Monthly Archives: June 2026

Look at the interaction between Elisha and the Shunamite couple. Elisha is known as the “holy man of God,” and this couple is clearly warm and gracious to him, to the point where they provide a room for him in their house, so he will be comfortable when he visits.

And what becomes of all that generosity? The great gift of their lives: in one year, Elisha promises, they will have a baby son.

This, of course, is the greatest gift God could bestow on them in their old age, and the story is paired with today’s gospel from Matthew 10, which says: “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.”

But, it turns out, our generosity of a cup of cold water to any disciple of Jesus, no matter how “little” or unknown, will bear a reward that can never be lost.

Here’s a quote I love, from James Blanchard Cisneros “You touch the world on a much deeper level than you currently perceive. … knowingly or not, you change the world with every interaction you have with a fellow being.” 

I really believe that we carry interaction we’ve ever had, somewhere in our hearts. As William Faulkner famously said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Even if we don’t remember all those sweet, loving words the lunch ladies said to us in first grade, the effect of all that kindness never leaves us.

Every cuddle with our parents, every kindness of a coach or a teacher, burrows a home in our hearts, and we find ourselves providing safety and shelter to other “little disciples” whom we meet in life.

What are your fondest memories of interactions with particular people?

Kathy McGovern ©2026

I love to watch YouTube videos of babies with their (exhausted) and thrilled parents.

They can sit for long periods of time, just gazing at their new baby, cheering at the slightest signal that their newborn recognizes their voice. They lovingly stroke their baby’s hair, and I’m confident that, should a single hair on baby’s head go missing, they would search for it and put it in the Baby Book.

Babies grow into adults, of course, but never forget this: Each of us is adored in the same way. Jesus assures the disciples today that Even all the hairs of your head are counted. Drink that in for a minute. Just as new parents know every strand of their newborn’s hair, so our Heavenly Father knows every strand of ours.

And yes, our aging male friends will ruefully observe that those strands of hair are fewer and fewer, and we can all rue our rapidly greying hair. But it’s a comfort to know that God is in the process.

But what of the real fears in our lives—bodies that can’t retrieve the strength of their youth, illness, loss of dear ones, and the random violence that terrifies us all?

What a comfort to take in Jesus’ words to his disciples as he sent them out into the frightening Roman world: Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Take Jesus at his Word every day. Wrap yourself up in the promise that you are a beloved child of an endlessly loving Heavenly Parent.  

Hold us tight, loving God. Touch the wounds that bind and betray us. We gaze at you, God, as you gaze upon us.

In what ways this past week did you experience the warm embrace of God?  

Kathy McGovern ©2026      

Reflecting on Matthew 9: 36-10:8

My heart always hurts a little when I read that sentence from today’s gospel: Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.

Nine months ago, our lives changed, and in all the good ways. My husband’s cousin’s 29-year-old daughter came to live with us while  finishing her Masters in Engineering. Immediately, phones began to ring in our house again, and it was always HER phone, and always a new friend, and always hours of chatter.

How intoxicating it is to listen to her, on a summer night, out on the back porch, laughing and making plans with the actual friends (not fake Facebook friends) she makes every day.

I think the answer is in identity. She knows she’s smart. I assume she knows she’s beautiful. But her core identity is as a daughter, and sister, and granddaughter and, yes, second cousin.

In the nine months she’s been in Denver I’ll bet she’s driven back to Salt Lake eight times to see her grandparents. It’s extraordinary to see a young person realize, so early in life, that it’s family that forms you, and, hence, gives you the building blocks to go out into the world to be a wonderful and engaged friend.

In the first reading today (Exodus 19: 2-6a), God tells us who we are:

“My special possession, dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.”  Because they knew who they were, the apostles had the strength and spiritual background to say YES when Jesus called them. It hurts that so many people don’t know that they are God’s special possession. Tell somebody today.

How are you getting that Good News out to the world?

Kathy McGovern ©2026

Reflecting on John 6: 51-58

My friend John’s story about going to the football game with his dad comes back to me every year on this feast day. “I’ll never give up my season tickets. I go to every game. It’s the place where my dad and I have our best talks.”

His dad died nearly thirty years ago. Growing up, John and his dad enjoyed the entire Game Day ritual―Mass, breakfast, driving to the stadium, firing up the grill, hamburgers, and football. They talked, and ate, and shared in the triumphs and humiliations of the game. And the next week, if the team was in town, they did it all again.

John grieved horribly when his dad died in the spring of 1990. He was his best friend. They had built so many memories. He would never see him again.

Except, of course, on Sunday afternoons, in the sun and wind and cold, and the hot dogs and beer, and the cheering and the booing, and memories so real that John feels his dad next to him at every game. He goes to see his dad, to really feel his presence.

There are many sensory triggers that can transport us. Think about pipe smoke. Can you smell it? I can, and suddenly my grandpa is with me. A Beach Boys song on a summer day can bring childhood friends right into the room. These cues make the past Really Present.

As Catholics, we get that. Every Sunday we place ourselves in the position to Re-Member the One who loved us to his death. In the Eucharist the Beloved Past becomes the Real Presence. This is the feast that tells us who we are.

What sensory experiences bring the past right back to you?

Kathy McGovern ©2026