Word, Life, Light

Joy, a Fruit of Charity, Rooted in God

By Carey | December 26, 2025December 20, 2025 by Carey

“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” – Colossians 3:15/16 Merry Christmas! I hope you’re still listening to Christmas carols, turning on the sparkling lights, and celebrating with family and friends, because it’s still Christmas! So many favorite Christmas hymns proclaim God’s joy: “Oh come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” with its “tidings of comfort and joy,” and of…

Virtue of the Kingdom: Surrender to God’s Will

By Carey | December 19, 2025December 6, 2025 by Carey

Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” – Matthew 1:24 Both St. Joseph and St. Paul are examples par excellence of holy men who fully surrendered to God’s holy will. In our readings this Sunday, St. Joseph demonstrates his faith and trust in God’s will when he changes his plans to quietly divorce Mary (Matthew 1:19). God communicated His holy will for Joseph through an angel who appeared in a dream,…

Virtue of the Kingdom: Patience

By Carey | December 12, 2025November 22, 2025 by Carey

“Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” – James 5:7 Let’s focus on patience this third week of Advent. The type of patience St. James is exhorting us to in the second reading this Sunday is patience as we wait for the second coming of Christ. This type of patience is about persevering with faith in this imperfect world. It’s the patience that allows us to suffer here on earth without…

Virtue of the Kingdom: Justice

By Carey | December 5, 2025November 22, 2025 by Carey

“Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more.” – Psalm 72:7 For the second week of Advent, let’s focus on the virtue of justice toward God. There are two forms of justice: justice toward God and justice toward neighbor. The Catechism teaches: “Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called…

Virtue of the Kingdom: Peace

By Carey | November 28, 2025November 22, 2025 by Carey

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” -Isaiah 2:4 Blessed Advent! Last week, on the feast of Christ the King, we talked about the Virtues of the Kingdom of Christ. This year during Advent, I want to take a look at one virtue that has a theme in our readings each Sunday. This…

The Virtues of the Kingdom of Christ

By Carey | November 21, 2025November 22, 2025 by Carey

“He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” – Colossians 1:13-14 Blessed Feast of Christ the King! Pay special attention during Mass this Sunday to the Preface for Christ the King, which takes place at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist: “For you anointed your Only Begotten Son,our Lord Jesus Christ, with the oil…

The Holy Spirit Is Present Within Us

By Carey | November 7, 2025November 1, 2025 by Carey

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” – 1 Corinthians 3:16 The second part of this statement might be shocking to you: God the Father sent Jesus to save us and prepare The Way (John 14:6) to heaven for us; He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us and become a piece of heaven here on Earth. We who are baptized…

Come, Holy Spirit of Comfort

By Carey | October 31, 2025October 28, 2025 by Carey

“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them…they are in peace.” – Wisdom 3:1 I write this reflection with a heavy heart for several of my friends who have experienced losses recently. Please know that you are with me in my prayers and heart as I write. This Sunday, we commemorate All Souls Day and pray for all the faithful departed. One thing (of many!) I am…

Trusting in God’s Mercy, Not Ourselves

By Carey | October 24, 2025October 18, 2025 by Carey

“The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity…’” – Luke 18:11 The Pharisee in Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:9-14) “despised everyone else.” His pride caused him to exalt himself to Christ’s judgment seat, making himself the judge of what is righteous. Notice that he “spoke this prayer to himself.” He offered the prayer to himself and addressed…

Do Our Prayers Influence God’s Will?

By Carey | October 17, 2025October 11, 2025 by Carey

“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?” – Luke 18:7 I once heard an explanation of a false idea of prayer as an ATM machine. This analogy really stuck with me. We don’t walk up to God, go through a snappy prayer routine, and then wait for the answered prayers to magically appear, like a neat…