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In today’s Gospel from Matthew, we hear the story about the rich young man. It starts with the rich young man asking Jesus, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matt 19:16) Jesus quips in reply, “Why do you ask me about the good?” (Matt 19:17) What are we to make of this quip of Jesus? Especially when Jesus follows up with, “There is only One who is good.” (Matt 19: 17). It’s almost as if Jesus is telling the rich young man, “Don’t ask me, because only God is good.” Is Jesus saying that only the Father is good, and that He is not? On the contrary! This is a glint of insight into the mystery of the Trinity, where One God consists of Three Persons. It is true that only God is all good. For the rest of us, we all have flaws, except for Jesus. He is perfect in both His Divine and human natures. Jesus is good, because Jesus is God. The Rich Young Man Just Doesn’t Get It So, what does it take to be good? Jesus tells us to follow the Ten Commandments, and beyond tha...

Trusting in God can be a challenge. I know, I’m living proof! I’ve been struggling with living up to a vow that I made to God to allow Him to do with me as He pleases. As I retired from a career in banking, back in 2011, to pursue education and work related to evangelization, I gave my life to God. Yet, the bills need to be paid. So how does one ascertain how to live up to the vow and pay the bills? During Lent, I sought solace to this conundrum in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For my penance, the priest asked me to read anything from the Gospel of Luke. Since we were near Holy Week, I thought I would read the Passion Narrative. My Challenge to Trusting in God Before I started to read, I chatted with God, letting Him know that I was having difficulty ascertaining His will for me. How am I supposed to know for certain that I am pursuing my career path in accordance with His will? I struggle in knowing that what I do each day is what He wants from me, given the challenges that...

Waiting for a Miracle , by Cyndi Peterson, M.D. is a story of faith, conversion of heart and a mother’s love, all wrapped up in one page-turning true story. Cyndi Peterson is a dermatologist, married to a pediatrician. She is a lukewarm Catholic, going through the motions. Too busy with the demands of the world, Cyndi paid little attention to faith and a relationship with Jesus. That is, until one day when that nagging emptiness became a bit much to take. To squelch the nagging feeling, Cyndi begins to sneak around trying to learn more about Jesus. She attends events at her Church, reads books and does some soul-searching. As Cyndi’s faith begins to blossom, we see a conversion of heart. She begins to place more trust in Jesus. Cyndi learns that she is pregnant and looks forward to the birth of her fourth child. However, when her little girl Kelly is born, we learn of Kelly’s debilitating situation that would break any mother’s heart. Yet, Cyndi finds hope and trust as a result...

feature image by Yongsung Kim Most of us rate our success in living out our Christianity by a worldly set of standards. Even those who select candidates for the priesthood look for strengths, not weaknesses.  They look for good grades in philosophy and theology classes, confidence in social situations, efficient managerial skills, financial acumen, flair as a public speaker, and psychological stability. Perhaps a better yardstick for assessing potential success as a priest or as a member of the priesthood of the faithful is how weak a person is. Have they experienced confusion and doubt? Have they been broken and lived through depression and anxiety? Have they tasted failure and defeat? Do they realise their tendency to sin? continue

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus asks:  “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? ” (Mark 9:19). On face value, it seems like a couple of strange questions, coming from Jesus, given that He has promised to be with us always, even until the end of the age (Matt 28:20). To the average reader, this would seem like a contradiction. So, what exactly is Jesus saying when He asks these questions? “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? ” Jesus never answers this question. He only poses it, as a rhetorical question, to a group of people gathered around Him seeking Jesus’ assistance in curing a young boy of seizures.  By His statement, He recognizes the weakness of human faith, as we are imperfect beings. We all have our doubts from time to time. His reaction is to cure the boy of seizures; to demonstrate to each of us that we can place our full faith and trust in Him. Therefore, He is calling us to be a faith-filled generati...

CAN WE REALLY TRUST GOD? DO YOU TRUST HIM? WHY? HOW? ALWAYS? CLICK HERE

As a mother of a large family, struggling to wash, dry, and fold three or four loads of laundry every day, I secretly wondered if there was an obscure saint, with little to do, who could fill in as my patron saint of missing socks. Little did I know, God was using the dilemma of unpaired socks to purify me because I was trying too hard to be the perfect mother and housekeeper. This earnest striving was a weakness, not a virtue because my diligence was rooted in insecurity, unbelief but most of all in pride. Again and again, as I read spiritual material, God tried to teach me that true Christianity is not focused on personal perfection but founded on the power of the Cross and Resurrection to set us free. "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us." -St. Pope John Paul II "The crucifix does not signify defeat or failure. It reveals to us the Love that overcomes evil and sin." - Pope Francis "Do...

Patience is my most difficult virtue to master. I have difficulty waiting for things and answers to prayers in God’s time. I see the need for urgent response to prayer. Yet, for some reason, the Lord sees things differently. He does not see the urgency I see. That is my first clue, that MY plan may not necessarily be His plan. So what is His plan for me? When He “delays” in revealing His plan for me, I get frustrated. I lose patience. Does this sound familiar to you? Can you relate? Patience Requires Trust When I get frustrated, I must acknowledge that the root of my impatience is a lack of trust in God’s Providence. I question God’s logistics, using my limited scope of vision. I realize that much of what I hope for seems impossible to achieve without God’s involvement. Therefore, patience requires... Read more...

People’s mouths drop open and their eyebrows shoot up when they discover I raised nine kids because I am tiny and do not look like a worn out, frazzled wreck. God has blessed me with a gift of joy which defies my circumstances. Mothering came naturally to me; it was easy to look like a saint on the outside as I mothered nine little people.  The trouble was, although I looked like I lived a life of self-denial, losing myself to give life to others, I tended to over control. I depended on my strength to get through the overwhelming chores which were part of running a household of eleven.  In all honesty, though, the only chore which actually threatened to kill me as a mother of a large family was the laundry, specifically pairing all the socks. continue reading

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has plenty to worry about in daily life. Worry seems to be one of those things you just can’t get away from. As soon as we let go of one worry, another comes along. Major worries take priority, but when those run out, there are plenty of trivial ones to fill their place. I can worry about world peace, the future of this nation, and whether or not there’s too much fluoride in my toothpaste all in the same breath. I worry about catastrophes that never take place (thank heaven!) but certainly do drain a lot of mental energy as I envision every possible ending to the story. I second-guess things that I can’t change and aren’t that important anyway in the grand scheme of things. I worry that there just isn’t enough of me to go around enough for my family and people I care about. Sometimes it helps me to step back for a minute and remember where God is in all of this (...) Continue reading about ways faith can help move away from stress and restore...

In my day, if I wanted to increase my tennis prowess, I would watch Chris Evert Lloyd’s moves on the court. When my mother cut my hair in the iconic ‘Dorothy Hamill’ pixie , my whole world revolved around the dream of being an Olympic skater. I watched her every skating competition, eager to pick up even the tiniest trick to hone my skills. For the record, my moves were ample for the make-believe Pond Capades but never truly worthy of the hairdo. Here is a sampling of what I have to learn from Jesus Expert, Mary ...   SEE them here All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

HOW CAN YOU TRUST AN UNSEEN GOD? CLICK HERE

"Blessed are you who believe that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." [ Luke 1:45 ] We all like to get our way. Okay, I won't speak for everyone. So let me rephrase that, 99.9% of us like to get our way as often as possible (myself included of course). Okay, I don't really know the exact number, but my guess is, it's pretty high. From a very early age we start striving to make sure that our wants are being met (even long after we start realizing that others have needs, wants and feelings too). And so, we grab toys away from other kids. We beg mom and dad to make our favorite food for dinner. We want to have absolute control of the TV. (Who can stand those shows adults watch anyway?) And we cry and throw tantrums when things don't go our way. (But I don't want to go to bed now!) More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Guest post)

All about  ingrained anxiety and growing in trust. Anxiety   makes us ill in body, mind, and spirit. Yet worry is ingrained in our nature from the moment we are born, part of original sin. Babies are not simply empty slates; they are complex little people who just happen to be preverbal. Babies are born with more than simply inherited physical characteristics but personalities and even inherited blessings and curses passed down through the generations. .......  I must let go of worry and control, even though it goes against every fiber of my being. My Lord is God and I am not. I am simply His child.  I love to control so God often must shatter my safe little world because this is the only way I would step out of my comfort zone. continue reading

Well, people are writing with fear and panic underlying their comments and  articles in the face of the States sanctioning same-sex marriages. Why?  We are people of hope, not doomsayers or fearmongers. Christ has already triumphed over sin and death. We are  not called to focus on disasters, on evil, on sin. Christ commanded us to refrain from condemnation and judgment so  we will not be judged and condemned by our Master.  Our mandate is simple; allow the Light of Christ to grow ever more brightly within us, especially as the darkness deepens. Then we will be a light unto the world. He will conquer darkness through us. We are simply channels of truth, light and mercy. This is the central message of the New Testament. continue

After three months of work, Trusting God with St. Therese is now available as an audiobook on Audible.com. My narrator, Betty Arnold, is a Catholic homeschool mom in California. Her family runs Pro Multis Media. Betty was great to work with and I think she did an excellent job with my book. Pronouncing all those French names was not easy! If you sign up to be a member of Audible and make my book your first purchase, Betty and I both receive a small bonus that will help us continue to stay home with our kids. The audiobook is over seven hours long. If you have a long commute or like to listen to something during your workout, you can now grow closer to God at the same time! Listen to a five-minute sample on my blog.

The Offertory,  (Battle of Tears) Now is the time to fight.  Not with weapons or words, but with tears, the tears of a Mother pleading for her children.   Some time ago I prayed the words of Rachel during the stations, I said, "Give me children or I shall die."  I meant spiritual children that I can pray for.  God in His goodness gives me children that I cannot see or touch, that are somewhere in the world and in need of a Mother's tears for them.  At this moment in the Holy Mass He not only gives me these children but also fills my heart with love for them at the same moment.  My heart is pierced and tears flow for the children I love, although I do not know them, I love them no less.    The tears of a Mother pleading for her children before the throne of God is very powerful.  A Mother's heart willing to be pierced for her children to lead them to God can pluck those with the darkest of hearts directly from the demons grasp....

Jesus, through this frantic world, could you just hold me still? I don't want to be happy. I do not want comfort, for these things pass. O How I long to be still, still, still with you. I've had enough, and nothing else will satisfy. and there is nothing I won't do to be still with you. Let the world keep spinning, Let it spin until I'm sick, but Jesus, hold me still. continue reading

St. John the Evangelist’s Vision of Heaven by Alonso Cano (Wikimedia Commons). No matter what times we live in, our basic duty as Christians remains the same. Another friend on Facebook this weekend was bemoaning all the struggles in the world right now. I say another, because this happens often. Something is wrong with the world and many of us sense it. The other night I watched an interview with the journalist who introduced Edward Snowdon to the world. When she spoke of how the government was watching her every move, trying to force her to reveal her sources, I was eerily reminded of the fight for religious liberty. Priests are being subpoenaed to break the seal of Confession. Pastors in Houston have had their sermons subpoenaed. The Bill of Rights is crumbling. Isis is beheading Christians in the Middle East. The last week saw terrorist attacks in the US and Canada. There’s an Ebola epidemic, great moral decay, and the scandal over the relatio from the Synod on...

Crypt of the Basilica of St. Therese in Lisieux (Wikipedia). In the thinking of St. Therese, what does it take to be a saint? Therese grew up in a culture influenced by Jansenism. Jansenism was a heresy from the seventeenth century that over-emphasized the role of grace in man’s salvation. It had a long-lasting effect on  the Church in France. In the late nineteenth century, during Therese’s life, the French clergy often preached “fire and brimstone” sermons. They focused on man’s sinfulness and the horrors of Hell. During the school retreat before the first anniversary of her reception of first Communion, Therese was greatly frightened by the priest’s warnings against mortal sin. She was suddenly overcome by scruples. How could she be sure she was on the road to salvation? How could she be sure she was in God’s graces? Maybe she was guilty of mortal sin without acknowledging it. How could she ever be good enough to please God? Continue reading at Contemplative Homes...