My Catholic Life! presents the beauty and splendor of our Catholic faith in a down to earth and practical way. These daily audio reflections come from the "Catholic Daily Reflections Series" which is available in online format from our website. They are also available in e eBook or paperback format. May these reflections assist you on your journey of personal conversion!

<a href="https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2025/06/30/save-us-lord-3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Online</a> As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. Matthew 8:23–24 This experience had quite an impression upon the disciples, which is evidenced by the fact that it is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels. We also see this in the concluding words of the story after Jesus calmed the storm: “The men were amazed and said, ‘What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?’” Traditionally, this story has been interpreted as both an image of the Church as a whole, as well as the individual soul. The boat is an image of the Church through which we Christians navigate the perils of this life. We must remain in the Church to survive. Each person within the boat represents each one of us who is a member of the Church. The violent storm is an image of the many personal struggles we endure in  life, as well as the persecutions that the Church has endured and will continue to endure until the end of time. As the storm took hold of the boat, Jesus was asleep. But He was asleep for a reason. As we look at human history, especially the history of the Church, we find many times when God has seemed absent or “asleep” when turmoil, persecution, and hardship have arisen. Many people, if not all, have had the same experience at one time or another in life. As the disciples experience this storm, they offer us an ideal way to pray when we are tempted to despair in life. They wake Jesus and say, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!” And though Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith and their fear, He also responds to their pleas and calms the storm. What should the disciples have done in this case? Should they have trusted and allowed Jesus to remain asleep? Though our Lord did rebuke them for lacking faith, this story is primarily a revelation about God’s mercy when we are tempted to fear. God knows that at times we will all feel overwhelmed and find ourselves tempted in this way. He knows our faith is not perfect, and so He allowed His disciples to set this example for us. Thus, whenever we do find ourselves overwhelmed and fearful in life, we should cry out to Him to save us. He wants us to turn to Him.  Reflect, today, upon this prayer of the disciples. If you find that you are facing some personal crisis, or a larger family difficulty that remains unresolved, or are increasingly aware of other struggles afflicting the Church or society as a whole, then try to imitate this prayer of the disciples: “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!” Though these words, at first, may seem to be words of despair, they are actually words of hope and trust. They point us to Him Who is the only source of the peace we seek in our souls, families, the Church and our world. Look for the many ways that you and others experience the feeling of “perishing,” and cry out with all your heart to our Lord to save you and all who are in need. Most powerful Lord, I am amazed at Your divine power and ability to perfectly calm the storms that afflict Your people. Please fill me with hope and humility so that I will never hesitate to turn to You in my need and to also cry out to You for Your continuous intervention in the lives of others. Awake, oh Lord, and save Your people, for we will truly perish without You! Jesus, I trust in You. Image: Karemin1094, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calming_of_the_Storm_fresco.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a> Source of content: <a href="http://catholic-daily-reflections.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">catholic-daily-reflections.com</a> Copyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Catholic Daily Reflections

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time - Save Us Lord!

<a href="https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2025/06/29/wherever-god-leads-you-3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Online</a> “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Matthew 8:19–20 It is unclear from this passage alone why Jesus answered this scribe the way He did. At first, the statement of the scribe seems very devout: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But many of the Church Fathers, in their reflections of this conversation between Jesus and the scribe, offer helpful insights. First of all, note that Jesus neither accepts the proposal of the scribe to be His follower nor rejects it. Rather, Jesus simply makes a statement which clarifies just what is involved in being His follower. Some Church Fathers suggest that this scribe was desirous of following Jesus because he thought there would be great rewards given to him by doing so. After all, Jesus was a miracle worker, was becoming quite popular, and showed potential to be a great leader. Therefore, the interior motivation of this scribe to follow Jesus wherever Jesus went was a questionable motivation. Did he want to follow Jesus because he thought it would benefit him in some worldly way? Jesus’ response to this scribe does two things. First, it removes all misconceptions of what it means to follow Jesus. If the scribe wanted to follow Jesus, then he had to be prepared to follow Him into poverty and homelessness rather than riches and possessions. Jesus wanted it to be clear to the scribe just what he was choosing. Secondly, Jesus’ response was certainly an invitation to the scribe to follow Him, but only in the light of this new knowledge. In other words, Jesus was saying, “Yes, come follow me. But be aware of what that means. Following me will not result in your earthly riches but in your earthly poverty.” Why do you follow Jesus? It’s important to consider your motivations at times. Some choose to follow Jesus because this was simply the way they were raised. Others do so because it makes them feel better to do so. And still others do so because they think it will make their lives better in various ways. But what is the ideal motivation for following our Lord? The ideal motivation for following Jesus in a total and unwavering way is very simple: we follow Him because He is the Son of God and the Savior of the World. Jesus came to call us to Himself and has invited us to live in union with Him through faith. So ideally, we will follow Jesus simply because it is the right thing to do. We will not do so because of the so-called benefits. Love, in its purest form, does not love the other because of what we get out of it. Pure love is a gift given to another because they are worthy of our love. And with Jesus, He is worthy of our love and worship simply because of Who He is. Reflect, today, upon Jesus inviting you to follow Him into poverty, detachment from all, simplicity of life and ultimately the sacrifice of your entire life. Do you understand what it means to be a follower of Christ Jesus? Do you understand that following Jesus cannot be done for selfish reasons? Do you realize that saying “Yes” to our Lord is saying “Yes” to His Cross? Ponder Jesus' life and reflect upon whether or not you are willing to follow Him to the poverty of the Cross. If you can make the choice to follow our Lord, knowing full well what you are saying “Yes” to, then the end result will also be a glorious sharing in His resurrected life. My glorious Lord, You walked through this world in poverty, rejection and suffering. You had no earthly home of Your own but now live in the riches of Heaven. Help me to follow You, dear Lord, wherever You lead me in this life. If You lead me to worldly poverty and suffering, I thank You. I thank You and choose to follow You no matter what. Give me the grace I need to follow You purely out of love for You, for You are God and are worthy of all my praise and worship. Jesus, I trust in You.   Image: James Tissot, Public domain, via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Scribe_Stood_to_Tempt_Jesus_(Le_scribe_se_leva_pour_tenter_J%C3%A9sus)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a> Source of content: <a href="http://catholic-daily-reflections.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">catholic-daily-reflections.com</a> Copyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time - Wherever God Leads You

<a href="https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2025/06/28/pillars-of-the-church-4/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Online</a> “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17–19 Saints Peter and Paul are often referred to as two of the great “Pillars of the Church.” They each played an incredibly essential role in the establishment of the early Church. And though each of their roles was essential and foundational, their roles were as different as they were different as persons. Peter was a family man, a local fisherman, uneducated and quite ordinary. From what we know about him prior to being called by Jesus, there was nothing that made him uniquely qualified to become one of the pillars of the new Church to be established by the Son of God. Jesus simply called him, and he responded. Jesus got into Peter’s boat, ordered him to lower the nets, and produced a huge catch of fish. When Peter saw this miracle, he fell down at Jesus’ feet and acknowledged that he was “a sinful man” who was unworthy of being in Jesus’ presence (See Luke 5:8). But Jesus informed Peter that he would from now on be catching men. Peter immediately left everything behind and followed Jesus. Paul describes himself as “a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cili′cia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gama′li-el, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are this day” (Acts 22:3). Paul was well educated in the strictest interpretation of the Jewish law, understood philosophy and was quite zealous as a young man. Recall, also, that prior to becoming a convert to Christianity, he “persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13). In many ways, Paul would have been seen as the most unlikely person to be chosen to be a pillar of the Church, because he so vigorously opposed it at first. He even supported the killing of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.  Though each of these men would have been considered by many as very unlikely founders of the Christian Church, this is exactly what they became. Paul, after his conversion, traveled far and wide to preach the Gospel, founding several new Churches throughout Asia Minor and Europe. Eventually he was arrested in Jerusalem, brought to Rome for trial and was beheaded. Over half of the New Testament books are attributed to Paul and half of the Acts of the Apostles detail Paul’s missionary journeys. Paul is especially known for his missionary activity to the Gentiles, those who were not Jews.  Peter’s role was truly a unique one. His name was changed from “Simon” to “Peter” by Jesus. Recall Jesus saying, “And I tell you, you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church…(Matthew 16:18). “Peter” in Greek is Petros. However, the Greek word petra means a rock as a solid formation that is fixed, immovable, and enduring. Therefore, Jesus chose to make Peter a solid foundation of immovable rock on which the Church was to be built. You, too, have been called by our Lord to a unique mission within the Church that has not been entrusted to another. In your own way, God wants to use you to reach certain people with the Gospel as He did with Saint Paul. And like Saint Peter, God wants to continue to establish His Church upon you and your faith.  Reflect, today, upon these two holy and unique pillars of our Church. As you do, ponder how God may want to use you to continue their mission in this world. Though Saints Peter and Paul are among the greatest and most consequential Christians within our world, their mission must continue, and you are among the instruments that God wants to use. Commit yourself to this mission so that the preaching of the Gospel and the rock foundation of our Church will remain strong within our day and age just as it was of old.  Saint Peter, you were uniquely chosen to be a rock foundation of faith upon which the Church was established. Saint Paul, you went forth to preach this faith far and wide, establishing many new communities of faith. Please use me, dear Lord, to continue the mission of Your Church so that the faith may be firmly planted in the minds and hearts of all Your people throughout the world. Jesus, I trust in You. Image: Jusepe de Ribera, Public domain, via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Peter_and_Saint_Paul_mg_0036.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a> Source of content: <a href="http://catholic-daily-reflections.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">catholic-daily-reflections.com</a> Copyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

June 29, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul - Pillars of the Church

<a href="https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2025/06/27/touched-by-grace-3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Online</a> Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. Matthew 8:14–15 How do we properly respond to the action of God in our lives? In the passage above, we are given the witness of Peter’s mother-in-law to answer that question. It should be noted that Jesus was on a continual mission of healing. In fact, before arriving at the house of Peter, Jesus had just healed a centurion’s servant. When the centurion came to Jesus stating that he was not even worthy to have Him enter his house, Jesus saw the centurion’s faith and healed his servant from a distance. After arriving at the house of Peter, we are told that many people brought to Jesus those who were possessed by demons, and Jesus healed them all. But between the healing of the servant and the healings of the many, another healing occurred. The response to this healing sets for us a wonderful example. Peter’s mother-in-law was ill and in bed with a fever. It’s unclear just how ill she was, but the fact remains that she was ill to the point of being in bed. Notice, first, that Jesus was not even asked to heal her. Rather, He “saw” her ill and in bed, approached her of His own choosing, “touched her hand,” and she was healed. Within the same sentence describing Jesus’ healing, we are told that “she rose and waited on him.” First of all, “she rose.” This should be seen as a symbolic depiction of what we must do when we are touched by grace. The grace of God, when it is given to us, must have the effect of causing us to rise. We rise from sin when we confess that sin and receive forgiveness, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We rise up every time God enters our lives to give us direction, clarity and hope. To rise is to be strengthened to dispel the burden that sin and confusion causes. We rise in strength, renewed and determined to go about the will of God. After this woman rose, she “waited” on Jesus. This is the reason we rise up when touched by grace. We are not given God’s grace so that we can go back to our sin, or pursue our own ventures, or do our own will. We rise so that we can serve our Lord and His holy will. In a sense, Jesus’ actions in our lives impose upon us a holy burden. But it is a burden that is light. It’s an obligation to serve and give ourselves to our Lord to attend to Him, His holy will, and to all that He calls us to do. Reflect, today, upon this threefold action of the Gospel. See Jesus approaching you and touching you in your prayer. Know that He comes to you not only because you pray to Him but out of His own initiative when He sees you will respond. Then consider your response. Rise from that which keeps you down. Let God’s grace free you from the burdens you carry. And as He grants you this grace, determine to wait on Him and to serve His will alone. The service of our Lord is what we are made for, and doing so will enable us to continually receive His grace through His touch of love. My merciful Jesus, You continually come to me, approaching me to reach out and touch me with Your grace. You desire my healing and strengthening every day. Help me to be open to all that You wish to bestow and please free me from all that keeps me down. May I rise up in service of You and Your holy will so that Your Kingdom may be built up more fully through me. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: <a href="http://catholic-daily-reflections.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">catholic-daily-reflections.com</a> Copyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

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