Ecclesiastes 9:7, “Go eat your bread with enjoyment and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.” Listen. It is only when God approves what you do that you can be happy. Some of us take it the other way around. But God approves, and then happiness comes. In my development work, when a donor gives a gift of a water well to…
What stands in your way to go deeper with the Lord? Growing in silence and our ability to contemplate is highly important, but responding to that will undoubtedly be very hard. How do we do this practically? Today, we will talk about how actual behavior change happens and how we can set ourselves up for success to grow in silence and make our…
Let’s talk about money. In ancient Rome, Caesar’s face was imprinted on coins so that people would know who the emperor was. In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus asks the Pharisees to take out a coin and tells them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s.” Jesus is telling the Pharisees to give him his coins, be good citizens, pay their taxes, and not jaywalk. But everyone…
1 Peter 3:3 and 4, “Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes. But let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable gold of a gentle and quiet spirit, which, in God’s sight, is very precious.” Some of us decorate ourselves with gold and silver, putting on expensive things. But that’s not the…
Do you wonder about Mary’s firsthand memory or experience of God? We can relive Mary’s memory and experience of God through the Rosary. Rosary is like experiencing God with Mary—in her heart, her hospitality. Mary is the most perfect Christian, the most perfect woman who’s all about Jesus, and on this month of the Rosary, we are invited to take time and be…
I’ve been to many weddings recently. Love is in the air. At one wedding, a man came into the church wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. The best man approached him and said, “Dude, you can’t be here like this.” And the friend responded, “Whatever, man.” In the Gospel, for this Sunday, a wedding guest is not wearing his wedding garment. He’s saying to the whole wedding party…
Acts chapter 17, verses 24 and 25 says, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of Heaven and Earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is He saved by human hands as though he needed anything since He gives to all men life and breath and everything.” God is the creator of Heaven and Earth. Of all things visible and invisible…
What’s the most prevalent voice that you hear in your life? Is it God’s or someone’s/something else? We long to teach people how to pray, contemplative silence, inner recollection, and interior stillness are ways to live in a relationship with God. But, there’s a silver bullet to make people live in chaos and noise, exteriorly or interiorly. Every day, through general media…
In the 1600s in Europe, European Christians saw coffee coming from the Middle East and immediately labeled coffee as “the devil’s drink.” But the Pope at the time, Pope Clement VII, wanted to try this drink, so a barista made him a delicious cup of coffee, and the Pope said, “This devil’s drink is delicious. Let’s baptize it and make it our own.” And the rest is history. Europe is known for…
Ephesians chapter three, verse 10 says, “That through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and paths in the heavenly places.” Sometimes, we think the Church is a building. When we talk of the Church, we speak of the Body of Christ. Christ is the Head, and we are the Body. The Church gives you a perfect…
