Trust the Journey | #1635
Pilgrim Priest
What is a pilgrimage? It is a journey to a holy place. Native American peoples have sacred places. Hindus, Buddhists, and Shinto have shrines and holy sites. The Exodus out of Egypt was a kind of pilgrimage. Jews would make a pilgrimage once or even three times a year to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship God on his Holy Mountain. The call to follow Jesus is a call to pilgrimage. If you've seen The Chosen, you realize how much time Jesus spent walking with his disciples following him. For Christians, the first pilgrimage destination is Palestine, the Holy Land. After that are the tombs of the...
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How to Not Bear Rotten Fruit | #1634
Pilgrim Priest
Romans 8:35 is a great passage to memorize. St. Paul has experienced all kinds of anguish and distress but the love of God has conquered it. The Romans will need to believe in God's love to survive the coming persecution. is about how the people trusted in themselves and bore rotten fruit. shows that God will restore and renew the people once they have been purified. Even our sins don't separate us from the love of God! If we rely on ourselves and to avoid anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness and all the rest... we will bear rotten fruit. If we trust in God, then he will bring...
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Weeds and Wheat Growing Together | #1633
Pilgrim Priest
You come to Mass most Sundays, and even Holy Days of Obligation. You try not to swear or drink too much or gossip. You are learning to pray and you want to follow Jesus as faithfully as you can. Meanwhile you know many people--friends, coworkers, your children, siblings, even a spouse--who don't seem to care. They spend every Sunday working, sleeping, or doing basically everything but coming to church. Maybe they drink, gossip, and swear as much as they like. Jesus doesn't seem to care. If that's the situation you find yourself in, than this parable is for you. Good seed and bad weeds are...
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Cultivate the Soil of Your Heart | #1632
Pilgrim Priest
When scripture talks about a gardener, a vineyard owner, or a sower, we are meant to think of God. God "gardened" the world into existence by speaking his word. The world simply receives God's word and does what he says. Human hearts are more complicated. Matthew chapter 12 shows much opposition to Jesus's word. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus changes his preaching style. He keeps preaching the truth, but now in riddles or puzzles. You won't be able to receive it if your heart is not open. We have a responsibility to cultivate the soil of our hearts. The hard soil makes me think of...
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She Recevies a Prophet. This is How God Rewards Her | #1631
Pilgrim Priest
and he rewards hospitality. A woman of influence feeds and houses Elisha. He wants to reward her, so he promises her a son. God sees the desire of her heart even though she refuses to acknowledge it. He gives her the gift she doesn't even dare to dream about. Then he takes the boy away from her; then he gives him back to her. Is God being cruel? God knows that our deepest desire is for God himself. Here at Mass, Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. He does this so that we will welcome Him into our hearts and into our homes. He wants to transform us so that we can welcome others and...
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God Sees. And He Understands | #1630
Pilgrim Priest
You spend a couple hours playing in the basement building the world's most amazing marble track. Then along comes your brother... and maliciously smashes everything! How do you respond? You might yell, cry, call him names, go smash something of his... or you might go tell Mom everything. This Mom has the time to listen and she really understands. And she assures you that she and Dad are going to take care of it. We could go a step further and imagine that your mom was watching the whole time. She saw your creativity and your delight. And she knew what your brother was thinking. God heads off...
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Some Give by Going and Some Go by Giving | #1629
Pilgrim Priest
The Israelites leave Egypt, cross the Red Sea, and spend a year and a half at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It is here that God gives them the Law and they become "The Chosen People." Christians believe that we, too, are the chosen people. But we also believe that we have been given authority and a mission to bring the love and truth of Jesus Christ to all peoples. Every Christian participates in the mission work throughout the world. Fr. Augustine Adetola shares the needs in his home Diocese of Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria. They focus on education, health care, and basic services. Some give by going and...
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Break the Cycle of Not-a-Gift | #1628
Pilgrim Priest
God is one divine nature but three separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father IS self-giving love and when he gives himself away, that gift is the Son. The Son gives himself back to the Father, and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit. The Church believes that every human child is a gift from God. The proper response to the presence of a child is to receive, cherish, and protect that gift. As children grow, they are able to give love as siblings and brothers, then as spouses, and finally as parents. We start with receiving the gift and then we grow into the role of the Giver....
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Are You Standing Outside the Fire? | #1627
Pilgrim Priest
God is a community of love. We were made by love and for love; we were created to live in God's community. God's one desire is to draw us into communion with himself. Our sins have made us both unworthy and unable to participate in God's community. So Jesus comes to reconnect us with God. He does this first "in the flesh" by being God and Man. He offers himself as the perfect sacrifice to free us from our sins. Then he sends us the Holy Spirit, which is the fire of God's divine love. As a spirit gives life to the body, so the Holy Spirit gives life to the church. When we gather at Sunday...
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Pin the Flame on the Apostle | #1626
Pilgrim Priest
The Sunday Lectionary is designed around the idea of promise and fulfillment. In the Gospel, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles shows what happens when the Holy Spirit comes in power. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, "the Paraclete" which means "one who is called alongside of you." The Spirit helps Christians in our needs. One day at Faith Formation we played a game, "Pin the flame on the Apostle." We blindfolded the students and spun them in circles. But then they called alongside of them a sighted classmate who could whisper in their ear and give them guidance. Most...
info_outlineEaster Sunday, the Resurrection of the Lord • If Easter Sunday were just a one-day celebration, our current wintry weather would really dampen the celebration. But we began preparing for this celebration 40 days ago with the start of Lent. And Easter Sunday itself is the final day of a three-day journey, beginning with Holy Thursday and continuing on Good Friday.
The Shroud of Turin testifies to the brutality of the crucifixion, all that Jesus would have suffered. It also testifies to something else... you would have needed 34 trillion watts of energy to create this image. Was that the moment of the Resurrection?
The Holy Fire miracle happens every Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Easter reminds us that Jesus is with us and his light will always conquer the darkness.
I think most of us want to get to the end of our life and look back and say, "That was worth it!" How can we guarantee that our life can be successful? Easter reveals Jesus's secret for success: We are God's children, and doing our Father's will will lead to the most successful life possible. The Resurrection is an invitation to new life right here and right now.
(5 Apr 2026)
Going Deeper: How would my life look different if I let go of the need to be strong, smart or successful, and chose to follow the will of God in my life?
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