Today's Gospel

God is With You

Is there a word or a phrase or an idea that jumps out at you today? For me, I love this line, "His name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God with us." And he is with us. And we forget that a lot. I forget that a lot. And part of our spirituality, a huge part of it, is just as simple as recognizing God's presence, recognizing that God is with us, that God is with us here when we're reflecting on the scriptures, that God is with us when we're walking down the street, when God is with us when we're eating, that God is with us when we're sleeping, that God is with us when we are the best version of ourselves, and that God is with us when we are very much not the best version of ourselves. Recognizing his presence is, as I say, a huge part of our spirituality. I've told the story before about the little boy coming home from Mass at Easter, and he's lit the family's candle from the Pascal candle, and he's carrying the flame home to the family. And he has to protect the flame, the candle, so it doesn't blow out. And a gust of wind comes and blows the candle out, and he's devastated and afraid to go home, and all this sort of thing. But protecting that candle, that's difficult. And that's how difficult it is to stay conscious of the presence of God. You've got to protect the candle, you can't be running around like a lunatic, we've all done it. But when we're running around like lunatics, we are not recognizing the presence of God. And so, what do we have to do? What reminders do we have to build into our day so that we can be mindful of the presence of God? And if we slip out of that mindfulness, how do we set reminders throughout the day so that we can reconnect with God's presence? He shall be called Emmanuel, which means God is with us. He is with us in all things, at all times. The question is, do we recognize His presence? Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.