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Get The Most From Analytics

Have you ever had questions about the often confusing world of Analytics? We are here to help you navigate the ins and outs of the analytical world in myParish App.

Let’s go over some definitions of what you will see in your myParish App Admin portal.

Start and End Date
The date range is important for how analytics function. Typically a larger date range is going to give you more accurate information. This is because analytics take a large set of data and bring it down into smaller subsets using averages and estimates, giving you a good understanding of your users, not an exact number count. Change the date range to do some testing on how many people are signing up per month or what section of the app is most popular during which month.

Users
Users are defined as anyone who downloads and starts using myParish App. This is broken down into new and returning users. A new user is someone who is in the app for the first time. A returning user has already been in myParish App and goes back in. Sometimes a user can be counted as both new and returning users depending on your date range. At myParish App, we do not know what specific people are using the app unless they have created an account, which is not required unless you want to use groups or parish favoriting. Users are based on a unique device’s ID, not a name or email.

Sessions
“A session consists of a series of page views that a single user makes during a period of activity.” https://bit.ly/2TurYbO
Every time someone is in the app after closing it, it is counted as a new session.

Engagement
This section is helpful for doing some testing on the effectiveness of your messages. If you send a message and see a spike in engagement than you know it was probably because that message is encouraging people to open the app. Find out what times of day and what subject of messages get the best engagement in your parish by testing over a period of a few months.

Screens
This section shows you what areas of the app are the most popular. If you want to increase engagement for a specific area, we recommend sending a message out and encouraging your parishioners to check out the button. Messages remain the number 1 reason that people get into myParish App. Why not encourage them to pray more or check out the daily readings?

View a Quick Overview of myParish Analytics

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Led by the Spirit

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In today’s reading, we hear that Jesus was led by the Spirit. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was led by the Holy Spirit, as we all should be. But I think we often let the more natural moments and distractions of our day to day distract us from the supernatural promptings of the Spirit.

This year for Lent I got tired of the typical “give something up” quips that people typically do. This isn’t to downplay anyone who is doing this, it just hasn’t been very effective for me in the past. This year I wanted to intentionally focus on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and being more aware of them when they happen throughout the day. I am trying this with 5 steps.

1. Prayer: Instead of planning on doing something huge like a daily holy hour or 15-decade rosary a day, I have decided to do 4 simple and attainable times of prayer throughout the whole day. This helps me to continually speak to God and also be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit in my life. Some examples are praying a morning offering and doing an examination of conscience at night.

2. Sacrifice: Again, instead of large sacrifices, I am doing 3 smaller ones throughout the day that break my will and remind me of the importance of sacrifice. One in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at nighttime. These can be as simple as giving up salt on meals or not snacking.

3. Meditation: This is one of the most important aspects of my Lenten journey this year. It includes taking 5 minutes to meditate on the daily scripture. Meditation is done more as speaking to a lover than just reading from scripture. As I read the bible I let my heart and the Spirit lead and the words are there for guidance. I look up every so often and actually speak to God about what I am receiving.

4. Learning: “You learn something new every day.” This Lent I want to dive deeper in Theology and the teachings of the Church. Nathalie and I are going to be reading Theology of the Body together in order to learn more about our loving God and ourselves. Learning is as simple as taking 10-30 minutes a day to read a book or listen to religious podcast or video.

5. Service: “All is Gift.” Knowing that everything we have been given is a gift from God, I am trying to give more this lent. I have a new act of service picked every week. This can be anything from sharing the Gospel with someone new, to volunteering, to hosting a nice dinner for friends.

I hope these suggestions are helpful for you as you journey through this Lent. Whatever your Lenten practices are, I encourage you to use these sacrifices and moments to listen to the Holy Spirit prompting you to go out and love the world. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Contact the Author


Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.
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Talitha Koum

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“He took the child by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ 
which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’ The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.”

The Gospel today tells the beautiful, vague, story of someone who may or may not have existed thousands of years ago and was healed from an ailment by medicine but she irrationally attributed it to the power of Jesus, who was just a good person that taught a lot of good things.

How often do we have this mindset when we read powerful verses like those in the readings today? I think because we see so much suffering and pain around us we automatically think that somehow Jesus either didn’t have the power we read about or it has dwindled dramatically due to the passing of time.

But take just a second and think about the past five years of your life. How many things have happened that couldn’t be a coincidence? How many graces and blessings have come out of even seemingly impossible or devastating circumstances? How often have you encountered people or situations which gave you hope when there felt like there was none. This could be as simple as someone paying for your meal in the drive-thru to something dramatic like physical healing.

I don’t think God’s power was exaggerated or has somehow dwindled with time, I just think we have forgotten how to listen for it and see Him work. You turn on the news and hear of the most devastating scenarios imaginable and it’s easy to believe that this is the state of the world. But the good moments that happen every day, the moments that bring hope and joy to the world, go largely unnoticed.

I was in a grocery store the other day and a nice man had some things on the counter and was one dollar short from what he needed to pay for his items. He decided he would have to put his pop back, even though he really wanted it. I told him I would pay the extra. You should have seen the look on his face as he turned to me and said, “Thank you, nice things like this just don’t happen anymore.” My immediate thought was to smile back and agree with him, but in a moment of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I simply said, “Yeah they do. They just did.”

I don’t tell this story to lift myself up, it was just a dollar. I tell it because it’s a good reminder that our immediate reaction to the negativity in the world is to believe it is all there is. Jesus is still as powerful today as He was thousands of years ago. The question is, do we believe that? I challenge you to ask something great of God today. Reach out in faith and see the power that was witnessed in the Gospel so many years ago by a real crowd, who breathed real air, and had real human experiences. Turning the Gospels into cute little fiction stories does not do justice to the power of God. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.” St. Teresa of Avila.

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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The Mass as Fulfillment of the Scriptures

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There are many different angles one could go with the rich symbolism in all three of today’s beautiful readings. The first reading is a clear call to the importance of physical actions to be taken in religious ceremonies. We are all a spirit-body composite and as such, we need to engage our bodies in all we do. The second reading speaks of the importance of all members (individuals) of the body (church) participating in the work of the larger body (the Lord) with their own specific gifts. Then finally, we come to the Gospel, what a beautiful summarization of the previous two readings culminating in a clear analogy for the mass.

Jesus stood up in the synagogue and was handed a scroll from the prophet Isaiah. This was typical to read from the prophets in the synagogue. However, the reader typically read the passage and did not offer any sort of reflection or addition. The prophets could speak for themselves. Jesus breaks this tradition. He not only adds his own thoughts to the scripture, but he claims that it is being fulfilled right before them by himself. He is the one who brings glad tidings to the poor and sight to the blind.

We see here that the word of God does not fall on lost ears or hearts but that it is so real and active that it literally is Jesus himself. Here we have the Word, speaking the Word, as the Word. The scriptures are fulfilled by the presence of he who is the Word.

Fast forward to today. Our tired eyes try to stay open during the readings, we hear a vibration from our phone and our mind wanders, we hear a screaming child and forget that all members of the body are important and wonderfully made.

I have a directors brain, I always thought I would be good at directing plays or movies because I feel that I have an eye for the bigger picture and can be very critical. I hate to admit that this is me during the Mass on some Sunday’s. “I would have said that differently” or “why did the music sound so strange in that one song. Did they forget to practice?”

We all have little quirks, insecurities, or faults that try to distract us from the reality of what is really going on. In the exact same way as the Gospel reading, every Mass brings us the fulfillment of scripture. The readings are read but it doesn’t stop there, we then dive into the beauty of the liturgy of the Eucharist where the word literally becomes flesh. Nothing more needs to be said or done. Think about that for a second and let that reality sink in next time you participate in Mass. If that doesn’t bring us to our knees than something is missing. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Relationship and Trust

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Do you ever wish that evangelization would be as easy as just stating that Jesus is the Lamb of God? This is what we see in today’s Gospel, a statement that is beautiful in its simplicity as well as strong in its content. If only we could go back to this time when it was simple to proclaim the truth, a time when not everybody was offended by bringing up religion, a time when the Catholic church could flourish without all the notes of scandal and hypocrisy.

Of course, I am being sarcastic here. The early church had just as many problems, if not more when it came to evangelization. I think we sometimes can feel so bad for ourselves that we convince ourselves that bringing people into a true relationship with God is just impossible in today’s culture. Of course, that is not the case.

So why was it so easy for John in the Gospel? I think the ultimate answer is two simple words. Relationship and trust. John had a relationship that was deep enough that those he was reaching out to trusted him wholeheartedly. It’s as if they could say, “If John believes this is the Messiah, then we believe as well. John would not lead us astray.”

A relationship is crucial to evangelization, conversion rarely happens in a box. There are rare cases of some of the Saints who had mystical conversions but for the most part, the conversion process starts through a genuine relationship with someone who is trusted.

Of course, true conversion comes from God himself, but it is hard for people today to get there if they first don’t enter your own personal story of what Christ has done with you. I have had to keep this in mind as I teach RCIA. It is easy to slip into the mindset that everyone in the class is just a number we want in the church as opposed to a real person who we want to fall in love with Jesus.

I know all of this can sound base but I know I need the reminder. It’s easy to trust people to “the system.” I see people in Mass and think, “well I could talk with them and welcome them or they could just join our welcome programs.” So much of what we do as a society is hope that other people will handle it or reach out.

In this New Year, I am going to try to be intentional with all of my interactions with people. Instead of immediately labeling them and fitting them into a box that gives me the excuse to not reach out in a kind way, I am going to make sure I try to build a relationship.

With relationship comes trust and with trust comes the ability to enter into the fun conversations. Then you can truly dive into the deep questions. Why are we here? Is there a higher purpose? Does God exist? What has He done in your life?

From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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The Joy of Simplicity

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They say that little babies sense a lot in the womb. Studies have even been done to try to determine just how much babies are aware of and at what age they start to hear sound and feel movement. The human person is incredible, aren’t we? Before we are even able to live on our own we are able to respond to sound, movement, touch, and light.

This is where we find ourselves in the Gospel for today, but John was not responding to any physical stimulus, he was responding to pure grace. We know from scripture that Mary was full of grace and that she was carrying God himself, and because of this truth John could not help but leap for joy. He knew even before he was born of the immense role this other baby would play in his salvation and his response is nothing less than complete gratitude.

When was the last time I truly allowed myself to become weak, dependent, small, and defenseless in the midst of the very same grace that Jesus offers me every day? When was the last time I lept for joy from knowing what Jesus will do and has done in my life? When was the last time I allowed myself to have childlike faith?

I truly ask myself this question as Christmas fast approaches and I hope you genuinely ask yourself this question as well. It is easy to get bogged down with the rules and expectations of faith. It is easy to get swept up in the negative talk and publicity circling around the Church Christ founded. It is easy to make prayer into a chore instead of a conversation with a lover.

But the faith is beautiful in its simplicity. If we ever find ourselves overcomplicating things, it helps to focus on this Gospel from today. God is pure grace, pure gift, and our response to that free gift should be a childlike leap for joy. Not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it, but because Christ bought it for us.

Here in this Advent season, let’s practice jumping. Let’s practice leaping for joy in the midst of grace. When the overcomplication and juridical controversies start to swirl, remember the simplicity of the Gospel. Jesus came so that we might have grace, and that should give us more joy than anything. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”
~ G. K. Chesterton

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Jesus, The Fulfillment of the Old

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Good morning, and praise the Lord for another day. As you sit down, pour a cup of coffee, and get ready to reflect on today’s readings, I am pleased to present to you the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. At first glance, perhaps the most boring bible verse out of all of them, one that makes you wonder why Matthew would spend so much time talking about generation after generation of impossible to pronounce names.

If you are tempted to read only the first line and then give up and read something better like a dictionary or car manual, I implore you to take another look. There is a reason that Matthew is so specific about the generations before Jesus.

We have a set of three groups, with fourteen generations in each. Perhaps the important number here is not fourteen, but instead the number seven. Seven is seen throughout scripture as the number of perfection or fulfillment. As we all know, Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament. Do the math, when you add up all the groups you have six groups of seven generations each until we finally see the last group, the generation of the Messiah. This final group completes seven groups and symbolizes that Christ came to fulfill all that came before.

We see a similar symbolism at the Wedding at Cana. Six jars of overflowing wine (a biblical symbol for God’s love) appeared as the first of Jesus’ miracles, with himself being the seventh and never-ending outpouring of love. We see it again with the woman who had six husbands and Jesus came and invited her into his love as the seventh.

Numbers are important in the bible. This seemingly boring Gospel passage shows us that Jesus became a man to restore, to fulfill, to give his perfect love, and to reunite us to the Father. Numbers don’t lie, and neither does our Lord. He fulfills his promise in our lives every day, all we have to do is accept this gift of perfect and limitless love. When was the last time you did? From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Eclipse of Love

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“Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever.”

What a beautiful way to start the day, huh? All of us want to flee mourning and misery and put on the splendor of God. Our company just finished a conference with NFCYM where myParish App was the official app of the conference. On my flight back we got delayed and were stuck in the Chicago airport. We tried to get to our hotel for the night but got on the wrong bus. After getting off, I realized I left my phone on that bus and we had to wait a half hour for it to come back around. Long story short, we got two hours of sleep and I am now writing to you from a little plastic chair in the Chicago airport.

I needed a little pick me up this morning, and here the word of God delivered in a big way. Sometimes we go through times of misery, but the reminder of the Gospel is that it does not last. We are all made for glory and happiness with our God. The saints call these moments of ups and downs in our lives times of desolation and consolation.

Sometimes we have times where it is hard to see God working, it is hard to find hope. These would be moments of desolation. But in reality, we know that God is always there and ultimately he wants us to be happy with him forever. I like to relate this to a solar eclipse. For a few seconds, the sun is not visible. It is completely obstructed. But we know that even though we cannot see it or even feel its effects, that it is not gone forever. The eclipse finishes and the sun emerges. It is the same with the son of God.

Sometimes we feel like we can’t feel or see or hear God, but then those moments of consolation come where we truly feel his peace and love and live in that peace. These moments remind us that he never left and that we do not have to be afraid. St. Francis De Sales once said, “Fear is a greater evil than evil itself. O you of little faith: what is it you fear? Do not be afraid. You are walking on water, amid wind and wave, but you are with Jesus. What is there to fear? If fear takes hold of you, cry out strongly, ‘O Lord, save me!’ He will hold out a hand to you. Hold on tight and go forward with joy.”

I don’t know what kind of suffering is happening in your life right now. It might not be as little as losing a phone and getting very little sleep, (I got the phone back by the way) but whatever your suffering is, do not give up hope. Wait for the Son to appear again and give you his unconditional love and peace. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Christ Reminds us of Who We Are

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“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Often when I read verses like this one from Today’s Gospel, I become discouraged and feel disheartened. In today’s world, with all its tribulations, we have to cry out to God for the strength to persevere. Like the beggar who pounds his breasts in the temple, we cry for the grace to avoid sin and attain virtue.

The reason this saddens my heart is that God did not ever desire this for us. There was a time when virtue was what we wanted when love was our first thought in relation to others when praise of the Lord just made sense and didn’t take effort. As sad as it is that we now have to cry out, could you imagine if we didn’t have a savior who has allowed us to beg for the grace we lost?

Think about it, in the garden Adam and Eve were human beings par excellence. They were who all of us long to be. They just had the grace from God, they didn’t need to beg on bended knee. Then the fall happened and changed the entire world and the whole human race. We lost our inheritance, but God became man so that we could ask for it back and through his power we receive it.

“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Scripture speaks of signs that will happen letting us know our redemption is at hand. The first sign of our coming redemption is the birth of Christ. This is what we celebrate at Christmas, that God loves us enough to give us another shot. Not to go back to the beginning, but to go through our beginning state and beyond. Enjoying abounding grace, unconditional love, and perfect hope.

I often think of this verse when Christmas approaches, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Now, this may seem like an unrelated verse to Christmas. It just feels like a verse of condemnation and impossible standards. But the reality is that for Christ to hold us to such a high standard, he has to redeem us to the level where we can attain the standard. 

This verse is not so much a condemnation, but a calling. A calling to accept the grace Christ wants to give, grace that gives us the strength to live and to love how God calls us. God became a man to redeem us of course, but he also became a man to remind us of who we are and how we are created. We have forgotten our worth, God taking on a body and becoming human reminds us of it. That should give us great joy. Happy Advent and from all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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A Perfect Paradise

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“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.

Can you imagine a paradise where there is no sin, no hate, no war, no suffering of any kind? It has been written about in books and poems, movies have been made about it, many men and women have spent restless nights under the stars dreaming of the very place. A utopia like this is what we all desire because we were made for it.

Journey back with me to the beginning. Imagine the state of Adam and Eve in the garden, complete love of God and each other. They had no sin and did not use the other, but only had room for love. They had no concept even of what sin was. Perfection! Sounds great right?

Well then, something happened that changed the course of history. Adam and Eve fell. They sinned against an eternal God. And the only thing that could save all of humanity is if that same eternal God became one of us and made the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. And that is precisely what Jesus did on the cross.

But the beautiful thing is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross does not take us back to the beginning, it takes us beyond. In the garden, Adam and Eve did not experience the beatific vision, that is, they did not “see” God. They did not perfectly participate in His divinity. This is a state that is reserved for us now because God became a man. This is why the Catechism says that “God became man so that man might become God.”

This is our destiny. This should give us immense hope. So if you are still dreaming or writing about that Utopia, take faith in the fact that this is our destiny, to be happy with God forever, and that truly is good news. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Be Not Afraid

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Have you ever been at the rock bottom, feeling like you are falling into a pit of despair and hopelessness? This could come from many things; problems with family, work, friends, or health. There are many things in this world that make us feel like we are drowning.

The woman in the first reading today can relate. Here we have a prophet begging her for food and water as she knows full well that her next meal will be her last. She has already prepared for the death of her and her son after they run out of flour and oil. Mixed with this turmoil and fear she was either racked with a distrust of God or the feeling that perhaps this was the Lord’s plan for her and she had come to accept it.

Either way, she had lost hope, and was already preparing for something that she did not know for sure would happen. I am reminded of the movie, “The Mist.” In this film, the main character gives up all hope and thinks he knows what is going to happen to the group of people that he befriends. He makes a decision that results in the deaths of all those present and just as it looks like the creatures are going to take him too, the clouds part and the army comes in and saves him.

The point here is that we have two scenarios where the subject of the story acts as if they have certainty about the future, but it turns out they have no idea what God has planned. The woman with little flour prepares for her death and is then saved. The man in the movie prepares for his death as well and is saved at the last second.

Wrought with heartache and suffering, I think our first response is to give in to doubt and fear and then make decisions based entirely on this fear. But the scriptures today are very clear, “Do not be afraid.” God knows our suffering and our hurt. He is there with us.

Ok stop for a second, you have heard it before, God is with us. Have you let it sink in? Here is the reality, God exists outside of time as we know it. Theologians say He is in what we call the eternal now. This means that every moment that has ever happened or will happen is present to God right now. It was the same at the cross. When Jesus gave His life, He took on all the pain, sin, hurt, despair, and fear of the entire world and experienced it as you and I do. Don’t forget that he was a human with real emotions and he experienced pain.

This should give us such great hope because Christ conquered it all on the cross. He stared your suffering in the face and overcame it so you could one day be in heaven with Him. Don’t let this be just another time that you hear that God cares. Take five minutes today and thank God for His love and ask Him to join you in your current suffering, after all, He already conquered it. Do not lose hope. Be not afraid. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Baptized Into His Death

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“For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.”

The past few days of readings have been about death. Today we hear that death is gain and yesterday we heard that we are baptized into Christ’s death. All this death talk seems like a lot of doom and gloom, after all, death is not something that we enjoy, so how can it be something that we gain and something we are baptized into?

Do you remember the movie Alladin? At the end of the movie Jafar, the villain of the film, asks to become the most powerful genie in the entire world. Alladin grabs the lamp and reaches it to the sky as Jafar spirals into his new prison because if you have seen the movie, you know that if you are going to be a genie, you have to accept everything that goes with it. It can seem this way with death too.

As human beings, death is now a part of us, and we have to accept everything that goes with it. When we were born, we inherited the death that Adam and Eve brought into the world through sin. We lost our inheritance of perfect love with God and each other. This seems like something that enslaves us and certainly does not seem like a positive thing. So why all this talk about being baptized into Christ’s death?

Well, death can only be seen as a positive thing in this world through the lens of the cross. If we think of Christ as the new Adam who has come into the world to mend our relationship with God, then it makes sense to be baptized into His death. After all, Christ’s death is the fact that He conquered it and rose. This is what we are baptized into.

St. John Paul II once said, “He (man) is called in that truth which has been his heritage from the beginning, the heritage of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited.” What he is saying here is that our inheritance of grace and love of God and neighbor goes far deeper than the inheritance of original sin. What Christ has done on the cross is brought us back into this inheritance that we long for, while destroying the inhertiance of sin through His ressurection. This indeed is cause for great joy.

Let us thank God for the gift of the cross, the gift that allows us to live by the original love and truth that we were given from the beginning, before sin and before death. Amen!

“For we are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!”
-St. John Paul II

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.