How can I speak “openly” about wisdom, faith, science, and reason—just as the Church and the Synod invite us—while balancing my desperate prayers for a miracle through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen for our son, Daniel, with the humble acceptance of reality❓ As I carry hot water to thaw ice for our livestock at The Glenn, how do I keep my heart open to both the practical demands of life and the hope of divine intervention, just as Jesus himself “spoke this openly”❓
Gospel
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am❓”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am❓”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
I strive openly to keep my heart guided by wisdom, faith, science, and reason, knowing that each plays a role in understanding God’s creation. The Church and the Synod remind me that an open dialogue between faith and reason strengthens both. Yet, as I walk this path, I wrestle with what it means to truly be open—to hope, to surrender, and to trust in God’s plan.
not distance us from the tragedies of history. Instead, it opens our eyes to the suffering of those
around us, and we are pierced: the faces of war-stricken terrorized children, weeping mothers,
the shattered dreams of so many young people, refugees who face terrible journeys, the victims
of climate change and social injustice. “
Each day, I remain openly hopeful to the possibility of a miracle for our son Daniel through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. My prayers rise with urgency, pleading for divine intervention, but I must also stay open to God’s will, even if it unfolds in ways I cannot yet comprehend. Faith calls me to trust, but my human heart longs for assurance.
At The Glenn, in the bitter cold, I break ice and carry hot water for our livestock, tending to the immediate needs before me. These simple acts of care ground me in the present moment. In this work, I see another lesson: staying open does not mean passivity but rather engaging openly with what is given to me today, even as I hope for something greater tomorrow.
I must also be open to the reality that miracles are not always as we imagine them. Perhaps the miracle is not just in Daniel’s healing but in how this journey transforms me—teaching me to trust more deeply, love more fully, and remain steadfast in faith. An heart embraces openly both the mystery of suffering and the promise of redemption.
And so, as I continue to pray, work, and wait, I ask God to help me stay open—to hope, to faith, and to His divine plan. Just as Jesus did not hide the truth but revealed it with clarity and conviction, I, too, must follow his example…
If we are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes religion and the language particular to it. The Catholic Church is open to dialogue with philosophical thought; this has enabled her to produce various syntheses between faith and reason.
FROM PARAGRAPH 63 OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME