Households of Faith

Good News Reflection for

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19, 2026

Wisdom 12:13,16-19
Ps 86:5-6,9-10,15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43

Three layers of evangelization

Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States (published in 1992) names three important layers of evangelization: (1) Nurture your own faith-growth, (2) invite others to conversion, and (3) transform society through true Christian living. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us these same three strategies, using parables.

(1) Nurture your own faith-growth: In the kingdom of God, we are like good wheat growing amidst weeds. This takes effort; the weeds will take over if we’re not working daily at growing in holiness. What have you been doing to prevent the weeds around you from taking over and strangling your holiness? How is your faith life benefiting from living in the midst of non-believers and evil? Your Father-Creator is empowering you to grow.

(2) Invite others to conversion: In the kingdom of God, we are like the tiniest of seeds that grow into a bush so large that others benefit from our growth. Who is benefiting from your faith? How is your spiritual growth inviting them into a closer relationship with Jesus? The Holy Spirit is empowering you to evangelize others if you’re willing to minister to them using what you’ve learned from your experiences.

(3) Transform society: In the kingdom of God, we are like yeast that helps the whole batch swell up and mature into the bread of life that nourishes others. What are you involved in, as a Christian, that improves the world? Is your faith making a difference in your workplace, your community, and your parish? During Mass, as you receive the nourishment of the Eucharist, you are empowered to become Eucharist for the world. Mass ends with Christ commissioning you, through the presider, to be the yeast of goodness that affects those around you.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
Maybe you never saw yourself as an “evangelist”, but you are! This is your calling as a baptized Christian. Which of the above three areas of evangelization are you most actively doing? Which needs more of your attention?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Give an example from your own life (or from the life of someone you know or have heard about) that illustrates one of the three goals above. What about the other goals? Make sure that, in your discussion as a faith sharing group, examples are given for all three goals of evangelization.

Good News Reflection for

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 12, 2026

Isaiah 55:10-11
Ps 65:10-14 (with Luke 8:8)
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23

The seed sown on rich soil

This Sunday’s readings are about sowing seeds. The important thing to remember about seed sowing is that the effort is worthless if the seeds are not changed by being cast to the ground. Each seed must give up its former self, dying in the dirt while new life stirs within it. Only then can it send out a tender, first root, which will multiply and grow stronger and deeper to support upward growth. Even so, it has to be properly nourished to survive.

If all this takes place, the end result is a plant that looks nothing like the seed, which as it grows develops the ever-more important mission of benefitting the wider world of Nature beyond itself.

As we listen to Jesus explain the parable, we say yes, we want to be seeds that become fruitful lives. But desiring it does not automatically transform us. What is it that makes the soil of our lives rich and growth-producing?

The reading from Isaiah tells us that it is God himself who is the rich soil — God and his Word. Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading that suffering is part of creation (seeds must fall in the dirt and die in order to produce a fruitful life). Redemption grows from suffering and death.

We will never feel truly fulfilled until we’ve surrendered to the soil and have allowed God to nourish our growth.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What tender, new roots do you have that are sprouting from times of suffering and loss? What blessings are springing up from them? What ministry (what benefit to others) could be a fruitful gift of these blessings?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Share what it means to give up your former self to allow new life to stir and grow. What is the will of God (what does the Word say) regarding the end result? Give examples from your life or from the lives of others.

Used by permission

Good News Reflection for

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 5, 2026

Zechariah 9:9-10
Ps 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14
Romans 8:9, 11-13
Matthew 11:25-30

How to make burdens feel light

Does the yoke of Jesus weigh you down or does it feel light? His yoke — according to what he exampled with his life — is servanthood, a ministry that cares for others, a love that makes sacrifices.

We feel weighed down by personal struggles; we have so many of our own crosses to carry and so many people need our attention that we’re exhausted from it all. We need a vacation, an escape, time out! So why does Jesus tell us that his yoke is easy? Why does he say that the burdens of servanthood are light?

How can sharing in the ministry of Jesus be restful?

When the burdens of life wear us down and tire us out, it’s usually because we’ve taken on more responsibility than God has actually given to us.

Or else it’s because we’re expending energy trying to get rid of a cross after Jesus has yoked us to it. If the burden leads to burn-out, God lets us get tired, because he’s warning us: “Slow down! Simplify your life! Make a change! Spend more time in prayer!”

If it leads to anger and resentment, God is showing us that our selfish desire for an easier life is, in reality, making our lives more difficult.

In other words, when we strain and pull against the yoke — against our union with Christ — we suffer from our own mistaken ideas of what we should be doing. It is when we remember that we’re yoked to Someone who is infinitely stronger and wiser than we are that the burden becomes light. The yoke becomes a source of joy.

Jesus offers us everything we need for plowing the fields that God assigns to us. When we cooperate with him, the burden is indeed light. We find rest in Jesus and we benefit from his strength. Our anger and resentment and weariness disappear. We experience holy pleasure in our tasks, because we’re yoked to the goodness and the energy of Jesus himself.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What are you doing that seems like a good idea but is wearing you out? What part of it is not God’s idea for you? What can you do to slow down, simplify, make a change, and become more aware of the strength of Jesus?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Become accountable for the answer to the above personal questions by speaking of it to friends in your faith community: What changes are you going to make to allow Jesus to refresh and renew you? How might this make a difference?

Good News Reflection for

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 28, 2026

2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Ps 89:2-3, 16-19
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Matthew 10:37-42

What matters most to you?

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus emphasizes the importance of keeping our eyes on him and always making him our top priority. Nothing else matters as much as our relationship with God. This means following Jesus wherever he leads, doing everything his way, all the way, every day, giving him our 100% (no excuses for being mediocre in our faith), laying down our lives in service to others like he did.

Laying down our lives means making sacrifices, such as giving our cup of cold water to someone who’s thirsty. It means receiving someone into our busy schedules and listening for the prophet in him; for example: What is God saying to us through this person?

When we refuse to lay down our lives for others, we reject the Cross of Christ and his sufferings, which he submitted to for our sake. This does not mean, however, that we can never say no to others. Jesus wants to lead us away from the harm of abuse or demands that are sinful or the enabling of unhealthy behaviors. Saying no in such cases is yet another Way of the Cross.

When we truly follow Christ, we can receive all that he is and all that he has for us. When we let go of our fears and personal goals, letting Jesus lead us into new places and new ways of handling problems, we discover new life in Christ. His ways are always far better than what we had feared would happen.

This is the difference between a mediocre faith and a life in Christ that is full of adventures, miracles, surprising solutions, healing, victories, and realizing how very precious and important we are to God.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
Who has asked you (either consciously or unaware) to lay down a part of your life for them? When have you said no? When have you said yes — and was it worth the sacrifice?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Why is laying down our lives for the needs or requests of others worthwhile? Share a story from your own life that illustrates this.

Used by permission.

Good News Reflection for

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 21, 2026

Jeremiah 20:10-13
Ps 69:(14c)8-10,14,17,33-35
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:26-33

Be bold with your good news!

Think of a time when you were in darkness: a sin, for example, or when you felt abandoned by God or your prayers seemed dry and your spiritual gifts seemed covered over. What did Jesus say to you at that time (perhaps through scripture or friends or a homily at Mass)? What did his whisperings tell you? His words and his guidance were good news for you!

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus says: “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light.”

He’s calling you and commissioning you and empowering you, through his Holy Spirit, to share your good news with others, so that they can hear him in their darkness. Proclaim it boldly and visibly so that those who want to hear it will stop and listen. Do not be afraid to openly share how Jesus has been working in your life and how he’s helped you grow or heal or turn away from sin.

Yes, when we’re this bold, some people ridicule us and reject us, like how Jeremiah was treated in the first reading. But the Lord is with you, too, as “a mighty champion,” and your persecutors will eventually stumble and fail. Jesus tells us to “fear no one.” God takes good care of us.

Jesus acknowledges those who acknowledge him. In other words, when we’re insulted or persecuted for our faith, God holds us and comforts us. It’s his opinion of us that matters anyway, and no one else’s. Listen to him. In the whispers of the sanctuary of your heart, he’s telling you all the good that he sees in you. He’s telling you that he appreciates the good you have done. He’s giving you good news worth sharing.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What is your testimony? What did Jesus teach you when you were in sin or handling a recent difficulty? Write it down; this exercise will help you feel more confident when you try to share your story with others.

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
Practice sharing the testimony you realized during the above personal reflection: Proclaim it first to your community of friends who understand. And as you listen to the testimonies of others, encourage them: Tell them how their story helps you. Then, make a commitment to go forth and spread the good news. What does this commitment look like? What will you do first to fulfill your commitment?

Good News Reflection for

Sunday of the 11th Week of Ordinary Time
June 14, 2026

Exodus 19, 2-6
psalm 100:1-3, 5
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:36–10:8

The Important Virtue of Collaboration

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, notice how strongly Jesus was moved by the needs of the people. His heart ached for them, because he knew they felt troubled and abandoned. What’s surprising, however, is how he responded. Although he likened them to sheep without a shepherd, and elsewhere he describes himself as the Good Shepherd, instead of taking action as that shepherd, he immediately turned to his disciples and called them to do the work!

Today, there are many who suffer troubles and feel abandoned because not enough is being done to help them. So, when we see a parish lacking a pastor, or a ministry lacking a shepherd, or a need lacking a ministry, we do as Jesus tells us to do: We beg the master of the harvest to send forth more laborers. And Jesus taps us on the shoulder and says, “YOU do it.”

We ask God to increase the number of priest vocations, because there are too few men entering the seminary. And Jesus says, “Don’t just pray, get up and do some of the work! You have a vocation, too!”

The reason why many people feel that God hasn’t answered their prayers (and has therefore apparently abandoned them) is because Jesus responds to their needs through us — and too few of us are giving him a free hand to use. We don’t have enough lay people assisting the priests we do have. We don’t have enough Christians standing up against injustices and other evils, and so of course, to many who suffer, God seems distant and uncaring.

Jesus was one man serving a whole nation, and he accomplished much in only three years because of the apostles who assisted him. The harvest needs collaborators. There are a few things that only a priest-shepherd can do; everything else can be done by his assistants, under his guidance, so that all needs are met. This is how the Church is made whole and holy and effective in evangelization.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What has Jesus asked you to do as an extension of himself? Which of his gifts are you using to help in the work of his kingdom? Which gifts has he given you that you’re not using? Why not?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
What would our Church be like if everyone became an extension of Jesus using the gifts and talents that God has given them? How would this change the face of your parish?

Good News Reflection for

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ June 7, 2026

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 John 6:51-58

How Jesus in the Eucharist helps us in difficulties

This Sunday we celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the reason why we believe it is truly and physically the presence of Jesus.

In the first reading, we’re reminded that God our Father always provides the food and drink that we need for survival in the desert days of life’s hardships. What he did for the Israelites, he does for us today in whatever ways we experience hot trials and dry faith. He provides what we need by giving us the True Presence of Christ, who comes to us in the bread of Mass (the Eucharist), and in the presence of his Holy Spirit dwelling within us (Baptism and Confirmation), and in the priest whose ordination makes Jesus present to us in Confession.

The Gospel passage tells us that the Eucharistic food and drink are truly Jesus himself, not a mere symbol of his love. Oh-my oh-my, how we need this food and drink to survive the serpents and scorpions and the parched and waterless ground of our desert experiences! Jesus literally fills us and quenches our thirsts. As we consume him, he consumes us. As we draw him into us, he draws us into himself. In this unity, we walk through our trials with all that we need for success.

The second reading tells us that the Eucharist increases our unity with Christ’s body on earth, the church community through which he provides the various resources that we need. In this unity — when it’s activated as it should be — no one lacks anything good because all necessary goods are shared. And ultimately in this unity, as Jesus said in the Gospel, we’re assured of eternal life in heaven, where all needs are met perfectly and completely.

Questions for Personal Reflection: What are the “serpents and scorpions” in your life right now? In what ways do you feel parched, thirsty to the point of desperation? During Mass, imagine that you’re walking through a desert to receive from Jesus what you need. How does it feel to approach Jesus this way?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing: How has the Eucharist helped you through a difficult time? Why did it make a difference? I kiss the Host before placing it in my mouth; what do you do that helps you become more aware of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist for all your needs?

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