Thoughts on Eli

 

Eight years ago, I wrote a blog called The Trouble With Eli (see below).  At that time, I was trying to come to grips with Eli and his girlfriend, Madison (who everyone calls Maddie) who had recently had a baby boy, who they named Luke.  Since that time, Eli and Maddie had another son in 2024, whom they named Levi.  But today, June 28, 2025, Eli and Maddie got married and are now back in church and attending Mass every week.  Not only that, but their son Luke received his First Communion this year and Maddie was Confirmed and joined the Roman Catholic Church on the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil.  Yes, a lot has changed since 2017, but the most important thing now is that Eli and Maddie are married, raising their sons Luke and Levi in the Catholic faith, and are involved and attending Mass every week.  While they were good parents (and still are) and had a good relationship with each other, they recognized that they wanted God and their faith to be a part of their family as well.  

Thanks be to God!

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Originally posted on Sunday, March 12, 2017

The trouble with Eli

Eli is our firstborn son.  The trouble was, we weren't supposed to have a son.  Our doctor told us that we would be having a daughter.  We were going to name her Madeleine.  We painted the nursery pink and had lots of girl clothes ready for the big day.  The trouble was, we had a boy instead.  What a shock!  Luckily we had boy names picked out too, and we named him Eli.  Well from that moment on, our lives were changed.  Everything revolved around Eli.  As the firstborn, everything he did was a first.  We took lots of pictures and videos of special moments in his life as he grew up and got older.  He loved sports, especially baseball and basketball.  We got him involved on church teams.  He moved into select teams in different leagues and venues.  We logged many hours taking him to practice and watching games and tournaments.  The trouble was, we had to help out with concession stand duty and make adjustments to our work and social schedules when conflicts arose for game times.  Eli also got involved with Boy Scouts and church activities.  He was very popular and had lots of friends.  The trouble was, he got invited to lots of birthday parties.  You can't go to a birthday party without a gift.  But we became friends with the parents of his friends and got to know many new people that Eli brought into our life.  Besides sports and extracurricular activities, Eli was also smart in school.  He got good grades and test scores and moved into honor classes over time.  He was also funny and liked to have a good time.  He had parties at our house, went to sleepovers at his friends houses and was always on the go.  The trouble was, he needed a ride.  So the family taxi service became a reality as drop offs and pick ups became more common and frequent.  He continued to play basketball and there were still lots of games and tournaments to go to.  But we loved to watch him and his team play ball and win games.  Once Eli moved into high school, he found out that things were more competitive and he didn't get as much playing time.  The trouble was, he got cut from the JV basketball team his sophomore year, so his basketball career was over.  He tried tennis and seemed to do well with that, but it's not the same as team sports.  Eli was still popular and good looking.  He met a girl that he liked in Spanish class and they quickly hit it off.  Maddie was her name.  She was pretty and had a big smile.  They seemed to be made for each other.  Most kids in high school go through many different relationships, but not Eli and Maddie.  They have dated for over two years now and are both juniors.  Once Eli was old enough to drive, he wanted to get his license.  The trouble was, we had to teach him to drive and endure some scary moments of feeling uneasy with a new driver behind the wheel.  Once he got his license, he wanted to have access to the family car.  The trouble was, he wanted my Ford Mustang and my only other option was to help him buy a used car or come up with a different solution for myself.  I decided to sell my motorcycle and get a new, used car for myself.  That way, he could have the Mustang, which we knew the service and maintenance history was good.  Like all parents, we waited at home nervously while Eli went on dates with his girlfriend, Maddie.  Eli got a part time job to help pay for his new car expenses and insurance.  He was really acting mature for his age.  The trouble was, he was still only 16.  Eli got his first speeding ticket and was involved in a minor car accident.  Luckily, the accident was not his fault, but it was still nerve wracking when we got that text from him saying that he was in an accident.  The trouble was, some time prior to that incident, we got some other news from Eli that parents do not want to hear.  My wife noticed that he had not been eating and was acting strange.  He called her into his room the next day and with tears streaming down his face, he told his mother that he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant.  The trouble was, he was still only 16 and she was only 17.  Teenagers, who were now faced with decisions that they were not prepared to make.  We met with both of them and let them know that their lives were going to be changed forever.  Coming from Christian families with an upbringing in church and a strong faith background, they knew they had made a huge mistake, but they were ready and willing to take responsibility for their actions.  Abortion and giving up the baby for adoption were not an option.  They both wanted to have the baby and make the sacrifices they needed to make to take care of the baby when it arrived.  High school schedules had to be adjusted, college plans had to be reevaluated.  We met with Maddie's parents and were all in agreement that we would support our kids and the new baby the best we could.  We watched as Maddie went through her pregnancy and noticed that she and Eli were true to their word.  They both went to their doctor appointments together, made the necessary adjustments to their work and school schedules and were frankly acting very mature for two teenagers in their position.  The trouble was, they still had to deal with other kids at school who were not so nice about their situation.  So they found out who their true friends were and they prepared to have a baby.  Well the big day came.  The baby boy arrived, a few days early.  After a long day and night of testing and labor, a little baby boy was born at 4:25 in the afternoon.  They named him Luke Joseph, and he was as cute as could be.  Eli and Maddie were proud parents and they smiled broadly as they let their brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents hold the new baby for the first time.  He was going to have lots of aunts and uncles and support from his extended family.  For all the things that have happened in Eli's life, both good and bad, for all the adjustments and sacrifices we made to take care of him and do what we thought was best for him, we realized that he had turned out alright.  He was a good kid, who made a few mistakes along the way, but he was a good kid.  The real trouble with Eli is, we love him very much, and we would do anything for him because we are his parents and we love him unconditionally.  So even though this is not how we envisioned life for Eli to be, we will be there for him and Maddie and now his, son Luke.  We will continue to love them because that's what parents do!

Thoughts on trust

 

Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 8:5–17

Friends, today’s Gospel passage acclaims a centurion’s trust in the Lord Jesus. To trust is to have hope, to turn one’s heart to God. It means to root one’s life, to ground and center one’s concerns, in God. And oppositely, to trust and to turn one’s heart to human beings means to root the whole of one’s life, to ground and center one’s concerns, in the things of this world: in wealth, fame, power, honor, or pleasure. What is the center of gravity of your life? What is your “ultimate concern”? The Bible consistently lays this out as an either/or. Think of the passage in the book of Joshua when Joshua lays it on the line for the people of Israel: “Choose today whom you will serve.” Jesus tells his followers, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” Today’s Gospel reminds us that we each have to answer this question with great honesty and clarity.  Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

We celebrate today the famous and most holy Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Through this devotion, we remember and ponder the infinite love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave His very heart for our sake. When we honor the heart of Christ we do so both literally and symbolically.  Of course, the heart signifies the whole person, and in particular, the person’s will and love for another.

At the same time, such was the will and love of the Lord that the Word took on human flesh and Jesus poured out His Blood for our sake when His side was pierced on the Cross.  Yet, there is still more to understand here. When Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, He instructed her that His Sacred Heart should be celebrated on the Friday after Corpus Christi.  Why?  Well, Friday of course is the day on which the Lord poured out His Blood for us, and it is through the Blessed Sacrament that we truly and substantially receive the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood.  When scientists have studied Eucharistic miracles, such as the miracle of Lanciano, they have consistently found that the Eucharist is human heart tissue!  Christ gives us his heart and by His love, we are saved! As awesome as the gift of Christ’s Sacred Heart is, we so often undervalue, disrespect, or completely ignore this solemn blessing due to the hardness of our hearts.  This is why the Lord told St. Margaret Mary to reflect on His Passion.  He promised, “The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.” This is also why Our Lady of Fatima called us to repent, to stop wounding the heart of Her beloved Son, and to pray the Rosary.  For as we meditate upon the mysteries of Christ’s life we more readily see the love and mercy of His heart which burns and bleeds for our sake.  Then, before seeing such profound and true love, who cannot but love in return? In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Christopher P. Wendt International Director Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Thoughts on John the Baptist

 

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Luke 1:57–66, 80

Friends, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. From time immemorial, God has sent messengers, prophets, and spokespersons. Think of that whole line of prophets and the patriarchs of Israel. John the Baptist sums up all of these figures. In the Gospel of John, the Baptist identifies himself as “the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” The point John makes is that Jesus is not just one more biblical figure. He’s something altogether different—not just a speaker of the Word but the Word himself. We are destined for union with the Word of God, but we don’t get it. Why do we run after everything but Christ? Because there’s something seriously off-kilter in us. But here’s the good news from John’s Gospel: “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.” We can’t grasp this on our own. God must lift us up. The Word of God, with God from the beginning, does not remain in splendid isolation. It comes down, joins us, and lifts us up. That is the essence of the Christian message. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on faith

 

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious

Matthew 6:24–34

Friends, our Gospel today calls us to entrust our lives completely to God. How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith and that they remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith. Paul Tillich said that “faith” is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary, and I’ve always felt that he’s right about that. What is faith? Faith is an attitude of trust in the presence of God. Faith is openness to what God will reveal, do, and invite. It should be obvious that in dealing with the infinite, all-powerful God, we are never in control.  This is precisely what we see in the lives of the saints: in Mother Teresa moving into the worst slum in the world in an attitude of trust; in Francis of Assisi just abandoning everything and living for God; in Rose Hawthorne deciding to take cancer sufferers into her own home; in Antony leaving everything behind and going into the desert; in Maximilian Kolbe saying, “I’m a Catholic priest; take me in his place.”  Do not worry, and depend on God for everything. Have faith! Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

22 June 2025

                                                                                                                                

The Feast of Corpus Christi was established in the Universal Church in 1263 by Pope Urban IV.



• St. Thomas Aquinas composed the Mass for Corpus Christi; the Collect is still used today for this Mass and Benediction.
• This Feast is devoted entirely to the Holy Eucharist (unlike Holy Thursday that also includes the institution of the priesthood and the sorrow of the Passion).
• One of the important reasons for establishing the feast was to combat heresies that denied the true doctrine of the Holy Eucharist.

Our English word Eucharist comes from the Greek εύχαριστία [eucharistia], which means “thanksgiving.” The Sacrament is called Eucharist because at the Last Supper Jesus “gave thanks” to the Father. The Holy Eucharist is

• Both the “source” and “summit” of Christian life. Our Christian life comes from the Eucharist and reaches its highest point in the Eucharist.
• Called the center of Catholicism.
• Our Lord Jesus Christ really and truly present here on earth, under the appearance of bread and wine.
• Truly the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.

 

The Church distinguishes between “worthy reception” and “fruitful reception” of Holy Communion.

A person must fulfill a few minimum requirements to receive the Holy Eucharist “worthily.”

       h  Must be a baptized Catholic

·        Must have reached the “age of reason” (usually considered 7 years old)

·        Must have received the Sacrament of Penance (Confession) before making First Holy Communion

·        Must have kept the “Eucharist fast”: fast from all food and drink (except water or necessary medicine) for one hour before the time of actually receiving

·        Must not be in a “state of mortal sin” (conscious of serious sin)

Worthy vs. Fruitful Reception of Communion

Even though one receives the Eucharist “worthily,” one receives greater graces (receives more benefits) depending on how “fruitfully” one receives. A person receives the Eucharist more fruitfully, the better the person has prepared to receive. Some of the ways of preparing to receive the Eucharist include:

·        Making a thorough examination of conscience

·        Going to Confession even for venial (more minor) sins

·        Being recollected at Mass (not distracted, with wandering mind; rather, thinking about and praying about the readings and other prayers)

·        Praying to God and asking for His help to make a fruitful Communion

·        Behaving reverently at Mass; realizing that one is in God’s presence

·        Making a thanksgiving after receiving Communion (thanking God for His many blessings, particularly the gift of the Holy Eucharist)

When we have received Holy Communion worthily and fruitfully, the benefits are miraculous, as the Catechism summarizes:

“Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with Him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with His Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.”

May we accept Our Lord’s wonderful invitation to receive His precious Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity by preparing ourselves properly, receiving Communion devoutly, and thanking Our Lord sincerely.

Fr. Don Saunders, SJ

Thoughts on fasting

 

Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prescribes the essential disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Let’s focus on fasting and almsgiving. The appetites for food and drink are so pressing, so elemental, that, unless they are quelled and disciplined, they will simply take over the soul. They are like children who clamor constantly for attention and who, if indulged, will in short order run the house. Therefore, if the passion for God is to be awakened, the more immediately pressing desires must be muted, and this is the purpose of fasting. We go hungry and thirsty so that the deepest hunger and thirst might be felt. In a way, fasting is like the “calming of the monkey mind” effected by the Rosary: Both are means of settling the superficial mind that darts from preoccupation to preoccupation. But food and drink are not the only objects of concupiscent desire. Material things and wealth are also ready substitutes for the passion for God. Thus, a kind of fasting from what money can buy is an important practice. How often Jesus recommends that his disciples give to the poor, and how often throughout the Christian tradition has almsgiving been emphasized. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Father's Day

 

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers and spiritual fathers today. Yours is a profound and indeed privileged calling. And in many ways, you walk in the footsteps of St. Joseph, who, as I’ve said many times before, was charged with the provision and protection of the Holy Family. Watch my reflection here.

As fathers, you are similarly charged. Studies have shown that fathers who attend Mass greatly influence their children attending Mass in their own adult lives.  So, fathers: Can I encourage you to keep bringing your families to Mass for your spiritual life, the life of the Church, and the lives of those in your care? And as we reflect on fathers, let’s pray a Rosary for all the fathers in our lives. Happy Father's Day!  In Christ,

Bishop Robert Barron P.S. Don’t forget to pray today for all the priests in your life, who serve as spiritual fathers to God’s people!

Thoughts on the Holy Trinity

Trinity Sunday

15 June 2025

                       

There are so many mysteries in life. They frequently confound us, they irritate us, and sometimes entertain us. The ultimate mystery, however, is a mystery that consoles us. It is the mystery of God Himself, the Holy Trinity. The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the central dogma (highest level of doctrine) of the Christian Faith. 

• It is the most basic belief of our Faith. It is even more basic than the doctrine of the Incarnation, of God becoming man, for without the Trinity there could be no Son.

• The Holy Trinity is the most basic mystery of our Faith. Theologians call it an “absolute” mystery: a divinely revealed truth, the inner essence of which cannot be fully understood by the finite human mind. It is absolute mystery because we would not know of it if Jesus did not explicitly reveal it to the Apostles.

• Our belief is that the one true God exists in three Divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

These three divine persons are:

► co-equal (No one person is above the others.)

► co-eternal (Each person has always existed and will always exist.)

► consubstantial (“of one substance” or “nature” or “essence”)

This absolute, ultimate mystery of God cannot be fully (or even satisfactorily) explained.

It defies our logic and even defies our mathematics. How can one equal three?

Through reason alone we can know that God exists; however, we cannot know or understand the Trinity through reason alone. But, this absolute mystery can console, encourage, help, and guide us.

           God the Father:  Is the Loving, Providential God who created us, the world,                                          and all in it. He is the Loving God who still holds us in                                                existence.

           God the Son:  Is the Lord and Savior who suffered and died for our salvation.

                                  He revealed to the world the ways of God and the way to God.

           God the Holy Spirit:  Is God with us still – sustaining, guiding, consoling,                                                    counseling, pleading our cause.

Life is always full of mysteries: some confuse, some irritate, and some will never be solved in this world. But the ultimate mystery of God's true nature, the Holy Trinity, is meant to comfort us, console us, and even inspire us, because we believe that our True God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – guards and guides us with His providential love each day.



Fr. Don Saunders, SJ

Thoughts on repentance

 

Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 5:20–26

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that if a brother has something against us, we must be reconciled with him before we offer our gift at the altar. This reconciling requires a change of heart and mind. The word often misleadingly translated as “repent” is metanoeite. This Greek term is based upon two words, meta (beyond) and nous (mind or spirit), and thus, in its most basic form, it means something like “go beyond the mind that you have.”  The English word “repent” has a moralizing overtone, suggesting a change in behavior or action, whereas Jesus’ term seems to be hinting at a change at a far more fundamental level of one’s being. Jesus urges his listeners to change their way of knowing, their way of perceiving and grasping reality, their mode of seeing.  What Jesus implies is this: a new state of affairs has arrived, the divine and human have met, but the way you customarily see is going to blind you to this novelty. Minds, eyes, ears, senses, perceptions—all have to be opened up, turned around, revitalized. Metanoia, mind transformation, is Jesus’ first recommendation. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Mary, Mother of the Church

 

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

John 19:25–34

Friends, today we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. We recall that, from the cross, Jesus pronounced this word to St. John: “Behold, your mother.” In saying this, he was giving Mary not only to John, but through John to the whole Church. Mary would be the mother of all the beloved disciples of Jesus up and down the centuries. Then we recall that, at the Annunciation, the angel declared to the maiden of Nazareth: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” The two persons required for the Incarnation were the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother. Now we can make the connection: in becoming the mother of Christ, Mary, by extension, would become the mother of all those members of Christ’s Mystical Body across space and time. Just as the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother were required to bring about the Incarnation in history, so those same two agents are required to bring about the birth of Christ in our souls. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Pentecost

Pentecost

8 June 2025

                                                                                              

Pentecost is the Birthday of the Church, and the Gospel setting is the Cenacle, the Upper Room in Jerusalem, the place where the Church was born, the focus of Christian history from the Last Supper to Pentecost. For the Apostles that was the room where frequent memories of Jesus continued to come alive, encouraging them, but also embarrassing them, and even chastising them. 

Slightly more than seven weeks before Pentecost, Jesus gathered the Apostles for the Last Supper. He gave them His final instructions. He celebrated the first Eucharist, and He gave them the mandatum, the new commandment to “Love one another as I have loved you.”

The Cenacle is a room of love, but also a room of sadness, betrayal, and parting. This is the room from which Judas left to betray – and to which the others returned to hide and to pray. From this room the Apostles heard the shouts on Friday morning, “Crucify Him!” But also in this room the Apostles heard, on the evening of that first Easter, Jesus’ words of forgiveness: “Peace be with you!” There the cowering Apostles saw and heard the incredible: “Why are you disturbed? Look at my hands and my feet; it is really I.” And a week later Thomas heard, "Put your finger here and see my hands."

Even after the Ascension they were once more huddled and confused in that room – and the Holy Spirit comes upon them that first Pentecost. That finally changes everything: they understood! They now leave that “room of memories” with new courage – and with the gifts of the Holy Spirit – to do what The Master had done: to preach, to teach, to heal. To spread the Gospel; to spread the Church; to spread the Kingdom of God.

The Apostles became New Creations: Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, as the Father breathed into inert clay to create man in the beginning. St. Paul tells us that we are Temples of the Holy Spirit. We are meant to be “inhabited” by God, always “reminded” of God, always in God's presence. Because we, too, have received the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom (highest knowledge); understanding (intimate knowledge); knowledge (most basic of the three levels of knowledge); fortitude (firmness of spirit; steadiness despite difficulties); counsel (discernment about the right choice); piety (honor; reverence); fear of the Lord (an attitude of respect, awe, and dread of offending God).

We, like the Apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, are to leave the Cenacle, our Upper Room of memories and fear and confusion, going forth and reminding our world of the truth of God’s presence. On this Pentecost, the “Birthday of the Church,” may God give us the graces we need, the courage and perseverance we need, to witness to a frequently unbelieving world – the miracles of the Upper Room, the miracles of our Church, the miracles our True Faith.

Fr. Don Saunders, SJ

Thoughts on unity

 

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

John 17:20–26

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prays for our unity with him and with each other. The Church is one because its founder is one. Jesus compels a choice precisely because he claims to speak and act in the very person of God. Jesus simply cannot be one teacher among many, and therefore those who walk in his way must be exclusively with him. Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) commented that the opening line of the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one God,” is a subversive statement, because it automatically rules out any rival claimant to ultimate concern. To say that one accepts only the God of Israel and Jesus Christ is to say that one rejects as ultimate any human being, any culture, any political party, any artistic form, or any set of ideas. A Christian, I would argue, is someone who, at the most fundamental level of his or her being, is centered on the one God of Jesus Christ. This helps to explain why, on the last night of his life on earth, while sitting at supper with his disciples, the core of the Church, Jesus prayed, “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one.” Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on God's presence

 

Small Signs of God's Presence

Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness. I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power; but over and over again, I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the “shoot that shall sprout from the stump.” When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence – the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends – I will always remain tempted to despair. The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices.

“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”   - Isaiah 11:1