Scripture Scribbles: June 7, 2026
I stare at the little white hosts.
So small. So simple. So humble.
I watch as each one is gently placed into its destination.
Elderly, moms, dads, teenagers, pre-teens; young and old, unique backgrounds, individual styles, each with their own unique story, their own mix of struggles, hurts, challenges, joys, passions, interests, ideas, futures.
I watch as some seem incredibly humbled to approach, while others seem as if their mind is somewhere else. I watch as some handle it with tender, loving care and devotion, others seem to place it into their mouth without a second thought, or like an old habit.
At times I cringe, shifting in my seat, unable to stand how incredibly vulnerable it all is.
Scripture Scribbles: May 31, 2026 - The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
God loves the world so much. It is the whole world. It is everyone. His message is inclusive, not exclusive. God loves not just the kind, the obedient, the pious, the humble, the faithful, and all the others possessing positive traits. God loves also the bad, the disobedient, the non-believers, the proud, the doubtful, and all the others possessing negative traits. What an all-encompassing and unconditional love. However, to gain an eternal life, the condition of God is that we believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son. This is just fair, isn’t it?
Scripture Scribbles: May 24, 2026 - Pentecost Sunday
As I waited for my brother in the confession line, soft background music began to play — The Summons (“Will You Come and Follow Me”). My mind drifted through the lyrics, each line echoing a call to radical discipleship:
“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown?
Will you let my name be known?
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?”
Scripture Scribbles: May 17, 2026 - The Ascension of the Lord
There is so much packed into this short Gospel that I would love to highlight. So much! But I’m going to dive into that very last line.
“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Did you catch that?
“I am with you always”
Always!
Not sometimes, not occasionally, not when you were at Mass praying, or during adoration…. always!
Do you believe this? Do you live like this?
Scripture Scribbles: May 10, 2026
Today’s Gospel deeply resonates with so much of what he has walked me through this winter. In the darkest times, it has been simple obedience (“Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.”) that has kept me anchored to who I know to be True.
Scripture Scribbles: May 3, 2026
Jesus tells us that He is the vine and His Father is the gardener. He identifies you and me as the branches. He tells us that, as only the gardener can, the Father cuts off what doesn’t belong and prunes the good so that it can be even more beautiful.
Scripture Scribbles: April 26, 2026
Amid all the chaos and strife in our world, do we still know who the true Shepherd is? The truth is, there are many deus falsus—false gods—in our midst today. Some, after tasting success, influence, or comfort, become deluded. They begin to think they can replace Jesus. They grow greedy and intoxicated by pride. Power and popularity cloud their judgment. Not everyone, certainly, but some who receive these gifts misuse them. How, then, do we recognize the warning signs?
Scripture Scribbles: April 19, 2026
The road to Emmaus is more than a journey on a dusty path; it is a pattern for our spiritual lives and for the Mass itself. On that road, Jesus “opened the Scriptures” for Cleopas and his companion, revealing God’s plan (Liturgy of the Word). Later, in the breaking of the bread, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him (Liturgy of the Eucharist). Dr. Scott Hahn highlights that this pattern,—hearing God’s Word and gathering to break bread—continues in every celebration of the Mass.
Scripture Scribbles: April 12, 2026 - Sunday of Divine Mercy
Alleluia!!
Welcome Home!
Truly, welcome home, to all who entered the church this Easter! What a gift to witness, the joy, the beauty, the gift of those eternal sacraments being received by so many! Standing in our pew at the Easter Vigil, it felt like you could almost hold that joy. The candles, the incense, the flowers… and then that moment when everything shifts. The promises fulfilled. The darkness gives way. The bells ring out, the music swells, and the Church rejoices. It makes you want to capture it somehow, to keep it close for the days when the world feels loud and mundane.
Scripture Scribbles: April 5, 2026 - The Resurrection of the Lord
They ran. They ran. Fearful yet overjoyed Mary of Magdala and the other Mary ran.
This little detail lights up the Easter gospel for me. The two Marys took off at full tilt; skirts and mantles flying behind them, hearts and feet pounding, arms pumping, leaping over rocks in the path. I bet their cheeks were streaked with tears. But I bet their cheeks also grew sore on that run from smiling.
This day that seemed marked for death and grief:
“I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified”
had become a day of indescribable hope and joy:
“He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.”
Can you imagine our Lord’s smile when he went to meet his beloved Marys?
Scripture tells us that he greeted them. I imagine he shouted to them, joining in their joy. When they heard his voice and saw him just ahead, maybe they grasped each other’s hands and froze for a moment as they saw him(Alive! Impossible! And yet!) the reality of the resurrection vibrating through their hearts, minds and all of their senses.
Scripture Scribbles: March 29, 2026
“What are you willing to give me, if I hand Him over to you?”
The truth is, I think, if we’re honest, each of us in our own ways ask this very same question at different times throughout our life. Don’t we? We may not realize we are doing it, but every time we choose something the world may offer us over something the Lord is inviting us to we fall prey to this very same mindset as Judas. Maybe it takes the form of something like this:
Scripture Scribbles: March 22, 2026
Sometimes I awaken with a heaviness in my heart, fear and anxiety tied to ordinary, everyday struggles. A hardness of heart towards those I have felt rejected/hurt by also creeps in. As much as I desire to be Christlike, I am continually reminded that I am completely dependent on Him to resurrect these dead and wounded places within me.
Scripture reassures us: “Although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive. If the Spirit … dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will give life” (Romans 8:10–11). What feels lifeless in me is not beyond His power to restore.
Reflecting on the story of Lazarus, Jesus declares, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God.” My sin, my weakness, my darkness, these too can become opportunities for God to reveal His glory. St. Augustine echoes this truth. “In my deepest wound I saw your glory, and it dazzled me.”
Scripture Scribbles: March 15, 2026
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
How deep and enigmatic is this last part of the gospel. For a moment, I wondered how blindness can make a person sinless and how having sight can make one a sinner. After several meditations, I then realized that in life, there are times when we should SEE and times when we should NOT SEE. However, can we do both and avoid committing sin? I believe so.
Scripture Scribbles: March 8, 2026
There is something deeply personal about this encounter at the well. Jesus meets a woman in the ordinary rhythm of her day, drawing water, at the well, and gently reveals her deepest thirst. What begins as a simple request, “Give me a drink,” becomes an invitation into something eternal: “living water.”
For the past six years or so, I’ve been blessed to gather with a group of women, for a Bible study. This group just happens to be called, “Women At The Well.”
Week after week we come, carrying our own jars, our responsibilities, our wounds, our questions, our hopes, and we sit together, thirsty for God‘s word…
Scripture Scribbles: March 1, 2026
He touches them, saying “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
These are the first words Jesus speaks after God tells Peter, James and John to listen to him.
Rise, and do not be afraid.
What tender words these are.
He doesn’t say, “rise and try harder.”
He doesn’t say “rise and don’t mess up again.”
Neither does he say, “stay down.”
He says, “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
Scripture Scribbles: February 22, 2026
In times of trouble, who do you turn to?
In times of desperation, who do you call?
In times of confusion, what do you do to find your way?
In times of desolation, what do you cling to?
The Gospel today has me sitting with Jesus in the desert. It says:
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
What was it like for Christ, to be sitting in the desert, hungry?
Scripture Scribbles: February 15, 2026
The road that leads to heaven is risky, lonely, and costly in this world, and few are willing to pay the price. Following Jesus involves losing your life-and finding new life in him.
— David Platt
Today’s gospel warns us about self-righteousness, killing, adultery, and dishonesty.
This is so far one of the devotions I’ve ever had the hardest time writing in my life. I feel that it’s not because of its length but because its weight. HEAVY! Somehow, it feels like it is directly addressed to me because I am a sinner and am bound to commit the sins that Jesus mentioned in the gospel.
Scripture Scribbles: February 8, 2026
It was pitch dark at 6:00 a.m. on a cold November morning when I pulled in for gas at Penguin Fuels in Hampton, New Hampshire, on my way to Mass. Crystal was already behind the counter, processing my loyalty discount. “It’s so cold and dark,” she said. “I get really depressed when it’s like this.”
Still not fully awake, I wasn’t prepared to respond thoughtfully in that moment. The next morning, after reading about the winter solstice, I found myself ready to continue our open-ended conversation.“It’s true that it will keep getting darker until around December 21st,” I said, “but after that, the days will slowly begin to get lighter.” Crystal offered a weak smile.“Remember,” I added, “Christ’s light is always within you.” Her smile widened…
Scripture Scribbles: January 25, 2026
“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”
Can I ask you something? Are you sitting in darkness? Do you need to be healed? Are you searching for light? For hope? I would love to share some with you.
Jesus is calling you!
He’s calling all of us. Just like he called Peter and Andrew, just like he called James and John. Jesus is calling you, He’s calling your spouse, He's calling your kids. Do you know what He’s calling us to be? Saints! Yup! We are all called to be Saints.
Scripture Scribbles: January 18, 2026
“Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”
The past few weeks have been really difficult. In them, despair has felt overwhelming. The only scripture that has comforted me has been that psalm which Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Psalm 22:1)
Some days, these first few verses have been where my prayer ended: in tears, pain and darkness, drowning in the feeling of abandonment by God, in the feeling of being overtaken by the enemy.
By grace, my rational mind has held onto the truths of our faith. In the storm of overwhelming lies from the enemy tempting me to despair and to desperate self-reliance, I have repeated the things that I know about God to myself:
God is holy. (Psalm 22:4)
God is only good. (Exodus 34:6)
God does not abandon. (2 Timothy 2:13)
God cares deeply about my suffering (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 56:8).
God’s presence is not proven through consolation or circumstance. (Romans 8:38-39)
God’s love is not proven through consolation or circumstance.(Romans 8:38-39)
God began a good work in me and he will complete it (Philippians 1:6)