Pilgrim Priest

Easter 5 - I got my first wild turkey thanks to Lee's mentoring. The Holy Spirit mentors and guides us, gives us mentors, and calls us to mentor others. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to build us up in the faith so that we can build up others.

Easter 4 - The Good Shepherd never forgets a sheep. Come hell or high water, blizzard or earthquake, the Good Shepherd will be there with you and for you. How would your life look different if you trusted this much in God's love for you?

Easter, Blizzard Sunday - Eyewitnesses saw the risen Jesus and it changed their lives forever. Where have you seen the Risen Jesus? How has He changed your life? People will believe in the Resurrection when they see the transformation in us.

Divine Mercy - Jesus is like us in all the ways that make us miserable. It is precisely in our misery that God comes to meet us and offer mercy and feed us with True Love. Pray to experience once again for the first time the Miracle of the Eucharist.

Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of Jesus fulfills God's promises from the past and it promises a glorious future. Belief in the Resurrection changes the way we see sacrifice, sufferings, and death. Do you believe in the Resurrection?

Good Friday • Jesus is God’s perfect gift to us, and man’s perfect offering to God. He invites us to receive His gift, and to join in this perfect gift. How do you respond?

(30 Mar 2018)

Holy Thursday • It’s like Lent is over. But the worst is yet to come. Good Friday, the darkest day, is sandwiched between the beautiful moment of Holy Thursday and the even greater moment of Easter Sunday. God gives us the beautiful moments so that we trust Him in the difficult moments. God can give us any challenge because He will face it with us. But we often run away because we don’t have confidence in God’s faithfulness. Can your faith survive Good Friday?

(29 Mar 2018)

Going Deeper

Read and reflect on the Footprints in the Sand poem in light of Good Friday. How does the Cross look different if God the Father was carrying His Son Jesus through the Passion? How has God carried you?

Image Credit www.ElGreco.net

Thank you Tom and Sue for the Holy Thursday donation and warm wishes. And thank you to our newest partners Gary and Sally and the friend who introduced them to the preaching podcast. Real friends share the preaching podcast.

Palm Sunday (Year B) • Jesus reveals the love of God and the full potential of our human nature. How does Jesus remain faithful all the way to the end? Jesus doesn’t try to “figure it out.” He says “yes” to God’s will, relying completely on the Father’s strength and not on his own. Many of us were born into the covenant but now we have to make it our own. This Holy Week will you rely on your own strength, or trust in God’s strength?

(25 Mar 2018)

Going Deeper

Reflect on times when you relied on God’s strength and not your own. How did things turn out? Is Fr. Joel right about Jesus’ secret?

Image Credit

Thank you Joan and Ron for supporting a pod that’s safe to swallow.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) • Everything in the Old Covenant points to something totally new: Jesus Christ. The New Covenant is less about following the law and more about falling in love. Your local Catholic parish should be an environment that surrounds us with God’s love. Following the rules is the beginning but not the end. I can start by obeying because I fear God’s punishment. Gradually we should learn the obedience of Jesus: a loving service to the Father who loves us. True faith is all about falling in love. And it starts when we see Jesus for ourselves. How deeply do you want to see Jesus?

(18 Mar 2018)

Point to Ponder: When did you fall in love with Jesus? Even if you haven’t yet fallen in love, where or when have you experienced God’s love?

Point to Discuss: Talk to a friend about your experience of faith. Was it about rules and punishment, or love and generosity? Ask your friend honestly how your faith looks to others: disobedience, fearful obedience, or loving obedience?

Point for Action: It’s never too late to begin Lent! Invest a little more in your faith these next two of weeks.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year B) • Obedience to God flows from faith in God. Noah, Abraham, and all the rest are asked to trust God and to do what God asks. The Israelites often broke the covenant by refusing to do what God asked. But there is another way of breaking the covenant. Sometimes the people would go through the motions of loving God, without really loving God. Like a married couple who does all the right things, but hasn’t given their hearts to each other. Like a priest who seems to do a really good job but doesn’t actually love God. So Christians who do all the right things but haven’t given their hearts to God. Such works cannot save us. Where is your heart?

(11 Mar 2018)

Point to Ponder: Have I really given my heart to my spouse? When and how did it happen? (or if single: When did I fall in love with Jesus?)

Point to Discuss: It’s hard to tell when we haven’t given our hearts, especially when we wanted to and thought we did. What are some of the warning signs for a marriage, a priest, or a Christian that their heart isn’t in the right place? Discuss with a friend or a spouse.

Point for Action: Read my article Lent is All About Love again and reexamine your Lent in light of the call to love God and neighbor wholeheartedly.