The world offers so many remedies for our emotional pain. Unfortunately, they are usually nothing more than snake oil, holding the promise of healing, but in the end are just an illusion. Jesus is the Real Deal, the Divine Physician, who wants to heal you of your pain and sorrow. While He came over 2,000 years ago, His healing power is still available to all who believe in Him. No one is shut out from His healing love. The key is to ask in faith, and trust in the depth of His love. He will never abandon you.

“I will never forsake or abandon you.” – Hebrews 13:5-6

Originally posted 2014-09-01 06:00:31.

From your desired college, to your employer, to the mortgage company, to your tennis team, it seems you are always having to convince others that you are worthy, that you should be accepted. Not so with Jesus. He loved you first, and there is nothing you need to do to keep His love; nor is there anything you can ever do that will stop Him from loving you. With Jesus you don’t have to prove your worth; you are already worthy. You don’t have to meet certain criteria; you already do. There is no application process to go through; you are already accepted. Take great comfort in this, and let Jesus be your source of acceptance and approval instead of a world that so often tells you that you are not good enough. With Jesus, you are always pre-approved!

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” – John 6:37

Originally posted 2014-11-07 06:00:18.

As a kid, I can remember watching the old Frankenstein movie, starring Boris Karloff. The part where Frankenstein came to life and sat up with screams of “It’s alive!” from the mad scientist always scared my socks off. Not only was Frankenstein scary looking, his actually coming to life seemed very implausible. It was always a shocker when the impossible became possible.

Like an old movie, we can see Jesus as something from the past. We hear all the stories from the Gospels retold every week. We see pictures, crucifixes, and statues portraying Him. We even see movies about Him. He can easily become just a historical figure who lived 2,000 years ago. After all, His life makes for a great “good overcomes evil” story with the hero conquering certain death. Unlike Frankenstein, Jesus is a true story. Like Frankenstein, Jesus came back to life (and shocked his fair share of people, too!) Fortunately, the story didn’t end there. It continues to unfold every day. You see, Jesus is still alive. He is present in the Eucharist. He is experienced in the Sacraments. He makes Himself known to us when we pray, and through events and other people. He is a living God. Reach out to Him and expect Him to come alive in your life.

Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 16:15-16

Originally posted 2015-01-16 06:00:01.

I remember when I went through my divorce I was on “high alert” all the time. There were so many things happening all at once, not the least of which was a spouse who mounted a rather nasty legal battle. It seemed the more I did, the more I had to do. Compound that with being thrust into life as a single parent, and to say I was busy, was a gross understatement. It was all I could do to keep my nose above water. I was constantly doing, doing, doing. I felt like if I stopped to take a break, the many plates I was spinning would all come crashing down. I was stressed to the max.

I was like Martha in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 10:38-42). Martha was so burdened doing the many tasks that needed to be done that she failed to take time out for Jesus–the God of the Universe–when He was right there in her midst. Mary, her sister, on the other hand, recognized Christ and rested at his feet taking in all that he was saying. As a result, Mary was much more relaxed and at peace. We can all learn something from Mary. When life is hectic and starting to feel out of control, nestle up next to Jesus by reading Scripture, going to Eucharistic Adoration, or attending Mass. He is guaranteed to relieve your anxiety and stress.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” – Luke 10:41-42

Originally posted 2014-10-14 06:00:47.

“Ouch!”, my three-year-old daughter cried as I tried to dig the back of her pierced earring out of her earlobe. Evidently, the earrings had been left in her earlobes for too long allowing the backs to close too tightly. While I was keeping calm for her sake, inside I was filled with anxiety. I felt like a loser as a parent, and I beat myself up inside for the oversight. How come I had not noticed this before? How could I let this happen? What kind of parent was I? For days, I felt so guilty for not noticing this sooner.

Life as a single parent can be all consuming. You are the first one up and the last one to bed. Sandwiched in between is a never-ending conveyor of tasks that must be done, many at the same time. It is easy to get distracted in the frenzy of each day. The same thing happens with our faith life. We are consumed by the pressures of life and our many anxieties, fears, and worries. This blinds us to how Jesus is working in our lives. He is walking with us through it all, yet we often don’t even recognize him. If this is you, don’t feel bad. This very same thing happened to the apostles after the resurrection. They too were blinded by their grief and anxiety and failed to recognize Jesus in their midst.

Jesus is just as present to us today as he was to the apostles. Only by taking time to pause from the crush of tasks and emotional stress that consumes us, can we recognize how Jesus is working in our lives, leading, encouraging, and helping us. Make time each day to put the world on hold and pray. When you do, you will then begin to notice all the many ways Jesus is showing up in your daily life. And, like the apostles upon recognizing Jesus, you will be filled with encouragement, courage, and joy.

“…The sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” – John 10:3-4

Originally posted 2014-12-19 06:00:39.

My instinctual reaction was to turn to God. That was good. However, most of time I was so emotionally and physically exhausted, I could not put the words together to actually pray. It was just too hard. When I was able to muster the strength, I tended to be more consumed with saying the right words, than just letting God’s presence comfort me.

If you can relate, here’s a suggestion: pray the most simple, powerful, and perfect prayer there is by saying “Jesus.” That’s it. Say it fast, say it slow. Say it loud, say it soft. Say it once, say it over and over. It doesn’t matter. Just saying the name of Jesus ushers in the full power of the Creator and all the angels and saints in Heaven to your aid. Try it the next time life overwhelms you and you find yourself at a loss for words.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:9-11

Originally posted 2014-12-12 06:00:27.

When I was in the throes of my divorce, and my world was collapsing around me, my counselor suggested that I read one of the Psalms each day. She said that they would encourage me and give me hope. She was so right. My daily reading of the Psalms became my oxygen when I was feeling suffocated from my divorce. They breathed new life into me. At the time I was not really sure why. Now I know. The Scriptures are how God speaks directly to us.

Not only does Jesus speak directly to us in the Gospels, He even quotes from the Old Testament. From Jesus’s day to our present time, Jesus uses the Scriptures to teach us, guide us and encourage us. Reading the Scriptures is like sitting at the feet of Our Lord and allowing Him to speak directly to your heart. If you wish to know Jesus and His will for you, read the Scriptures every day.

Ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ – St. Jerome

Originally posted 2015-01-12 06:00:26.

Originally posted 2014-08-13 06:00:23.

I used to play a video game with my kids that required all sorts of heroic feats and superhuman strength to conquer the monsters, and overcome the overwhelming obstacles, that greeted you as you wove your way through various pursuits in search of a missing puzzle piece that would solve the riddle and win the game. It was very challenging, frustrating, and fun…I guess. I would often ask the kids after I met my untimely death, yet again, “Why am I doing this?” And they would emphatically reply, “So you will win!” I never did.

Many people’s lives are like that video game. They spend incredible amounts of energy and focus searching for the missing piece that they can snap into place and solve the riddle on how to be happy and satisfied. They weave their way through all kinds of pursuits, including material things, work obsessions, drinking, drugs, and relationships, never to find what they are looking for. If they only knew the solution to the riddle is simple: Jesus. He is the missing piece, and only He can satisfy the longings of the heart. It is as simple as that. Pursue Jesus by pursing your Catholic faith and you will find peace.

So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart. – 2 Timothy 2:22

Originally posted 2014-11-24 06:00:15.

Did you ever find it odd that so many of the Gospel stories have Jesus interacting with the outcasts of society? It seems that for most of his public life, Jesus went out of his way to interact with the lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes and social misfits of his day. These outcasts were his people and he loved them, in spite of their current conditions. This was very counter-cultural in his time. There was a long-standing attitude among the social elite and learned men and women of the time that these people were cursed and were to be shunned. Jesus knew differently.

One of the most difficult consequences of divorce is the feeling of being an outsider. Society is constantly bombarding us with images, and unrealistic representations, of the perfect family. We’re made to feel like we used to be part of the mainstream, and now we’re somehow flawed by the nature of our divorce. We often think we don’t have a place to fit in, especially in our parish. This is when we need to remember that Jesus is seeking us. The gospels are full of stories about Jesus pursuing people just like us. We are his people and we are very important to him. He loves us, not in spite of our current condition, but because of it! He is full of compassion and mercy for us and for our families. He has a remarkable plan for us and he desires to reveal it to us and to heal us along the way. The next time you feel as though you no longer fit in, remember the beloved outcasts of Jesus’ day who became the heart and soul of his church!

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2: 16-17

Originally posted 2014-05-06 06:00:13.