Ordinary Time

Jesus isn't interested in a transaction with us, like He gives us a good life if we follow the rules. He wants a relationship that's honest, intimate, and capable of changing you, even if it involves a bit of friction between the two of you. So be bold with God. When He leads you into the dark places, grab His hand, tell Him exactly what you need, and then hang on for dear life. That's how we change and grow, gradually becoming capable of the freedom, love, and trust that the Lord wants for us.

There are two competing voices within each of us, attempting to influence us: the attractiveness of the world and the still, small voice of God saying, “Come; be not afraid”. But Jesus is not just any influencer. For two thousand years, he has transformed those whom he influences by being perfectly God and yet willing to die on the cross out of love for us. Jesus is reaching out to take you by the hand - follow him to get away from all the competing voices and noise and hear his still, small voice above all the others: "Be not afraid".

Ultimately, all the changes, conversions, reversions, and transfigurations we encounter in this pilgrimage of life are practices for the final transfiguration of our lives when we die to this world and pass into the next. Christ's Transfiguration was intended as preview of things to come for His faithful - of the destiny He desires for all of us.

There’s nothing God longs for more than your friendship; nothing he wants more than your well-being; nothing he searches for more persistently than your heart. God doesn't just love humanity - He loves you. You, with all your gifts, faults, and struggles. Will you believe that? Can you open your heart to that possibility? Will you take a chance to choose Christ, who gave up everything to choose you?
Dcn. Brett invites you to listen to an excerpt from "I Thirst for You", a letter written by Mother Teresa as the words of Jesus addressed to each of us (click the link to read the piece in full).

Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to how the small mustard seed, once planted, becomes a large tree, a place of refuges for all the different kinds of birds. The "seed" is Jesus, planted by God, which died and rose again to give rise to a "large tree" - the universal Catholic Church. Holy Trinity Parish is a branch of that tree in which all of us - a diverse community of "birds" - take refuge, together becoming a place for all to come and worship.
As a parish community, we have the responsibility to give this place a sense of belonging not for just us but those coming to visit, to find rest in Christ not only in the liturgy but through relationship building and our interaction with one another. That is how we will find rest for our souls.

Start memorizing scripture verses that speak to your heart. God’s word is not empty. It’s not just words on a page; it’s living, powerful, effective. It accomplishes God’s purpose. And whether we have years ahead of us, months, or just days, God has a purpose - and it’s His word that will help get us there.

Through our baptism, we die and rise with Christ, and through the spirit of adoption we become the children of God. It is through Christ that we have access to the Father, and Jesus invites us to maintain that access by cultivating a deeper intimacy with the Father in our prayer. To increase intimacy in prayer is to enter into a dialogue with Him, heart to heart, in an encounter at the innermost center of our being.

God is the source of our very being and the ultimate fulfillment of our every desire. He places desires of all kinds in our lives - but he wants them to be enjoyed in their proper place or order so that we don’t become enslaved by them. When God is first, our hobbies, interests, desires, loves, and relationships can all be encompassed by God’s love; by doing so, we are not only free of the temptations of sin that can come with the things of this life, but those people, desires, work, and possessions are enjoyed in the right order, proportion, and place.