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Does this Shock You?

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In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus giving one of the hardest teachings in the bible. He is explaining the teaching of the Eucharist, that bread and wine really are turned into his body and blood. When the disciples try to understand this with human reasoning, they fall short. They can’t understand what Jesus is telling them. And then Jesus says these important words, “Does this shock you?”

I think this is so beautiful. Whenever we are met with misunderstanding or confusion it’s typically because we have human reasoning. This can get us pretty far, but the inner truths of God cannot be fully explained by human reason alone, we have to ask for the supernatural virtue of faith.

Now faith doesn’t mean just blindly following things we cannot understand. Faith and reason are interconnected, but when we have doubts or struggles with a teaching of the church, or with the church in general, we must ask God to enlighten our intellect to be able to see that which is not obvious to the human person.

If the disciples in the Gospel had asked for this grace they would have seen with new eyes and not left Jesus and returned to their old ways. Even the apostles struggled with this, but their response was different. Even though the supernatural mysteries of God confused them, they said, “Where else would we go?”

When problems arise in the Church, when human beings seem to try to take us down, when moral teachings are difficult to live, we need to ask for faith. One of the main areas to receive this grace is through the Eucharist. This teaching that was so hard for the early disciples to believe is the very teaching that gives us the grace to believe it.

The Eucharist is the source of our faith because it is Jesus’ love active here on this earth. Next time you have a doubt or concern or problem with something in the Church, go to the Eucharist and rest in his love. It is the Eucharist that allows us to say, “Where else would we go?”

Here is one of my favorite songs, that explains how Peter denied Jesus and doubted his love. Let us all pray that when we are put to the test we are able to believe through the supernatural gift of faith.

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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Abundance

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Faith- what’s the first thing that pops into your mind when I say that word. Faith! How about Church? What’s the first thing you think of? How about rules? What comes to mind then?

We are all at a different place in our beautiful journey to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that beats and burns for love of us. I know sometimes for me my faith can seem stagnant or centered around study. I love theology so I actually enjoy a super dry theological teaching, but if I never get beyond the teaching to the person than the study of God ends at study.

I know for some today their immediate thought of the Church is broken or wounded. We are going through a time of purification to be sure. Some people have a faith where it’s all about the laws and rules. Many need this structure, but if it stays at the level of rules, as opposed to the rules guiding you to the truth, then relationship doesn’t form as easily.

I think the same question could be asked of the Apostles in the Gospel today. If we were in that boat with them thousands of years ago what would they have said? At this point, they have the Holy Spirit and are preaching the love of Jesus with passion, but they still can’t even begin to grasp the true love of God. He doesn’t just want them to have a faith built on rules or study, but a faith of abundance.

He wants the laws to lead us to fullness just like the rules in a sport allow you to experience the fullness of the game. He wants us to obey his teaching, and experience a heart the bursts just like that net thousands of years ago. He wants us to trust and experience the depths of true love.

When was the last time you were bold and asked God to fill you to the brim with his grace? When was the last time you obeyed the teachings of Christ and were brought deeper into an understanding of his love and goodness? So now stop and actually think about it. It’s easy to read a blog. It’s harder to stop for a second and allow the words to lead to deeper reflection. Where is your net today? Are you full, is your net rotting from sitting in the sun without use for too long, or is your net bursting at the seams? This Easter season is the perfect time to ask for the grace that comes from the resurrection.

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” -St. John Paul II

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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Faith in His Mercy

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Today is one of my favorite days in the liturgical calendar, Divine Mercy Sunday, and the readings paint a beautiful picture for how we should receive the mercy of God. These readings are largely based on signs, cures, miracles, and wonders that impart God’s grace on the person.

This is what we would call a sacrament, a physical sign of an invisible grace. Here in the Gospel, we hear Jesus implementing the sacrament of confession. He gives the power to forgive sins, to impart the grace of God on his people, and to restore them into his life. This may have been a little easier to understand if we were actually there, but sometimes we feel like St. Thomas who has trouble believing in something he cannot see. We don’t trust that God would forgive us because of all the things we have done wrong. We maybe don’t feel worthy of forgiveness and mercy.

This is why Jesus instituted the sacrament of confession. He knew we would struggle with things we cannot see, so he gave us a physical way that we can see and be assured of God working, that is through the priest. What happens in confession? We go in, we tell our sins to the priest, and then we say an act of contrition and are forgiven with words spoken. Of course, God can forgive us in any way he chooses, but he CHOSE to do it through the sacrament of confession. He chose to use a priest as a physical sign of his love and mercy.

I remember confessions where I have been scared to death, I remember ones that have been life-changing, I remember ones that I have felt the same afterward, but the thing that was the same with all of them is I had an actual sign and assurance that God did forgive me. I can trust in his words that he gave us so many years ago.

Below is a prayer that has helped me so much to prepare for confession. If it has been a while for you, I promise you won’t be sorry if you go. Jesus is waiting in the person of the priest to give you a physical sign of his real forgiveness. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“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 [God’s] 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.” St. Claude de la Colombiere

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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Love Revealed and Made Real

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I have been writing a lot about marriage in my posts recently, partly because I was recently married and the realities and beauties of marriage are fresh in my mind and experience, but also because marriage is the sign Saint Paul uses in Ephesians to explain the relationship between Christ and the Church.

This analogy can go both ways, in looking at a proper and holy marriage we see a sign for the relationship between Christ and the Church, and if we look at the relationship between Christ and the Church, Christ giving his body for his bride on the cross, we see an example of what a holy marriage should look like.

This sign, the cross, is what Satan will try to attack vehemently because it reminds him that he lost. Satan knew on Easter morning that Christ conquered sin and death, he literally rose above it. The only thing that Satan can do now is try to attack the sign of Jesus’ love that he showed 2,000 years ago. But the cross was not just a sign of his love. It was not just a revelation of God’s plan, but a realization of it as well. God’s plan was revealed on the cross and made real on the cross, in the sense that redemption is now a reality in all of us.

So it is with the sacraments of the Catholic Church. When Christ ascended into heaven he sent the Holy Spirit to be with us through the seven sacraments. These sacraments are not just signs of God’s love to his people but they also give grace. They not only reveal God’s love but they make real God’s love. They go beyond the sign to change reality itself.

Now think back to marriage. We hear in scripture that the two shall become one. This verse does not mean man and woman literally become one body, for they are still separate. If the husband dies, the woman remains. So they are not biologically one, or one in their being. But they are morally one, meaning that their thoughts, wills, and actions should form a oneness so they are no longer “me and you” but “we”.

However, the primary end of that “we” relationship is where two bodies create one. This happens when a man and a woman become a mother and father. Their bodies unite in such a way that a new creation is made that is of both the man and the woman.

Why is any of this important to Easter? Well, on Good Friday we just experienced Jesus giving up his body for his bride the Church in such a real way that Christ becomes the father and the Church becomes the mother of a brand new creation, through baptism.

“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

What Christ did on the cross allows us to not only enter into a “we” relationship with Christ but to be born again through this relationship. His love is not just revealed, it is made real. It is revealed and realized through the sacraments. With this realization comes responsibility. Now we can no longer use our humanity as an excuse for sin. “Well, I am only human.” It is precisely because you are human that sin should no longer hold sway in your heart because Christ has made you a new creation. So go praise the Lord this day. Thank him for his love. Take that love out to the world. Soak up the graces of the sacraments. Be a sign to the world of the love of Christ. That is exactly the sort of thing a human would do. A human who has been redeemed. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“For we are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” -St. John Paul II

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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A Holy Procession

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Yesterday my beautiful bride and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary of marriage. People say your wedding day goes by so fast that you are lucky to get a piece of your cake. This was certainly true but there were parts that slowed down and are still just as clear in my memory today as when they happened months ago.

One of these moments was seeing my bride for the first time in her dress walking down the aisle. This moment seemed to freeze in time as I knew I was about to marry my best friend, I was about to embark on the most incredible journey, I was about to enter into a lifelong relationship of love.

Fast forward to today, Palm Sunday. I can’t help but think about that holy procession when thinking about Jesus in today’s first reading. Our Lord and Savior processes into the city, all eyes on him, everyone excited with anticipation of what the King of Kings will bring to their city.

The difference, of course, is that Jesus’ wedding to his bride the church does not consist in a beautiful ceremony, delicious food, and friends and family. His wedding to us all consists in giving up his very life for us so that we could have eternal life. When he rode into the city that day he knew full well what he was saying yes to. He was saying yes to suffer the crucifixion out of pure love for us all.

Whether you have been married or not, I encourage you to reflect on the thought of standing up on the altar today. Here comes Jesus, processing in. He is here for you. He is willing to give it all, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, until death. What is your answer to him during this holiest week? Will you say, I do?

If you say yes, where do you go from there? As I have learned in the past six months, it’s not enough to say the words, they have to be put into practice. We know that because we are made in the image of a God who is love, we have the capacity to love. But I think we often forget this about ourselves in today’s world. We do not find ourselves worthy of true love, we do not think we can be a good gift to another, we have degraded ourselves into thinking we are no better than the common animal and do not deserve what Jesus did for us.

St. John Paul II would disagree. In his letter to families, he wrote, “Human beings are not the same thing as the images proposed in advertising and shown by the modern mass media. They are much more, in their physical and psychic unity, as composites of soul and body, as persons. They are much more because of their vocation to love, which introduces them as male and female into the realm of the “great mystery”

Human beings are special, we have been created unique, and each of us has a certain way we have been called to love the world, a vocation of love. When we enter into and live out that vocation, according to St. John Paul II, we enter into the great mystery. What is that great mystery? Paul says it himself in scripture, it is the wedding feast of the lamb, the marriage of Christ and his church.

Know that you are worthy, know that you are loved, know that you are called to give that love to the world, and if you ever doubt it, look at the cross. Jesus processed in today to say I do. What will you say back?

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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Neither Do I Condemn

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The Gospel reading today is much richer than the surface understanding that Jesus was merciful. Though his mercy is certainly shown in this verse, there is something deeper going on here that speaks to the level of God’s love and reminds us of Theosis, one of the most central teachings of the Catholic Church.

Here in this verse, Jesus states clearly that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. One by one everyone leaves, knowing they have all sinned. But then Jesus says the important words, “Neither do I condemn you.”

The same words that redeem this woman condemn Jesus himself. In saying he does not condemn her, he groups himself with those who have sinned. He takes on the sin of this woman and the sin of all those around her and though he could not be more different in his perfection, he associates with the sinner. Part of the reason that God became one of us is to take on our sin in order that we might rise above it. But not just rise above it to live according to the law, rise above it to the point that we can become divine.

God’s plan for us from the beginning was to participate intimately in his very divinity. Adam and Eve were set up for this beautiful destiny, but sin got in the way. The only way to pay back a blow against an infinite being is for that being to become one of us, or as scripture says “to become sin,” in order to redeem us.

But not just to redeem us, his love is so deep that he doesn’t just want to wipe away our sin. He wants to get his original plan back on track. He wants us to participate perfectly and completely in his divinity itself. He became sin so that we might become him. Or as the Catechism puts it, “God became man so that man might become God.” Our destiny is not only that of redemption but also of divinization.

When we get to heaven we will not just go back to the garden, we will go beyond. Scripture says there will be a new heaven and a new earth, not a return to the old. That sounds pretty great to me. As we journey through the pains of repentance during this Lent, remember that Jesus himself experienced these pains, even though he was innocent. He paid it all so we might eventually experience all of him. That is cause for rejoicing even through this penitential time. 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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Continual Conversion

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“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

This quotation from today’s second reading is one of my favorites, so special to me that I decided to tattoo it on my arm. It is one of my favorite tattoo’s because it is a permanent reminder that I am called to be a saint on a daily basis.

I had a problem with testimonies growing up because they all seemed to be similar. They would typically start with a life of sin, there would be one moment of conversion that would change everything, and from then faith came easy. I didn’t like them mainly because I could not relate to this experience.

Maybe it’s my personality, but I have always been someone who has related more with small and consistent progress as opposed to one large event. I remember a time I got super motivated to eat healthier and went to Whole Foods and spent about $70 on a head of lettuce and some multivitamins. I got super intense and tried too much at once and ended up getting physically sick. Apparently changing from taco bell to lettuce immediately was just as much a shock to my body as consistently eating taco bell.

I found quickly that taking on too much too quick was not attainable and it has been this way in my spiritual life as well. Now don’t get me wrong, we all need a big wake up moment at times. But one of the main reasons I was in seminary with the TOR Franciscans is because St. Francis was all about constant conversion.

I know that I have been made new through my baptism, but the power of baptism and the grace from God work on a daily basis. Every day I have the choice to activate that grace in my life and do small things with great love. Consistent small acts then build and become larger as time goes on.

“Whoever is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come.”

When I re-read this quote I am thankful for my baptism, but I am also thankful that I am made new every day through the grace of God that works constantly and consistently.

Lent is the perfect time to make grace visible through our good works. By fasting, serving, and loving, the grace we received at baptism is activated in such a way that people can see God working. That starts to change our world. What God is asking me is, “How have you been made new today through my grace and how will that change others?” Perhaps he is asking you the same. 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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Get The Most From Analytics

Have you ever had questions about the often confusing world of Analytics? We are here to help you navigate the ins and outs of the analytical world in myParish App.

Let’s go over some definitions of what you will see in your myParish App Admin portal.

Start and End Date
The date range is important for how analytics function. Typically a larger date range is going to give you more accurate information. This is because analytics take a large set of data and bring it down into smaller subsets using averages and estimates, giving you a good understanding of your users, not an exact number count. Change the date range to do some testing on how many people are signing up per month or what section of the app is most popular during which month.

Users
Users are defined as anyone who downloads and starts using myParish App. This is broken down into new and returning users. A new user is someone who is in the app for the first time. A returning user has already been in myParish App and goes back in. Sometimes a user can be counted as both new and returning users depending on your date range. At myParish App, we do not know what specific people are using the app unless they have created an account, which is not required unless you want to use groups or parish favoriting. Users are based on a unique device’s ID, not a name or email.

Sessions
“A session consists of a series of page views that a single user makes during a period of activity.” https://bit.ly/2TurYbO
Every time someone is in the app after closing it, it is counted as a new session.

Engagement
This section is helpful for doing some testing on the effectiveness of your messages. If you send a message and see a spike in engagement than you know it was probably because that message is encouraging people to open the app. Find out what times of day and what subject of messages get the best engagement in your parish by testing over a period of a few months.

Screens
This section shows you what areas of the app are the most popular. If you want to increase engagement for a specific area, we recommend sending a message out and encouraging your parishioners to check out the button. Messages remain the number 1 reason that people get into myParish App. Why not encourage them to pray more or check out the daily readings?

View a Quick Overview of myParish Analytics

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Led by the Spirit

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In today’s reading, we hear that Jesus was led by the Spirit. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was led by the Holy Spirit, as we all should be. But I think we often let the more natural moments and distractions of our day to day distract us from the supernatural promptings of the Spirit.

This year for Lent I got tired of the typical “give something up” quips that people typically do. This isn’t to downplay anyone who is doing this, it just hasn’t been very effective for me in the past. This year I wanted to intentionally focus on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and being more aware of them when they happen throughout the day. I am trying this with 5 steps.

1. Prayer: Instead of planning on doing something huge like a daily holy hour or 15-decade rosary a day, I have decided to do 4 simple and attainable times of prayer throughout the whole day. This helps me to continually speak to God and also be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit in my life. Some examples are praying a morning offering and doing an examination of conscience at night.

2. Sacrifice: Again, instead of large sacrifices, I am doing 3 smaller ones throughout the day that break my will and remind me of the importance of sacrifice. One in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at nighttime. These can be as simple as giving up salt on meals or not snacking.

3. Meditation: This is one of the most important aspects of my Lenten journey this year. It includes taking 5 minutes to meditate on the daily scripture. Meditation is done more as speaking to a lover than just reading from scripture. As I read the bible I let my heart and the Spirit lead and the words are there for guidance. I look up every so often and actually speak to God about what I am receiving.

4. Learning: “You learn something new every day.” This Lent I want to dive deeper in Theology and the teachings of the Church. Nathalie and I are going to be reading Theology of the Body together in order to learn more about our loving God and ourselves. Learning is as simple as taking 10-30 minutes a day to read a book or listen to religious podcast or video.

5. Service: “All is Gift.” Knowing that everything we have been given is a gift from God, I am trying to give more this lent. I have a new act of service picked every week. This can be anything from sharing the Gospel with someone new, to volunteering, to hosting a nice dinner for friends.

I hope these suggestions are helpful for you as you journey through this Lent. Whatever your Lenten practices are, I encourage you to use these sacrifices and moments to listen to the Holy Spirit prompting you to go out and love the world. 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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Talitha Koum

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“He took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ 
which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’ The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.”

The Gospel today tells the beautiful, vague, story of someone who may or may not have existed thousands of years ago and was healed from an ailment by medicine but she irrationally attributed it to the power of Jesus, who was just a good person that taught a lot of good things.

How often do we have this mindset when we read powerful verses like those in the readings today? I think because we see so much suffering and pain around us we automatically think that somehow Jesus either didn’t have the power we read about or it has dwindled dramatically due to the passing of time.

But take just a second and think about the past five years of your life. How many things have happened that couldn’t be a coincidence? How many graces and blessings have come out of even seemingly impossible or devastating circumstances? How often have you encountered people or situations which gave you hope when there felt like there was none. This could be as simple as someone paying for your meal in the drive-thru to something dramatic like physical healing.

I don’t think God’s power was exaggerated or has somehow dwindled with time, I just think we have forgotten how to listen for it and see Him work. You turn on the news and hear of the most devastating scenarios imaginable and it’s easy to believe that this is the state of the world. But the good moments that happen every day, the moments that bring hope and joy to the world, go largely unnoticed.

I was in a grocery store the other day and a nice man had some things on the counter and was one dollar short from what he needed to pay for his items. He decided he would have to put his pop back, even though he really wanted it. I told him I would pay the extra. You should have seen the look on his face as he turned to me and said, “Thank you, nice things like this just don’t happen anymore.” My immediate thought was to smile back and agree with him, but in a moment of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I simply said, “Yeah they do. They just did.”

I don’t tell this story to lift myself up, it was just a dollar. I tell it because it’s a good reminder that our immediate reaction to the negativity in the world is to believe it is all there is. Jesus is still as powerful today as He was thousands of years ago. The question is, do we believe that? I challenge you to ask something great of God today. Reach out in faith and see the power that was witnessed in the Gospel so many years ago by a real crowd, who breathed real air, and had real human experiences. Turning the Gospels into cute little fiction stories does not do justice to the power of God. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.” St. Teresa of Avila.

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 Mass as Fulfillment of the Scriptures

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There are many different angles one could go with the rich symbolism in all three of today’s beautiful readings. The first reading is a clear call to the importance of physical actions to be taken in religious ceremonies. We are all a spirit-body composite and as such, we need to engage our bodies in all we do. The second reading speaks of the importance of all members (individuals) of the body (church) participating in the work of the larger body (the Lord) with their own specific gifts. Then finally, we come to the Gospel, what a beautiful summarization of the previous two readings culminating in a clear analogy for the mass.

Jesus stood up in the synagogue and was handed a scroll from the prophet Isaiah. This was typical to read from the prophets in the synagogue. However, the reader typically read the passage and did not offer any sort of reflection or addition. The prophets could speak for themselves. Jesus breaks this tradition. He not only adds his own thoughts to the scripture, but he claims that it is being fulfilled right before them by himself. He is the one who brings glad tidings to the poor and sight to the blind.

We see here that the word of God does not fall on lost ears or hearts but that it is so real and active that it literally is Jesus himself. Here we have the Word, speaking the Word, as the Word. The scriptures are fulfilled by the presence of he who is the Word.

Fast forward to today. Our tired eyes try to stay open during the readings, we hear a vibration from our phone and our mind wanders, we hear a screaming child and forget that all members of the body are important and wonderfully made.

I have a directors brain, I always thought I would be good at directing plays or movies because I feel that I have an eye for the bigger picture and can be very critical. I hate to admit that this is me during the Mass on some Sunday’s. “I would have said that differently” or “why did the music sound so strange in that one song. Did they forget to practice?”

We all have little quirks, insecurities, or faults that try to distract us from the reality of what is really going on. In the exact same way as the Gospel reading, every Mass brings us the fulfillment of scripture. The readings are read but it doesn’t stop there, we then dive into the beauty of the liturgy of the Eucharist where the word literally becomes flesh. Nothing more needs to be said or done. Think about that for a second and let that reality sink in next time you participate in Mass. If that doesn’t bring us to our knees than something is missing. 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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Relationship and Trust

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Do you ever wish that evangelization would be as easy as just stating that Jesus is the Lamb of God? This is what we see in today’s Gospel, a statement that is beautiful in its simplicity as well as strong in its content. If only we could go back to this time when it was simple to proclaim the truth, a time when not everybody was offended by bringing up religion, a time when the Catholic church could flourish without all the notes of scandal and hypocrisy.

Of course, I am being sarcastic here. The early church had just as many problems, if not more when it came to evangelization. I think we sometimes can feel so bad for ourselves that we convince ourselves that bringing people into a true relationship with God is just impossible in today’s culture. Of course, that is not the case.

So why was it so easy for John in the Gospel? I think the ultimate answer is two simple words. Relationship and trust. John had a relationship that was deep enough that those he was reaching out to trusted him wholeheartedly. It’s as if they could say, “If John believes this is the Messiah, then we believe as well. John would not lead us astray.”

A relationship is crucial to evangelization, conversion rarely happens in a box. There are rare cases of some of the Saints who had mystical conversions but for the most part, the conversion process starts through a genuine relationship with someone who is trusted.

Of course, true conversion comes from God himself, but it is hard for people today to get there if they first don’t enter your own personal story of what Christ has done with you. I have had to keep this in mind as I teach RCIA. It is easy to slip into the mindset that everyone in the class is just a number we want in the church as opposed to a real person who we want to fall in love with Jesus.

I know all of this can sound base but I know I need the reminder. It’s easy to trust people to “the system.” I see people in Mass and think, “well I could talk with them and welcome them or they could just join our welcome programs.” So much of what we do as a society is hope that other people will handle it or reach out.

In this New Year, I am going to try to be intentional with all of my interactions with people. Instead of immediately labeling them and fitting them into a box that gives me the excuse to not reach out in a kind way, I am going to make sure I try to build a relationship.

With relationship comes trust and with trust comes the ability to enter into the fun conversations. Then you can truly dive into the deep questions. Why are we here? Is there a higher purpose? Does God exist? What has He done in your life?

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.