​Earlier this summer, I helped with a church camp for little kids. There were 150 of them in one large room at the parish and as you can imagine it go t a little crazy, (I think I gave away 100+ bandaids for picked mosquito bites and scraped knees). As little kids do (and big kids too) there were several arguments this week. “She took my snack.” “He’s on the swing I want to be on.” “He said I was dumb.” And so on… what I kept saying to these little kids as they brought me their troubles, worries and skirmishes is that your words matter. Your actions matter. And what you do has consequences.

This small lesson is critical for these little ones to learn and let’s be real, many of us bigger people could use a lesson on this again. This is what Jesus is telling us in today’s gospel.

In the parable, there are the good seeds and the seeds that have been led away by the evil one. The seeds that have followed the Lord will spend eternity with Him. The seeds that have found their path with the evil one will spend their eternity in hell.
​
I think in today’s culture we’ve watered this down. “Hell is only a place for the really, really bad people. God doesn’t send people to hell.” Using today’s Gospel, we can files these thoughts under #thingsjesusneversaid
Hell is a reality, and hell is a place with the absence of God. If you don’t know God in this life, why would you choose to be with Him for eternity?

I am no judge of people’s hearts, minds or souls. Only God can do that. But I am aware of the reality that we do either choose to follow the Lord or turn our back on Him. That is way our words matter. Our actions matter. How we choose to live has very real consequences both in this life and the next. And the more we turn our back on God, the easier it gets to turn from him in the future.

So what do we do? Take Jesus' teaching to heart - not out of fear but for love of the Lord and our desire to be with Him. Go to Mass. Make frequent confession. Spend time with the Lord in prayer and tell others. Bring others to Christ because you know the truth. You know there are two ways this could go, so share that knowledge and love of the Lord with others. (And I don’t mean standing on the street corner with a sign saying hell is real like some people on my college campus. I mean real, genuine evangelization about how Christ has chosen us and now we must choose him.)
​
Our words matter. Our actions matter. How we live matters. Will you choose the Lord today?

How have my actions, recent and past, affected my relationship with the Lord?

Knowing the consequences of my actions, how am I choosing the Lord every day?

Do I think hell is real? How can I become more aware of the reality of hell and choose to love the Lord?

"Help me choose you, Lord."

"Let me be among the good seed."

"I trust in you, Jesus."

Take stock of your life today. Ask the Lord to reveal to you more of the consequences of your actions today- ask him to help show you the good and the bad and rejoice in the good!

Ya’ll ever feel a tad overwhelmed? Either from having to much to do or not feeling that we are capable of tackling whats in front of us, maybe even that there is so much to process we don’t know what to do next? I never do, y’all are the weird ones. Ok so that's not true at all! I certainly feel that way sometimes and I’m pretty sure everyone else does as well. Sometimes I even feel like being a disciple of Jesus is just another part of my life that makes everything even more complicated. Luckily for me, even though I can feel that way, I’m wrong! It's not true!

The parables today help speak to the truth that God can take small beginnings, little efforts, and create something that defies expectations. I want to focus on the parable of bread, but let's get a little context with it as well. Three measures or in greek “Tria Sata” is a little over a bushel of flour (1.125 bushels) so about 145 cups of flour. With that much flour and a regular bread recipe, we could make about 52-54 loaves of bread. Cut those bad boys up at reasonable thickness we could get around 422 sandwiches, hold the mayo.

In short “three measures” is a massive amount of flour to leaven with a little bit of yeast and that is what the crowds understood when Jesus preached in this parable. Jesus speaks a truth that he can surpass expectations and overcome any challenges. If you're like me and have troubles, stress, uncertainty, pain, or just feel overwhelmed pour that out to Jesus in your prayer today and let Him “leaven” it. Let the kingdom of God be real to you and not just a story or a thought experiment. When I feel that Jesus is just another part of my life it's because I have kept Him there. Let's let Him in today even if its just a tiny thing, just doing the next best step. Like the parables today He can not only work in the little things but can make all things good.

How do you feel when you wake up in the morning? How can you invite the Lord into this today?

Where do you need Jesus to work a miracle in your life?

What can you give Jesus today to increase your trust in Him? 

"Jesus I trust in you."

"The Lord works miracles." 

​"Help me Lord."

What is one worry you are carrying? Write it down and put it in your Bible or another safe place. Look at again next week and see where the Lord is working in your life. 

​Everyone likes a good meal! And good meals are important physically speaking and spiritually. After eating and cooking a lot in my life, I’ve noticed three consistent components to a good meal:  

1. Good meals require sacrifice. Whether grandma, mom, or the local chef, they all have to put in their time and effort to make a tasty meal. It is a work of love; shopping, cutting, cooking, and washing dishes are all part of the sacrifice that make a good meal.
2. Good meals also bring people together. In all my days of cooking meals for people one of my favorite results was that good food brings people together. 
3. Good meals are nourishing. Perhaps the most basic element of a good meal is that it satisfies a longing within us. Our stomachs are hungry and food fills that hunger, gives us energy, and sustains us throughout the day.

Now, today we begin our reading of The Bread of Life Discourse from the Gospel of St. John. In this story, Jesus provides a good meal for the large crowd. It prefigures the incredible meal Jesus provides to us in the Eucharist. The neat thing is that the Eucharistic meal that the Lord provides for us also contains these three components present in any good meal.

When we gather for the Eucharist, we gather for a sacrificial meal. Jesus laid down his life for us, and from that act of love, we have received food for our journey.

Good meals also bring people together. One of my favorite realities of Daily/Sunday Mass is that people from all walks of life –  the healthy; the suffering; the young, the old; the rich, the poor; the happy, the sad – all come together and receive the Lord’s Body and Blood. The Eucharist brings people together.

And, last but not least...good meals are nourishing. In the Gospel, the many present are fed with a simple meal of bread and fish and it was certainly satisfying! We are told, “They had their fill.” The Eucharist doesn’t fill an empty stomach, but it does satisfy a longing soul. 
​
Are you looking for a good meal made with love? Stay close to the Eucharist.

How does your general experience of going to Mass reflect the good meal we talked about above? 

When you are at Mass, what is your experience like? Are you finding yourself connecting with Christ and being nourished? If not, what do you think is holding you back?

Would you describe your life as being "close to the Eucharist?" If not, how can you make your life more centered on this sacrificial meal? 

"You are the Bread of Life."

"You sustain me." 

"Keep me close to You."

This week at Mass, whether today or another time, give yourself some time after Mass to sit and pray. Reflect on God's presence at Mass, and invite Him to keep you close to His Eucharistic presence always in your life.

​How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

I was helping lead a vocation camp for high school and college aged men a few weeks ago, and I was inspired by one of my brothers the very first evening. We had just finished signing everyone in and I was walking to the little groups of families and seminarians to tell them we would be starting Mass soon so they could head into the chapel. Without skipping a beat my brother seminarian blurted out, ‘YES! This is the best part of the day!’, and he high-fived the guys standing around him. 

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

What does your soul yearn for? The psalm today puts poetic words to the love our souls were created for—my soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. My brother radiated how lovely God’s dwelling place is, the altar of sacrifice being each day’s sweetest moment. 

I oftentimes don’t feel like I’m yearning for the courts of the Lord; I often am content right where I am, doing whatever it is I’m doing. I encounter a taste of God’s dwelling place in the beauty of nature, in the gentle consolation of silence, and in the love of my family and friends…but God has offered us a greater taste of the heavenly reality here on earth. 

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God! 

Breathe deeply the sweetness of the Christian life today. Notice the beauty of nature. Rest in that gentle consolation of silence. Most of all though, ponder the generosity of the Blessed Sacrament. Heaven is the lovely place you were created for; what is heaven but dwelling with God forever. Today, tomorrow, every day as long as the good Lord wills us to be alive we can partake in the reception of Jesus. God dwelling in you. Your heart becoming one with His. 

Pause for a moment, God wants to share Himself with you. He loves being with you. Dwelling with Him, especially in the intimacy of the Blessed Sacrament, will rise up the desire for more of Him—for eternal life with Him. May the Holy Spirit inspire in us the spiritual sight to see how lovely His dwelling place really is. 

"My soul years for the Lord."

​"How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!"

​"The Lord is my resting place."

Spend quiet time with our Lord today, if you can go sit in a chapel or if you are at home go somewhere without directions. Spend five minutes in quiet prayer.