Preparing To Hit The Mark

Nativity of John the Baptist

This weekend we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist.  John was a crucial figure, bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments and preparing people for the coming of the Lord.  He spent most of his life in quiet preparation in the desert, and even though his role was crucial when he stepped out of the desert and into the spotlight, his time “on stage” was very short.  Maybe in your life you don’t feel like you’re on the front lines; maybe parts of your life seem un-amazing and un-eventful; maybe you don’t feel like God is using you often for a special purpose.  Perhaps, like John, this is your time in the desert, when God is preparing you for the time when He wants you to step on stage and play a crucial role in the life of someone else.

From Small to Big

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God has a way of taking something small and making it big.  We see it in the parable of the shoot from a great cedar in our first reading, in the parable of the mustard seed from our Gospel, in the Church that Jesus established which has grown across the world over 2,000 years, and even in our own growth: from a one-celled organism in your Mama’s belly to the 49 trillion-celled person you are today. God has a way of taking something small and making it big.  He wants to do this with your faith as well!  No matter how small you think your faith might be, give it to the Lord this day/this summer, place it on that altar at Mass, and He will make it bigger – it’s just what He does!

Two Creation Stories

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The first book in our Bible, the book of Genesis, begins with two different creation stories…two DIFFERENT creation stories!  What does it mean?  What do they mean?  Could they have something to say about who we are, what our relationship to God is, and why there is evil, pain and suffering in the world as we know it?  Listen to hear more!