Scripture Scribbles: January 25, 2026

the Gospel

Matthew 4:12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.

the scribble

“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. 

I know, that sounds impossible and I truly never realized we are ALL called to be Saints. I just thought I was supposed to be a good person, make good choices, (most of the time) but a Saint?

It wasn’t on my radar. 

Is it on yours?

I think it’s fair to acknowledge that being human comes with some obstacles. It reminds me of a story from the Cherokee tradition called the “Two Wolves:” 

A grandfather from the Cherokee nation was talking with his grandson. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, self-pity, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, selfishness, and arrogance. The other wolf is beautiful and good: He is friendly, joyful, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, justice, fairness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, gratitude, and deep vision. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other human as well.” The grandson paused in deep reflection because of what his grandfather had just said. Then he finally cried out with concern; “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” 

The elder replied, “The wolf that you feed.” 

This struggle between good and evil is real. 

We are all vulnerable to it. It is a daily battle. How can we show up prepared? What helps us to be battle ready?

The Word of God, which is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12)

There was a time, not long ago, when I did not know I should read the Word of God every day. Now I know we should.

Gospel literally means Good News. So we can actually open up the good news everyday. We need some good news. My husband and I recently read some  good news about this generation that is known as Gen Z. We are the parents of six Gen Z-ers. So we were especially intrigued to learn that they are the first generation in many that are more religious than the generation before them. 

I think I know what they are searching for: Good News. They are seeking meaning in their lives. These kids are smart and they are seeking Truth. Our world is hurting and they are asking, why are we here? Why did God create me? What gifts has he given me? They are seeking the light in the darkness. 

This year three of our kids attended the SEEK26 conference in Ohio. SEEK is a  Catholic conference for college students and there were over 16,000 young adults there.  Imagine thousands of college age kids attending Mass, kneeling in adoration, and going to confession. Praising God. Many of them were new converts or are coming into the Church in the near future. This is really encouraging. The Catholic Church is offering something very different than what the world is offering. It’s offering hope, peace and joy. To quote Pope Benedict XVI from World Youth Day 2005 “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” 

Let’s get excited to see what God has planned for our lives. We should all be SEEKing the True, the Good and the Beautiful.  Let’s strive to be a Saint in heaven one day.  

Let’s feed the Good Wolf! 

He’s calling us. 

Be a Saint. 

What else is there? 

I’ll end with a quote from The Woman Who Was Poor by the French Catholic novelist Leon Bloy:

“The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.”

Today’s devotion was written by Beth Brennan