This week my home parish celebrates our patroness, St. Mary Magdalen. There is much speculation about just who Mary Magdalen was, but it is certain that she was a model disciple of Christ. Here are seven steps to becoming a disciple and some examples of how Mary Magdalen lived those out in her own life. These steps may look simple, but they are not easy, nor are they meant to be. Being a Christian disciple…
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”– Luke 10:40-42 Who of us can’t…
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. – Luke 10:27 Have you ever prayed the Litany of Trust? It is a lovely but challenging prayer that can help open us up to God’s deliverance and love. It focuses on asking God to free us from things that hold us back from trusting Him.…
…rejoice because your names are written in heaven. – Luke 10:20 I have several friends named Jennifer. I think I have at least five really great Jennifer friends! (Shout out to all my Jennifers!) Each one of them is a bright and shining light in her own way. You might say she each reflects a particular shade of her favorite color. Each one beautiful and unique and completely different from every other Jennifer who ever…
Peter was distressed that he [Jesus] had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” – John 21:17 “Do you love me?” It’s the question of every human heart. I believe it’s the deepest question we have in all our relationships. We subconsciously and silently ask it of our parents, friends,…
If you’ve never tried Eucharistic Adoration, this week is the perfect time to try it out! Why is that, you ask? This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of the most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus, also known as Corpus Christi. This is the Church’s great celebration of God’s most precious gift to us: The Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Q: What is Eucharistic Adoration? Eucharistic Adoration is a time we set aside for…
…the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:5 God has a deep, mysterious secret. This makes my head spin, but He has shared it with us! Are you ready for it? HE IS LOVE. God doesn’t simply act in love. It’s not something He feels or does. It’s WHO He is. As St. John taught, “God is love” (1…
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 Have you ever prayed with sacred art before? Visio divina is the practice of “divine seeing.” We practice lectio divina, or “divine reading,” when we slowly read and prayerfully meditate on sacred Scripture. In the same way, we can encounter Jesus by prayerfully reflecting on sacred…
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. – John 14:23 Where does God live? (I’ll give you a hint: there’s more than one answer to this.) One answer is that He lives in heaven where He is the light and temple of the City of God: “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is…
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:34-35 Jesus is very clear with us in our Gospel passage this Sunday: we are to love one another. How we love one another is a kind of litmus test for our identities as Christian…