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith man freely commits his entire self to God. For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. The righteous shall live by faith. Living faith works through charity.” -Catechism of the Catholic Church 1814

Today’s Gospel is beautiful in its simplicity, as is the theological virtue of faith. I think we can get too inside our own heads sometimes when it comes to God and religion. We build up walls and laws and everything else in between in order to make the faith absurdly complicated and seemingly impossible to live.

In reality, it is simple. Have faith in God and everything He has revealed. When He says He is present in the Eucharist, we believe. When He says He can forgive our sins and make us whole, we believe. When He says He has the power to save us from our wretchedness, we believe.

“But he could never mean those things about me, especially knowing what I have done.” “It seems impossible that Jesus would be humble enough to come in the form of bread and wine to us; maybe it’s just a metaphor.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that those who believe in Him, everyone except me, will have eternal life.”

And there we are in our heads again. You notice that whenever we try to doubt what God has revealed to us, we put ourselves in place of God. We let him know that He must have made a mistake and we, in our ultimate power and authority, are here to help fix what is broken. And Jesus steps in through today’s Gospel and says stop.

You can almost hear Him saying, “Don’t overcomplicate this. When I say I will give you power, I mean it. When I say I will be with you, I mean it. When I say I love you, I mean it.”

Do we believe it? These are hard truths to grasp for purely human minds, which is why we have to ask for faith. Even the Church is aware that some of her teachings are difficult to understand. In adoration, we often sing, “Faith will tell us Christ is present when our human senses fail.” Our minds are finite, and it can be hard to grasp the infinite unless the infinite shares with us the power to do so. That’s the beauty of faith. We can see as God sees, walk as God walks, love as God loves.

A good priest friend of mine has this gift. When there is a massive problem in his life, he prays and knows that God will answer. He has this incredible faith that Jesus is still the same person who walked on the earth 2,000 years ago, and He always cares. His power has not lessened due to time and age.

I know I need to work on this virtue in my life. I rely on my power and knowledge all too often. Why do we give ourselves such stress? Let’s keep it simple and have faith in God. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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Moved with Pity

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Think back to the last time you prayed. Maybe it was a few minutes ago, or maybe it’s been a few days. You might have knelt down on a very used kneeler in a church before our Lord or made the sign of the cross laying comfortable in bed. There are many different ways to pray, but all too often, I think we approach prayer as if it’s a grocery list.

We make a list of the things we have done wrong to ask forgiveness for and the things we want to happen that we ask in petition. I know I am guilty of this where I think through the list and pray on each item as if it’s passing on a conveyor belt. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if it becomes our only form of prayer, I think it turns God into someone who doesn’t truly care.

We can pray through our list of items and make sure we don’t forget anything with the thought that if we forget one, God won’t hear it. We pray over and over for the same things, not seeing God work in our lives because we are so hyperfocused on our list. We get frustrated at the meticulous planning it takes to talk to our God.

I hope I’m not the only one who has done this in the past. The reality is that we can use prayer as a litmus test, “If God doesn’t answer this specific petition in the way that I desire than He is holding out.” But what about the things we don’t pray for? What about the miracles that happen every day in our lives without any petition from us? God is working in our lives every day, and he is often moved to compassion and pity for us, just like he was in the Gospel. You notice, they didn’t ask for healing. It was Christ who was moved to heal.

We have a loving God. He has a perfect will and knows what is ultimately best for us. Sometimes in prayer, we don’t know what is best for ourselves, but God always knows, and it’s in those moments that he goes beyond our prayer and is moved to help us. I invite you today to take a moment and put aside the list. Ask the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and show you all the ways today that God has been moved to pit for you. That He has done miracles in your life. That He does care. When we focus on the reality of the love of God, our prayer is renewed because it’s no longer a list or a chore but a love letter to our God. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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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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Purpose, Focus, Direction

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I love the Gospel reading today because it shows the unmatched power of Jesus as the son of God while at the same time showing his incredible focus for the end goal.

Purpose-focus-direction. These three simple words make all the difference when trying to run a company, work as an employee, raise a family, or be a disciple. Jesus knew this, so he went out and showed us how to accomplish all three as the perfect example.

“For this purpose, I have been sent.”
Jesus knew why he was sent; to bring the good news of the kingdom of God to the world. This shaped all of his ministry and every one of his actions. So what is your purpose? I can ask myself the same question. I don’t just mean the philosophical meaning of existence, but why do you as a person exist? St. John Paul II always reminded us that the fundamental vocation of the human person is love. So how is Jesus calling you to love that is different from everyone else? How is He personally going to transform the world through your little life? Often we think that because God doesn’t need us that our purpose is just to be good and eventually go to heaven. While it is true that God doesn’t need us, he has chosen to need us. He has chosen to communicate His love through the human person, and that includes you. How can you do that better this week, and how can I?

“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.”
Jesus also had focus. His purpose transformed his actions, and his attention made it possible. Think about it; we can skim a book, or we can take time and read it slowly, analyzing the words as they fall off the page. In both the instances, the book is read, but in one case the book is retained and affects our life. When we take time to meditate on our purpose, and also take the much needed time to retreat, we can focus even more intensely on the task at hand, to bring the love of God to the world.

“And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
Jesus knew where he was supposed to go next. He had an idea of what his ministry was going to be and had an end goal in mind. This is crucial if we want our mission to be compelling. We have to have a plan and a way to accomplish it. It’s the same with sports, working out, career, and family life.

God has gifted us all with a personal way to communicate his love to the world. Maybe some can do this through speaking or teaching, some can do it through acts of service, and some can do it through intercession. There will be as many different ways as there are different people. What is your way? Find your purpose, focus on the mission, plan out a direction. If you struggle with any of these three, reread the Gospel today and have hope. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Contact the author

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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An Invitation of Love

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I have written about this before, but I absolutely love when God’s love for us is described with marital imagery. As most of you know, having been recently married, it is a time in my life when I can relate to marital themes. It has been said that God wants to marry us spiritually and is sending us a proposal; what we must do is say yes.

Today’s Gospel seems very dark and strict, but it’s not if we really enter into the marital imagery that Jesus is using. Put yourself in the proper mindset here. Imagine your best friend was getting married and you wanted more than anything to attend the ceremony and be there with your friend. You wait for months hoping to receive an invitation, wondering if you are among the list that will be accepted. Finally, the invitation comes, and without a second thought, you get on their website and RSVP, giving what food you would like and how many people will be attending. You let them know you care by quickly telling them you have set aside the time and want to support them.

Now imagine this friend is more of an acquaintance from college or a distant cousin that you don’t really talk to. You know they exist and have been in your life before, but you’ve let that relationship go by the wayside. Now you get the invitation and you may think that this is an inconvenience because at the very least now you need to get them a gift and at the most you are attending another wedding. Maybe you wait to fill out the RSVP in hopes that something else will come up and you will have an excuse or maybe a better friend will invite you to their wedding and you would rather attend that, leaving your friend unanswered.

Now imagine you don’t know this person at all. You get an invitation in the mail, and you wonder if it has been misaddressed because you don’t even recognize the couple in the pictures. You try to find them on Facebook to see if you maybe met through mutual friends, but you can’t find them there either. You have no recollection of ever meeting the couple, and so you tear up the invitation and throw it away.

My simple question for you and myself today is this; which scenario most depicts yours when God sends us his invitation. Do we accept, do we wait for something we think may be better, or do we reject it completely? Let’s pray for the grace to be prepared when God sends us his invitation of love. 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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Set the World Ablaze

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“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” -Luke 12:49-50

I can still distinctly remember standing in my scout uniform at attention while the casket of President Gerald R. Ford passed by. The faces that day were a mix of honor, sorrow, and patriotism. I remember the flag waving in the breeze and even at a young age, I knew that this day was important. I was blessed to be able to attend the funeral of a past president as a Boy Scout. This was one of those times we all experience where we have an urge to change the world, be better than we are, or to fight for a noble cause. It was a tangible moment that I can remember made me want to do something big.

Another such moment came when I walked across the stage at graduation. My parents brimming faces and those of my friends, most of which never thought I would actually graduate, and the feeling of accomplishment took me over as I knew I was made for something great.

The most recent time that this inner pursuit took me over was on my wedding day. As I saw my bride walking down the aisle, I knew I wanted to be the best man I could be for her. I wanted to fight as hard as I possibly could to be my best self for my bride.

Fast forward to today and these beuatiful readings. Jesus says it very; clearly, he has come to set the world on fire, and he wishes it was already blazing. Then he mentions the importance of baptism. While all of these moments I recounted were very special to me and changing points in my life, none are so important as the day of my baptism, when I became part of God’s family.

I think it is hard, especially for cradle Catholics, for us to remember our baptism and the power we still receive every day from God. This day should make us want to fight the good fight and run the race. It should make us want to set the world on fire. But fear, despair, loneliness, the day to do of life, and time seem to erode the power of what happened so many years ago. It’s as if God’s grace was on a timer, and every day, the sand comes closer and closer to running out.

Though it can seem this way sometimes, it couldn’t be further from the truth. We need to realize and claim the power that we received on that glorious day when we were made new. We need to remember that it was on that day that we were called to be witnesses to the Gospel and share the love of Christ with the world. It was on that day that we started our journey to sainthood.

So here is my challenge to you. Look up your baptismal records and figure out when exactly you were baptized. Then pray to God and ask him for the grace to always remember that beautiful day and to thank him for the grace he has given you ever since. And finally, let’s all ask God how he has chosen for us to set the world on fire. We all make up a different ember in the fire of faith, what does your ember look like and have you made sure it doesn’t go out? The world needs your light.

From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Contact the author

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.