St. Francis of Assisi Blog

As followers of Jesus, called disciples, we are called to know and love Jesus. But we are also called to know and love Jesus’ message and His mission. Jesus gave the disciples His mission after the Resurrection.

When you come to the Church to celebrate the Eucharist on the weekend do you ever think how many people are involved in the preparations and processes that enable you to participate in the liturgy?  Get ready to have your mind blown when you hear the number…

Saints should be important to us because they are our models for living the Christian life as taught to us by Our Lord. They lived and worked on this earth just as we do but did so in such a way that they achieved the salvation we all long for and we can say without hesitation that they are in heaven…proving that heaven is attainable by ordinary people like you and me.

Meanwhile, I was bent over with my hands on my knees, palms sweaty, and breathing heavily (basically hiding) in the aisle next door. “Am I actually about to do this?” I thought to myself.

On the plane ride home, I was considering the awe and wonder I’d experienced over the last week. I cannot describe the beauty I encountered

Looking back through the Gospels we see so many instances of people who physically met Jesus and made a decision to change their lives forever: John the Baptist, Peter, Andrew, all of the apostles, the woman at the well, the cripple at the temple gates, the righteous sinner on the cross next to Christ…. even Pontius Pilate, I think.

We need to spend time in reflection and prayer and identify for ourselves what is our ‘hidden treasure’ or ‘pearl of great price’.  If you discover that yours is your Catholic faith, which, by the way, is one of the most common interpretations of Christ’s parables about the ‘kingdom’, then you need to take the next step and answer the question

Ask yourself the questions “How influential and significant is my spiritual Father, GOD, in my life?  Is He the One I turn to when I need support and guidance?” He has played a greater role in our lives from the first moment of our birth than our earthly father.

I think every mom (or dad) experiences this moment at some point. One day as you are doing your typical mom things (loading the dishwasher or folding laundry or paying bills), one of the beings-you-played-a-role-in-creating does something that literally makes you...