Don't Let These Words Fly By You

Just before we sing the, "Holy, Holy, Holy," at Mass, the priest says: 

"Therefore, with all the choirs of angels and all the saints..."

He's not kidding; they're all there - all of them. Every saint in every glass window, every angel stenciled on the ceiling, every saint carved in cement, every holy man, woman, and child who has ever lived on earth and now lives in glory, are all there, praying for you and those you love.

How To Unlock Joy

What brings us joy in life is complete self-giving. 

It can be painful, too, but you can't have real joy without self-giving.

That's the great paradox of the cross, after all.

We find ourselves when we lose ourselves in service for one another.

Start at home, then go from there.

The Next Time You Sit Down To Eat

The next time you sit down to eat, slowly, reverently, intentionally, make the sign of the cross and thank God for your food.

Slowly...

Reverently...

Intentionally...

Thank God for your food.

What Would Your Parish Look Like If...

Despite the way my office usually looks, I’m something of a perfectionist. It’s not that I always see the glass half-empty, just that I think about what might make the glass and whatever else is in it a little bit better. I know that it drives some of my friends nuts, but when I sit in the pew on Sunday morning I’m not judging how bad things are (actually my parish is really good); rather, I’m imagining – imagining what more it could be.

Many days throughout the year I spend in different parishes around the country giving what’s called a Parish Mission. And often I challenge the hard working faithful on the last evening with the same commission I am challenged with by those who love me.

What would your parish look like if being a parishioner at Saint So-And-So's actually meant something, really meant something, so that your friends and neighbors who know nothing of the faith know that what it means to be a member of your parish is to be a Catholic who takes their faith very seriously? What would it be like if every one of us really treated the patron saint of our parish as our own special model and guide, if we prayed for their intercession before any major parish activity, and if we strove to imitate their strongest virtues and taught our children to do the same. What would your parish look like if everyone in your parish was so proud to be a part of it that they would beg as many of their friends and family as they possibly could to give it a try, even for just one week.

Imagine the ushers after Sunday Mass not just simply smiling while handing you the bulletin to place in the backseat of your car, but calling you by name and asking how your week was. Imagine a Mass where everyone sings, whatever the style and however good – or bad – the organist or other musicians are. Imagine a homily so good that you find yourself still talking about it Wednesday evening. Imagine your parishes intentions being intentional, and your concern for your neighbor so real that you find yourself praying for them at your family dinners.

Imagine a parish where at communion time everyone approached slowly and reverently, and received the Eucharist as though it were the most important thing they did all week. Imagine if every time a baby cried your first instinct and that of those around you was to give thanks to God for the gift of the baby, and not to wonder why the parents haven’t taken her to the back, yet. Imagine your parish full fifteen minutes before Mass prayerfully preparing for the true presence of Jesus to enter into their souls, and where people stay five minutes after to give thanks to God for the Gift they have received.

What would your parish look like if every day were like a Sunday? What if daily Mass were more than a few people and the schoolchildren showing up once a week? Can you imagine showing up on Saturday to help with a parish clean up and seeing as many people in line for confession as the penance services during Advent or Lent? What would it be like if your parish were known as the premier place in your city for feeding the poor, helping those pregnant and in crisis, assisting immigrants, and helping people save their houses? What would it be like if every parishioner belonged to a Bible study or took part in some special ministry of prayer? What if every parishioner who was able to drive volunteered to take communion to one elderly or homebound person each week, reminding them that they are loved and not forgotten about by the parish? What if you felt so confident in the prayer lives of your fellow parishioners that you genuinely felt comfortable asking them to pray for your specific struggles or concerns, and in addition, took their prayer requests as seriously as anything else you are asked to do all week.

What if instead of passing by your priest after Mass with a handshake and smile, you asked him what specific parish needs you can fulfill that week? What if you started to treat your priest as though he really was the spiritual father of your parish and family; if you invited him out to eat, had him bless you and your kids before he left the house, and went to him first when you have some serious personal problem? What would your parish look like if the priests, deacons, and religious were so impressive that every parent encouraged their kids to consider a religious vocation? What would your parish look like if it were really beginning to make you into a saint? What would you begin to look like? How would it change your marriage? How would it change your kids?

So when I sit in the pew before Mass with a look on my face that might be hard to read, I’m imagining things being different, being even better than they are now. But it’s not because I’m disappointed in your parish or my parish or any other. It’s because every time I gather with God’s people for Mass I see the true potential within me and within you. Why? Because God’s there, and this is what God longs to do with us.

St. Irenaeus says that “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Just imagine what your parish would look like if every man, woman, and child, every family, every couple, every single, every priest, every religious, every layperson, everyone on the books at your parish were made just a little more alive each day, each week, each year, in the parish you call home.

I’ll tell you what your parish would look like...it would change the world.

The Most Overlooked Fact About St. Paul

St. Paul is one of the most well-known Christians in history, and probably the greatest evangelist who ever lived.

But while we still talk about his adventures and preach through his letters, many have forgotten something critical to his life.

St. Paul had a day job.

Yep, he was a tentmaker. 

We don't tend to remember that part, of course; we remember the preaching, and the teaching, and the miracles, pretty much everything but the day job. 

Those letters we read on Sunday to Colossae or Corinth or Rome, he had to write those in his spare time, because there was always somebody at the door asking, "So, how 'bout that tent you said I'd have last Tuesday?"

In other words, St. Paul didn't have to break free from his regular routine to find time to preach the gospel. What he did is exactly what you and I can do--what we must do--if we're to be faithful to our vocation.

And if he could do it with canvas and wooden poles, we can surely do it with computers and cars and smartphones and cubicles. We can make room for the gospel, not just on Sunday mornings, but every day of the week.

Today, let's make room for God.

The Secret To Happiness

What's the secret to happiness?

Everyone wants to know.
The saints knew it; and we probably should, too.

Is it money, fame, beauty, power? If so, there'd be a lot more happy people in the world.

The secret to happiness is holiness.

Yes, holiness.

PS - Check out my *new* Podcast, "Your Catholic Life" for insight and inspiration from the top Catholic speakers and authors today! (It's FREE)

Yesterday, Today And Forever!

One day St. Teresa of Avila overheard one of the other sisters say, "If only I had lived at the time of Jesus...If only I had seen Him, talked with Him, been touched by Him..."

Teresa stopped what she was doing at once. She walked up to the sister and said, "But do we not have in the Eucharist the living true, and living Jesus laid present before us? Why look for more?"

Yeah, she got it.

The Jesus you received in your parish last Sunday and the Jesus you will receive this Sunday, the Jesus you receive at Mass while traveling and the Jesus who waits in the tabernacle of the Church down the street is the same Jesus who walked this earth 2000 years ago.

Think about that for a second. Let it sink in.

So, the next time you genuflect to Jesus in the tabernacle before entering your pew, the next time you see Him raised by the consecrated hands of your priest, or the next time you pass a Church in your car, realize and remember just Who is in your midst--Jesus of Nazareth.

The Same: yesterday, today and forever.

Consider This

"That movie was amazing!" We tell our friends.

"We're getting married!" We post on Facebook.

We're never shy in regards to the temporal. Thus, we should never be shy when it comes to the eternal.

Don't be afraid to share your love for Jesus and his Church, today.

What to do when you don't feel like praying

You don't feel like praying today? Its Okay. You're not the only one.

There are days I don't feel like praying either, but then I remember: prayer is not simply

about feelings, prayer is an act of the will--a movement of the heart. 

You don't feel like praying, today? That's OK.

Pray anyway.

PS - Here's the text of a short homily by St. John Chrysostom on prayer.

Why the month of May matters

Warmer temperatures, longer days, better moods, graduations, confirmations, first communions, some things ending, others beginning; yeah, this is May.

But there's something else about this month that's important; namely, Mary.

By now, over the course of these emails, you know of my devotion to Mary. (If you've ever attended one of my parish missions, you really know of my devotion to Mary.) Here's why.

The Church celebrates devotion to Mary, during the month of May, because it is a month of new beginnings and of celebrations.

The new life of nature which we see sprouting up in our front yards and back gardens naturally reminds us of the new life we've been given in Christ, a life which came, as all our lives came, through His mother.

Now, I realize Mary can be a point of contention among those who are friends with her Son. Some people think that by moving towards Mary we must be moving away from Jesus, but this misses the point.

We don't go to Mary. We go through Mary. We pass through her Immaculate Heart, to the Sacred Heart of her Son.

You see, with Mary, we go to Jesus with an advocate, a coach, a mentor, and a Mother, who helps us along the way.

Nobody gets offended when you show respect and honor, love and devotion, to people that they love. Jesus is the same.

Virtually every saint in the whole of the Christian tradition has insisted that devotion to Mary is devotion to Jesus--that Jesus is all the more honored whenever and wherever we honor his Mother.

After all, it's exactly what he asked us to do. Remember His last will and testament, delivered there from the cross. "Woman," he said. "Behold your son." And then, to the disciple who represents all of us at the cross, "Behold your mother."

So this month, start your relationship with God anew, and remember that you are not alone. Let His Mother--your Mother--help you. And if you can, remember me as well.

The most difficult prayer you will ever pray

The most difficult prayer we will ever pray is for the person we can't stand the most.

After all, praying for our enemies would be easy if we didn't have, well, enemies.

It's not easy (it never will be), but praying for those we can't stand is necessary if we're going to follow Jesus.

If you need help, start with this simple prayer:

"Jesus, help (insert name) to be holy. Because you love (insert name) as much as you love me."

Pray this prayer every time you think of him or her. Pray it everyday if need be.

Someday, they may even thank you in heaven.