Posted on

Sheep In The Midst Of Wolves

Click here for daily readings

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” -Matthew 10:16

I am on the road currently for some parish visits. I spent the day interacting with parish staff, having some great conversations about faith, praying in several adoration chapels that were open 24/7, and looking at some beautiful churches.

I got into my hotel room after a workout, flipped open my laptop, and found an unsettling video on my news feed. If you haven’t seen the Michelle Wolf video applauding abortion, it is not worth watching. It was enough to make even the biggest optimist sit on the edge of his bed on the verge of tears and just pray for our world. I must admit that every part of me felt defeated and I just wanted to hide.

I searched for the daily readings desperate for some hope from the Word of God and I open to this happy verse, “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves.” It really hit me tonight, being a Christian is hard. But it is hard for a reason I did not want to admit to myself. It is hard because I would rather play the victim and sit in my disgust for the world than look at my own heart. It is hard because I would rather gossip about a coworker or friend than admit my own faults. It is hard because I would rather preach the Gospel in an easy manner like this, than help people in my own family to realize the power, mercy, and love of God.

Some of us love to cower. We protect our ego, sometimes without realizing it, and fear starts to hold us back.

We don’t need to be a Church that mimics a horrible team. An effective team uses their defense to prevent bad from happening and to progress the ball forward. An effective team uses their offense to score a goal and win while maintaining good sportsmanship with the opposing team that stems from the common humanity of all the players.

An ineffective team’s defense cowers in fear only to eventually be pushed so far back that the undesired event they were trying to prevent repeatedly occurs and is allowed. An ineffective team’s offense scores a goal solely to prove they are stronger, faster, wiser, and better in every way than the opposing team: the epitome of pride.

It seems recently that as the lay faithful we can be in the position to either be constantly on the defensive by a significant portion of society, being pushed further and further into dismay and not making progress in spreading the Good News, or we are on the offensive desperately trying to spout apologetics in the hope of winning the argument over the soul.

Now this isn’t a fluffy “just love people” point that I am trying to make, but rather I want to call us all out: calling us not only to feel good love but to the kind of love that makes us all into Saints.

What is the reason we read blog posts like these? Is it to help us grow in faith so we can go out like the early Christians and preach the Good News, trying to invite people into a relationship with God, or is it because we are comfortable hearing from people who think exactly like us?

Why do we form groups and bible studies at church? Is it to learn the scriptures and invite the outcast in or is it because the world out there is so bad that we would rather maintain our own safe world inside these groups?

The Gospel Today could not be more clear. We are being sent out as sheep amongst wolves, but we must go out shrewd and simple. We must go out with our intellect and empathy. We must meet people where they are at and not leave them there, just as we don’t want to be left where we are. We must come together as a good team and help one another to grow in the fullness of faith and love, which is Love Himself and love for our neighbors.

I have thought a lot about teams lately because I am getting married exactly three months from today. I am so thankful to have formed the best team with my beloved, Nathalie. I am so thankful that God has brought us together to start a team of our own and form our family in going out and helping the world realize the love of the Creator.

So I challenge you and remind myself: what kind of team are you going to form today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life? An ineffective team that cowers in fear or lunges out in anger (either way causing division), or an effective team that is willing to put aside their comfort, pride, and ego, ready to go out and lead with love? Decide and then act.

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.

Posted on

Miracles are Real

Click here for daily readings

I am an extreme optimist, or maybe optimist is already an extreme? I could be on a sinking cruise ship and be thankful that I will get to see the 80% of the ocean that we have not yet explored. Ok, maybe I am not that extreme, but I always try to think the best of people and circumstances. I have this crazy notion that human persons have an innate goodness and that no matter how depraved or unethical we become, we cannot entirely douse that flame.

At first I thought today’s Gospel was a perfect reading for an optimist. It speaks of the goodness of God and how if any person has a trial, illness, demonic possession, or any other iniquity, God will come and take care of the problem. Then I realized a very important truth about our faith. Miracles are not optimistic they are REAListic. The optimist tends to look at the glass half full, the pessimist looks at it half empty, but the realist looks at it and says that it is a glass of water. And the fact of the matter is that miracles are real. “Miracles are not contrary to nature but only contrary to what we know about nature” (St. Augustine).

We are living in an age where miracles are more important than ever before. “Miracles were necessary before the world believed, in order that it might believe” (St. Augustine). Well I think it’s safe to say we need to remind people that God is active in this world. When news headlines are riddled with division, depression, death, and destruction, miracles counteract with the divine power of God.

It’s easy as Catholics to know miracles exist, just look at the mass. I think it is difficult however to know miracles can be personal to our lives. Sure they existed in the lives of the saints that lived a long time ago in a galaxy far away (click here for some amazing examples of miracles that have happened to various saints), but God’s power has diminished every year since His death right? Or even if it hasn’t, he has no personal interest in me right?

Well the thing about the word of God is that it is living. It doesn’t die even if we put it up on a shelf. I encourage you to read the Gospel one more time and put your current life and situations into the story. What do you want God to heal? How do you need to rely on Him? Do you have faith that He has power and wants the very best for you? Tell him, after all, “We pay God a compliment when we ask great things of Him” (St. Teresa of Avila).

Be like the almost two thousand saints who have been canonized since John Paul the Great became Pope and trust that God wants to work in your life here and now. I am sure these saints struggled with thinking that God personally cared for them at some point in their lives. The difference is that they eventually gave up on their own power and relied on God to the grave and beyond. Let’s pray for grace so that one day Jesus can say to us as well, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

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.

Posted on

The Power of God

Click here for daily readings

“You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” Matthew 22:29

This verse from Matthew coupled with the first reading for today really make me ask the question. Do I know the power of God? I mean, I know God is powerful. I know He created the world. I know if He wants to do anything it will happen. But I don’t know that I believe that any of this power can be applied personally to me.

I think this is one of the major problems in our world today. We all need healing, hope, miracles, love, and power, but yet we don’t believe it is possible to receive any of this. We have lost faith.

Typically when faith in God is lost we disregard Him because we think He is holding out on us. We ask for one outrageous thing after another and when we don’t receive it exactly as we asked, then it is God’s fault and He doesn’t love us. We want our desires to be fulfilled no matter how twisted, instead of looking to the source of all desire and resting in the hope that He loves us.

C.S. Lewis once wrote,

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

It’s as if God looks at our requests and says, “that’s it? I want to give you so much more. Please let me.” But we are content with our mediocre desires. We are content being gods in our own little worlds where we claim God is holding out so we start to do everything ourselves.

Adam and Eve had this same problem. They thought God was holding out on them and not making them perfectly happy, so they turned to their twisted desires for satisfaction and found that they came up empty.

Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete once said, “The only temptation we face on this earth is the temptation to believe that God does not want to fill the deepest desires of our hearts.”

This was the struggle of Adam and Eve. This was the struggle of the people in the first reading. This is the struggle of you and me. Today, as we reflect on this scripture, lets pray for God to fill the deepest desires of our hearts, and then believe with certainty that He will, because He loves us.

“The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”

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.

Posted on

3 Simple Tips for Stewardship

Click here for daily readings

Today’s readings are all about stewardship. I know, I know, it’s a big buzzword in the Church. It can mean anything from giving 10% of you money to the Church all the way to serving the poor. But thankfully Jesus teaches us what proper stewardship is.

My fiance and I recently had a meeting with our spiritual director about stewardship. During the conversation I felt a little awkward because I realized that I was not doing enough and that we had not talked about this enough for our future marriage.

But as the conversation went on I was encouraged with some practical examples that I would like to share:

 

Put aside a special fund every month. This is where you will pull your tithing from, but it is also a fund you will use whenever you want to treat friends to a nice dinner, help the homeless man on the corner, or go out of your way to buy a gift for someone. This ensures that stewardship is not just money going to the Church, but to others as well.

 

Realize that the call to give is a God given calling and our hearts are restless until we truly give. Whether it’s money, service, action, or the classic time, talent, treasure, every time we give we are participating intimately in the divinity of God. Gaudium et Spes even goes so far as to say that, “We can never fully find ourselves except through a sincere gift of self.” This is because God himself is an eternal gift, and because we are made in His image, we are not fully alive until we truly give. This is what makes stewardship about more than just finances, but about the whole person.

 

Figure out the amount of gift that stretches you. Part of stewardship is humbling ourselves before God and realizing that all we have is because of Him. Stewardship should make us a little uncomfortable in the sense that it pulls us out of ourselves and makes us rely on God. Think of the bible story of the woman with a few small coins. She gave all she had and trusted in the Lord’s providence. Now, obviously we have to be prudent, but the more we stretch and give, the happier we ultimately become and the more we rely on Our Father.

 

The first reading speaks of love conquering all and of the need to give to others. Then the Gospel tells us what happens when we become selfish and use our means to exploit or take advantage. Let’s take a hint from Jesus today and try to commit to one practical way we will live out stewardship this week. 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.

Posted on

Happy Feast of the Visitation

Click here for daily readings

Today we receive the blueprint for Marian devotion from the Gospel of Luke. Happy Feast of the Visitation from all of us here at Diocesan!

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.

Posted on

A Light to the World

Click here for daily readings

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”

Today is a big day. Not only is it Mothers day, but it is also the Ascension of our Lord into heaven. On a more personal note, it is the one year anniversary of asking Nathalie to marry me, a day that we dedicated to Mary.

I think it’s perfect that all of these events fall on the same day. When I think of mother’s day, I naturally think of my spiritual mother, Mary. The Gospel today speaks about going into the world and proclaiming the good news to every creature. Mary was the perfect model of this. She proclaimed to the world that Jesus was the Savior they had been waiting for. She was given a sign by the archangel Gabriel, and that sign became so real for Mary that she conceived and that sign became a person. A person who would save us from our sins.

In the Catholic Church, we call this phenomenon (when a sign is so real that it becomes what it signifies) an efficacious sign. This is what all the sacraments are. They are signs that are so real they become what they signify. (Ex. Bread and wine literally become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.)

Think of it this way. A stop sign is just a piece of metal with some paint. But it has the power to stop a car. It is a sign that is so strong that it effects a change.

This is why I think it is perfect that the Ascension, Mothers Day, and my one year anniversary with Nathalie all line up. There are no two people who I have ever met who show the love, strength, gentleness, power, beauty, grace, and generosity of Mary better than my Mom and my bride to be. They are such real signs to the world of the love of God, that they do not just preach the good news, they live it. It becomes part of them, real, tangible.

When I think of all the problems in our world having to do with marriage, families, and friendships, I am so thankful to have a Mom who has loved me unconditionally through everything. I can honestly say my best qualities are due to the fact that my Mom cares and has taught me so well.

When I think of all the problems with relationships, I am so thankful that I have found someone in Nathalie who compliments me perfectly. Someone who loves me no matter what. Someone who truly realizes the gift of her femininity and how much I need that as a man. Someone who serves tirelessly and gives of herself like I have never seen.

I am thankful to have people in my life who have taught me the good news through their real example. Sometimes it is hard to find these people in our lives because of the brokenness of the world, but no matter what our mother Mary can help us see the love that her Son has for us.

So please join me today in thanking Mary, who brought us the Savior, as well as all mothers. Thank you mothers! Thank you for being a much needed sign to the world of the beauty of God and the good news. Happy Mothers day, happy day of the Ascension, and Nathalie, Happy Anniversary!

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.

Posted on

Universal Communion

Click here for daily readings

One of the greatest privileges of working on a team is the knowledge and gifts of every person and the unending opportunity to learn new things and improve in my own gifts. One of the things I love most about my job is traveling to various parishes across the country and learning how much effort is put into communication and evangelization. There is a certain strength in numbers, a certainty that my weaknesses may be another person’s strengths and that they can take the torch on a certain task.

Realizing one’s own strengths and weaknesses is important. For me, it is sometimes hard to admit these weaknesses, even though I know they exist. I know that when I do admit them and ask for help I not only realize my reliance on God, but I also realize the tremendous gift of those God has put in my life.

Thoughts of the importance of coming together united in a common goal were running through my mind when I read today’s readings. Here we see the early Church starting to form. Put yourself in these readings for just a second. Imagine you were in the time of the early Christians. Jesus has just risen and there is an excitement in the air to proclaim that good news. But there is also fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of division.

It’s no secret that there is a lot of division in our world today. Even amongst Catholics, we seem to be splitting between liberal and conservative, traditional and non-traditional, American and universal. Shouts of “I only like this certain Pope” or “This certain group in the Church is just plain weird” tend to take over the landscape of Catholic discussion.

Sometimes I think we forget that the word “Catholic” literally means universal. It means that no matter what, we are all one family. We are all a part of the body of Christ and at the end of the day we all have the same mission, to love God completely, to get to heaven, and bring as many people with us as possible. This is what we know of as the Communion of Saints. Eventually in heaven we will experience this perfect communion with God and each other, where there is no more division.

This scene from Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favorite examples of the communion of saints. For those who haven’t seen the film, the character Groot can only say a few words throughout the entire movie. He says, I am Groot, over and over again. In the final scene of the film, Groot sacrifices himself for the ones he loves and they all unite in a special way. Finally, the last words we hear from Groot are, “We are Groot.” The perfect example of communion and sacrifice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=217&v=1vSm6HN16aw

The communion of saints is not necessarily an experience that is exclusive to heaven. Today’s readings are a calling to all of us to come together here and now as the universal Church and support and love each other, especially through difficulty and fear. When we admit our own weaknesses, allow others to use their strengths, support and love each other, and put aside our various differences, we will start to live what it truly means to be Catholic. May God help us all to see the gift of others and how that gift can bring us closer to God.

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.