I was just in the Gulf of Mexico, went to the beach, and saw something crazy. I saw a father placing his 2-year-old son on the edge of the water, and he sat there and let his son walk forward. The son took one step into the ocean, looked back at his dad, smiled, turned back, and took one more step forward, and he kept doing this. This little 2-year-old boy felt safe amid a vast, powerful, dangerous ocean because he knew his father was present. Today, we celebrate the baptism of the Lord. The Father chooses Jesus and claims that Jesus is the son and that he is safe with him. So, this is what I want to do this new year. I want to be like that little boy who takes a step forward, looks back, and knows that I have a father who is keeping me safe and who takes away all of my anxiety. This is great news, and this is Spirit Juice. Peace.
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What If
Let’s play the what-if game. In the gospel for the Sunday, what if Peter left Jesus? We wouldn’t have the Eucharist. We wouldn’t have a pope. We wouldn’t have the Catholic Church. We wouldn’t have the sacraments. Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift would never have met. But seriously, Jesus Christ stakes everything, all of salvation, on the mere chance that Peter would say yes and stay with Him. That’s how important…
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Done or Half-Baked
So, the bottom line is that you are never a done muffin. You are always half-baked. In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus tells the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” He doesn’t say to the scribe, “You made it. You did it. Success.” He says, yeah, you’ve said all the right things, but still, you have some work to do. Still, I want to go deeper with you. This is the beautiful reality that Jesus…
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Stop Exposing Others to Shame
It is the fourth Sunday of Advent and the Gospel today is very beautiful. It talks about St. Joseph, since he was a righteous man, does not want to expose Mary to shame and I think that is an incredible witness for us because we can so easily expose others to shame. It is the holiday season. We are with family all the time. There’s a lot of…
