Free Mustard Seeds

In the story of Jesus healing the man born blind (John 9), we consider the gift of spiritual sight that is faith and what life is like in His supernatural light.

It was love that led Jesus to cleanse the temple, it was love that led Jesus to be consumed on the cross for us.  The Lord reveals to us that "God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).  Come...allow yourself to be consumed by Him.

In the Transfiguration of Jesus, we hear of the divinity of God shining forth from Jesus.  In our baptisms, this very divine life of God is poured into us.  Sin prevents us from allowing God's divine life of love to blaze forth in our lives.  A MERCIFUL invitation from Jesus awaits us..."ask me to reveal your sin to you, so you can be healed of it."

At St. Andrews in Rochester, the foundational conviction of Unleash the Gospel is considered:  the Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit is resolved to obey the Holy Spirit and be made by him a band of joyful missionary disciples.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul proclaimed, "do everything for the glory of God!" (1 Cor 10:31)  God's glory is the visible manifestation of God's awesome majesty.  This reflection focuses on the glory of God in marriage, in the lives of the sick and in our everyday lives.

The famous verse from psalm 95 rings out from one generation to the next, "oh that today you would hear His voice."  Our faithful Father loves to speak with His children.  We consider His fidelity, how He speaks, what happens when He speaks and how we can grow in our ability to listen to our Good Father.

After the Lord revealed His presence to Samuel and called Samuel by name, the scriptures tell us that none of Samuel's words were without effect. (1 Sam 3:19) When we "behold the Lamb of God" in the secret place, our heart to heart union with God, from the fullness of a heart filled with God's electrifying love we speak! (Lk 6:45)

Rooted in God's love, a familial reality, we are able to receive God's love (grace!) as we continue to make a gift of our lives to God in selfless love.  Rooted and receiving, we are positioned to release God's love to the world around us.  God's aim for this release is the transformation of our families, workplaces and everywhere the soles of our feet tread as the love of God's kingdom pours forth.  

The angel Gabriel assured Mary, "nothing will be impossible for God."  This was not a one time proclamation, as Jesus himself reassured his disciples in Matthew 19 that "for God, all things are possible".  He is Emmanual, God with us, and as we learn to live more intentionally in the presence of God with faith, wisdom and courage, we will see the impossible bow at the name of Jesus. 

In the Gospel of John we John the Baptist echoing the prophet Isaiah "make strait the way of the Lord".  The Living God speaks these words anew to us in Advent, inviting us into a deeper, more ardent desire for God...a desire that God both gives us and blesses come Christmas with new life in His Holy Spirit.  

From the lips of John the Baptist, and Jesus himself, we hear of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Pope Benedict spoke of this gift as "being aware of what we have received in Baptism and Confirmation."  On our Advent journey prepare, and ask for, an entirely new awareness of God's presence in our lives come Christmas. This is the gift God desires to give us...which points toward God's ultimate desire for us.

We will all stand before Christ the King to be judged one day, what will make us ready?  He wants us to know...

In the parable of the talents, Jesus teaches us the true riches of His love are not to be hidden away, but given away, so that all might know Him!  Looking at some of the important points of Blessed Solanus Casey's spirituality, we consider how we too can bring the healing love of Jesus to all we encounter...

In the parable of the 10 virgins, Jesus teaches us to be ready for the final wedding described in the scriptures...the wedding feast of the Lamb.  There, Jesus will receive his bride, the Church, into the eternal wedding feast of heaven.  How are we to get ready?   The lamps the 10 virgins carry in the parable are symbolic for us.  By living in the fire of God's love (Hebrews 12:29), and nourishing our lives lived with God through the oil of devotion, we are made ready for Jesus, the bridegroom (Mark 2:19).

As Jesus calls out the hypocrisy of some of the Scribes & Pharisees in Matthew's gospel, He calls out to us as well to live as a priestly people He has won for His own.  And when we do, there we find, receive & share in God's amazing blessings...

At a special mass for the youth of St. Moses the Black, the children voice their dreams for their lives & listen to God's dream for theirs as well.

God has a destiny for you.  God chose you before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4).  You were made in God's image & likeness (Gen 1:26).  To be a Christian is to be an "anointed one".  To live in the anointing is to lean into your destiny...

So often we are distracted from the gift of the present moment.  So often our awareness of God's loving presence seems to slip away.  Jesus tells us he is The Vine and we are the branches, called to bear fruit for God's glory.  He wants to give us the grace to live every moment in His presence...

At The Engaging the Young Church Conference at St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Troy, the radical power of prayer is looked at...

At a gathering of ministry leaders at St. Clare of Montefalco we consider what a parish full of joyful missionary disciples would be like...