"He's there in the dark,
He's there in my heart,
He waits in the wings,
He's gotta play a part,
Trouble is a friend,
Yeah, trouble is a friend of mine…"
"When I was a little man,Star Wars' biggest fan,
Play-Doh came in a little can,
I was
"We spend our lives living under a microscope
With people we barely know.
"If you're looking close from far enough away,
Then we might look like dots moving around in circles,
If you're feeling lost and you stare hard enough
It almost seems like you can just connect the dots!…
"Milestones, they only mean as much
As the people that you share them with,
Looking back on the gifts you gave me,
My best friends, my brothers!
"Take me back to Gainesville,
Back where it all started,
Back to the day,
All these escapades
Would have never been the same
With a different set of names,
I wouldn't trade this dream
For anything in the world!…"
"Pick it up!"
Commentary: Wayback Machine.Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:Lord Jesus, You promised those who follow You a reward of a hundredfold. Yet so many who have committed themselves to You, like Saint James the Greater, have suffered greatly. Help me to understand the meaning of the Cross You share with us.Saints of the Day
"It's not my birthday,
It's not today,
It's not my birthday,
So why do you lunge out at me?…
Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord tells his opponents, who asked for a sign, that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah—that is, the Resurrection. According to the early Church Fathers, Christ’s coming precipitated a warfare with the powers that hold the world in their sway.ordo to the world, Jesus had to move into the arena of disorder, but this invasion was not met with passivity or acquiescence. Rather, the principalities of the world—Herod, Pilate, the scribes and Pharisees, the demons—waged a ferocious struggle against him, and it was only through the drama of the cross and Resurrection that Jesus managed to defeat them.
In bringing God’s
"Strong in faith, put up a good fight; the future belongs to the believers & not to the skeptics & doubters. The future belongs to those who love, not to those who hate. The Church's mission in the world, far from being ended or outmoded, goes out to meet new trials & fresh enterprises."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Venerable Pius XII (1876-1958, r. 1939-1958)
"The principle trap that the devil sets of young people is idleness."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint John Bosco, S.D.B. (1815-1888, feast: 31 January)
"All of us are called to work in a special way for the sake of peace. In order to bring about that peace, we need to learn from Jesus to be meek & humble of heart. Our humility will lead us to unity, & unity to peace."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"We must leave the world to help the world. That life is most effectively lived which every now & then withdraws from the scene of action to contemplation, where one learns the terrible defeat & futility which comes from excessive absorption in detail & action."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Friends, today’s Gospel features one of Jesus’ most beloved parables: that of the mustard seed. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants."City of God, St. Augustine opined that the Church is like Noah’s ark, a small ship bouncing on the rough seas of history. As the great empires come and go, as the waves of history crash noisily against the shore, God’s kingdom is quietly advancing, unnoticed but inevitable.
How does God tend to work? What does the building up of the kingdom typically look like? From the very small to the very great—and by a slow, gradual process. God tends to operate under the radar, on the edges of things, quietly, clandestinely, not drawing attention to himself.
In the
"In prayer we seek, find, & converse with God just as we would with an intimate friend. We can speak of our sorrows & joys, our weaknesses & problems, & our desires to be better & to help others to be better too."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love, & do not accept anything as love which lacks truth."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, O.C.D. (1891-1942, feast: 9 August)
"I have never been in a war, but I have seen famine, death, & destruction. I was asking myslf the other day: What do people feel when they provoke war? I don't understand it. We are all children of God. In every war, on both sides, everyone involved, everyone affected is a child of God."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"Self-discipline brings back to us the excitement of our childhood, when our pleasures were rationed—when we got our dessert at the end of the meal & never at the start."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
"When you walked by,
I saw a small tear in your eye,
Lifted you up and threw you into the sun,
When you returned,
You were a little burned,
But you learned the secret of it all…"
Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the first witness of Christ’s rising, who declared the Resurrection to the Apostles.Video reflection by Deacon Clarence McDavid (U.S. Conf. of Catholic Bishops): Festal Reflection.
In point of fact, the Easter declaration, properly understood, has always been and still is an explosion, an earthquake, a revolution. For the Easter faith is that Jesus of Nazareth, who had been brutally put to death by the Roman authorities, is alive again through the power of the Holy Spirit—and not in some metaphorical sense.
That the Resurrection is a literary device or a symbol that Jesus’ cause goes on is a fantasy born in the faculty lounges of Western universities over the past couple of centuries. The still startling claim of the first witnesses is that Jesus rose bodily from death, presenting himself to his disciples to be seen, even handled.
The hope of ancient Israel was the unification of heaven and earth in a great marriage. Recall a central line from the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The bodily Resurrection of Jesus is the powerful sign that the two orders are in fact coming together.
"Someone would have a poor idea of human & marital love by thinking that affection & joy vanish when difficulties come. This is when we really see what motivates people. Here also is where gift & tenderness are consolidated, because true love does not think about itself, but about how to increase the good of the beloved."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"If you have the courage to imitate Mary Magdalene in her sins, have the courage to imitate her penance."
—Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap. ("Padre Pio," 1887-1968, feast: 23 September)
Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day"Be kind & merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better & happier. Be a living expression of God's kindness."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"Pleasure is best enjoyed when it comes to us as a 'treat,' in contrast to experiences that are less pleasurable.What a greta mistake if we try to have all our nights party-nights. No one would enjoy Thanksgiving if every meal were a turkey dinner. New Year's Eve would not delight us if the whistles blew at midnight every night."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus corrects the Pharisees with this theme of his ministry: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."Video reflection by D.J. Bernal (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
Every saint had a past, and every sinner has a future. That is key to Catholic spirituality. In the lives of every one of these heroes of the faith, there is some conversion. And every sinner—every one of us—has a future. That is why we soak in the mercy of God.
There is a beautiful reference in the Psalms to oil running down upon your beard, upon the collar of your robe. The divine mercy is like that: poured out upon us, poured out without reservation—and not because it’s earned, because it can’t be earned.
God doesn’t love us because we’re worthy. We’re worthy because he loves us. We don’t deserve his mercy, but we soak it in and thereby are transformed.
"Christians must restore their spiritual & moral unity. It is not enough to say we are Christians. We must live as Christians. Genuine Christians derive the rule, style, & strength of their life from the Faith."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"The word of the Lord is a light for the mind & a fire for the will, so that man may know & love God."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church (-, feast: 21 July)
"I have met many famous people, successful people, wealthy people, & powerful people. None of us—not you, or me, or them—ever do great things. But we can all do small things with great love, & together we can do something wonderful."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"You want perfect life, & perfect truth, & perfect love. Nothing short of the Infinite satisfies you, & to ask you to be satisfied with less would be to destroy your nature… Why do you want Life, Truth, & Love unless you were made for them? How could you enjoy the fractions unless there were a whole?"
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for Mankind."The Wayback Machine Tour of Apollo 11
Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord offers to relieve us of our burdens. He is identifying everyone who feels oppressed by the world: by sin, worries, suffering, injustice, the death of a relative or friend, the fear of death—whatever it may be.Video reflection by Monsignor James Vlaun (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
Relief comes when we submit to his kingship, his new way of ordering things. We are meant to imagine ourselves as pack animals who have been tied under a yoke and are under the command of a farmer. It seems rather demeaning, but this is what submission to Christ’s lordship looks like: we serve his purposes and go where he wants us to go.
Is Christ commanding your life in every detail? Is he the Lord of your family life? Of your recreational life? Of your professional life? Is he Lord of every room in your house, including the bedroom? Are you totally given over to him, under his lordship?
I know that this may sound oppressive, but remember, "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." When we surrender to the path of love that he has laid out for us, our lives become infinitely lighter, easier, and more joyful, for we are moving with the divine purpose.
"How do we picture Christ? What does Jesus seem to be like at first sight? Once again, His Own words help us. He said, 'I am meek & humble of heart.' This is how Jesus wishes to be seen."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"To always be close to Jesus, that is my life plan."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991-2006, feast: 12 October)
"We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean in the whole scheme of things, but not for the people we serve. So, our work may be just a drop in the ocean, but if that drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"You can quickly become tried ofpleasures, but you can never tire of joys."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his intimate relationship with his Father: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”Logos or Word by which the Father understands himself.
There is something absolutely remarkable and peculiar about Jesus. Like Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and David, he is sent by God. So far, so ordinary. However, this sent one is, at the same time, God. For he speaks and acts consistently in the very person of God: “Unless you love me…,” “My son, your sins are forgiven…,” “You have heard it said, but I say…,” “Heaven and earth shall pass away….”
There seems to be one who is, in one sense, other than the one who sent him and, in another sense, the same as the one who sent him. This one comes forth from the Father not as a creature but as an image and perfect reflection, the
"If fear of God is taken away from the soul, the word holiness, the supreme perfection of our being, no longer has any meaning. In addition, the word sin, which is an absurd violation of Divine Law, no longer has any meaning."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast:29 May)
"We do not go to holy Communion because we are good. We go to become good."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint John Bosco, S.D.B. (1815-1888, feast: 31 January)
"I have seen every disease. I have seen people suffer in unimaginable ways. But I tell you, one of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"It is easy to find truth, though it is hard to face it, & harder still to follow it."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
"Such a hassle every day,
It drags me down,
Never thought it'd be so hard
To sit around…"
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reproaches the unrepentant towns where he performed most of his mighty deeds. The idea of Jesus as judge is one with which we are distinctly uncomfortable, yet even the most cursory reading of the New Testament reveals its unavoidability. Indeed, it has been said that in front of every church there ought to be a statue of the compassionate Jesus and a statue of Christ in full flight of fury, since both are indisputably present in the Gospel stories.Video reflection by Deacon Arthur L. Miller (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
The point is that when God’s own ordo appears in the world, he necessarily judges the disorder that surrounds him. To judge, in the biblical sense of the term, means to bring into the light, to throw into sharp relief. When good and evil are confused or intermingled, divine judgment separates them, clarifying the issue.
By his very nature, in his every word and gesture, in the very way that he stood, Jesus, God’s Word, was a judge. He was the light of the world, harshly exposing that which would prefer to remain in the dark; he was the unadulterated criterion, the truth in the presence of which falsity necessarily appeared for what it was.
"The world expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity to all—especially the lowly & poor—obedience, humility detachment, & self-sacrifice. Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the hearts of people today."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"The poor & the sick are the Heart of God. In serving them, we serve Jesus Christ. "
—Saint Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614, feast: 18 July)
"Abandonment is an awful poverty. There are poor people everywhere, but the deepest poverty is not being loved."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"Nothing is more destined to create deep-seated anxieties in people than the false asumption that life should be free from anxiety."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)