Mustard Seeds is a collection of short daily inspirations. Written during Matthew's travel from 1994 - 96, these brief reflections show the nature and focus of Kelly's interior life, and are designed to bring that same focus to our interior lives.

Rather than allowing our minds to wander wherever the momentary distraction leads us, Kelly encourages us to bring focus to our thoughts and to harness their power to move constantly in the direction of our essential purpose.

"The actions of our lives are determined by our last most dominant thought. Send your thoughts down one road and your actions and life will follow. Nothing is surer."

January 1
You say to me, "I am only one person." This is true, but look at what other great men and women before you have done in the san of one lifetime: Francis of Assisi; Paul; Thomas Aquinas; Augustine; Teresa of Avila; Edmund Rice; Don Bosco; John Vianney; Dominic; Patrick; and of course, Jesus. Look also at what others are doing around us now: Mother Teresa; John Paul II.

They too could have used the excuse, "I am only one person." The difference is they didn't see themselves as one person, but rather as one part of one body. Then committed to the message of Jesus Christ they chose to serve, and to choose to serve is to choose to love.

When Jesus said, "The harvest is great, but the laborers are few,"(Mt.10) he wasn't making a statement, he was extending an invitation and that invitation was to you.

The harvest is great, the laborers are plentiful. If only you and I would recognize that we are the laborers, God's laborers, the laborers of God sent out into the field, the world, to do our part in gathering the harvest as best we can in our families, through our friendships, and in our workplace.

January 2
You are always worrying about all the things you are not. What about all the things you are?

January 3
The Church needs you now.

January 4
"You are the salt of the earth."(Mt.5:13) In the time of Christ salt had two purposes. Salt was used to preserve meat from corruption and to add flavor to food.

You are called to do the same in the world today. Through your words, actions, and influence, you are called to preserve your family, your friendships, your workplace, and society from corruption as best you can and to add the flavor to these environments by bringing Christ and his message to them.

January 5
To be busy opposing wrong is not the same as being right.

January 6
"You are light for the world."(Mt. 5:14) Whilst many around us are consumed with discussion of the prevailing darkness in the world there is only one answer-light.

Children of God are children of light. A torch to the world is what you must be. Not like the torches we use today that we flick on and off with a switch and batteries, but the torches they used in Christ's time. A piece of wood with some material wrapped around the top lit with a live flame. Whatever that flame touches: your clothes; the furniture; curtains; carpet, will be set on fire.

When you become a torch set aflame with the love of Christ, wherever you go, whoever you meet, every person and every place that you come in contact with will be set on fire.

January 7
Until life within the womb of a mother is safe, life outside the womb will never be safe.

January 8
If you want to be wise get to know yourself. After a knowledge of God, there is no greater practical wisdom than knowledge of self. And from this self-knowledge will flow the children of wisdom: humility; prudence; and, discretion.

January 9
Our inability to appropriately and adequately express our love for the people in our lives is so common in an age when communication is supposedly at its best.

Tell someone today how much you love and appreciate them.

January 10
You cannot become more like Christ and not become more perfectly human.

January 11
What is love? For so long love has been misunderstood as being an emotion, generally aroused by an attractive element in an object. Love doesn't have to be based on an attractive object.

Love, rather, is an attitude that God has towards himself and towards creation. It is not an attitude that God has towards part of himself and part of creation.

Therefore, Christian love is universal. The love of a Christian is an attitude that one has towards God, self, and, the rest of creation. Christian love is not an attitude that one has part of God, part of ones self, and part of creation.

For a person to be rude, mean and impatient to people generally in his life but to claim to love someone in particular is a contradiction because true love is universal.

It is towards this universal love that Christ leads us by his example and teachings. The greatest act available to man is to be like God and to love God in this universal nature is the struggle of every saint, the struggle to respect and love self, God, others, and nature.

January 12
You asked me to suggest a book for you to read. Read these, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and, John. The when you are finished, read them again.

January 13
You have to take your feet off the ground to fly.

January 14
The greater your voluntary mortification the greater your joy in the midst of involuntary sufferings.

January 15
You cannot grow in the image of Christ and stay as you are.

January 16
To pray so as to grow and become more like Christ is the challenge of every Christian. To spread the gospel message of Christ in its fullness is the mission of every baptized Christian. The later demands the former. You cannot give what you do not have.

God is calling you to turn on the tap of your spiritual life, not full blast, but just to a steady drip. If you put a bucket under a dripping tap eventually it will fill and once it is full it has to overflow. There is nowhere else for the water to go.

The tap is our interior lives. The drops of water are the peace, joy and happiness that are the fruits of prayer. The bucket is our hearts and souls.

Drop by drop, through prayer and the sacraments, we are filled with this peace, joy, and happiness, and once full we too will overflow. And so everywhere we go, every person we are with, begins to be filled with the peace, joy, love and happiness, that we allow to flow from Christ through our words, actions, and even by our mere presence.

When we love God the conversion of society and the people around us will not have to be premeditated it will be natural.

January 17
Very often the only thing I learn in a day is that I cannot live the wisdom I already know.

January 18
Society is wrought by fear. Fear is the cause of so many problems, so much anxiety, and even illness. Could it be that there is a lack of love in the world?

Perfect love cast out fear. Could it be that there is a lack of love in your heart?

January 19
For God time is the unfolding of truth that already is, the unveiling of beauty that is yet to be.

January 20
Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you, it is by this that all men will know that you are my disciples." It is this loves that gives us our identity as Christians. Have you lost your identity as a Christian in the middle of the world during these times? Do you need to rediscover your identity as a Christian?

January 21
I believe the greatest of all human sufferings is to feel alone. Visit someone this week that needs your company. You will bring the light of Christ to that person's life and you will learn more than you think.

January 22
When Jesus was on the cross he didn't turn to the man next to him and say, "You committed the crime, pay the price." No, he offered him a better life.

January 23
I am only what God allows me to be and nothing more.

January 24
If you want to be happy; if you want to be calm and peaceful; if you want your life to be filled with joy: Pray. Peace, joy, and happiness, are the fruits of silent prayer.

January 25
Pray for your pastor.

January 26
Pray and God will lead you. Follow and he will reward you.

January 27
All the answers are in the tabernacle.

January 28
Fame and fortune are only illusions.

January 29
I cannot imagine Jesus by Joseph's side in the workshop in Nazareth being lazy. I can imagine Jesus working hard and well, and paying attention to the details of his work. Isn't that how you should work?

January 30
Time directs, heals, teaches, and leads hearts to love. be patient with yourself and with others. Be patient with God.

January 31
God bestows His wisdom upon men and women in the classroom of silence. May silence become a great friend of yours.