Category: Connecting Point

How can I find Christ’s Peace when I am not feeling peaceful? Finding peace has been very difficult for me lately.  Most days I am literally one hot mess of […]

Love one another. God instructs us to “Love one another.” It seems difficult, this act of offering love to all. What does it mean to love one another? Have you […]

How is a good mother like a good shepherd? In recent months two of my nieces, both of whom grew up and received all of their sacraments at St. Isidore, […]

How can I realize Christ when I’m struggling? Jesus is on the shore off in the distance while the disciples were on the boat fishing all night. They did not […]

I think we all have people in our lives, often including close friends and family, who are just not ready to believe in Christ. We hope that Christ will one […]

Keep your eyes open to see Christ Today! In John’s account of the Resurrection, we are told that as the Beloved Disciple entered the empty tomb he “saw and believed.”  […]

How can I commit myself to Jesus to honor his sacrifice this week? There are several opportunities for you to honor all Christ has done for us this week. Sacred […]

“How can I show compassion for those I am tempted to condemn?” In today’s society we see people placing judgment and giving condemnation in the news, at school, in the […]

What relationship in my life do I need to unconditionally reconcile? This weekend we find ourselves halfway through the Season of Lent.  We began the Season on Ash Wednesday by […]

What can I do to adjust my attitude and be a more positive influence on others? Be Positive! I remember one of the first cell phones that I ever purchased […]

How can I adjust my attitude to be a more positive influence on others? Be Positive! I remember one of the first cell phones that I ever purchased allowed users […]

Where are the dark places in my life that need light? This week’s Gospel reading discusses the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The word “transfigured” comes from […]

How can I block temptations and focus on deeper desires? Where do we look for help to deal with temptations? How do we block out the daily temptations that plague […]

When has my focus on the shortcomings of others blinded me to my own? This is a difficult question to answer. If we are truly blind to our own shortcomings, […]

How can I show love for those that bother me? Today’s Gospel is another well-known passage that contains a motto by which we should live as Christians:  …love your enemies, […]

How do I recognize God’s blessings in times of need? This week’s readings are full of Jesus’ teachings about the many gifts and blessings He has given to each of […]

One of my favorite sayings is “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”  If you are like me, you have at times felt insecure in becoming more involved […]

I often take time to thank God for the gifts God has given me, and try to find ways to share those gifts with others. I thank God for the […]

Rejoice!! This Sunday’s readings bring us a message of rejoicing for we learn that the Spirit is upon Jesus AND upon us.  Jesus shows us clearly in the Gospel Reading […]

How can I trust that God’s got my back? This is for everyone – yes that means you, too – the overworked, high-stressed, short on time – busy person with […]

You are a beloved child of God…. And we are, “not because of any righteous deeds we have done but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:5) As this new year […]

Epiphany a good chance to reflect on the the story of the wisemen, three wealthy foreign “kings” who traveled a long way to seek Christ and offer him their gifts. […]

“How do I receive Jesus as the most important gift of Christmas?” Giving and receiving gifts at Christmas is a spiritual activity of the highest order.  Gifts are an expression […]

How can I make room for unexpected God moments? The Scripture from Luke this week tells of the moment when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth to let her know she […]

I love the celebration of Christmas.  It is an opportunity for the Church to look like it could and should look like every weekend of the year: the parking lot […]

In this week’s Gospel, John the Baptist proclaims “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” In our Church, we can seek forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but […]

How can I find strength to work through my daily anxieties? When I look back over the high & lows of my life, I sometimes wondered why God kept the […]

All of us experience times of darkness.  These dark times are usually the result of the hardships life gives us: the death of a loved one; serious illness; broken relationships […]

What can I learn from the changing of the seasons? Seasons remind us that change isn’t bad, especially when we’re prepared for it. Seasons are the epitome of predictable change. […]

Are we naturally creatures of responsive love or are we reactionary creatures of a variety of emotional responses good, bad and ugly? Habitual responses can be difficult to break especially […]

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. We find this quote in both the […]

This week in the Gospel we have the story of Bartimaeus the blind man. Bartimaeus was healed by Jesus because of his faith. Before he met Jesus Bartimaeus was blind […]

Who do I look up to for their humility, and how can I learn from them?  Like most people, I look especially to people in my own profession. The priests, […]

The school year has begun!  Our families dive into the many different communities; school, athletic, and dance; just to name a few. We will spend what we need to in […]

How can I let go of my selfish desires to support marriage covenants? The Scripture this week allows for reflection on the beauty of the covenant between Adam and Eve […]

When am I so focused on what I’m doing that I miss the service of others? In our own lives, we get wrapped up in our day-to-day routines, family, work, […]

This Sunday’s readings involve Jesus telling his disciples how they should receive others. The disciples were arguing about who should be considered first. Then Jesus put a child in their […]

In our Second Reading this weekend, St. James insists that authentic Christian Faith is always accompanied by good works.  We are not saved by faith alone.  We are not saved […]

When do fear and ignorance cause deafness in me? Fear is the anticipation of the possibility that something unpleasant will occur. Some types are actually due to ignorance or a […]

“How does my instinct to criticize others limit my awareness?” Sometimes the noise of everyday life can blind us to the positive ways many things are changing around us.  It’s […]

Many of us have difficulty dealing with unpleasant situations. We look for ways to avoid confrontations and conflict. In today’s Gospel, and over the past few weeks, Jesus challenged his […]

Sometimes I pretend not to know the truth or ignore a situation instead of helping. Sometimes when I see an injustice, I look the other way. I think most can […]

“How can I give life to a lifeless situation?” Have you ever taken a walk at night with only a flashlight to guide you?  If so, you have seen the […]

What difference does the Eucharist make in my life? I am a Jesuit (Society of Jesus) priest. We were founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola and his companions. […]

“When have I seen small gifts make a big difference?” Sitting next to a volunteer at a meeting recently, the elderly woman said to me, “I only help out one […]

“Where is my place to be alone with God?” As I reflected on the Connecting Point this week, I thought instead of reflecting on where my physical place is to […]

I’m sorry. We use that expression often in our daily conversations; but asking for forgiveness is sometimes more difficult. There’s an implied admission that maybe, just maybe, we were wrong. […]

We live in a country that values achievement and success. In trying to be successful sometimes, our weaknesses come out and expose us to the world. In this Sunday’s readings […]

Hurt, pain, & suffering, these are things that nobody likes to face. We try to avoid them as part of the human condition but also know that they are unavoidable. […]

Today the Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist, whom Jesus himself called “the greatest man born of a woman.” (Matthew 11:11).  John’s greatness lied in the fact that […]