Encounter God in Beauty

Encounter God in Beauty

Beauty is still one of the most - maybe the most - potent way we have of experiencing and encountering God. It retains this ability to disarm us, to lower our defenses, to capture and captivate us, to invoke a sense of the transcendent. God uses beauty to touch hearts, to lift people out of despair, to soften their cynicism, to lighten their darkness - and He wants to do that for you as well.   Readings at this Mass: Rv 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab | 1 Cor 15:20–27 | Lk 1:39–56

To Walk on Water, Get Out of the Boat

Following Christ requires trust, and trust involves risk. The good news is that, when we follow Jesus, we are never alone; even when we falter, He is there. We may prefer to cling to whatever makes us feel safe — our routines, our plans, our familiar ways of doing things. But sometimes Jesus asks us to let go of those things and trust Him instead.   Readings at this Mass: 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11–13a | Rom 9:1–5 | Mt 14:22–33

Desire Points Us to the Giver

One of our most fundamental desires, whether we recognize it or not, is a hunger for God. Because of our brokenness, however, we often try to satisfy that hunger with created things. Our desires, in their deepest sense, come from God and are meant to lead us back to Him. The key is to keep our hearts directed toward the Giver, not merely toward His gifts. Every daily blessing points beyond themselves to God, who alone can fulfill us. Then we can enjoy created things without making them into idols, and our desires become the very place where we encounter our Lord.   Readings at this Mass: Is 55:1–3 | Rom 8:35, 37–39 | Mt 14:13–21

What are you willing to give?

Christ does not offer us material prosperity or worldly success. Christ offers us true happiness, true fulfillment, true joy, everlasting bliss. And His question to us is, "What are you willing to give – or, unwilling to give – to make that possible?"   Readings at this Mass: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7–12 | Rom 8:28–30 | Mt 13:44–52

Stop trying to pull the weeds

We have a choice whether we are going to be a problem or the solution, whether we will be a weed in the garden or the good wheat that the Master has planted. It is up to us to prepare ourselves. Instead of seeing the outside world as our garden and going around canceling, blocking, or cutting off other people, we must take care of the garden inside ourselves and pull out the internal weeds that get in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives.   Readings at this Mass: Wis 12:13, 16–19 | Rom 8:26–27 | Mt 13:24–43