Podcasts

Do Good Anyway

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

You’ve undoubtedly heard the adage, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Have you ever suffered criticism or retaliation for doing good? 1 Peter 3:17 says, “It is better to suffer for doing good.” What’s the best response? Do good anyway!”

Christ revealed to us that suffering has a spiritual purpose. Suffering for doing good is our small-scale way of carrying the cross of Jesus. Offering it up, joining our suffering to His, allows us to express our love more deeply to God and neighbor.

Many events in our everyday life cause suffering. Most obvious causes are the health struggles of dear friends and loved ones and even ourselves. If you have teenagers, you know suffering . There’s job stress, relationship stress, financial stress, and more.

Sometimes, surely, financial stress can be blamed on outside forces. But for me, most of my financial stress is due to my own choices. And it gets in the way of my giving. Have you experienced that?

We know we are to give in response to God’s blessings. And we know our giving is to be sacrificial. Giving sacrificially – when it is a bit uncomfortable and for the good of others – may be thought of as a form of suffering. Offer it up. A post in IN SINU JESU (10-25-08) reads, “Anything given to me, I lift up to the Father, covered in My precious Blood. It is this that makes your sufferings, even the smallest ones, precious to Me.”

Sacrificial giving may force us to forego spending on things we’d enjoy doing and appreciate having. Frankly, that’s one of the benefits of sacrificial giving. It forces us to prioritize our spending. If forces us to put God first in our budget. It imposes a bit of suffering. Offer it to Jesus with confidence that your generosity expresses your love more fervently to God and neighbor.

St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is not love.”

So give sacrificially to show your love.

                                                                                                                                                                      Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Obedience!

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

What is it about obedience that causes consternation? Is it that we think obedience means giving up freedoms? Consider the Ten Commandments. Is it just a list of “thou shalt nots” – all those rules of God telling us what we can’t do?

Obedience may sometimes seem so confining. The commandments seem too restrictive.  Nobody likes being told what to do. We want to be free to do as we please, to spend on anything we want. But how does that work out?

St Peter tells us how that works out. In 1 Pt 2:8 he says, “They stumble by disobeying the word.” Think about what happens when you disobey or ignore God’s word because you think you know better, you have a better way to find happiness. What would that way be, you ask?

Our culture is quick to tell us how to achieve success and be happy. It says we need to get more stuff and pursue more leisure to make us feel happy and seem successful. This often requires spending on credit cards, building up balances that aren’t paid off every month, and so accrue exorbitant interest rate charges. And for many, this credit card debt is on top of a car loan, student loans, and maybe a mortgage. These debts are contractual obligations. They must be repaid, no matter what.

Those payments add stress to our lives. That is slavery (Pv 22:7), not freedom. Having to make those payments means we have less to give, and so we miss out on the joy that giving brings.

Here’s the thing, as counter intuitive as it may sound, obedience to God’s Word and His commands is the key to freedom. If we have faith, if we trust that God loves us, then we believe His word is living and effective (Heb 4:12). We believe that He wants only what is best for us. 

St. Alphonsus Liguori said, “He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.” Loving God, putting Him first in every area of our lives, being obedient to His word, and giving is living a legacy of kindness and generosity that leads to the truest sense of peace and happiness we all seek.

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Outrageous!

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Have you ever heard news that seemed outrageous, audacious, mind-blowing? Surely you have. How did you react?

Well, that’s just what the people heard when the disciples told them of Jesus’s love for them—so much love that He suffered and died for them on the cross. But more, that He rose from the dead. And by our faith in that saving act, we may have eternal life with Him in heaven. Truly – outrageous, mind-blowing!

We know from Acts 2:37 that the people were cut to the heart. Mortified, they asked, “What are we to do?” What are we to do?

St. Peter tells us. Repent! Repent means to change our ways. Repent means that we are to live our life in such a way that we make a positive spiritual and material mark on everyone around us.

Do you believe that God loves you so much that He suffered and died on the cross for you? How does that truth change you? Do you acknowledge that God gives you everything? Everything you are and all that you have are gifts from God. Do you receive them gratefully and manage them well? Do you share them in justice and love with your neighbor? Do you need to make any changes?

It is the generous sharing of our resources that makes us a part of something bigger than ourselves (2Cor. 8:4). Giving of ourselves gives purpose and meaning to our lives and brings us closer in our relationship with the Lord. So, repent. Change. Be more giving, more forgiving, more loving, more merciful, and more generous.

Kindness and generousity bring us the truest sense of joy, peace, and contentment that we seek.

Being kind and genorous is the best legacy we could leave.

                                                                                                                                                                             Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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A “How-To” Manual for Everyday Living

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Have you ever thought of the Bible as being a “how-to” manual for everyday living? Maybe we should. We know from Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living and effective, sharper than a two-edged sword.

This Sunday we heard from the disciples on the road to Emmaus, how when Jesus interpreted the Scriptures to them, they were in awe. They said in Luke 24:32, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” It obviously changed their lives.

When you hear the word of God, do you believe? Do you acknowledge the authority of God’s word in your life? Does your heart burn with awe and conviction when you read the truth in the Bible and hear the Gospel at Mass? Do you let it change you?

Did you know we read through the Bible over the course of a three-year cycle? It’s one of the many wonderful things about being Catholic. And those readings are published for us to follow along. Easy access to our “how-to” manual for everyday living.

So, please take time to read the Bible every day. This is how we get to know of God’s love for us and what He wants us to do. Read the Bible before going to church. Listen to the proclamation of the Word at Mass. Let it transform your legacy–the way you live and leave your mark on your loved ones and the community.

St. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”

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Divine Mercy

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

On Divine Mercy Sunday we read in Acts 2:44-45, “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.”

Oh My Goodness! Can you imagine? Look at the example these disciples set. They heard the good news of Jesus’s resurrection. They believed and trusted. When they encountered the promises of the resurrection, they willingly sold assets and gave for the common good of all. What a great demonstration of detachment from material goods. What a legacy of faith and trust! 

They gave and trusted that God would provide for them. They trusted God’s divine mercy and showed mercy by caring more for the needs of others than for their own. They were not coerced. In their joy over the good news of the resurrection, they couldn’t help it. They were more concerned with giving to the needs of the community than for their own financial comfort. That is a radical departure from common economic practice – then and now.

We know that living our Christian faith is counter cultural. The foundation of that is the mindset we as stewards embrace—namely, the truth that “It’s Not Mine.” Everything is a gift from God. Every moment of time, every ounce of talent, and every dime of treasure we have is because God gives them to us. We are to receive them gratefully, develop and manage them well, and use them for the good of all. In gratitude and with utmost humility, we are to return them with increase to the Lord.

What might our community be, what would our world look like if we all lived this way? What would your legacy be if you lived and gave in such radical faith?

When you do, how do you decide how much to give, and to whom? Look for charities that serve the poor and most vulnerable amongst us by feeding, clothing, housing, educating, and helping. Give to them.

St. Basil the Great said, “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it.”

            Give in service to those most in need. Give because It’s Not Your Money.

 

 

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