Going up the mountain offers an opportunity to come face-to-face with God, providing a perspective where we can see what’s important. Up there, we are invited to embrace the experience and the beauty of childlike wonder and awe. It’s a place of intimacy with and revelation of God. But the challenge as we go up the mountain is to let go of things. And it’s difficult because most of us have surrendered theophany for dopamine. We have been used to this constant consumption of “dopamine kicks”—the consumption of these things that makes us feel good.
As we go up the mountain, we need empty ourselves and allow God to lead us there. So that we can have His eyes look upon us, which is the purest, the truest, the tenderest, the most loving, and the most hope-filled.
This episode is the second part of our Lenten series on Fr. Mark Toups’s Lenten Companion.
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A Holy Hiding
Affirmation feels different when it’s public, out loud and in front of everyone — as at the Baptism of Christ and the Transfiguration, where God audibly affirmed Jesus as his beloved Son. That affirmation becomes the foundation that allows Jesus to be free; to weep and be compassionate and angry, to be a revelation…
For 30 years, Jesus lived quietly in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph; his “hidden” years. Through his normal day-to-day living of going to school and having friends and putting in a hard day’s work, Jesus made sacred the hidden space. That hidden space is where most of us live most of our lives — out of the public eye…
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Revelation of the Resurrected One
Have you ever wondered why it can be so hard to recognize Jesus, even when He’s right in front of you?
In this episode, the friars reflect on the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus, moments where those closest to Him don’t recognize Him at first. From Mary Magdalene in the garden to the road to Emmaus, they explore the mystery of how the risen Lord reveals Himself: personally, patiently, and often in unexpected ways.
They unpack how Jesus meets people exactly where they are, in grief, confusion, doubt, and even ordinary moments and how those encounters change everything. This isn’t just something that happened back then. It’s a pattern that continues today. The same Jesus still comes, still pursues, and still reveals Himself in ways uniquely meant for each of us.
For those who feel like they’ve never had that “breakthrough” moment, this episode is a gentle reminder: the Lord is closer than you think, especially in the Eucharist, where the Resurrection is made present again.
Join us as we open our eyes to the risen Jesus and learn to recognize Him already at work in our lives.
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Resurrection and the Reproaches (Lent 2024)
Our expectations and what God is doing can be totally different, so how should we respond to that? In the raising of Lazarus, the response of the Pharisees was to have Jesus killed. This was the tragic response of the heart when they were not open and unable to receive the mysterious and unconditional love of God. We can sometimes share the same humanity as the Pharisees too. We sometimes prefer to have Jesus out of our lives…
