Are you willing to die?

     Yesterday I was commissioned as a Catechist at Franciscan University, in the words of Professor Bolster, "the finest Catechetical institute in the United States."  We were asked to make a profession of faith before receiving a blessing to be sent out to teach and preach the good news of Jesus Christ.  But the priest said that he only wanted us to stand up if we were willing to shed our blood for the faith.

     Pope Paul VI said that "modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he listens to teachers its because they were first witnesses."  It's not all about knowing the facts and quoting scripture, I need to be a witness.  I need to be living out what I'm teaching.  In Greek, the word for "witness" and "martyr" are synonymous.  So if I wanna be a witness then, well,  I have to be willing to shed my blood for the faith.  I thought I was ready to be commissioned before I realized this  - dang, I have a long way to go.  I hope that if it was necessary, that I would really be able to stand up for Jesus Christ even if it meant my own death.  But the good news is that Jesus called his disciples to go out and preach the gospel even though they all abandoned Him at calvary.  "Jesus doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called."  I am called to be a witness, and so are you.  Are you willing to die? May we be instruments and vessels of God's grace, love, peace and joy!

A quick thought on truth...

Truth be told:

Sometimes the truth hurts.  Sometimes truth doesn't feel good.  Sometimes the truth doesn't really make sense to those around you.  The good news is that life isn't about feelings or pleasing other people.  Life is about getting to Heaven and to do that you're gonna need to stand up for Truth, no matter the cost.  It's simple.  Just love.

Expecting pain

“If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that He has great designs for you, and that He certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat Him yourself to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross, which Christ used for His own great Sacrifice of boundless charity.” – St. Ignatius of Loyola


I know that we're still in the Easter season, but that doesn't mean that all of our suffering is over.  Yes. Christ rose from the dead, but He didn't do it to relieve us from suffering.  It was so that we would embrace our sufferings for the sake of eternal life with Him. If Christ is our model, then we have to follow Him to the cross - because without the cross there is no resurrection. Christ showed us by example that there is meaning and purpose for suffering.


The Holy Spirit has been bringing up a theme of finding "joy in suffering" in many ways in my life lately. It's kind of ironic because I'm not really going through any specific or concrete suffering in my life right now. In fact I'm feeling a little complacent. But I've been realizing that something tragic doesn't necessarily have to happen for suffering to occur.  Suffering can just be the day to day sufferings, or inconveniences rather, that we are to find joy in.  Suffering means finding joy in eating burnt toast when you don't want to, or saying hi to somebody that drives you crazy.  At the end of our lives, we're going to be judged not only on our actions, but where our hearts are in these actions.  What are your motives and intentions for offering up these sufferings as joy?  Are you doing it for yourself or for the greater glory of God? 

Instead of asking, "Why, God?! Why me?!"...maybe a simple "thank you, I trust you Jesus" would be a better alternative.  Mother Teresa once said, "I know that God won't give me anything that I can't handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much."  She said that because being a follower of Christ is hard. And you know what, nobody ever said that it was going to be easy!  It wasn't easy for Jesus to carry His cross to Calvary.  It wasn't easy for Jesus to be crucified.  It wasn't easy for Jesus to love His enemies.  And if we are going to follow Jesus, we should not expect it to be an easy road either.  Expect pain, because it is inevitable if you want to follow Christ. Don't be surprised when it comes.


Truth be told: Becoming a saint is going to be hard.  But it's worth it.  Accept your crosses with true joy, knowing "that produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint." (Romans 5:3-5) 


"Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, I shall say it again, REJOICE!" - Philippians 4:4

Humble Pie

On retreat last month, we were challenged to write our own litany of humility.  I just wanted to share some of what I came up with and encourage you to do the same, this can be a really powerful prayer if you really take it to heart.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me...

From the desire of being the center of attention
From the desire of being funny
From the desire of being the best
From the desire of being accepted and included
From the desire of being perfect
From the desire of being comfortable
From the desire of knowing Your plan for me
From the desire of being loved

From the fear of being wrong
From the fear of being alone
From the fear of not pleasing You
From the fear of letting people down
From the fear of being forgotten
From the fear of being inadequate

Deliver me, Jesus.

"That others may be loved more than I
That others may be esteemed more than I
That in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease
That others may be chosen and I set aside
That others may be praised and I unnoticed
That others may be preferred to me in everything
That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should.

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it."