Holy Land - Jan 11-23, 2027
Join Tony Brandt with Fr. Joseph Irwin & Fr. Wesley Schawe
Holy Land - May 31-June 12, 2027
Join Tony Brandt with Fr. Jim Weldon & Fr. Eric Weldon
Wake Up Jesus or Wait?
This past week we lead our first ever retreat / reunion for former Transform Your World Evangelization Training Camp campers. Even though it was a small and socially distanced group we had all six years of camp represented.
We had college students and college grads. We had a married couple expecting their first baby, a young lady about to enter the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, a young man entering a discernment year for the Archdiocese of Chicago, we had a young lady about to begin her second year teaching high school theology and those still discerning God’s plans.
It was a wonderful and blessed experience.
To be a Martyr to be a Witness
Most cradle Catholics have been raised on the stories of Martyrs. An honest reflection upon these stories would probably range from inspirational to horrifying. Ultimately though each story of a Martyr is challenging because it begs the question: what would I do?
Each of us have a three-fold relationship to martyrdom: me to the Martyr, martyrdom in me and me as a martyr to others.
We Need God's Temple
I was reading 1 Corinthians this morning, Paul says, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are" (1 Cor 3:16,17).
These two lines are fascinating and so important for the time we now live.
Engaging Young People Today
One of the most common questions we get from those who are in full-time ministry, to volunteers, to parents and grandparents is; ‘How can we better engage today’s young people?’
In fact, I often imagine a Jewish mother approaching Jesus asking Him what she can do to get her son to go to the synagogue.
Who Will Teach Love
The Gospel of John is certainly different then the other three Gospels. Perhaps this difference stands out no more then in the accounts of the Last Supper. In John, Jesus goes on a long, long…long discourse mixed in with prayer.
Amid Jesus speaking about His relationship to the Father and the love they have, one of the Apostles ask a question that I think has come to most of our minds. St. Jude asks, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world” (Jn 14:22)?
Why is Trust so Hard?
For those who know me well, perhaps you have heard me share how the Lord has called me to the carpet these last four years on the issue of Trust. Over and over in the depths of my heart I have heard Him say, “Do you Trust me?”
If you are anything like me, you probably would answer, “Yes Lord of course I trust you. I do this and I have done that.” And yet, He wants more, He wants us to trust in every part of our life.
But here in lies the frustration…me hitting my stubborn head against the brick wall…what does this kind of trust look and feel like in real life???