Category: Behold Vancouver

What defines you? Your failures? Your past? Or something far greater? In this powerful reflection, Fr. Malachy CFR shares a moving story from prison ministry in Nicaragua—a woman buried under shame, convinced she was beyond love—until God’s mercy broke through. Discover what happens when we allow ourselves to be seen through the Father’s eyes, not our own distorted reflection.

Few phenomena have ushered in a greater sea change in mass communication and human relations than social media. What at once allows us to connect with family, meet new friends, and engage with (not simply observe) the world around us can also create enormous tensions, foster disinformation, and cultivate loneliness. Is social media a blessing or a curse? And how can Catholics tap into its evangelizing power without losing their own souls?

Friends, physics has certain laws, meaning that we can discern probabilities and expectations from nature—and the same obtains in the spiritual order.

In this talk delivered to attendees of the 2024 Good News Conference, I share four scriptural stories that exemplify one such spiritual principle: Mercy comes first; love follows. 

As I neared college graduation earlier this year, I found myself in a state of constant restlessness and uncertainty. I had no idea what the next chapter in my life held. This, combined with the devastation of multiple recent family tragedies, was a heavy cross for me to bear.

On Good Friday, when I felt the weight of all these crosses the most, I rediscovered a prayer that my friend had given me. The prayer is titled “Just for Today”:

Just for today I will not worry. I will not be angry. I will be kind to every living thing. I will do my work honestly. I will be compassionate and forgiving. I will find joy even in the smallest of life’s gifts. Just for today, I will feel at peace.

This simple prayer made me realize that the best thing I can do about the uncertain future is to live in the present as best I can. I can choose to either live today in worry or in a way that I would be satisfied with should it be my last. The prayer inspired me to practice the virtues it presents in a concrete way and to live each day well, despite the things that I can’t control.

Trust 

Recently, I started a job as a journalist for a pro-life media outlet. Researching and writing about people defending abortion constantly tests my trust in the hope of the Resurrection. To combat this, I offer two prayers which provide the comfort of God’s love and help me to strengthen my faith in him.

The Litany of Trust is one that I recommend saying at the beginning of the day, as part of your morning offering. It is a great way to tell God right from the start that you are placing your trust in him, no matter what the day brings. I am also a fan of the Surrender Novena. This is one that I like to pray at night, when I struggle to let go of all my worries and rest. In it, Jesus speaks to each of us with a love so deep that it is hard not to find comfort in his words. 

Trust is hard. But I have found that when I don’t actively pursue it, I am always in a state of greater worry and frustration.

Forgiveness

When my brother decided last summer that he could no longer be around my family, I thought I would never be able to let it go. It was too personal, too tragic and painful a loss to simply leave it in the past. But then I realized that forgiveness isn’t a one-time thing.

If you’ve got a question for Fr. Josh, comment below with #AskFrJosh or share a Glory Story of how God has worked in your life with #GloryStory. 

Your question or story may be featured in the next video! Today, Fr. Josh answers a question from Stacy Jens: “What about making a resolution to strive harder to combat a vice or a sin?” Ask Fr. Josh is the question and answer show to help you navigate life when our Catholic Faith doesn’t give an easy “fill-in-the-blank” answer. 

In each video, Father addresses one question from three different perspectives: your relationship with God, your relationship with the Church, and your relationship with others.

This Lent, you don’t have to wait until you feel ready, strong, or spiritual enough. God is ready to meet you right where you are. 

In this conversation, Fr. Columba Jordan and Fr. Mike Schmitz talk about what God is really asking us for–an offering of whatever we have to give right now. 

From prayer and fasting to exercise, they explore why the spiritual life can never be separated from the physical. Reflecting on ordinary actions, like a short walk or a simple fast, they reveal that anything can become an act of worship when offered with love.

“But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” Mike and Dave break down the Parable of the Good Samaritan, explain why this story is so important and expand on the radical love Jesus calls us to.

“The Apostolic Age is not Utopian” by Msgr. James Shea, President of The University of Mary Msgr. 

Shea walks us through the history of the Church’s struggles and proposes both a soteriology and ecclesiology that answers the needs of today’s apostolic realities.

How prepared are you to take part in “the sermon on the plane”?The captain has turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign. You have stowed your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you.

After you have taken a moment to locate the emergency exit nearest you, turn to the person next to you. You have a rare and valuable opportunity: an almost unique opportunity to have a deep, meaningful conversation with a stranger.

Deacon Jim Hallman calls the phenomenon of airplane faith discussions “the sermon on the plane.”

Think about it. You and the person sitting next to you already have something in common – one or both of the cities you’re flying between. You also both have time to kill with someone you will probably never see again.

That leaves people wide open.

When I asked Facebook friends if they had ever discussed the faith on an airplane, the response was overwhelming: “Yes!” “Just yesterday!” and “Every. Single. Time.”

Catherine Suprenant, who does women’s ministry in Pennsylvania, says she loves airplanes for this reason. “People seem to have no opposition to talking religion if they’re willing to talk to someone on a plane,” she said.

It all starts when you make the conscious choice to be available.

“I used to wall myself off with headphones and short answers,” Patrick O’Meara, who heads a financial company, told me. “I was convicted that this is not how the Lord wanted me to behave. How could I be his instrument that way?”

So he started taking the earbuds out and saying hello — and an outpouring of grace followed.

Everyone has their way of making this happen. Kansan Jenny Carter said praying her rosary at the start of the flight sparks conversations. O’Meara said the Liturgy of the Hours does it for him.

Nikki Walz said her connection to Benedictine College does it. “Once you tell them where you went to school, it just naturally leads to discussions of the faith,” she said.

However they start, airplane encounters test your apologetics know-how.

One of Walz’ seatmates was a “spiritual naturalist with leanings toward Buddhism.” Another with a Baptist minister who wanted to talk about the Bible. Another was with a woman who was raised Catholic “but left because of the abuse scandal and the lack of ordination of women.”

She told every one of them about the beauty of the Catholic faith.

Another Benedictine graduate, Brad Geist, had a great conversation with an evangelical Christian who was uncomfortable with Catholic devotion to the saints. “I asked her if she would ask her friends to pray for her before she would go oversees for her ministry,” Geist told me.