Catholicism

The Gift of Gratitude: Returning to the Giver 

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Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Let’s pause for a moment and acknowledge the love of God in our lives—love revealed through our Lord Jesus and lived out each day by the Spirit. When we truly recognize the Father’s love, gratitude naturally follows. We give thanks, praise, and glory because we know every good thing is a gift. These gifts aren’t just for us—they’re invitations to return to God and live in the grace and unity of the Holy Trinity. 

The greatest gift is Jesus Himself. Not a distant figure, but our Lord, mentor, teacher, and friend. When we pray, read His Word, and share in the sacraments, we’re not just remembering Him—we’re with Him. If we quiet our hearts and listen, we might even hear Him say, “My son, my daughter, I love you so very much. Come be by my side, and together our hearts will be one with the Father and the Spirit.” 

Gratitude in All Things: Chesterton’s Wisdom and the Gospel’s Call 

G.K. Chesterton, a great Catholic writer, once reflected on gratitude. He wrote, “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” Chesterton’s point is simple: give thanks to God in all things, recognizing His gifts everywhere. 

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Faith Like a Mustard Seed: Trust, Humility, and Service in Christ

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Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 17:5-10

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, as we gather as one community of faith, we pause to give thanks and praise and glory to our LORD God—for his love that never runs out, for his grace that meets us right where we are. We thank our Father in heaven for the greatest gift: his only begotten Son, Jesus. Through Jesus—his Word made flesh—God’s love isn’t just an idea. It’s something we can receive, hold onto, let grow inside us, and share with the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we pray today, let’s become aware of Jesus’ true presence among us. He’s here—in our prayer, in the Mass, in the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), and in the loving hearts of those around us. When we sit quietly and listen with a prayerful ear, we can hear Jesus whispering into our hearts: “My son, my daughter, I love you so very much and am always with you. Come and follow me, and together our hearts shall be one; one with our Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit.” To follow Jesus is to say yes to our Father’s will, by walking the same path he walked: trusting the Father, serving others, and embracing humility as children of God.

Small Faith, Big God: Trust, Humility, and the Quiet Power of Obedience

In today’s Gospel from Luke, the apostles ask Jesus, “Increase our faith!” Maybe you’ve felt like them—overwhelmed, wondering if you’ll ever measure up, maybe even doubting. Jesus answers with what seems like an impossible image: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” He’s not talking about magic tricks or superpowers. He’s saying that real faith, even if it’s tiny, is powerful—because it’s not about how much spiritual energy you can work up, but about trusting God. Even a little genuine trust is enough, because God does the heavy lifting.

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Answering Christ’s Call: Loving the Lazarus Among Us

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Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today we gather in joy, giving thanks and glory to our LORD God, whose love never ends. Every time we come together—whether in prayer, at Mass, in the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), or in the ordinary moments of our lives—Jesus is truly present with us. He walks beside us, gently reminding us, “My son, my daughter, I love you so very much and am always with you.”

Life can distract us from this truth. But when we pause and listen, we realize Jesus’ presence is more than comfort—it’s a call. He invites us to see with his eyes and love with his heart, reaching out to those around us with compassion.

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus: A Call to See and Respond

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An 1199 Word Interview with Mercy Divine

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Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Kira Andrea via phone call on September 3rd, 2025. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.

Journey of Music and Faith

You’ve had incredible success in the mainstream music world, from America’s Got Talent to TV placements and charting songs. What led you from that path to writing and performing music specifically for the Church?

We lived in Los Angeles for about five years. We started in secular rock bands playing in clubs. We moved back home in 2011/2012 (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), had our daughter and we were asked to play for the Life Teen Mass at our local parish. I had cantored at Mass since I was 13. 

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Radical Trust and Single-Minded Devotion: Faithfulness in the Little Things

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Guest Post by: David Tonaszuck

A reflection on the Gospel of

Friends in Christ,

As we gather here in prayer to give glory to our LORD God through Jesus, let’s pause for a moment to recognize something sacred: Christ is truly present among us. He’s here in our prayers, in the Scriptures proclaimed, in the Mass, in the sacraments—especially in the Eucharist. He’s also here in the smiles, the kindness, and the loving hearts of those sitting right beside us. When we really know that Jesus walks with us wherever we go, it changes how we listen. We start to tune our ears and our hearts for His voice, especially in times of prayer. And if we’re quiet, if we listen closely, sometimes we can sense those gentle words He speaks right into our hearts: “My son, my daughter, I love you so much. I am always with you. Come, follow me, and together our hearts will become one—one with our Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit.”

Radical Trust: Faithfulness in the Little Things

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A 1474 Word Interview about Catholic Liberal Arts Education

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Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Elisabeth Sullivan, Executive Director of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, via email in 2025. We have rearranged and edited some of the questions. This provides the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.

You describe Catholic education as an “engine of evangelization.” Can you share a specific example of how a Catholic classical liberal arts approach has transformed a student’s or school’s understanding of faith and learning?

At one of our member schools, Holy Innocents School in Long Beach, California, the results were almost immediate after the pastor and principal welcomed ICLE in to form their teachers in 2018-2019. Fr. G. Peter Irving was intent on offering a deeply formative education to the children entrusted to his care in this low-income and socioeconomically diverse Catholic community. His new principal and teachers were devoted to their students and were keen to learn new approaches that would engage them with rich content and better pedagogy.

Principal Cyril Cruz reported that, once the teachers stopped teaching to the test, standardized scores in reading and math jumped dramatically. Both teachers and students were enlivened by a more substantive curriculum.

As one veteran teacher described the change: “It’s not just something that’s compartmentalized into religion class, but it really is the most coherent way to explain reality itself. And the purpose of education is to help our children be able to grasp what reality is, what truth is, and to be able to know how to live according to that truth in their lives. That’s what we call growing in wisdom and virtue.”

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Lifted Up in Love: Trusting the Cross and the Spirit’s Grace

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A Gospel Reflection on John 3:13-17

Beloved friends in Christ,

Today, as we gather in prayer, we experience our LORD God’s love, right here, right now through Jesus. Jesus isn’t far off. He’s close, as close as our own breath. He’s the One who fills the silence of our hearts, who whispers love into the places we’re afraid to show, who sits beside us in every joy and every struggle. In our prayers, in the Mass, in the sacraments—especially the Eucharist—and in the faces of those around us, He is truly with us.

Maybe you can sense Him right now: quietly, gently, saying, “My son, my daughter, I love you so very much and am always with you. Come, be by my side, and together our hearts shall become one.” That’s the invitation at the center of our faith. Jesus is our Teacher, our Friend, our Savior. His Cross and Resurrection changed everything.

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