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Have you ever looked back over your life and wondered how you got from there to here? One decision led to another, one unexpected door opened after another, and somewhere along the way you discovered that God had been weaving together things you never could have planned. Sometimes what looks like a collection of unrelated events only makes sense when we finally turn around and see where the journey began. I invite you to read more…
For me, much of my current journey traces back to my eight day silent retreat in November 2011. On the second night, God spoke words to my heart that changed the direction of my life: “Brian, I am still calling you.” On the third night, He gave me the message I believed He wanted me to share with the world: “If you want to be healed, you have to tell someone you are broken.” I had absolutely no idea where those words would lead.
Nearly fifteen years later, I can look back and see a trail I never could have mapped out for myself. Broken Door Ministries, 4th Day Letters, podcasts, parish retreats, prison retreats, books, talks, and more recently songwriting have all grown from my attempt to respond to that call. Through it all, I have tried, sometimes successfully and sometimes imperfectly, to follow wherever the Holy Spirit seemed to be leading.
I don’t share this as if I have somehow arrived. Quite the opposite. Through all these years I continue to cry out with the tax collector in Jesus’ parable, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13) Whatever good has come from this ministry has come through the saving power of Jesus Christ, not through anything I could accomplish on my own. I need Him every single day.
Even through years of significant health challenges, God continued opening doors I never expected and providing new opportunities to share His message.
I am excited to announce that this past week, another one of those doors opened when my newest book, Becoming Eucharist: The Forgotten Call of Catholic Life, was officially published and became available for purchase. This book represents the next step in a message that has been developing in my heart and ministry for many years.
As you know, I recently released my second book, Living Out the Lord’s Supper. That book intentionally focused, not on our different Christian beliefs about Communion, but on what Jesus did at the Last Supper. Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and shared it. That pattern became an invitation for all Christians to ask whether we are willing to allow God to choose, bless, break, and share our lives for the sake of others.
Becoming Eucharist goes somewhere different. This book is intentionally Catholic. It explores what Catholics believe about the Eucharist and then asks a question I believe we Catholics sometimes overlook. We spend considerable time discussing what happens to the bread and wine at Mass, but perhaps we don’t spend nearly enough time asking: What is supposed to happen to us?
If we truly believe that we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, then receiving Him cannot simply be something we do. The Eucharist is meant to transform us. We receive Christ so that increasingly we can become like Christ, allowing ourselves to be taken, blessed, broken, and shared for a broken and hurting world. That is the forgotten call at the heart of Becoming Eucharist.
Writing an explicitly Catholic book does not mean I am stepping away from the ecumenical mission that has always been important to Broken Door Ministries. I remain deeply committed to serving Christians from every tradition wherever God provides the opportunity. At the same time, I am Catholic, and I felt strongly called to explore the extraordinary gift Catholics believe Jesus has given us in the Eucharist. If you are not Catholic but have ever wondered what your Catholic brothers and sisters believe about the Eucharist and why it means so much to us, I warmly invite you to read the book as well.
There was also a wonderful God-incidence on the day Becoming Eucharist was released. Many of you have already read Living Out the Lord’s Supper and heard some of the songs that grew from its message. On that very same day, the complete Living Out the Lord’s Supper music album became available worldwide on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and other music platforms. I hope these songs provide another way for the message to reach hearts that might never encounter it through a book or retreat.
I also want to share a new song with you this week called “Heaven Here on Earth.” This song is closely connected to the message of Becoming Eucharist. Click below to listen to the YouTube video. The song will be released worldwide on September 11 and will be available on major music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that a new book and a music album arrived on the same day. Both are simply the latest stops on a journey I never planned. Scripture tells us, “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Looking back over these nearly fifteen years, I understand those words differently than I once did.
I continue to share pieces of my journey with you for one reason: I hope they help you recognize God at work in your own journey. Your calling will not look like mine, nor mine like yours, but each of us is invited to listen, trust, and follow wherever He leads. None of us can see all the doors God may open through one faithful yes.
I hope you will consider purchasing and reading Becoming Eucharist: The Forgotten Call of Catholic Life. If its message touches you, please consider sharing a copy with someone else, telling your pastor or parish leadership about it, or inviting us to bring the Becoming Eucharist retreat to your parish. Most importantly, I hope the book helps us rediscover that Jesus did not give us the Eucharist simply so that we could receive Him. He gives Himself to us so that, transformed by His grace, we can carry Him into the world.
I still don’t know where this journey will ultimately lead, but I know where it began: “Brian, I am still calling you.” Nearly fifteen years later, with all my weaknesses, brokenness, and imperfections, I am still trying to say yes. My hope and prayer is that whatever journey God has placed before you, you will continue saying yes too.
Heavenly Father, thank You for calling each of us, for patiently leading us along roads we could never have planned, and above all for giving us Your Son Jesus Christ; transform us through Your grace, teach us to become what we receive, and give us the courage to say yes wherever Your Holy Spirit leads us, amen.
- The Journey I Never Planned - August 31, 2026
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