Ever heard that the diaper changing table is like the altar for us parents? Being a father of young children, things can get pretty crazy at home. My personal prayer time can get interrupted by children fighting and climbing all over me. Paying attention during Mass was hard enough when I just had to deal with my own internal distractions, let alone several children coming up with new ones. Recently my son insisted on announcing the time to me every five seconds as he stared at my watch during the homily. And then there's our family prayer time, during which I have to crack down on violations of personal space, varieties of bodily noises, passive aggressive prayer requests, and accidental physical injuries due to attempted acrobatics. Seriously. Being a Catholic family just doesn't look like what I thought it was going to look like. But I think it's supposed to be that way.

One time I heard a priest say that the diaper changing table is like our altar. We're all called to sacrifice and consecrate the world to God through Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We can do this because Jesus is Priest, Prophet and King. And He invites us to share in each of those "offices." We share in His "priestly office" through sacrifice, just like the priest at Mass. Basically, all that we do in the state of life we are called to, can become sacrifices that we offer to the Father. That's what struck me about today's Gospel. Jesus inserted himself into the day-to-day lives of these future Apostles. He met them right there on the shore, but then He called them deeper. And He called them in a way that was so compatible with their state in life: fishing. They were used to catching fish, but Jesus calls them to follow Him and learn how to catch people in the net of the gospel message.

This is how Jesus works in our lives. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He created each of us in this specific time and place because this is exactly where He can best fulfill us and enable us to accomplish His will. He doesn't necessarily want you to just give up everything you enjoy doing (although sometimes He will call us to make sacrifices). He doesn't want you to give up being a student. He wants you to study hard and do your homework out of love for Him. He doesn't want you to give up being a friend. He wants you to be a good friend to the people in your school and in your neighborhood out of love for Him. He doesn't necessarily want you to give up your sport, the play, the club you're a part of, watching movies, using your iPhone, playing games, or any of those good things that you enjoy. You don't need to give those things up to be holy, unless God is directly calling you to make that sacrifice. He wants you to do every one of those things out of love for Him. 

What is your current state in life? And how is Jesus calling you deeper in that state of life? 

What are your priorities in life? Do you celebrate and enjoy the good things God has put in your life? Do you remember to love the giver more than the gifts?

What are the diaper changing table altars in your life? What are the sacrifices you can offer up to God that you never realized you could?

"I give it all to you, Lord."

"Make me a fisher of men."

"I will follow you, Jesus."

Find a new way to offer up your sacrifices to the Lord today. Instead of complaining or avoiding things, practice giving them to God. Be true to your state of life, and give those moments to God. 

In the last couple of years, both as a high school theology teacher and a youth minister, I've had occasion to talk with a lot of teens who are struggling with the faith for intellectual reasons. Generally, the questions run along similar lines: "Hasn't science gotten rid of the need for faith? Isn't faith just make-believe? How do I believe Jesus is actually God?" etc. Each of those questions has a compelling answer provided by the Church. Science hasn't disproven a single thing that the Church teaches, and, in reality, science and faith aren't opposed at all! They work together. 

We can't go into all of the answers for those questions right now because it would take a really long time, but suffice it to say for now that the Church actually does have answers, substantial and fulfilling ones, to all of your deepest questions. In this prayer time, I want to focus more on how faith actually works in general. 

Sometimes, in our modern way of thinking, when we look at our Catholic faith we come up with the idea that unless I perfectly understand something, it must not be real. If I don't "get" how the Eucharist works, it must not be real. Imagine if we applied that technique to science? "I don't really get how string theory works so it must not be real." Thankfully, we don't think that way. Faith allows us to hold fast to the deepest truths of the universe even when we don't understand them exactly because they were shown to us as true by God in Christ Jesus.

Faith is more than just make believe, though. It is an actual power of the soul given to us by God to see things a different way. If someone has the ability to believe that Jesus is God, that in itself is a gift, given by the Father. This is why Jesus is praising His Father for "revealing" these truths. Just as the disciples are given the gift of seeing Jesus in person, something "many prophets and kings desired to see," when we have personal faith in our hearts, we can actually "see" with clarity. Often, when we go to prayer and it is cold, dry, and distant, it is because our hearts are not filled with enough faith. Faith touches the face of Jesus and warms our hearts to the things of God. In order to believe in Jesus as God, you need this power from the Holy Spirit. So ask for more of it!

The beginning of Jesus' first statement is challenging, though, for those of you who might be struggling with intellectual doubts. "Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike." What Jesus does not mean here is that you have to be stupid in order to believe. Most of the world's smartest people throughout history have believed in God and many, many of them were Catholics. What it does mean, is that if you want faith to believe, you won't come about it by thinking your way into it. The reason is, God is entirely beyond your capacity to understand Him. This is a challenging reality for people used to understanding everything they come across! At some point, in order to believe in Jesus, however, you will come to a place where you cannot understand and so you have to bow your head (and your mind) and ask the Lord in humility for the grace of faith to see clearly. If, instead, we puff up our chests and straighten our backs, demanding to understand, the God who cannot be completely understood by the human intellect will find no place to reveal His love to us. 

There are certain truths that we teach to kindergartners that are simply too true, too real to be understood and lived by busy, complicated adults. Be kind. Share what has been given to you. Enjoy your life. One of these truths is that you've been created by a God who loves you. Stop being such a high maintenance adult and simply believe that.

What are some of the things that hold me back from truly believing? What can I do find the answers to those or work to let the questions go until a later chance for me to learn them?

When was the last time I asked God for the gift of faith? 

What in my faith am I still not fully ready to believe? How can I submit that doubt, stop being high maintenance about it, and find a way to believe?

"You are good."

"You are true."

​"I believe, help my unbelief."

Pick something you haven't yet allowed yourself to believe because you didn't understand, or something you haven't thought deeply about. Think about, ask a priest / youth minister / parent for an answer, and then spend time talking God about your choice to believe instead of doubt.

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

​There have been a number of moments in my relationship with Christ that I like to refer to as “mic drop moments.” You know, times when it feels like the Lord throws out some insane piece of insight or wisdom, then just drops the mic and walks away. 

Today’s Gospel reading definitely qualifies as mic drop moment. 

As I was reflecting on this specific Scripture story in prayer I was struck by the phrase that “he (Jesus) was amazed,” that the centurions faith was so great, that it moved Christ to marvel at him. I mean this is the God of the universe we’re talking about here, moving him into amazement probably isn’t something that happens every day; so I decided to look it up. Turns out Jesus is only said to be amazed, one other time in the New Testament, in the Gospel of Mark. 

Only this time the story ends a bit differently. Here are the highlights: Jesus travels to Nazareth, his hometown, but when he attempts to teach the people there, they reject him because they had seen him grow up and they couldn’t handle the fact that he had become a wise Jewish teacher/leader. And so the Lord left Nazareth because “he was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk. 6:6). 

When these two moments of amazement are put side by side, the contrasts are clear. In today’s reading, the Lord is amazed by the centurion’s faith, whereas in the Gospel of Mark he’s amazed at Nazareth’s lack of it. The centurion was a known Gentile (someone who was not Jewish), while Nazareth was known to have a large Jewish population. The Jewish people of Nazareth would’ve been raised in the faith. They would have been taught about the Messiah and the miracles he would perform and the teachings he would provide. The centurion wouldn’t have known any of that. 

As I came to these realizations in prayer, I heard the Lord say to my heart, “you can call yourself a Christian, but if your faith doesn’t back it up then you’re no different from the people of Nazareth.” 

Mic. Dropped. 

You see it’s not enough to just say that we’re Christians or to just know some, or even all, of the teachings of the Church. Without faith, without striving to trust and believe in the Lord, we become less and less like the faithful centurion, and more and more like the people of Nazareth. So, as we continue our day, let us ask the Lord to increase our faith so that we, too, might move him to amazement. 

Would the Lord be amazed at your great faith? Or would He be amazed at your lack of faith?

Is your faith evident by the way you live your life?

What about your faith and your relationship with the Lord amazes you?

"Lord, I'm amazed by you."

"Lord, increase my faith."

"Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof."

Strive to have the faith of the centurion. Make your faith evident in the things you say and by the way you live your life.

Remember reading the story of Noah's Ark for the first time as a kid? Maybe not the first time, but the ideas you had of it from when you were a kid? All of those images of huge boats, tons of animals on them, and a flood that lasted for days made for a story that captured our imaginations, and for a good reason.

Of course, in the process, many of us missed the deeper meaning of what was happening in that story. The people had begun to live disordered lives; they were choosing themselves and their sinful desires over the things that they knew were right. Things got so bad that, one day, God sent a flood. For forty days and forty nights it rained, and the entirety of the world they knew was wiped out by this flood. Noah's ark is not a story meant to focus on the animals, though, and certainly not meant for us to get bogged down on the details of how the elephants, tigers, polar bears and even the snakes all lived together in harmony. As interesting as all of that is to talk about, there is a far more important spiritual message in this story, one that today's Gospel reminds us of as Jesus hearkens back to the story of Noah. 

God, the author of all life and all of creation, made the world in the beginning. Then, when Noah lived, the world had turned into disarray and God re-created everything through a flood. When sin continued, God came and became man in Jesus, re-creating us all through His death and resurrection and offering the chance at life in His eternal creation in heaven. 

God is the creator of everything. He is the one whose Word brings us to life and whose breath sustains us. At each moment, God is actively working to re-create you and I into His image and likeness. The warning in today's Gospel is simple: neither you nor I know the time when our journey on earth will end, nor do we know when the world itself will end and God will create once again, allowing us to be with Him for eternity in heaven. God wants to begin His work right here and right now. He doesn't want to wait, and so we ought not to keep Him waiting. 

Advent is a time that is set apart for us to allow God to re-create our heart. Today is the dawn of a new year. Today is the time of salvation, the time the Lord has made for you to know Him, to love Him, and to be loved by Him. Don't wait. The Creator of everything is waiting to re-create your heart. To teach you to love and to be loved, and He wants to continue to form you in His image and likeness even in this moment. 

Happy Advent. Let's be re-created in this amazing season of penance and of waiting for the Creator to come and be born in His creation. 

We don't know the time or the hour, pray about what you can be doing in the here and now to live out your faith. 

How are you putting God off? How are you keeping Him waiting? 

How can you relet God into your heart?

"God is coming."

"Renew my heart." 

​"Right here, right now."

Make a new year's resolution today, one for your spiritual life and one you actually will keep. How can you be renewed this Advent?