One of my brother priests, he used to be a chaplain for the Navy Seals, and he’s such a great dude. Let’s just say he is pretty large. He has biceps as big as my face. He was in a war torn country celebrating mass for his Navy Seals. As he’s celebrating mass, an explosion happens outside of the tent. The priest dives for cover. As he looks up, he notices all of the Navy Seals are still kneeling in the dirt praying to the Lord. One of the Navy Seals gently looks at the priest and he says, “Father, keep pressing on.”
Here’s the Gospel today where Jesus says, “Perseverance will secure your lives.” No matter what sufferings, no matter what trauma, no matter what we experience in this life, with Jesus Christ, we can persevere to the end. The Navy Seals of Catholicism are the saints. You look at any of the saints’ lives, they persevered in the midst of sorrow, suffering, trauma, addiction, sins. With Jesus Christ, they persevered, and so can you. Only with Jesus, only with his grace.
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Holy Thursday
I am about to wash the feet of 12 of my students because it is Holy Thursday. Jesus, on this day, gives us the priesthood. He gives us the Eucharist and reminds us that he lowers himself. For us, this is so radical that we are called as Christians to lower ourselves. This is the secret of the saints. They always said I’m the worst of us. I am the greatest sinner of all of us. They realized that they needed Jesus, and they wanted to…
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The Greatest Victory (Easter Sunday)
The greatest victories we’ve ever seen, championships, comebacks, unforgettable moments, don’t even come close to what we celebrate on Easter.
On this day, Jesus Christ conquers death itself. The Resurrection isn’t just a powerful moment in history. It’s proof of who He is. Jesus said He was God, and He proved it by rising from the dead and opening the way to eternal life for all of us.
So the question this Easter is simple: will you say yes?
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Start Small
So at the foot of the mountain of Assisi. There is a beautiful church called Saint Mary of the Angels. Inside the church is another very small church called the Portiuncula, which is where Saint Francis began his mission. He didn’t begin as one who was feeding the whole world. He was just a simple man who said yes in a…
