Don’t Take Away His Family
Today is the Feast Day of the Holy Family. And what better thing to talk about than “Fast and the Furious.” Dominic Toretto is amazing at driving fast. But he is more impressive with protecting his family. My favorite quote from the ninth movie is, “The worst thing you can do to a Toretto is take away his family.” Translate that to our faith, and oh my gosh, the worst thing that you can do to God the Father…
End of Year Identity Check
What was Jesus like for you this year? As we end the year, let’s do a poverty and identity check and put Jesus in the center as we look back to this past year and look forward to the coming year. For this episode, a proposal to reflect on where Jesus has been, how He has been with you, how He loved you, and how He loves you into this year…
Christmas Is Cancel Proof!
A few years ago, I was at a barbershop, and while getting my haircut, a woman shared with everyone in the room that she had a rough year. And because she had had a rough year, she decided to cancel Christmas. And the inner Buddy, the elf in me, freaked out. You can’t cancel Christmas. How can you do that? The reality is that the incarnation cannot be canceled. Christmas is cancel-proof because…
Have You Been Friends With Jesus?
‘Tis the season for gingerbread lattes, candy canes, and watching “Die Hard.” It’s a Christmas movie. Today, we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent, which is crazy because tomorrow is Christmas. Very rarely in the church calendar, this happens, where Christmas falls right after the fourth Sunday of Advent, and I love it when this happens because it always makes me realize that whenever I’m not…
Little Like Mary (Advent 2023)
How often do you say “yes” without understanding or knowing the outcome? Sometimes, we have to see and understand the plan before we say “yes,” but that’s not our Lady’s experience. She didn’t understand, but she knew what God had proposed to him, and despite that, she said “yes.” She trusts; she surrenders in this whole experience of her life without…
Joy in the Midst of Suffering
So, have you ever felt like you are going to die after you get a paper cut or stub your toe? Me too. But blessed Chiara Luce Badano, a contemporary teenage saint of the church, teaches us how to have joy amid suffering. She contracted a rare form of cancer as a teenager. But amid her suffering, she knew that Jesus had already won in her heart, and she did not have to be afraid. Today, we celebrate…
Good St. Joseph (Advent 2023)
What’s the best thing you learned from St. Joseph? Advent teaches us that God has a different way of doing things, and St. Joseph is a fantastic example and witness. Throughout his life, St. Joseph should’ve had the opportunity to grasp human comfort or control, but instead, he chose to enter into humility, into silence; he didn’t overthink, he didn’t overtalk, but…
Something Greater Than Ourselves
Let’s talk about my dad. So when I was a kid, about a year ago… One of my most formative things was seeing my dad pray on his knees, praying to someone more important than him. As a kid, I saw my dad as the supreme commander of the universe. Seeing him answer to someone even more significant than him, loved by someone even greater than him, was so freeing for me just to be a kid and loved…