Series: What Next?

How can I have peace and joy when I don’t know what’s next?

So much of life is spent “getting ready”.  Almost everything we do is oriented around preparing for the “next thing”.  This is good inasmuch as it reminds us that we can influence our world, but it often tempts us to believe that we are in control of our future.  Once a person realizes that they are not in control, how can they look forward to the future…even when they don’t know what’s next?

What’s Next: Go With

Confidence is critical to moving forward. Surrender is the key to confidence.

Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

It is one thing to have confidence when a person has power and knowledge. There is another kind of confidence that is necessary when a person is powerless and answerless. This is the kind of confidence in another – – God – – that is willing to place everything a person has and doesn’t have under the Lordship of Jesus.

Mass Readings from April 29, 2018:
Acts 9:26-31
Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
1 John 3:18-24
John 15:1-8

04/23/18 What’s Next: When the Chips Are Down

Courage is using what you’ve been given when what you’ve been given is needed the most.

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

In calling us to what’s next, God doesn’t necessarily take anything away, but He gives us something. He doesn’t necessarily take away the danger or the fear, but He gives us what we need for the next thing. Courage is using what you’ve been given the moment what you’ve been given is needed the most.

Mass Readings from April 22, 2018:
Acts 4:8-12
Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29
1 John 3:1-2
John 10:11-18

04/15/18 What’s Next: What’s Now

Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter.

Being convinced by Christ is one thing, being convicted to take action is another. The call is to be converted…to be changed…to be like Christ. This can happen when we follow the commandments with God’s grace and allow ourselves to be transformed. But this means that we are attentive to what’s now so that we can be ready for what’s next.

Mass Readings from April 15, 2018:
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9
1 John 2:1-5
Luke 24:35-48

04/08/18 What’s Next: Something More Than Control

To move forward with joy, one needs something more powerful than control.

Homily from the Second Sunday of Easter.

The early Church was filled with men and women who lived in uncertainty. The current Church is filled with men and women who live in uncertainty. The key difference between them and us is that they had something more sure than certainty and something more powerful than control…they were convinced.

Mass Readings from February 25, 2018:
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31

X