I started vlogging at just eight years old—capturing everything from trips I took, food I loved, crafts I made, and even songs I liked to sing. Now at 17, after nine years of recording my life and the moments unfolding before my eyes, vlogging remains one of the biggest parts of who I am.

It’s my absolute favorite hobby—and the way I share the truth of God’s love online. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells His curious disciples, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” I imagine God saying those words to me—that I’m blessed to see what I’ve seen, to hear what I’ve heard, and most of all, to remember His glory in the everyday moments I capture on camera.

You, too, are so blessed, my friend! Are there glory-filled moments in your life you never want to forget? Things you’ve seen that shout of His goodness? 

Capture them. Share them. Hold on to them. Because you never know how many hearts they’ll touch. 

Helene Gogna (helenegogna@gmail.com)

reflect

List the personal moments when God’s love became real to you. 

Lord, You bless me every day. Open my eyes to the great things You are doing. Don’t let me miss any of them.

Saint Bridget, religious, pray for us.

Often, we start on a journey or task with great enthusiasm. However, when trials come and the enthusiasm begins to waver, we lose heart in pursuit of the goal. When it comes to service in the Kingdom of God, the goal of working for the salvation of others ought to be enough motivation for us to give our best at all times.

¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown. ³ Sacred to the Lord was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; should anyone presume to partake of them, evil would befall them, says the Lord. ⁷ When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, you entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome. ⁸ The priests asked not, “Where is the Lord?” Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols. ¹² Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord. ¹³ Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 36:6-7, 8-9, 10-11

R: With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

⁶ O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds. ⁷ Your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments, like the mighty deep. (R) ⁸ How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁹ They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house; from your delightful stream you give them to drink. (R) ¹⁰ For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light, we see light. ¹¹ Keep up your mercy toward your friends, your just defense of the upright of heart. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 13:10-17

It makes sense to entrust more gifts and talents to those who use them and to take them away from those who do not bear fruit from whatever little they have. This is the essence of good stewardship. But our God is infinitely generous, and He never gives up on us. He will keep encouraging us to use our gifts well, even when we do not respond. However, let us expect that those who respond will receive more and more gifts.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

¹⁰ The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. ¹² To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. ¹⁴ Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. ¹⁵ Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them. ¹⁶ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Reflect

What gifts and talents has God given you? How do you use these to serve Him and the people He sends you to serve?

Read the Bible in one year! Read TOBIT 12 - 14 today.

It happened this midnight (May 8, 2025, 12:30 a.m.) that the white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel came out. “Habemus papam!”— “We have a pope!” This set off notifications across social media. Many people had their candidates and bets for the See of Saint Peter. But who came out from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica? His Eminence Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, who took the name Pope Leo XIV. He was not on the list of the famous papabiles, nor was he a “darling” of the press. His election was unexpected. The common question was: “Who is he?”

The world is so preoccupied with fame. At times, the measure of things is popular opinion. In today’s Gospel, the Lord exhorts those who witness His actions as “blessed.” Blessedness is not based on the accolades given by the majority, but on the opportunity God gives to those whom He chooses. “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear . . .”

Like the recent event this morning, when a non-popular cardinal came out as the 267th successor of Saint Peter, the simple and even those considered by the world as unimportant occurrences in our lives can be opportunities to encounter God. We must only have eyes that see the hands of God and ears that heed His message. Being aware of the presence of God in our daily lives is a blessing. 

Fr. Eugene Fadul

reflection question

Each day, preferably at night, take the time to ask yourself this question: How did I see God’s presence today?

May my eyes and ears be always alert to Your presence in my daily life, O Lord.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________