Jackson Youth Group

06/03/2026

Today is the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions.

Charles was a 19th century Ugandan convert to the Catholic faith.

Fearing losing his power to the Christians, the king at the time ordered the Christians to renounce their faith or be executed.

St. Charles was the chief servant of the king and often protected the boys in his charge from the king's wickedness.

As the persecution got more intense, St. Charles baptized those in his charge.

Refusing to renounce the faith, St. Charles was burned alive.

As he was being burnt, he said to his executioner: "It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me."

What an incredible witness of faith from an incredible saint.

This is why we honor and revere the saints.

They are ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives by the grace of God.

May we all strive to imitate their virtues and love for our Lord and the Church.

St. Charles Lwanga, pray for us!

06/02/2026

In our first reading from St. Peter's second letter, he encourages the faithful.

He tells them: "Wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire."

He reminds them of God's promise that there will be a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

St. Peter says to "be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace. And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation."

Our hope is in these promises of our Lord, that we will one day experience a new heavens and a new earth.

We live in the world, but our true homeland is in Heaven.

We must keep our eyes fixed on the things of Heaven and not on this earth.

The things of this world are passing away, but the things of Heaven are everlasting.

As St. Peter tells us, we must look to our Lord and his example of patience.

By our patience and sufferings, we will one day come to the eternal glories of Heaven!

05/31/2026

Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity!

Today we reflect on one of the most profound mysteries of our faith.

What we understand about the Trinity comes from the beautiful revelation that God is love (1 John 4:8).

The Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--is an eternal communion of life-giving love.

The Trinity is a core belief of our faith, but the Trinity is so much more than an abstract concept.

It's a reality that we are called to share in.

We're invited into a deep relationship with the Trinity, and to go out and share that dynamic love with everyone we meet.

It's time to go deeper in your prayer life.

It's time to let this mystery pe*****te your heart and inform everything you do.

God's calling you farther in and higher up.

Are you listening? Will you answer this great call?

05/29/2026

In the Gospel today, Jesus drives out those in the temple who are trying to buy and sell there.

They're making the temple--which is God's house, intended to be a place of prayer--into a marketplace.

What is holy is being used for unholy purposes.

In Jesus's intense love for his Father and the temple, he cannot stand to see something so holy being treated so profanely.

Sadly, we see this same attitude in our present day.

The Church--God's dwelling place--is often treated as an entertainment social gathering.

This is a call and challenge for all of us--to reclaim the Church, especially the Mass, as a holy place of worship.

Too often, we make a mockery out of religion and the Mass.

Let's end this abuse and treat the Mass with great solemnity.

As Jesus cleansed the temple of sin and vice, let's also cleanse ourselves so we may more deeply enter into the Mass.

God will not be mocked. Religion will not be mocked. Let's live that way.

05/27/2026

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the Twelve all that was going to happen to him.

He says that he will be mocked, spit upon, scourged, put to death, but rise on the third day.

After telling them this, James and John approach Jesus and ask to sit at his right and left when he comes in his glory.

It's an odd request considering what Jesus had just told them, and even the other ten become angry with James and John.

Jesus summons the Apostles again and tells them that the great among them will be servants to others.

He says that he came not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus equates his coming in glory as the moment of his crucifixion, when he gave his life as a ransom for many.

This is why he told James and John that to sit at his right and left in his glory is for those for whom it has been prepared.

Our true glory lies in suffering with Jesus.

May we also live not to be served, but to serve others.

05/26/2026

Our readings today pack quite a punch as we move back into Ordinary Time.

In the first reading from St. Peter's letter, he writes: "As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy."

In the Gospel, Peter tells Jesus that they've given up everything to follow him.

Jesus promises they will be rewarded in this present age and receive eternal life in the age to come, though with persecutions.

We must strive for holiness, despite whatever difficulties come.

God calls us to great things and we must be willing to sacrifice everything for his sake.

He promises eternal life to those who endure the difficulties of this life with perseverance.

Move into this Ordinary Time with greater zeal and longing for holiness, which will ultimately lead to our eternal happiness.

05/25/2026

As we remember those who died in defense of our nation, today we also honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

Though Pope Francis made this an obligatory memorial in 2018, Christians have used the title "Mother of the Church" since the 4th century.

Mary is indeed the Mother of Christ, who gave his life for his bride, the Church.

"Mary therefore, as Mother of Christ, must also be regarded as Mother of all the faithful and Pastors alike, that is to say, of the Church."

Mary's closeness to her son, our savior, established the closest of bonds between our heavenly Mother and the human race.

As the Mother of the Church, Mary prays for us, she helps us in our distress, and always leads us ever closer to her son.

"In this mortal life she embodied the perfect form of a disciple of Christ, she was the mirror of all virtues."

She is the model of discipleship and the ideal for what the Church strives to be.

Stay close to the Church, stay close to Mary.

Allow her to lead you ever closer to her son, our savior, Jesus Christ.

05/24/2026

Happy Pentecost!

With great joy we celebrate Pentecost, the third most important solemnity in the Church's liturgical year.

At that first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and changed the course of history forever.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were empowered to preach the Gospel to all nations.

St. Peter, who had previously denied Jesus, was preaching with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

He baptized 3,000 people on the day of Pentecost.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit is still at work in the Church today.

And the Holy Spirit wants to do incredible things in our lives, just as he did at that first Pentecost and in the life of the Church ever since.

What's our relationship like with the Holy Spirit?

Do we pray to him? Are we open to his guidance and promptings?

How can we deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit?

And become the saints he will help us be?

05/20/2026

The Gospel today continues Jesus's high priestly prayer.

Jesus prays that the disciples: 1) be one just as he and the Father are one; 2) be kept from the Evil One; 3) be consecrated in the truth.

What a tragedy that Christianity has become so divided when Christ prayed so ardently for unity.

We must all pray for and seek unity and reconciliation among Christians.

Jesus asked the Father to keep the disciples from the Evil One.

We must be in the world but always live for our true homeland in Heaven.

Finally, Jesus asks that they be consecrated in the truth and he sends them into the world.

While we're in the world living for our true homeland, we must share this Good News with all people.

Jesus himself says that he speaks this in the world so that we may share his joy completely.

Start living for Heaven now and share completely in the joy of Jesus!

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