The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Yesterday was the traditional day where the Church celebrates the Epiphany, a day where the magi brought treasures to the baby Jesus, namely Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. These gifts were symbolic of the role of Jesus.

These gifts represent the treasures brought to Jesus. But what of those treasures that we ourselves can gain because Jesus has made himself known to us? What gifts can we receive by looking at the gifts from the Church?

One of the greatest gifts comes from the Word of God. A couple of days ago I mentioned The Bible in a Year podcast as a way to encounter God's word. Another way to encounter God's word is to read the daily readings used at Mass each day. They can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Sometimes when we think about how to become holy, we think it is a challenging endeavor. We need to to dramatic things. We need to go to foreign countries and be missionaries who risk their lives for the faith. While it may be that some will be called to live holiness in this way, the real truth is more simple. Today's readings give the more important observation. The secret to holiness is to love.

Beloved, we love God because he first loved us. This is an often forgotten sentence spoken by God. We love not because we first choose to love, but rather because God first chose to love us. The secret to holiness is that simple. We love because we are loved. God loves us. God loves us more than we can ever know or understand. God loves us unconditionally.

God made us in His own image and likeness. That means that when we are at our best, we imitate God. We too can love, and we ultimately strive to love because God loves us. We are at our best when we strive to love and recognized that we are loved.

There is such a grace to listen to the Word of God. Because it is done as a podcast, I can listen when I am driving or exercising. Most Catholics do not have the experience of listening to the entire bible over the course of a year. While I have not always been able to listen to the podcast each day, it does not matter. I can listen as I am able.

Give them some food yourselves. What a daunting command from Jesus. How can the apostles possibly do this? Well the truth is that they cannot. There is an important lesson for us as we consider the spiritual life. We can do little. But God can do a lot.

You probably noticed I took a little break for Christmas. But now that the new year has started, it is back to writing daily reflections. Why do I call today's reflection "The Epic Trek to Success"? It is because it is important to recognize that regardless of where we are, we can always focus on how to improve our lives, especially when we have the assistance of God's grace. #Spend5WithJesus

You probably noticed I took a little break for Christmas. But now that the new year has started, it is back to writing daily reflections. Why do I call today's reflection "The Epic Trek to Success"? It is because it is important to recognize that regardless of where we are, we can always focus on how to improve our lives, especially when we have the assistance of God's grace. #Spend5WithJesus

Chapters 15-19. A question we have probably all asked at one time or another was this: When will I ever use this? We may have asked it in school, or in a lesson our parents tried to teach us or something more. But have we ever asked God to help us to use those things that we have learned in our childhood? And have we tried to ask God to help us discern those things that we learn into a focus into those things that we will in fact use to become closer to God, the ultimate purpose in our lives?

"The Quest to find God." Homily given at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, University City, Missouri.

This was the thought I was working on as I was flying back to Saint Louis from a home visit. How is it that we find God in our lives? On the flight, as I was reflecting, I encountered what many who fly have probably experienced. There was a baby who just would not stop crying. And that is when the question of my reflection became real. Where was God in the midst of this crying baby?

See the first thoughts in my head were not about the quest to find God. No, they were a bit of annoyance, then frustration. But then I thought, where exactly is God in this situation? For the mother or father of this child probably was not any happier than I was about the crying baby. The slight irritation I was feeling was little compared to what I perceived the mother was feeling.

And so rather than complain to myself or get frustrated, I thought about where God was in the midst of all of this. What was God calling me to do? And so the grace of God moved me to pray for this mother. I asked God to give her patience, to comfort her child, to be a good mom. I prayed for the baby that whatever was annoying this child might be relieved.

I thought of how broken is the world in which we live. And how petty my frustration was compared to what was occurring around the world. What were the stories of the people on the plane? Were there those passengers who were flying to or from something sad or difficult? I thought to myself, how can I make real the quest to find God?

As we find ourselves at the beginning of a New Year, how will you make real the quest to find God? In what ways will you seek God this year? What star will you follow to find the Christ child, the savior of the world, who longs to help you to know that God loves you more than you will ever know?

I would like to offer a few suggestions to help you in the quest to find God. First, consider the resources present on this website. There are the homilies I record. There is the Friar Book Club. There is the daily reflection (at least for 2022) Spend 5 with Jesus.

Some of you know that during the season of Advent I read Caryll Houselander’s spiritual classic, The Reed of God. She was challenged never do anything the Virgin Mary would not do. The problem was she could not imagine the Blessed Mother doing anything at all.

Sometimes that is the case on Christmas. We fill Christmas with the warm and reassuring. I have believed in the Incarnation of Jesus so long it no longer provides me a challenge unless I ask a dangerous question: Lord, how do I live in a way that shows I believe in you?

At the same time, Jesus is the Divine Son of God, the Second person of the Blessed Trinity. We are not only material but possess an immortal soul. Our flesh needs to be directed in a proper way, a way that leads to holiness.

In this last part of the book, Houselander tells a very tender story about a woman who adopted a boy after her son had been killed in the war. “She gave him everything that her son had owned. There was no doubt of her love for him. There could be none for those who saw her face, whether-beaten and lined, marked and sealed with sorrow, and yet shining with quiet happiness.

One day a neighbor said to her: “I would never have thought that you would put another boy in your son's place.”

“I have not she answered simply there is only one boy, Jesus Christ.”

This is the challenge for all of us. It is not that the woman did not recognize the uniqueness of both her son who died and her adopted son. She did. But she recognized more deeply what it meant to be made in the image and likeness of God.