Podcasts

Worthy to Suffer Dishonor!?

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Acts 5:41 reads, “So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” What?! Happy to be found worthy to suffer dishonor? That sounds counter-intuitive. It is certainly counter-cultural today. Who enjoys suffering?

But isn’t that how it is sometimes as a disciple. It can be uncomfortable. Think of how Peter felt when Jesus asked him a third time if he loved Him. Not just once or twice – but three times, pushing him a bit, making him uncomfortable.  

Here’s a tough question–Do you worry that sacrificial giving will cause you some kind of suffering? Are you concerned that giving may require you to have to give up some comforts? Maybe you can’t buy that new suit. Maybe you can’t go on that excursion.   

There are always tradeoffs. Putting God first in the budget means I have to give up some things sometimes. Even so, I must admit how blessed I am. You? I have to admit how God gives me everything. All we are and everything we have is a gift from God. As good stewards, we want to emulate God’s generosity. In humble gratitude, we give and do for others as God gives to us, even if we may have to suffer a bit for it. We do this joyfully in response to Jesus being raised from the dead. The resurrection changes everything! 

Giving is a form of self-denial, our small-scale way to approach the self-giving of Jesus on the cross. Sacrificial giving, that amount that is at the edge of what you think you can’t afford, is laying our worldly desires at the foot of the cross and preferring instead to do God’s will. It is an act of worship. Give and trust in Jesus and be found worthy to suffer as the apostles were found worthy.  

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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Divine Mercy

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

On Divine Mercy Sunday we read in Psalm 118:13-14, “I was hard pressed and falling, but the LORD came to my help. My strength and my courage is The LORD.” Strength and courage are His Divine Mercy in us! 

All of us are broken in some way, hard pressed and falling. Our brokenness is caused either by something done to us or by some recurring sin we can’t seem to shake. Still, how often has the Lord come to your aid with His Divine Mercy? How often do we enjoy second and third chances, and more?

Think about how Peter denied Him. Thomas doubted Him. Even so, Jesus treated them with mercy. He came and stood in their midst when they were hiding behind locked doors (Jn 20:19-20). He said to them, “Peace be with you.” He says this to us. John 14:27 reads, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” 

How has the Lord given you a sense of His peace when you face trials? How has His peace given you the strength and courage to bear adversity? What mercy has God shown you? What healing have you experienced – physical, emotional, and spiritual?

As we say at Mass, “By His cross and resurrection, He has set us free.” He is risen! By our faith and trust in Him, He overcomes all of our trials, temptations, illnesses, brokenness, even death. And He encourages us, “Be not afraid.” We can trust that He comes to our help. He is our strength and might. He loves us. He forgives us. Be at peace.

How can we thank God for his Divine Mercy? I think of the woman who was so grateful for having been forgiven for so much that she overwhelmed Jesus with her love by bathing His feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair (Lk 7:44). What a lavish expression of humble gratitude. What return will you make to the Lord in humble gratitude for His Divine Mercy? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Photo Credit: Robert Davis 

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Jesus is Risen – Alleluia!

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

 Jesus is risen – Alleluia! Can you believe it? Do you believe it? We read in John 20:8 how the disciple ran to the tomb and looked in. What did he see? What he didn’t see was Jesus’s body. He saw an empty tomb. He saw and believed that Jesus is risen.

Do you believe that Jesus is risen for you? He overcomes sin and death for you? He opens heaven for you? This is why we deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily and follow Him (Mk 8:34-35). What are your crosses? Job? Relationships? Health? Anxiety about the future? Offer them up every day, every moment. 

Then, like the disciple – see and believe. Trust in His promises. He promises the gifts and fruits of His Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, goodness, gentleness, and faithfulness. He promises His presence with us, now and forever. He promises His love and mercy – no conditions.

How does this change you? How can you give witness to the resurrection by the way you live? By believing and accepting these truths in faith – that He suffered, died, rose on the third day. By embracing the truth that Jesus is risen and receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit, incorporating them into your everyday life. By living them joyfully, cultivating your Time and Talents, and courageously sharing your Treasure. By leaving a legacy that impacts your family and the community for the good of God’s kingdom. 

   The peace and joy of Jesus Christ be with you now and always.

                                                                                                                                                                                  Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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The Great Paradox of Palm Sunday

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Palm Sunday kicks off the great paradox of Holy Week. Can you imagine God, the omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the universe, the source of all we are and all we have  – you know, God! – humbling himself in front of you? But that’s what He did: 

  • He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a stallion, the gallant horse of a king.
  • Crowds were shouting acclimations of “Hosanna” when in just a few days that same crowd would cry out “Crucify Him.”
  • He could have called on legions of angels to fight for Him. Yet, He allowed soldiers to take him to court. He remained silent in front of Pilate. He endured spitting and lashes. He took on a crown of thorns, and carried His cross.
  • People thought He would take His seat on a throne. Instead, He wound up in a tomb.

Jesus knew who He was. But though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8). He did this for you. He did this because He loves you.

Stewardship, like Holy Week, is also a paradox. It is striving to be like Jesus, living counter-culturally, living courageously, giving sacrificially. It is regarding others as more important, looking out for their interests ahead of your own (3-4),  It is humbly submitting to God’s will, and being obedient to His word.  

Stewardship is going deeper in our relationship with Jesus. What would your life look like if you ran to Him and tried to live as He would wish: humble, other-centered, self-sacrificing, and generous?

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A Conversion Journey

Published on: by Joe Galloway Comment

Lent calls us to repentance and conversion. Living stewardship is a conversion journey toward a mature discipleship. We are to accept the loss of all things, as St. Paul told the Philippians in Chapter 3:8 – things like our ideas of success and happiness and the urge to buy more and more stuff considering it as so much rubbish. Instead, like Paul, we continue to pursue Jesus in hope of a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. Lent gives us the perfect framework to pursue this gain. It is the  practice of the pillars of our faith: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. 

Persevere in praying always and in everything. Lift a quick thought of praise and thanksgiving before every encounter, before every activity. Pray first in every situation. Fast by detaching from the desire to have more things and spending more on entertainment. Fast also from criticism and from thinking about how things ought to be. And how about this –  fast from negative thoughts about yourself! Remember whose you are and God’s mercy – like He showed the woman caught in adultery. How humbling. In gratitude for His mercy, give alms to help the poor. For me, supporting those ministries that are about the works of mercy – feeding the poor, helping them with clothing, housing and transportation, supporting ministries that help young women choose life are what I feel called to do, what brings me a deeper sense of meaning in my life. 

Giving reflects the intimacy of your relationship with God. It is a concrete demonstration of how mature your discipleship is and your trust in Him to provide. Give alms and be made clean (Luke 11:41). Give to pursue the goal, to attain the prize of God’s upward calling.

                                                                                                                                                                                           Photo Credit: Robert Davis

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