Podcasts

Who is Your King?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

OnThe Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe you might ask yourself, who is your king? As Christians, we know that Jesus is King. But, what a strange way for Him to exercise His Kingship–at least to our human, worldly understanding of what a king is.

We see Jesus’s Kingship made powerful in His humility as He allowed Himself to be crucified. His throne is a wooden cross; His crown is made of thorns. We see His influence brought to bear through self-sacrifice. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; but not my will – your will be done. We see His leadership displayed in His mercy and forgiveness. Father forgive them, They know not what they do.

As Disciples, we are to emulate Jesus. We are to be obedient to God’s word. We are to be humble, other-centered, and self-sacrificing. We are to let Jesus be King, to rule in our hearts. 

Who rules your heart? What and/or who has power over you? Who is your King? In our society, it seems our king can be found at the mall or on Amazon. It seems too often that we are more concerned for prestige and image. It seems making more money drives us more than our loving care for our neighbors in need. 

As good stewards, we know that Jesus is King. So may we go forth and imitate Jesus. May we humbly put God first in our lives and demonstrate that by providing for the poor.

What would your legacy look like if you truly let God be King over you? How would that affect your daily decisions and your interactions with others? What impact could you have on your family and friends if Jesus ruled your heart?

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St. Paul is Our Model

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

We read in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-9 how St. Paul is our model. He said, “We instruct you, brothers, in the name of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us. For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you. Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us.”

It is interesting how St. Paul had to point out to the Thessalonians – and so to us – that he did not act in a disorderly way. He wasn’t self-righteous. He didn’t feel entitled. It made me think of how we are today, of all the ranting we hear on talk radio, podcasts, and reality TV. How do you react to the news of the day? There’s plenty to get riled up about – war, terrorism, pandemics, political vitriol. Does that mean we have a right to act in a disorderly way? Do bad news and ideological differences give us license to yell, scream, rant and rave?

No. Consider Paul’s message. He instructs us to imitate him and he offers us an excellent model to follow. We know from his letters that he worked tirelessly for the wellbeing of the communities he evangelized. He rightfully could have demanded payment for his work. Instead, he asked only that we embrace the Gospel truth of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is our best example. Only once did Jesus rail against the practices of His day – when he overturned the money-changers’ tables. Otherwise, He did not speak out against the government; He spoke to individuals’ hearts. 

St. Paul offers a great example of seeking first the kingdom of God. How can we imitate his example of putting God first in our lives? He shows us how to persevere through all the drudgery of daily trials as we strive to build God’s kingdom like he did. 

How can you imitate Paul’s model and build your legacy of kindness and generosity for the good of your family and community? Can you strive like Paul to honor God in all that you say and do. St. Anthony is credited with saying, “Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.” 

                                                                                                                                                                                     Photo Credit: Robert Davis

 

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You are the Temple of God

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

St. Paul asks us, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?” You, me, all of us are the resulting legacy of the building that Paul started on the foundation of Jesus Christ. He goes on to tell us that he laid the foundation. That foundation is Jesus. And others are building on it. 

Who are those others? The church and the saints who came before us. Their work and influence, their ministry is their legacy. Their legacy tells us who we are. We are God’s temple. We are holy. We are loved. We know how important we are by Jesus’s zealous cleansing of the temple. Jesus drove out the money changers so that the temple would be clean. He wants our building sites to be clean and strong so that we can continue to build on His foundation.

How is your building coming along? Do you have zeal for creating your legacy and building the kingdom of God right where you are? Are you building with pride and complacency, or with faith and obedience? Are you zealous to acquire more stuff, or zealous in caring for the needs of the poor? Are you building and creating a legacy of zeal for the temples of God near to you–your family and community, as Jesus, Paul, and the Saints did?

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What Will Your Legacy Be?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

What will your legacy be? We just celebrated All Souls Day, a day when we pause to pray for the souls of the faithful departed. It is a great opportunity to reflect on our life, how we live, and what’s truly important. Because we know that our time on this earth is short.

St. John Henry Newman reminds us in one of his sermons, “Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time when we will appear before the Lord and answer for the deeds done, whether they be good or bad…It will be that dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance.”

Fr. Larry Richards is much more direct. The first sentence in his book Be A Man says, “You are going to die.” To which I add, and you will leave a legacy. So again, what will your legacy be?

Can it be a life lived in accord with God’s will? We know from John 6:40 that God’s will is for everyone who believes in His son Jesus to have eternal life. Can our life be one of faithfulness to His commandments, growth in virtue, perseverance in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, repentance, frequent participation in the sacraments, and doing the works of mercy?

Because living this way, believing in Jesus, having faith in His overwhelmingly gracious saving act of dying on the cross, is our way emulate His life. It shows our love of God above all else and our love for our neighbor as ourselves. Living this way creates a legacy that honors God just as Jesus and the saints did.

                                                                                                                                                                                               Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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All Good People Go To Heaven

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

All good people go to heaven – right? Do you think that if you are a good person, if you’re nice to people and don’t litter, then you can go to heaven? The Pharisee in Luke 18 thought that his good behavior and his obedience to the law qualified him for heaven. He thought his strict adherence to the rules for tithing and fasting made him holy, and so, deserving of God’s blessings. The audacity!

But don’t we think that way, too sometimes. That prideful thinking gets turned on its head in today’s parable. It is clear that God prefers humility. The tax collector gives us a good model to follow. 

Pope Francis told us that our life’s mission is to be holy. Holiness is discerning and doing God’s will. Holiness is our humble acceptance of our brokenness and need for God’s mercy. Holiness is forgiving imperfections in ourselves and others. In that, we gain empathy and compassion for others and so strive to show mercy to them as Jesus shows mercy to us. 

Holiness is a call to be different from the world, to stand out, to make a noticeable difference. Living a holy life of love becomes our goal. This is what stewardship is all about! We are to be generous with the gifts God gives us in service to those in need. We grow in our discipleship by being humble, other-centered, and self-sacrificing, attentive to the needs of the poor, giving alms and taking action, doing what we can to help them. This is the challenge and the privilege of those who would repay the Lord for all His great goodness. 

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