Podcasts

The Crux of our Faith

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

John 6 especially verses 51 and 53 are the very crux of our faith—the astoundingly beautiful truth of what we believe as Catholics. Unless we eat the flesh of Christ, unless we partake of the Eucharist at Mass, only then do we have life within us. In other words, we must eat the body and blood of Christ to have eternal life.

Oh WOW! How extraordinary a gift! God’s amazing generosity showers us with the abundance of His economy. God’s kingdom is an economy of boundless gift. He gives us everything. His gift of eternal life is greater than anything the world’s economy offers.

Our economy, on the other hand, is one of scarcity. There is only so much to go around – or so we’re told. The world bombards us with messages that cause us to worry that we won’t have enough, that if we are too generous, we might not have enough for our retirement or have anything left to leave for our family. Hmm… Wouldn’t you rather live in God’s economy of lavish abundance?

We participate in God’s economy when we practice the pillars of our faith; prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Start every day in prayer and thanksgiving, asking God to make His will known to you and to give you the courage to live it out. Fast every day by living a simple life and by preferring the good of others more than your own. Give alms generously. Give to support those ministries that serve the poor. Be courageous in this.

Here’s the thing – put God first in everything, including your spending, and trust in His promises that He will provide, that He will turn scarcity into daily sufficiency. Seek first God’s kingdom and know that all else will be given you besides (Mt 6:33). Celebrate the Eucharist often and have eternal life, the crux of our faith. St. John Vianney said that “If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.”

                                                                                                                                                      Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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He Gives

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

This Most Holy Trinity Sunday we read what is probably the most famous verse in the Bible – John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gives his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” How awesome the gift of eternal life!  I can’t hardly wrap my mind around that – eternal life – can you?

But when you think about who God is, He gives. He gives us Himself. He gives us His Son Jesus. And He gives us the Holy Spirit – the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit. He gives us Himself in the Eucharist.

God gives so lavishly. He gives us the gifts of His Spirit – Wisdom, Understanding, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, Piety, Counsel, Knowledge. And His fruits –  love, joy, self-control, kindness, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, generosity, thankfulness – all we need. He gives us everything! His generosity is boundless. It is overwhelming.

As disciples, we strive to be like Him. When we give, we are like Him. When our giving is sacrificial, when it causes us to stretch—is a bit uncomfortable and for the benefit of others—then in our small-scale way we approach the sacrificial self-giving of Jesus on the cross.

I love what St. Teresa of Calcutta has to say about it, “It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”

                                                                                                                                                              Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Come Holy Ghost

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blessed… I heard that song on Sunday – Pentecost Sunday when we read in Acts 2 how we are all, each of us, filled with the Holy Spirit. This happens by virtue of our Baptism. We are sealed with the Spirit at our Confirmation. And for what? Not just for our own selfish joy and aggrandizement. No, the Spirit is given to us for some benefit for the good of others (1 Cor 12:7).

But do you really believe that? Do you embrace that truth deep down in our soul? What would your life look like if you did embrace that truth and surrendered to the Holy Spirit with boldness and courage?

Consider a couple of the fruits of the Spirit you receive when you accept this truth: generosity and kindness (Gal 5:22). An attitude of generosity is the heart of being a disciple. God gives us everything. He gives lavishly. Generosity is one of our best responses to Him. We gratefully receive God’s gifts. We manage them faithfully. And out of kindness, we share with others. We care about what is best for our neighbor. Our trust in God to provide and our obedience to His word drives us to generously and courageously share our material resources to make sure our most vulnerable neighbors are fed, clothed, housed, educated – in other words – loved. Their lives change for the good. This is the Spirit in action for the good of others! (1 Cor 12:7)

Oh Wow! What if we all responded this way? What would our world look like if we stepped out in faith, heeded the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and gave to the needs of the poor, we would change the world. We would literally renew the face of the earth as we read in Ps 104:30.

So, Come Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful. May you and I be counted as one of those. Let us pray with St Augustine, “O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.” Give us the wisdom to know and the courage to do what you want us to do to build Your kingdom, so that You renew the face of the earth. Let us find peace and joy in being obedient to your will. Amen.

                                                                                                                                                               Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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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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