Love Shows Up + This Week’s Gospel Reflection
On loving someone when it's hard and uncertain, followed by this Sunday's Gospel reflection and discussion questions
Note From Me: Love Shows Up
In recent months, visiting my father-in-law in hospice care has become one of the hardest things we do. He’s emotional now. Confused. Unsure of who we are or where he is. Often, our presence seems to unsettle him. We leave each visit wondering if we’re helping, or somehow making things harder.
It takes patience to keep showing up, and a willingness to sit with the discomfort of not knowing what the “right” thing looks like anymore.
But I’m learning this: love shows up. Love doesn’t slip away when life gets confusing or painful or unrecognizable. Even when words fail. Even when memories are gone. Even when our efforts feel small and uncertain.
Seeing Grandpa tears my heart open every time. And my heart is now holding a quiet prayer, one I carry for the old, the weak, the sick, the dying, and for all those who love them and want so much to do it well. For those of us who sometimes stumble, who don’t always know what to say or do, but who trust that God can take our messy, meager efforts and make something good of them all.
Sometimes love looks like answers. Sometimes love looks like presence.
And God, somehow, meets us there all the same.
With grace,
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Sunday Gospel Reflection and Questions:
An Undivided Heart
Gospel for Sunday, February 15, 2026
Matthew 5:17-37
Jesus raises the bar. He tells us plainly that following Him is not about technical obedience or checking the right boxes. It’s about a transformed heart. The law is fulfilled not when we merely avoid wrongdoing, but when we allow God to purify our intentions, our words, and even our hidden thoughts.
