God is Love
September 2026
1 John 4:16: "We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him"
This month we will focus on personal encounters with God who is love. A different relationship, not master to slave or creator to creature, but we are sons and daughters of God-love. God is love- and He loves each of us infinitely, without conditions, and forever. Once we’ve experienced it, it becomes like an inner flame that we can always reignite.
God Is Love: The truest relationship with God begins internalizing that He is Love, and that He love’s each one of us infinitely. He has loved us first and His love never pauses even when we sin. He has loved us into existence. His love sustains all of creation, and each one of us has been created to live eternally in His presence, in the presence of Love. He would never say, “I will love you if…” So, life is an ongoing journey of continuously internalizing that He loves me, that He loves you. He truly does. When we internalize His love, ‘because he loves me’ becomes what motivates me – to pray, to go to mass, to overcome my vices, to start again in my union with Him, AND to keep loving others.
MONTHLY GATHERING:
Saturday, September 19, 2026
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Located in the Main Church
The speaker will be Fr. Jesse Garcia
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Fr. Jesse Garcia is the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in The Woodlands, Texas. He has been a priest for more than fourteen years and has devoted his ministry to evangelization, spiritual formation, and helping people encounter the transforming love of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. Before becoming a priest, Fr. Jesse lived for 27 years as a consecrated lay person in the Work of Mary, embracing the evangelical counsels through vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Those years of consecrated life profoundly shaped his understanding of Christian discipleship, community, and the call to make God’s love present in the world. Fr. Jesse’s academic and spiritual formation brings together psychology, theology, Sacred Scripture, and spirituality. He holds a Master of Science in Psychology, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theology, and Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) in Sacred Scripture, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Research. His theological and spiritual formation also includes studies at the Mystici Corporis Institute and ongoing formation through the Lifelong Marian University of the Work of Mary, where he continues to deepen his vocation and understanding of the Christian spiritual life. As pastor, Fr. Jesse has made evangelization and spiritual renewal a central part of his pastoral vision. This vision is expressed particularly through Embers, a parish-wide initiative designed to help people move from simply knowing about their faith to encountering Christ, living His Word, and becoming His presence for others. Fr. Jesse will give the first talk in the Embers series, “God Is Love.” Beginning with the foundational Christian revelation that God Himself is Love, he will invite participants to consider what it means to receive God’s love, allow that love to transform us, and ultimately become witnesses of that love in the world. For Fr. Jesse, the Christian life is not simply about knowing more about God, but about entering into a living relationship with the God who is Love. We are created by Love, redeemed by Love, and called to become vessels of that Love for one another. This encounter with divine love provides the foundation for the entire Embers journey.