There is a phrase we often repeat when we pray: “Lord, let Your will be done.” We say it when we face a decision or when we no longer know what else to do. What, then, does this really mean? Sometimes we confuse surrender with passivity, as if placing something […]

Not too long ago, the priest giving the homily at Mass said something that has stayed with me ever since. He said, “We have to make room for Jesus in our lives.” The words were simple enough, but they settled somewhere deep within me. As I walked out of church […]

Over the years, I have come to understand a truth that does not diminish me but rather places me before life with greater humility: I am limited. My intelligence can barely grasp a small part of all that exists; my strength has its boundaries, my certainties can be mistaken, and […]

Very often, when I think of the beautiful parable Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:1 16a), I reflect not upon the ‘grumbling’ servants at the ‘end of the day,’ but rather the many faithful disciples who have joyfully labored in the LORD’s Vineyard ‘all the days of their […]

For the past ten years, I have been blessed to share my faith journey through talks and testimonies at retreats, Catholic schools, churches, and communities around the world. When I am asked how I prepare my talks, my answer is always the same: I don’t. I let the Holy Spirit speak. He […]

I grew up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, a small seaside town on the North Shore of Boston. It was there that I received my first Sacraments, and years later, after my ordination to the priesthood, it was there that I returned to celebrate my first Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church, […]

We call Mary Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Apostles, and Queen of all who believe in Jesus, but what does it really mean to call Mary Queen, and why does she hold such a special place in our faith? For Catholics, everything begins with a simple yet extraordinary truth: Mary […]

In today’s media climate, the noise can be unbearable. Newscasters shout to their cameras about wars, earthquakes, fires, and storms. Commercials are set to a higher average volume than the shows they are meant to serve. Music blares so loudly during sports broadcasts that it is hard to hear the […]

Today’s Gospel passage always touches my heart: a woman approaches Jesus, persists, doesn’t give up in the face of his initial silence, and ends up hearing from his lips a compliment we’d all love to receive: “Your faith is great.” The woman—whose name we don’t know—doesn’t ask permission to approach […]

For the most part, I consider myself to be a highly decisive person. Some would call it “impulsive,” and on occasion they’d be right, but in general I prefer “resolute.” Stubbornly self-sufficient and willing to face any resulting consequences, my first instincts are typically my lasting ones. I’m plagued by […]