Girding Your Loins
Girding your loins 101. Number one, be a bro from the ancient world wearing your tunic. Number two, take the bottom of your tunic and tuck it into your belt. Number three, create an ancient cargo short feature, and now you are ready to go. You’re prepared to lift heavy things, to go for a nice run. You are prepared to do battle. When Jesus says, “gird your loins” in the gospel, he is saying, “be in the position to be…
Best Practical Self-Help
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…
Trust God With Your Past (Rewind)
Week 2 of a series on a 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust, by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. Grace is in the present; there is no grace in the past or in the future. The challenge, though, is that we’re all professional escape artists. We can get antsy and we don’t know how to be present, which means we…
Get Up and Share The Gospel
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…
Ordinary But Extraordinary (Rewind)
It is easy to fall into the temptation and believe that we can’t do it, that we can’t live a holy life. Although the ordinary life is simple, hidden, and seems kind of normal, there’s so much sanctity in our vocations that are being lived faithfully. It might not be flashy or spectacular but it’s one of the most real ways we can grow in holiness. We may not be in the chapel or church making a eucharistic holy hour, but no matter what our day-to-day experiences look like or what daily lives we are accustomed to, God is there.
Peace Not Panic (Rewind)
We have this tendency that we want to fix or clean-up certain things first before we let the Lord in. We are afraid that our place, our lives are messy—that it can be too much for anyone even for God to handle. But God is NOT panicking, he’s completely in control. He’s not afraid or scandalized of how messy our lives are…