So lately, my internet algorithm has been leading me to practical self-help stuff. So apparently, I need help. But the reality is, most of us attend self-help groups because we want to grow. We want to grow in our social skills and our health: Jesus and the gospel offer efficient guidance. Jesus says, Don’t store up treasures and riches for yourself. That will not fulfill you, that will not satisfy you, that will not bring you…

Ebenezer Scrooge. Such a grouch, such a curmudgeon, such a grumpy source, Rex. And often, we see the Heavenly Father as an Ebenezer Scrooge figure. He is just waiting for us to make a mistake. He’s rolling his eyes, saying, I wish you were more virtuous. I want you to sin less often. In the gospel, Jesus turns it on its head and says, You have a good Father. What? A good father would not give good gifts to…

If Iron Man got rid of his suit, who would he be? Genius, billionaire, Playboy from? Okay. Yeah. He would be all of those things. But Tony Stark is more than what he does, and it’s the same for us. Our identity is not what we do, but how we work. Take those things away. Who are we? And the gospel for this Sunday. Martha is identifying with her work. Her work is good, but her identity is not her work. Her identity…

Do you remember the first time anyone ever whispered in your ear? Probably not. Me neither, except it was probably my mom. Who whispered? Your brother’s my favorite. Anyway, there is a Jewish tradition where parents of a newborn child will whisper into their ear here, oh, Israel, the Lord is your God. The Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all…

My dad mastered the art of getting me out of bed when I was a kid. If I were sleeping in, my dad would rush into my room, jump onto the bed, tackle me, and say that it was time to get up. And the crazy thing is I never felt attacked. I felt safe and loved, and then I felt encouraged to get up. Jesus does something very, very similar in the gospel for this Sunday. He’s calling the disciples to get up, to get out, and to…

So Jesus sounds like Yoda for this Sunday’s gospel. He says the foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay His head. It sounds cryptic. What Jesus is not saying has anything to do with Airbnb accommodations, but the part of Jesus’ heart that he is sharing with us is that when it comes to following him, sometimes we have to be uncomfortable. I’m very awkward. I have no power…

One time, I was exciting a bunch of second graders in their classroom, getting them ready for their first Holy Communion. And so I asked them, boys and girls, what are you most excited about about receiving your first Holy Communion? So, one kid raised his hand high in the air, and I called on him. He said, ‘We get to eat God.’ Exactly. It sounds a little crazy and a little radical, but this kid canonizes him right now…

My life with the Vampire Diaries, Twilight, Stranger Things, and Outer Banks. What do all of these things have in common? Love triangles and maybe not the most wholesome love triangles. Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity, the most perfect and profound love relationship, a love triangle between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is what we desire. We want that perfect…