There’s a powerful moment in Rocky Balboa when a wounded son is healed by the simple words of his father: “I’m proud of you.” Those words change everything.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus does something just as striking. He praises John the Baptist. It’s a quiet but profound reminder that God doesn’t just correct or challenge us. He also delights in us.
This Advent, consider a simple but healing question: When was the last time you allowed God to tell you He’s proud of you? As sons and daughters, we’re invited to receive those words and let them restore our hearts.
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King Herod
So I’m not sure if I can say this as a priest, but King Herod sucks. In the Gospel today, King Herod is evil. He is Voldemort, he is Thanos, he is the Mind Flayer all rolled into one. All he wants to do is control everything, the Jewish people, the Roman government, even to control the God of the universe, even to the point of wanting to kill…
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Light The World On Fire
Pentecost is not the moment the Church plays it safe. It’s the moment the Holy Spirit sends the apostles out to set the world on fire with the love of Jesus.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” That mission isn’t only for priests, missionaries, or “extra holy” people. It’s for every Christian, including you.
So the question is simple: are we talking about Jesus in our lives, or are we avoiding it? Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit gives us the courage to stop staying quiet and start sharing the Gospel.
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Spiritual Nostalgia
Spiritual nostalgia. It is so real. It is wanting to experience your feelings again during that amazing God moment. It’s wanting to experience again that feeling you had when the Cubs won the World Series. In the gospel for the Sunday, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and reveals his glory. They feel they experience the realness of Jesus’ divinity, but then they go down the hill, and Jesus seems to have…
