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

​This is probably not news to you, but it can be hard sharing your faith with others, especially those in your lives who have no faith or belief in Christ. If you are like me, you have probably thought one of these things before:
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• I am not good enough.
• Someone else will do it.
• How can I even share my faith?

Something I have struggled with is the idea that I am not good enough, or holy enough. Doubts in your ability to share Christ with others are pretty natural, especially in high school when you have  (maybe for the first time in your life) only really started making your faith your own. You get caught up in your own shortcomings and struggles and you can’t see past the fact that you are not good enough in your own eyes. In some ways this is totally true, because as Saint Paul will say later in scripture, “I have the strength for everything through Him who empowers me.” We have to remember the only way we can share our faith with others is with and through Jesus.

I think another trap you can fall into is the idea that someone else will do it. Someone more qualified, like a youth minister, a theology teacher, or the really holy kid in youth group. However, Christ does not just call some people to spread the Good News; He calls everyone who believes in Christ is called to share Him with their friends, family, and those around them. Christ has impacted or changed your life in some way and you are called to share that with those in your life because you might be the only person who will tell him or her about Jesus.

How then, do you do this? First and foremost, you need to be living a Christian life. Living a life of holiness is the starting point for evangelization. It can be as simple as loving those around you as Christ would, and allowing your words and actions to reflect those of someone striving for virtue. Evangelization does not need to be loud or boisterous, and certainly does not involve whacking people upside the head with a bible and telling them that they are sinners. Instead, begin with loving people, and opportunities to share your faith will happen organically. And pray for opportunities to be courageous; the Lord will always give them to you.

We have to remember that being a Christian is not only about being a good person, but it is about being in a relationship with the greatest person, Jesus Christ. Without a relationship with Christ rooted in a daily life of prayer, we cannot even begin to hope to share the Good News with others, no matter how well intentioned we are.

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?
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Introduce someone to Jesus today simply by the way you treat them and love them. If you love like Christ enough, eventually they will notice and ask, then you can share more about Jesus and the amazing things He has done in your life.

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

​​I sit here in a parish cell on the first day of a week-long mission trip serving the needy, the poor, and the hungry of Piura, Peru. I have been preparing for the joy and excitement of going on this mission trip for months, envisioning the faces of joy after a day of building a house or maybe hugging the poorest of the poor as they receive clothes for the first time in months.

There is something very joyful and rewarding about serving other people, but when I stop and am honest with myself I find that I desire the glory of it all more than I desire to give the glory to God. Pause and think for a moment: when you do good deeds, are you doing them because you know you get a nice ego boost or do you truly do them for the Lord?

As the assignments were posted for the day I did not get house building or clothes delivery, I got yard work at the orphanage with three others, two of whom were sick. It was difficult to feel like I was doing something important. At certain moments, I was angry that others were experiencing the joy and tear-filled eyes of those being served while I was filling in potholes with dirt. As the day wore on, I caught a quiet whisper in my heart which said: “the work that goes unnoticed is the work that is forming your heart.” In that moment, I realized I was doing it all wrong.

I am not here to fill up my own praise bucket, I am here to fill up these holes with dirt because the girls at this orphanage need it. Once I was able to move past my own selfish desires for acknowledgment and praise, I was able to enter into the work and into the people in a much more personal and powerful way.

Today’s reading are all about preparation - specifically about the preparation of our hearts for when Christ comes again - but a line at the very end of the first reading really struck me deep today. “You, O Lord, are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.” I realized two things: first, that even when you do good works it’s because our Father in heaven gave you the abilities to do the good works in the first place. Second, that even in the midst of serving, God is still working on my heart.

He is such a good Father that even when my clay-like-heart begins to harden, He waters it so that I can still be molded. How are you letting God mold you today?

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.
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How are you letting God mold you today? How have you already seen His handiwork in your life?

In what ways do you let your heart become hardened to what God is truly doing? How can you allow His water to soften you?

What are some good deeds you've felt called to do? How can you be sure you are always doing those things for the right reasons?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.
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"You are the Potter."

"I am the clay."

"Mold my heart, Lord."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?
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As Advent begins today, make a concrete promise to the ways that you will allow God to mold your heart in real ways. What will you give up, what prayers will you add, and what else will you do to let God truly be the potter in your life and you be the clay?

​A couple weeks ago, we let you know that starting tomorrow, the Carpe Verbum team would be taking a break as we prepare for an exciting new chapter in the Carpe Verbum story…

We’ll be telling you more about that next weekend as we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. 

In the meantime, we could really use YOUR help. During this week when we’re all giving thanks, would you take just a minute and let us know how the ministry of Carpe Verbum has impacted your life?

We’d love to hear from all of you — no story is too small to share! Submit your stories to Maggie by emailing maggie@carpeverbum.org or head to our contact page (carpeverbum.org/contact) and submit your stories there!

We can’t wait to hear your stories and share with you about what’s coming next in ours!

 Happy happy Solemnity, friends! It's the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Now that's a name for a holiday.

And of course, on this holiday, this final Sunday of the year, right before we get ready for Advent and the preparation for our Lord's coming at Christmas, we get a reading which, if it didn't make you uncomfortable, you probably didn't really read it. Jesus, towards the end of his public ministry, is preparing those who are following him for the end of the world; more directly, he's preparing them for his time on earth coming to an end.

The image that we get is of a judge; a good judge, a just judge, but a judge. This judge – the Lord – sits on the throne, separating the sheep from the goats, the one from the other, and sending each to their eternal home. And what does that separation rely on?

Of course, in practical terms, there is some clear action on the part of the people involved in the Lord's separation of people on this judgment day. Did you feed the poor? Did you clothe the naked? Shelter the homeless? Visit the imprisoned? Give drink to the thirsty?

If the answer is yes, you are righteous, and you get your reward of eternal life; if it's no, then you go to eternal punishment. I don't want to gloss over this, because it's important. The Lord is telling us something very clearly: we need to respond to his love for us by the way that we treat others, especially those most in need. If we won't, then we will receive the consequences.

Why is this the Gospel on the feast of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe?

In 2020, it's actually pretty hard for a lot of us to get this, I think. We've been trained, both by the world and even by a lot of well-meaning people in the Church, to believe that sin, death, and hell are not real things. We've been trained to believe that it's impossible to end up there. We've been trained to whitewash sin as something that God wouldn't really punish us for, and assume that everyone is in heaven.

Jesus, though, in the Gospel today, is very clear: Hell is real, and there is the chance of us going to eternal punishment. It's really important that we know that! We need to know that Hell, sin, and death are real so that we don't think we have it all together. We need to know that we are broken and sinful people so that we can truly appreciate the Good News: our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, died so that death could no longer reign. In Him, we have victory over sin and death and all that comes against us; in Him, we have true hope of eternal life.

And so today, on this great feast day, let us enthrone the Lord of the universe in our hearts and our lives for He is worthy of the place of honor. Let us receive His love, shown so perfectly on the cross, and in response to that love let us pour ourselves out in love for each and every person that we meet. The King of the Universe is the Good Shepherd who hunts down each member of his flock that goes astray; may we allow ourselves to be brought back into the fold each time we go away, and in the Shepherd may we find our true and lasting home.

Do you believe that Hell is real? Don't just quickly answer this, really pray with it. 

How do you show Christ your love for Him?

Are you living out the works of mercy? 

"Christ the King."

"King of the Universe."

"Help me find my lasting home."

Celebrate Christ the King today. Spend extra time in prayer. Drop food off at your food pantry. Go to confession. Today is a great feast day, have an extra dessert or do something special to celebrate.