Today's Gospel

Keep It To Yourself

So, what is it that jumps out at you today?

You think about it. You put yourself there. You've got the shepherds. You've got Mary. You've got Joseph. You've got the child Jesus. And what would that be like? How do you go away from that? The shepherds go away, they go back to their ordinary lives. And what occupies their mind as they're going back home? And what occupies their mind the next day? I love this line of-- we talk about it every time it comes up, but this idea that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. I just think it has ever-increasing value in our society, where the concept of social media and sharing and posting and this sort of thing-- and then here is the woman who had something to post that was more important than anything that's ever been posted. But she didn't. She kept these things in her heart, and she pondered them. And what I challenge you to think about today is, are you even capable of that? Okay? When something happens, there is this tendency to want to tell people about it, to want to talk about it, okay? But it's like your heart is like one of these old log stoves, right?

And every time you share, and every time you post, and every time you talk about it, it's like you're opening the door of this old log stove that's trying to generate enough heat to be transformative. And we keep opening the door, and all the heat keeps escaping. And so the question I ask you today is, are you capable of having something happen to you, of being told something, of learning something profound, and just keeping it to yourself? That doesn't mean you keep it to yourself forever, but to hold it in your heart and to ponder it in your heart like Mary did. Ponder these things in your heart. Keep the stove door closed. Allow the fire to build so it can get to a heat necessary to transform our lives. Have a great day, and remember. Be Bold, Be Catholic.