Anchored In The Lord: Recent Episodes
Fr. David Neuschwander
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God doesn't just want to give us enough—He wants to fill us. Throughout Scripture, food is a sign of something much deeper: God satisfying the hunger of our hearts and souls. Even as Jesus grieved the death of John the Baptist and sought time alone in prayer, His heart was moved with compassion for the crowds. He took five loaves and two fish, blessed them, broke them, and gave them, showing that when we offer our small gifts to God, He multiplies them beyond what we can imagine. That same pattern reaches its fulfillment in the Eucharist, where Christ feeds us with His very Body and Blood. This week, notice what you turn to when you feel empty. Does it truly satisfy, or does it only distract? Jesus still says, "Bring it to me." He longs to fill you—not with temporary comforts, but with His abundant life, His love, and His presence, so that you, in turn, can help satisfy the hunger of others.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Gospel reminds us that God's kingdom is not a life free from suffering, but the certainty that God can bring good out of every hardship. Like the merchant who joyfully sold everything for the pearl of great price, we are invited to rediscover the incomparable treasure of Jesus Christ and His Church. Even though the Church is made up of saints and sinners in a broken world, its true worth never diminishes because Christ remains present in the Eucharist, His Word, and the sacraments. This week, reflect on two simple questions: Do I truly recognize Jesus as my greatest treasure? And have I grown so familiar with that gift that I've forgotten its wonder? Ask God for the grace to see the pearl of great price with fresh eyes once again.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this homily on the Parable of the Sower, we're invited to stop asking, "What kind of soil am I?" and instead ask, "What kind of soil am I becoming?" God never stops sowing His grace into our lives, but the fruit we bear depends on the condition of our hearts. Discover how you're probably bearing more spiritual fruit than you realize, why greater fruitfulness often comes from bringing more intention—not more activity—to your daily relationships, and how to identify and remove the "rocks" and "thorns" that keep God's Word from taking deeper root. A practical and hopeful reflection on becoming the rich soil where God's grace can flourish.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There's a world of difference between having a cross and taking up your cross. Drawing on Jacques Philippe's Interior Freedom, Fr. David shares the three ways we respond to suffering — rebellion, resignation, and consent — and why only one of them leads to peace. If you've ever spent more energy fearing a cross than actually carrying one, this homily is for you.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
On this Trinity Sunday, we celebrate not only the mystery of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the living God who is actively at work among us today. In this homily, Fr. David reflects on the visible signs of the Holy Spirit moving in our parish communities—more baptisms, growing numbers of families, new households joining the Church, deeper conversions, and people returning to the Lord after years away. As we recognize these signs of grace, we are encouraged to keep doing what we're doing: inviting, welcoming, praying, serving, and sharing our faith with joy. We are part of something powerful that God is accomplishing in our midst. As summer begins, this homily also invites us to slow down and intentionally receive God's blessings through the beauty of creation, time with loved ones, and moments of gratitude, allowing ourselves to be drawn ever more deeply into the life and love of the Holy Trinity.
5th Sunday of Easter
In this homily for the month of May, we reflect on Mary as the one who leads us closer to her Son, Jesus Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As spring brings new life and beauty to the world around us, we are invited to let this season become a spiritual springtime for our own faith by asking a deeper question: "How well do I really know Jesus?" Through prayer, Scripture, the Rosary, meaningful conversation, and the help of Mary and the saints, we learn that growing in faith is not just about knowing facts about Jesus, but truly spending time with Him as a friend. Mary, who knows Jesus better than anyone, gently guides us to love Him more and to encounter Him more personally in our daily lives.
3rd Sunday of Easter
On the road to Emmaus, two disciples walk beside Jesus without even realizing it—until they urge the "stranger" to stay, and in the breaking of the bread their eyes are opened. How often does the same thing happen in our own lives? Moments when our hearts stir, when something deeper is happening within us, when grace is quietly at work—and yet we keep walking, distracted or unaware. This homily reflects on the quiet, persistent way Jesus draws near to us each day and the importance of not letting those moments slip by. When we notice even a flicker of that "burning heart," we're invited to do what the disciples did: to pause, to invite Him in, to let Him stay. Because it may be in those very moments—ordinary, subtle, easily missed—that we finally recognize just how close God has been all along.
Easter Sunday
This Easter, step into the tomb with Peter and John and notice the surprising detail the Gospel of John refuses to rush past: the burial cloths. Why are they mentioned twice? Because they point to something real—no theft, no resuscitation, but a body transformed. From that first Easter morning to the mysterious Shroud of Turin—an image with no paint, no pigment, only a faint "scorch" on the surface fibers—something happened that still defies explanation. Christianity isn't built on a symbol or a story, but on a fact: Jesus Christ is risen. And that changes everything. This episode invites you to step into the tomb, see the signs, and ask: what in my life needs to be transformed by that same resurrection power?
Entering into the Mass, Part 3 – 4th Sunday of Lent (03/15/26)
In Part 3 of this Lenten homily series, we reflect on how to enter more intentionally into the Mass. This week focuses on the Liturgy of the Word and the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, especially the Preparation of the Gifts.
We are reminded that God speaks personally to us at every Mass through Scripture, prayer, and the movements of the liturgy. The opening rites prepare our hearts, the readings reveal God's voice and our identity as His people, and the offertory invites us to place our whole week on the altar—our struggles, gratitude, prayers, and desires—so that God can transform them.
This homily is a practical invitation to stop being spectators at Mass and instead consciously unite our lives to Christ's offering. It concludes with a reminder that the Mass on earth joins us to the worship of heaven and calls us to deeper participation each week.
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2nd Sunday of Lent (03/01/26) – Entering into the Mass, Part 1
Have you ever thought, "Mass is boring?" Many of us have felt that way at times. But the reality is that the Holy Mass is anything but boring. Often the challenge is that we haven't learned how to fully enter into what is happening.
In this first homily of a Lenten series on the Mass, we begin exploring how to participate more intentionally in the sacred liturgy. The Mass is structured in four parts: the Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the Concluding Rite. This week we focus on the Introductory Rites, which prepare our hearts, minds, and souls to encounter God.
From the Entrance Procession and Opening Hymn, to the Sign of the Cross, the Greeting, the Penitential Act, the Gloria, and the Collect, each moment invites us to actively participate rather than simply observe. These opening moments help us bring our lives, struggles, and intentions before the Lord and prepare us to receive Him more fully in His Word and in the Eucharist.
As you listen, reflect on how you approach the beginning of Mass. What parts of the Introductory Rites might God be inviting you to enter into more intentionally?
Turn Away From Sin, Follow Jesus, Go Fishing
In this episode of Anchored in the Lord, we reflect on the Gospel for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 25, 2026) and Jesus' first public words of ministry: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." These words reveal that the Christian life is not static or one-dimensional, but a movement—a journey with direction, purpose, and mission.
The homily highlights three essential movements of the Christian life, all present in today's Gospel. The first is repentance. To repent does not simply mean to feel bad or avoid wrongdoing; it literally means to turn around, to change direction, and to let go of whatever draws our hearts away from God. Repentance is where the life of faith begins—but it is not where it ends. If we only turn away from sin, we risk standing still, facing nothing in particular.
That leads to the second movement: following Jesus. Christ does not merely say, "Stop sinning." He says, "Follow me." He invites us into a new way of living—the life of the Kingdom of Heaven. This invitation is often subtle, appearing in daily nudges: a thought to reach out to someone, an impulse to act with generosity, or a quiet call to trust God more deeply. Yet, as the homily acknowledges honestly, we often hesitate. We delay. We tell ourselves we'll respond later—after more prayer, more preparation, or when life feels less busy. In contrast, the disciples in today's Gospel respond immediately.
But the Gospel doesn't stop there. The third movement completes the Christian life: mission. Jesus calls His followers not only to turn away from sin and to follow Him personally, but to "go fishing"—to draw others into the life of faith. Discipleship is never meant to be private or self-contained. A faith that does not become mission remains incomplete.
This episode invites listeners to examine where they may be stuck—repenting without following, following without sharing—and to hear again Christ's call to live the Gospel fully: turn back to God, walk closely with Jesus, and bring others along.
👉 For more reflections, homilies, and parish resources, visit our main site: https://anchoredinthelord.com
This Epiphany homily reflects on the journey of the Three Wise Men, who were led by a simple but powerful sign—a star—to the newborn Christ. Though the sign was visible to all, only a few chose to follow it. Ancient prophecies foretold their arrival, and after months of searching, the Magi finally reached Bethlehem, offering gifts and homage to Jesus.
The homily highlights a striking contrast: while the religious leaders knew the scriptures and could name the birthplace of the Messiah, they did not act on that knowledge. True wisdom, as described by Matthew Kelly, is not just seeing or knowing the truth, but living it. The Magi were wise because they followed the sign God gave them and allowed it to change their lives.
As the New Year begins, listeners are invited to reflect on two simple but challenging questions: What signs is God placing in my life? And when I see them, do I follow?
The message encourages openness, courage, and action—reminding us that faith grows when we not only recognize God's signs, but respond to them.
About Father David Father David is the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Superior and the lead pastor of the Lac Courte Oreilles & Hayward Area Catholic Churches in northern Wisconsin, serving multiple parishes across the Northwoods. Rooted in the sacraments and the teachings of the Church, his ministry focuses on preaching, pastoral care, and helping individuals and families welcome Christ into daily life. Learn more at www.haywardcatholic.org.
Hear more reflections at www.anchoredinthelord.com.
Feast of the Holy Family – Holy and Ordinary (December 28, 2025)
On the Feast of the Holy Family, we reflect on a powerful truth: holiness is found not in extraordinary places, but in ordinary family life. Jesus chose to grow within a real human family—one marked by love, sacrifice, misunderstanding, and daily tension—showing us that God's primary path to holiness is lived through relationships.
This reflection explores how everyday moments of friction, sacrifice, and care within families become opportunities for growth in love, patience, and mercy. Drawing from Scripture, it reminds us that putting the needs of others before our own—spouses, children, parents, coworkers, and neighbors—creates a ripple effect of grace that extends far beyond the home.
The Holy Family teaches us that real holiness is not perfection, but faithfulness: choosing love in the midst of ordinary life. As we look to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we ask for the strength to recognize the opportunities God places before us each day to grow in authentic, lived holiness.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—pray for us.
About Father David Father David is the lead pastor of the Lac Courte Oreilles & Hayward Area Catholic Churches in northern Wisconsin, serving multiple parishes across the Northwoods. Rooted in the sacraments and the teachings of the Church, his ministry focuses on preaching, pastoral care, and helping individuals and families welcome Christ into daily life.
Father David also serves as the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Superior. www.callednorth.org
Learn more at www.haywardcatholic.org.
Hear more reflections at www.anchoredinthelord.com.
]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "ece25eb8-10d1-41b0-95c2-bd3065f85935" data-testid= "conversation-turn-2" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> This reflection weaves the beloved hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem"* into a quiet, hope-filled meditation on how God chooses small, hidden places to do His greatest work. From the stillness of Bethlehem to the silence of our own hearts, it invites listeners to notice how Christ meets the hopes and fears of every age—not from a distance, but by stepping directly into our lives.
The episode explores how Christmas can be easily missed amid busyness and distraction, even as heaven remains wide awake with wonder and love. It reminds us that God comes gently, waiting to be welcomed, asking only for openness rather than perfection.
As the hymn becomes a prayer, listeners are invited to let Christ be "born in us today"—in our thoughts, choices, relationships, and even our broken places. This meditation closes with an invitation to receive Emmanuel with a receptive heart, making room for Christ to enter quietly and transform the world through us.
Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran — The Last Rites (Summary)
This weekend in our series Arise: On Death and Dying, we reflect on one of the most consoling and misunderstood gifts of the Church at the end of life: the Last Rites. And right away—what I say at the end I'll say at the beginning: Call early, and when the priest comes, ask for everything. Priests love offering the Last Rites. This is what we're ordained to do—don't worry about "bothering" us!
Today's feast gives a fitting backdrop: the readings show us God's life flowing like living water, Jesus as the true Temple, and St. Paul reminding us that we are God's temple. Yet parts of our "temple" can fall into disrepair—sin, fear, neglect, or suffering. As life draws toward its end, those places can feel heavier. This is why Christ gave us the Last Rites.
First is Confession, the cleansing of the temple—restoring friendship with God, clearing away anything unresolved, and filling the soul with peace.
Second is the Anointing of the Sick, which brings Christ's strength, healing, and courage into physical or spiritual weakness. It's not only for the final moments—it's for anyone seriously ill or preparing for major surgery.
Third is Holy Communion, Viaticum—food for the final journey, Christ Himself accompanying the soul home. And if death is near, ask for the Apostolic Pardon, a beautiful prayer granting full remission of temporal punishment.
So again: Call early. Call when your loved one can still confess, receive Communion, and take in every grace Christ offers. And when the priest arrives, ask for everything: Confession, Anointing, Holy Communion, and the Apostolic Pardon.
The Church does not fear death—Christ has conquered it. The Last Rites prepare the temple of our body and soul for rising with Him. They are Christ's final embrace, His last strengthening for the journey home.
Call early—and ask for everything.
Father David's Homily this week focuses on daily consistent prayer without getting weird!
Our readings for October 19, 2025 (the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time) focus on perseverance in prayer and faith. Key themes include: God will grant justice to his chosen ones who call out to him day and night, so believers should not grow weary in prayer, as exemplified by the persistent widow in the Gospel of Luke. The readings emphasize remaining steadfast in faith, with the Old Testament passage from Exodus illustrating how Moses' prayer, supported by Aaron and Hur, secured victory, and the second reading from 2 Timothy calling for a diligent and patient proclamation of the word of God.
Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct. 12, 2025)
This week's homily invites us to look at two powerful moments of healing — Naaman the leper in the Old Testament and the ten lepers who call out to Jesus in the Gospel. Both stories reveal the same truth: God's power often moves through simple obedience, not spectacle.
Naaman expected a dramatic miracle — a show of divine power — but instead was told to do something small and ordinary: wash seven times in the Jordan River. Insulted at first, he finally "just did it" — and was healed. The ten lepers who met Jesus were told only to "go show yourselves to the priests," and it was as they went that healing came.
Fr. David reminds us that this is how grace works in our lives, too. The Holy Spirit stirs our hearts with small, gentle nudges — to reach out, encourage, forgive, invite, or serve — and when we act in faith, God works wonders through those ordinary moments.
In our parishes, we're already seeing this unfold: people returning to church, families entering RCIA together, hearts being stirred to serve and grow. God is moving because people are saying yes.
So the next time you feel that quiet prompting from God — to say something kind, to take a step, to act in love — don't overthink it. Lace up your spiritual sneakers, take a cue from Naaman, and just do it.
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 21, 2025) — What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About?
This weekend, we’re asked to pause and pay attention to our own thoughts: What do I actually spend the most time focusing on each day? Is it worries about the world, struggles at home or work, or concerns for our children and families? Or is it God’s kingdom, my role as His disciple, and how I live that out?
St. Paul reminds us in today’s readings that our thoughts and concerns don’t have to spiral into worry or discouragement. Instead, they can be transformed into prayer, into trust in God, and into the energy of discipleship. “First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone… lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument” (1 Tim 2).
Jesus also says in the Gospel, “No servant can serve two masters.” One practical way to discern who we’re serving is to notice what we think and talk about most. Is it our anxieties—or the Lord?
This week, simply pay attention: Do my concerns lead me deeper into worry, or do they become fuel for prayer and for living as Christ’s disciple?
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — How Should Christians Respond?
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 14, 2025) This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross, once a sign of suffering and death, has become for us the ultimate sign of hope: the place where God’s love conquered sin and death.
In light of recent tragedies, including the heartbreaking shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, how are we as Christians called to respond?
- With prayer — not as a last resort, but as a powerful act that lifts the suffering to God.
- Through the sacraments — especially the Eucharist and confession, where Christ’s grace enters our broken world.
- By intentional relationships — reaching out, befriending, and witnessing God’s love to those who may feel unseen.
- With courage as disciples — stepping out of our comfort zones to share the Gospel, even if it feels uncomfortable or seems to make only a small difference.
The Cross reminds us that love is stronger than death, and Christ is stronger than violence. Even if it feels like there’s just a 1% chance that our words or actions could help someone turn back to God, that 1% is worth it — because eternity is at stake.
So we lift high the Cross: proclaiming the love of Christ, living as disciples with conviction, and trusting that God can transform even tragedy into hope.
Catholic Services Appeal Weekend This weekend we begin our Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) — the annual appeal that sustains our Diocese in Northern Wisconsin.
- St. Joseph Parish Goal: $65,127
- St. Ann Parish Goal: $15,973 (We met our goals last year, and with your help, we can do it again!)
But this isn’t just about meeting a financial goal. The true call is to grow in Prayerful Generosity:
- Prayerful — Jesus prayed for us and intercedes for us.
- Generous — Jesus gave his life for us.
Why Support the CSA? * Funds the education and formation of seminarians (7 this year, most in 16 years, at $50,000 per seminarian annually). * Brings international priests to serve our parishes (currently 26 of our 42 active priests are international). * Supports youth faith experiences (Extreme Faith Camp, Totus Tuus, March for Life, retreats). * Offers adult retreats and formation. * Provides essential administrative and legal guidance for parishes. * Strengthens Catholic schools, including St. Francis Solanus in our cluster.
How to Give * Use CSA envelopes mailed to you or found at church entrances/bulletins. Return in the collection, bring to the parish office, or mail directly. * Give online at haywardcatholic.org under the Give tab, designating the 2025–2026 CSA for St. Joseph or St. Ann.
Any amount above our goal comes back to our parishes!
Challenge: Grow in Prayerful Generosity. Give more this year than last — and pray for the causes you support. In doing so, we become more like Jesus.
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08/03/25 Retirement: For Me or For God? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who stored up riches for himself, only to be called a fool by God—not for working hard, but for forgetting eternity. He lived as though his future belonged to him, not to God.
This challenges us in a culture that views retirement as finally doing what we want. The Christian question is different: Is retirement about me, or is it about God and others?
- Ecclesiastes reminds us that work without God is vanity.
- St. Paul urges us to “seek what is above” and put on Christ.
Retirement, then, isn’t the reward for decades of labor. It’s a new vocation—a fresh opportunity to serve, love, and live for God more freely. The Christian mission never retires.
Key Questions:
- Am I investing my time, resources, and energy in what matters to God?
- Am I growing as His disciple and helping others come to Him?
True retirement is not self-indulgence, but self-gift. Not vanity, but eternal value. Every day, even in small hidden moments, we are called to glorify God and bring souls to Him.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (07/13/25) Wanting to Want “All”
In this episode, we reflect on Jesus’ call to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind—a total, undivided love. We ask the honest question: Do I really love God with all, or just a lot, a majority, or maybe only some? This homily challenges us to move from partial devotion to wholehearted surrender, inviting us to desire a deeper, fuller love for God that shapes every part of our lives.
This week, we reflect on the meaning of freedom—not just as Americans celebrating Independence Day, but as Christians sent into the world. True freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want; it’s the gift of choosing love, sacrifice, and God’s will. In the Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples two by two—not alone, but united in mission and reliant on God’s grace. Their joy comes not from their own accomplishments but from seeing what God did through them. As we cherish our country’s liberty, we’re reminded that freedom without virtue can lead us astray. Christian freedom is always “freedom for”—for holiness, justice, and love of neighbor. This episode challenges us to step out of comfort zones and use our freedom to transform the world for Christ.
Solemnity of Saints Peters and Paul
We are not on this journey of faith alone. We turn to each other so naturally when we need help, especially to our friends and family. The saints are our friends in heaven, our family in heaven; they are alive in Christ! So ask for their help, their prayers, their support as fellow members of the Body of Christ.
St. Peter...pray for us.
St. Paul...pray for us.
All you holy men and women...pray for us.
Pentecost Sunday
God is doing great things here in our family of parishes! More people are coming to Church; more young couples are attending Mass; more kids are being baptized; more families are joining the Church; more people are becoming Catholic — great things are happening here because of you and your witness!
God's Spirit is being poured out in other places as well. God is doing great things in vocations in our diocese. God is doing great things at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee (where we send our graduate seminarians in final preparation for priesthood).
Ascension Sunday
We are called to follow where Christ our Savior went first. We, like Jesus, are called to be light enough to ascend to the Father: some things weigh us down, and some things raise us up. Do you ever feel heavy? Do you ever feel weighed down? Jesus wants to lighten your load.
Ask Jesus for the grace today, ask the Holy Spirit for the power today: “Lord, give me the grace and the power to let go of one more thing I’m holding onto that’s weighing me down. And Lord, help me with your grace and power to take one more step in an area that will raise me up!”
6th Sunday of Easter
On this Memorial Day Weekend, we give thanks to God for the lives we are able to live in our country as we remember those who have died while serving in our Armed Forces, protecting us and upholding the rights and liberties which we enjoy here and now; we remember them and we pray for eternal rest and peace for their souls.
If I'm being totally honest, though, in my day-to-day life, I usually take these freedoms for granted. I also take many of the blessings of life for granted...and the people God has placed in my life for granted...and the incredible gift of forgiveness of sins in Jesus and eternal life for granted...and our incredible Catholic faith for granted... So if you’re anything like me, let’s pause this week, and intentionally give thanks to God this day for all of His many gifts!
4th Sunday of Easter
Just a few days ago, on Thursday, May 8th, something happened that I never thought I would see in my lifetime: Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! …And he’s American!
Robert Francis Prevost is a native of Chicago; an Augustinian priest (a religious order priest) who spent much of his priestly life as a missionary in South America, and eventually serving as a Bishop in Peru. More recently, he was called to Rome, where he worked in the Dicastery for Bishops.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday let’s pray for our new shepherd, Pope Leo XIV. I also ask for your prayers for me, your local shepherd. And finally, prayers for those that you have been called by God to shepherd.
Jesus doesn’t say “follow me” to only popes or priests; he says it to every disciple. Every one of us who has heard Jesus’ invitation and chosen to follow Him has also been tasked with the responsibility to shepherd specific people the Lord has placed in our care. May we all model our shepherding after that of Christ, the Good Shepherd!
Easter Sunday
"Roll away the stone. See the glory of God. Roll away the stone."
What stones are still blocking the tomb of your heart? This Easter, God wants to roll those stones away. Christ doesn’t roll it away to shame us—He rolls it away so that He can enter in. Just as He stepped out of the tomb into the garden of new life, bringing into our world something entirely new — so Jesus wants to step into the tombs we’ve been trapped in and say, “Peace be with you, ” bringing His light and His healing, to clear out the old, musty, life-draining, stale air, and bring in a breath of new, fresh, moving, life-giving air!
Happy Easter!
5th Sunday of Lent
“Then Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.'”
“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!”
“forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead,”
2nd Sunday of Lent
In our Gospel today, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain, and He is transfigured before them, they get a glimpse of the dazzling bright white glory of Jesus’ divinity, a foretaste of heaven and of who we are called to be!
But our Gospel today says, “Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory!” Jesus was already in conversation with Moses and Elijah and showing forth his tremendous glory…before Peter, James and John woke up and realized what had already been happening even as they were sleeping, “missing out on it,” as it were. What if Peter, James and John had slept through all of it? Would we even know about this event?
What will it take for us to become “fully awake”? Fully awake to the presence of God already alive, active and at work around us, within us, and through us?!
1st Sunday of Lent
On this Safe Haven Sunday, we are asked to to, first and foremost, make the home a safe haven for our kids by taking practical steps to help our kids engage technology in holy and virtuous ways and, inasmuch as possible, protect them from exposure to explicit content.
This is also an opportunity for individuals of all ages, young and old, to not only ask whether our media use is healthy in regards to explicit content, but also in regards to where it encourages our focus, energy and attention. Satan doesn't care how good our motivations are so long as we are concerned about things we can't change (politics, national happenings, world happenings) and don't see the real, down-to-earth, practical things that we can!
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus calls us to be transformed, to be renewed in mind and action, to look and act differently than others normally do: this theme runs through all of our readings. Yes, we are called to be disciples of Jesus, but our mission is more than just following Jesus as a disciple. Jesus’ last words on this earth before He ascended into heaven give us our mission: “Go and make disciples”. So we are called to not only be disciples, but missionary disciples, reaching out genuinely and in faith to others that the Lord puts in our path so that we can fulfill the mission Jesus entrusted to us: to make disciples! The movement from a disciple to a missionary disciple is slight, but it's also powerful...and it makes all the difference!
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
What does our world need? Whom does God seek? Not the "perfect" or the "sinless", but the willing. No matter how unworthy we are, He calls us, and when we willingly say "yes," He cleanses us, and He strengthens us to go on whatever mission He has planned for us.
This week, let's be the ones whom God seeks and whom our world needs: the willing ones. "Here I am, Lord. Send me."
Baptism of the Lord
When we are baptized in the waters, we are adopted into God's family and actually become, in Jesus, children of the Father. Baptism happens once and is the doorway to the other sacraments. Receiving the Eucharist (which we do again and again and again) is becoming who we are: the Body of Christ. So ask yourselves a few questions: "How do I come to Mass? What do I see as my role at Mass? How am I engaged at Mass?"
“Priest of God,
Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass,
Your last Mass and your only Mass.”
“People of God,
Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass,
Your last Mass and your only Mass.”
Merry Christmas!
Come, they told me — pa rum pum pum pum A newborn King to see — pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring — pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the King — pa rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum. So to honor Him — pa rum pum pum pum When we come.
3rd Sunday of Advent
We were created by God for the kingdom of eternal life with him; by our own free choices to turn away from God and ‘go at it on our own’ we’ve been captured by the kingdom of sin, death, darkness and Satan. Jesus becoming a baby at Christmas is the invasion of one kingdom (the kingdom of darkness, hell, death, sin and Satan) by a stronger kingdom (the kingdom of God).
Jesus came as a warrior, a predator. He became one of us, waited 33 years, lived and taught the kingdom of God by example, both showing us the way and luring in his quarry — Satan, the devil — and then finally on the cross Satan fell prey to the trap set for him in a manger decades earlier!
Jesus on the cross is not poor or helpless. He’s not the hunted. Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter. And so when death unknowingly took in its jaws, chewed up and swallowed the Author of Life, something extraordinary happened: death itself was slain from within! That's the good news that we have to share, that's why we can be full of joy this Advent -- Christ has conquered, and we can now live in His kingdom, if we so choose.
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
3 Levels of the Heart
God wants to give us peace at the deepest level, a peace which endures all things.
1st Sunday of Advent
During this Advent season we will be doing a 4-part homily series as we Journey to the Manger together to welcome the Christ-child at Christmas. Our story starts with God’s incredible creation - of the universe, and of each of us - and the hope that it promises.
As Fr. Riccardo says: “God created and runs this immense universe, and nothing is more important to him than you and me…He thinks you’re worth the trouble.” That’s what it means to be created!
So on this Journey, when you are feeling “drowsy” from “the anxieties of daily life”, I encourage you to take a moment and look at the world with fresh eyes. Allow God to reinvigorate you with hope. Pause and be filled with wonder each day.
“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all, the worlds thy hands have made.”
Solemnity of Christ the King
Together, during this Advent season, all 5 of our parishes (along with Christians throughout the world) prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes in new and deeper ways, and as we are practicing hospitality in opening our hearts and homes to God, let us also practice hospitality by inviting others in our lives to join us.
On this Feast of Christ the King, Christ is a King Who doesn’t force His way into hearts, He doesn’t strong-arm His way into our lives, Christ is a King who came first as a baby, silently, quietly, yet in the full power of God to destroy the darkness of sin and to bring the joy and peace that only God can. The Journey to the Manger is both the triumph of Christ the King and the Triumph of Christ the Babe, Who wants a warm place of welcome in the manger of your heart, and who wants us to invite others to join us as we Journey to the Manger, so that He can have a warm welcome in their hearts as well!
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
I want to talk about 2 things today:
- How do we as Catholics respond to an election?
- What will actually change our country for the better?
This weekend I preached in my hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin, at the parish of St. Patrick where I grew up. It was a blessing to be home! (One disclaimer is that the answer to the homiletic answer to first question above I begged, borrowed, and stole from an excellent homily of my own Deacon Dave DiSera of Hayward which he gave the weekend before the election. I thought that his words were so pertinent they bore repeating. So thank you, Deacon Dave!)
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus asks Bartimaeus today, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus's request is granted, he receives his sight, and he follows Jesus on the way. Being a disciple of Jesus is being in a relationship with Jesus, and a relationship is a two-way street. When Jesus asks us that question, we are called to respond from the depths of our heart with what we really, really want Jesus to do for us. But as now-country artist Jelly Roll sings: do we only talk to God when we need a favor? Are we sometimes one sided or overly self-focused in our interactions with God? As disciples of Jesus, in a relationship with Him that is a two-way street, do we also ask the question often and frequently, "God, what do You want me to do for You?"
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Life in a fallen world brings us all plenty of suffering, and our readings today take up that theme of suffering. Our sufferings - wether mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or some combination thereof - have varying levels, but the key to all of it is that I have a choice in the midst of my suffering, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: one way is the common response to suffering, the other way was modeled by Jesus in His suffering. Which one will we choose to confront our sufferings today?
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The famous architect Antoni Gaudi designed the incredible basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, which has been under construction for 128 years. A genius of architecture, he built a model of the church with strings...UPSIDE DOWN...to find and test balance and proportion, because each change in balance would immediately change all of the arches and balance throughout the entire upside down structure. He turned it UPSIDE DOWN to learn how to do it in the best possible way RIGHT SIDE UP. Jesus turns so many of our human perceptions, assumptions, and ways of thought UPSIDE DOWN in order to teach us how to live RIGHT SIDE UP...which is especially helpful (and a challenge to us all, I believe) in this time of the election cycle. Are you willing to see and live things seemingly UPSIDE DOWN from what the world and the media tells you in order to actually live RIGHT SIDE UP?!
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
The people in our first reading today, the Israelites, are at a decision point — they need to decide whom they will follow. This ancient Biblical situation is wildly applicable for us today. November 5th is the upcoming presidential election. Everyone is getting so worked up over politics, and we are all guilty of becoming more and more demonizing to anybody who disagrees with what we think. I'd invite you to ask yourself: “Whose side am I on? Whom do I support?” I think you'll be surprised by what ought to be the real answer to that question, O Christian!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year. Jesus Christ is our model of prayer and generosity; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God works so powerfully in and around us at different times in our lives...but like the Israelites in our first reading, it's so easy to forget the good things God has done in our lives. When we remember what God has done for us and consciously give Him thanks for those blessings, we begin to enter more fully into the celebration of the Eucharist, where we "give thanks" to God for what He has done for us, especially in giving us the greatest gift of all: the gift of His own Body and Blood, "the food that endures to eternal life!"
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We mistakenly think that comfort will lead to happiness…but the human experience proves that those who do NOT regularly push themselves outside their comfort zones experience a slow but sure atrophy of their spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational health, and thus a slow but sure atrophy of happiness and fulfillment. Those who consistently push themselves outside their comfort zones are healthier, happier, more fulfilled people: spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, etc. (Book: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter)
In today's readings we see Amos and the Twelve pushed way outside their comfort zones to proclaim God's message - they weren't "religious professionals", they were never schooled in this, most of them had blue collar jobs...and yet God chose and sent these individuals to witness to Him. God has chosen and sent you, too, O Christian, as Paul tells us in our second reading. You have been chosen, you have been sent, by the creator of the universe! Will you begin to step outside your comfort zones, push your perceived boundaries, and start experiencing, to a degree you didn't even know was possible, the life God actually has in store for you?!
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A question to ask ourselves today: "Am I living for myself, or am I living for God?" And the answer for most of us is probably, "A little bit of both...depending on when you catch me during the day." In our Bishop's Pastoral Letter on Evangelization he gives the image of three circles of what our life can look like and explains them: first, second or third circle. I want third circle Catholicism, and I hope you do, too! (Listen to find out what that means!)
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I head a lot of complaining and blaming in this day and age. Jesus had a lot that he could have complained about in his time...a lot...but we don't hear Him complain once in the Gospels about any of the things that we often complain about. Why? Because His mission wasn't first and foremost to fix the world. Rather, Jesus came to save individual people from their sins; Jesus' mission was to save souls, to proclaim that God's day was a t hand...and that's the mission He gave us! So stop complainin' and start proclaimin'!
Holy Trinity
Each time we make the sign of the cross we are proclaiming that our God is a Trinity - God IS a relationship, so united that the Three are actually One, and yet the One remains Three. And we, caught up in this relationship of God through baptism, are called by Jesus today to, “Go and make disciples.”
Luckily, it’s not as complicated or scary as it might sound - it's all about relationship! God is a relationship. We are connected to God through our relationship with Him. We are connected with others through our relationships with them, and the goal is that through us they would also come to experience God and a life of faith and hope and fulfillment and that they would be inspired to enter into relationship with God themselves!
So making disciples is like MAKING TRIANGLES!
Pentecost
The Holy Spirit comes on this Pentecost day to strengthen us in 3 ways:
- In our relationship with Jesus Christ
- In defending the faith
- In spreading the faith
Every day this week, pray, "Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit." When you feel your relationship with the Lord is not what it could be, when the Church is being looked down on, when someone needs to hear the encouragement of a life lived in faith, it is the Holy Spirit who will give you His strength and His words to speak into that situation! Come, Holy Spirit!
6th Sunday of Easter
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.”
“In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us.”
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.”
4th Sunday of Lent
We were created in love by God (white), then we fell into and were captured by sin (black), but "even when we were dead in our transgressions" "God, who is rich in mercy...brought us to life with Christ...raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus" (white). And now, all throughout each day, in so many ways, we are making choices — about what we say, what we do, what we think about, what we listen to, what we watch, what we read. We are either choosing black or choosing white; choosing to let a little more darkness into our life and world, or choosing to let a little more light into our life and world.
Black and white. Black and white. There will be a final day, when we stand before the Lord, and for the final verdict “gray” is not an option, it will be black or white.
2nd Sunday of Lent
The Birkie is an incredible yearly event! So many people, come from all over the country (and the world) to make this experience possible — whether it’s the skiers, the many volunteers, the family members, the friends, the staff, all our business owners — everyone comes together, preps, and plays their part to make this week happen. Could the Birkie be a lens, a window, an analogy, into how God wants us to live the entirety of our lives?!
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel today we see Jesus healing those who are sick or possessed by demons, restoring some people physically and some people spiritually. Jesus' wholeness heals others. While His apostles aren't yet healing others at this point in their lives, we know that one day they will. While the saints aren't yet healing others when this Gospel passage happened, we know that one day they will. And all of it comes from closeness with the Father, often exemplified through prayer-Jesus in our Gospel goes off early in the morning to pray to His Father. Their wholeness/holiness came from deep union with God, often in prayer, and it spilled over into those around them, bringing restoration and healing...and God will do the same through us when we spend time growing in deep union with the Father, too!
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The spiritual life, I believe, is actually very simple; it’s not easy, but it’s simple. It’s following the impulses that come from deep within, the calls that arise from the depths of our soul and heart, from the place within us where God already dwells. God is so much closer to us than we realize. God molded our inmost being, He created us, He placed a spark of eternity in each of us, He gave each of us the breath of His Spirit to give us life; God already dwells deep, deep within each of us. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Merry Christmas!
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”
4th Sunday of Advent
Mary is hailed today as full of grace, full of God's blessings. Our lives, too, are filled with God's blessings...but it's so easy to forget and miss those blessings (and our sins lead us to forget God's blessings as well). As we enter into this Christmas season, let us, like Mary, recognize our blessings and remind ourselves and others of the good things God has done!
2nd Sunday of Advent
Christ comes to bring a peace that every heart and soul longs for but which nothing in the world is able to provide.What we need is more of God, more holiness, more of God's light shining in and through us. And as we experience God's light shining out through us, both we and others experience the peace that this world cannot give!
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time
At the end of this liturgical year our readings focus on the end of time, the final judgment, and the coming of God's kingdom in its fullness, the completion of God's great plan for all of creation. Jesus speaks of all people being assembled before the Son of Man, and that "he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." And those on his left "will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Is God fair? Is this treatment fair? Listen and find out why this is actually incredibly GOOD news for us!
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
No matter how many talents we believe the Master has given us, no matter if we have used them wisely up until this point or not, we all still have at least one talent (and an important one) - faith! And our Master expects us to use whatever we have right now, engage with it, "trade" with it, and intentionally multiply that talent. Our Master hasn't yet come back to settle accounts with us, so we still have time to engage others and the world with that talent and make a good return on what He has given to us!
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend I am thankful to preach back at my home parish of St. Patrick in Hudson. Thank you to all of you who inspired me in the faith and grew me into who I am today. I am a priest because of you. As Paul said in our second reading, "We were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well." Thank you for sharing with me and others not only the Gospel of God but your very selves as well...and keep doing that!
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I’ve been hearing a lot of discouragement at the state of our world, our country: the divisions, the politics, the games, the manipulation from all sides. I hear people sad that many of their own kids have fallen away from the active practice of the Catholic faith, that their own grandkids or great-grandkids aren’t baptized. I hear people lamenting that our younger generations are spending so much time on their phones and on social media.
All legitimate feelings. But there is a very evil temptation/conclusion that can come about as a result of these feelings. It's a temptation that must be rejected, with a positive call to action from God that must be accepted and lived out by His followers here on earth if we wish to see souls saved and lives changed for the glory of God!
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we realize the state of the world around us (perhaps recently we have been awakened to the ever-present realities of atrocities and evils throughout our world by the media coverage of the war in Israel), but as we realize the state of the world around us, we can respond to what's happening in three ways: by being discouraged from our task, by being distracted from our task, or by being encouraged in our task. What is our task? It's the same it's always been! (And perhaps now we are waking up anew to the reality of just how needed it is!)
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last Advent we preached about the 4 Marks of a Disciple: Quick to Pray, Joyfully Sacramental, Intentional in Relationships, and Committed to Growth. Since then, I hope that you’re finding yourself on certain weeks striving to grow in one or another of those Marks as we have continued to bring them up in preaching. This weekend we return to the first -- Quick to Pray -- and after some examples of how we as a staff here at our Central Office have been changing our habits and actions to grow in being Quick to Pray, I'd invite you to consider for yourself: How have you been more Quick to Pray in your daily life? What are some ways you’ve thought of being more Quick to Pray but maybe just haven’t acted on yet? (That’s likely the Holy Spirit inviting you to take the next step.) The call in these days ahead: start challenging yourself, as we the staff are challenging ourselves, to grow in being more Quick to Pray!
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
“Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven… Remember your last days, set enmity aside;”
“So will my heavenly Father do yo you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week we heard about how the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against the Church, how Jesus actually sees His Church as being on the offensive, and how the gates of darkness will not be able to hold back His kingdom. This week's readings continue and clarify that them, showing us what it will actually cost to overcome gates of darkness in our world and bring the light of Christ. It won't be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it!
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel today Jesus says an often misinterpreted and misunderstood line: "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
In the face of such seemingly steep opposition, pushback and darkness in our modern world, I believe this line of Jesus, correctly understood, provides us the key to understanding how and with what attitude we as Christians are called to engage the world today!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year. Jesus Christ is our model of prayer and generosity; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our first reading, there’s a strong heavy wind crushing rocks, there’s an earthquake, there’s a raging fire. In our Gospel there’s a stormy sea.
But where is God in the midst of it all? In the noise of our lives (which will always be there), I want you to look for God in the small moments, the daily moments, the unnoticed moments, in the small whispers. When we notice Jesus in small ways, even in the midst of our storms, and invite him into our boat, we find a true peace and calm that only He can bring. And those storms just aren’t as stormy any more.
Look for God in the small moments this week.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week, no matter where you're at, I am challenging you to take one real step in prayer. I don't care where you think you're at now - whether you only come to church when you're visiting Grandma and Grandpa, or whether you have a daily hours long prayer regimen that you have followed for years - no matter where you are I want all of us to intentionally take one step in prayer this week. Disciples are Quick to Pray. Disciples are Committed to Growth. Let's get a two for one this week and take one step toward growth in prayer!
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Rabbi" means "teacher". "Disciple" means "student". In Israel, 2,000 years ago, there were a couple formulaic statements that a rabbi would use to call a disciple and then invite that disciple to take on the rabbi's worldview and become like him (one statement we find in today's Gospel!). Then at the end of this period of formation, the disciple is sent out to teach others what he learned from his rabbi. We are disciples of the Great Rabbi, and Jesus has sent us to witness to what we have seen, heard, learned and experienced!
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
A Lazy River with a bunch of kids is never “lazy” — it’s always moving, surprising, dynamic, alive! Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. And what we profess every single time we make the sign of the Cross — “In the name of the F, and of the S, and of the HS” — is that our God isn’t a boring, one dimensional, existence. What we’re saying is that our God, in Godself, is three persons, living in so close and dynamic a relationship that they are actually united as One God. God’s very life is not isolated or lonely; God’s very life is moving, surprising, dynamic, alive — like an eternal un-Lazy River…and that’s the kind of life He invites us to join Him in!
Pentecost Sunday
On this Memorial Day Weekend we remember our United States Military personnel who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces: we honor them, express our gratitude, pray for them...and even pray to them. We believe in the Communion of Saints, that we are one body in Christ, and that we help one another on this journey towards fullness of life in God, both during this earthly life and after - not even death can separate us who are united in Jesus Christ!
6th Sunday of Easter
As we celebrate Mother’s Day weekend, as we honor mothers who hold their children dear and close in their hearts and minds, we look to Mary as the model of not only earthly motherhood, but also as the model of a disciple who invites the Spirit of God into her life, who ponders and intentionally holds in her mind the experiences that God has given her, and who, as a result, brings the presence of Jesus into the world around her!
3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42 describes what the very first followers of Jesus did: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” Those sure sound like the 4 Marks of a Disciple…because they are! Christianity isn’t a belief, or a set of beliefs, it’s a way of life, it’s a path to be walked. And that path looks like followers of Jesus being Quick to Pray, Joyfully Sacramental, Intentional in Relationships, and Committed to Growth. Let’s live this way of life we call Christianity! Let’s keep walking this path together!
Easter Sunday
Happy Easter! Imagine…imagine that you go to bed one night, and when you wake up in the morning the world has been transformed overnight. Everything that you envision for a better world, all of the change you’d like to see — in societies, situations, individuals, countries — it all happened, magically, overnight.
Now…when you wake up that morning and as you start going about your day...what do you notice first? What do you actually experience as changed?
This is what I did…except for our parishes: so what did I see when I woke up and everything I envisioned for an ideal life of Catholic followers of Jesus here in the greater Hayward area changed overnight? What did I experience? Listen to find out!
Palm Sunday
Everything Jesus did, He did for individual people; everything He did was personal. His life, his preaching, his healings, his interactions, his suffering, his death, his resurrection - Jesus did all of this for individual people; it was personal. He didn’t do it to “do right” or to “be good”; he didn't do it for a moral code; Jesus wasn’t an impersonal “do-gooder”. Jesus did everything we celebrate this Holy Week for us: it was personal. And everything Jesus still does in our world and in our lives is personal.
4th Sunday of Lent
This weekend I am speaking on the Third Mark of a Disciple - what it means to be Intentional in Relationship!
Last weekend Deacon Brian gave a great homily on the First Mark: Quick to Pray. That can be found on our Hayward Catholic website in text format (https://haywardcatholic.org/recent-homilies) or, as he sings a couple verses from country songs, you may want to listen to him preach: click into the live stream section, select the 3/11 recording, and fast forward to his homily! (https://haywardcatholic.org/ecatholic-live)
1st Sunday of Lent
In this first Sunday of Lent I unpack the second mark of a disciple of Jesus Christ: being Joyfully Sacramental!
Ash Wednesday
Here is my homily from Ash Wednesday, introducing our Lenten themes of Fasting and the Four Marks of a Disciple!
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
I recently went on an 8-day silent retreat. Many have been asking, “Father, how was the retreat?!” So I’d like to share with you a bit about silent retreats in general as well as some of what happened and what God was up to on my retreat!
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Listen to a real, down-to-earth story of barstool evangelization! When we are sharing with others, what we're meant to share is not primarily information, but our own experience of God, faith, prayer, and why it's important to us. People don't primarily want to hear theological reasons or arguments (even though they might say they do, or start the conversation that way), what people really need is to be inspired by the real example and experiences that others have of God - and that's something that any person of faith can share, no matter how much or little they think they know about the faith!
Merry Christmas!
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's pow'r
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
4th Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Deacon Brian focuses in on what our response can be to the God Who has done such incredible things for us!
3rd Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Fr. David focuses in on what it means to be rescued by Jesus.
2nd Sunday of Advent
In this Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story – the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Deacon Dave focuses in on what it means to be captured.
1st Sunday of Advent
This Advent Homily Series we are journeying through the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story - the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response! Listen this week as Fr. David zooms in on what it means to be created.
Solemnity of Christ the King
On this great Solemnity, Deacon Brian prepares us for our Advent journey by outlining the great story we will be sharing over the homilies of Advent, the story that has changed and will continue to change the world (if we let it): our story - the creation, the capture, the rescue, and our response.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the midst of very important, but ultimately short-sighted, concerns of this world and concerns of politics, I believe that we are losing our way. And when we don’t keep our eyes on the world to come, our outlook on this world, on our country and on others begins to degrade - it loses the light of Christ, and it festers into hatred and unnecessary division. To put priorities in order, I think it's worth stating:The worst thing that can happen in this world, is that a person ends up living a life apart from God for all eternity; the best thing that can happen in this world, is that a person ends up living life with God for all eternity! Everything else, no matter how important, is secondary to that long distance vision.
Want to know what would actually change the world more than the solving of any moral issue, political issue or cultural practice? If every Catholic for the last 2,000 years had reached out and brought 3-5 people to Christ during their lifetime, if that's what each Catholic expected of their role in God's plan of salvation (for WE are the Body of Christ on this earth here and now)...our whole world would be transformed by now! So let's get going!
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our familiar Gospel story of Zacchaeus, Jesus does something that might entirely change how you see Jesus' life, and what that means about how you are called here and now to live as disciples of Jesus! In our Gospel today, we hear that Jesus came to Jericho and "intended to pass through the town"...Jesus intended to pass through the town, but when he sees Zacchaeus he changes his mind and decides to stay. For Jesus, following his Father's will didn't look like having a checklist in his head of every single pre-planned-from-all-eternity thing that had to happen on that particular day to achieve our salvation...Jesus changed his mind and his plans during his days with the nudges of the Holy Spirit (and in this case the Holy Spirit moved him to change his plans and have dinner with Zacchaeus - and this interaction changed Zacchaeus' life).
God's plan to change the world is not primarily through heady knowledge of theology, nor is it primarily through large-scale events that normal folk like us are unable to bring about. God's plan to change the world is to change it primarily through normal, personal interactions, when we as individuals (as the hands and feet of Christ here and now), inspired by the Spirit, reach out and touch the lives of particular people that God has us come in contact with. Personal interaction, personal invitation - that's how Jesus lived and that's how we are called to live, too!
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Why is it that so many people (including many of your children whom you raised in the Church and brought to the sacraments and taught to be generous and to care for others) have fallen and continue to fall away from our incredible Catholic Faith and belief in Jesus Christ? The Church has three jobs: to evangelize, to celebrate the sacraments, and to care for the poor. These are three legs of a stool; if any one of them is missing or lacking, the stool will tip and fall. I would propose that we as a Church, in the midst of a total culture change from a Christendom time/culture to an Apostolic time/culture, have unintentionally lost the "evangelization" footing of our identity as a Church. What we see now is people naturally falling away from the faith because they (even unconsciously) sense that something is lacking in the current lived practice of the Catholic faith in America...and something would be lacking: our essential call as followers of Jesus Christ to personally witness to Him - to evangelize, to speak about the good news. How did that happen and what are we called to do about it now? Listen to hear my thoughts and to be invited on board for where our parishes will be focusing our efforts into the future!
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In today's Gospel we hear of the rich man and Lazarus both before then after their deaths; after death, Lazarus find himself in the bosom of Abraham (i.e. heaven) while the rich man is in the netherworld (i.e. hell). What sin did the rich man commit? There are two kinds of sin in Scripture, and in our culture we tend to consider one kind of sin much more than the other: sins of commission and sins of omission. Sins are choices that we make - in our thoughts, words and/or actions - where we put distance between us and God. Those can be choices of commission (where we actively do something that puts distance between us and God), or choices of omission (where we choose NOT to do things that will maintain our relationship with God and draw us closer to Him). God is alive and at work in this world! God is on the move! If we put our relationship with God on hold, standing statically in one place, we don't pick up right where we left off; since God is on the move, when we pick up again it means that we've allowed distance to grow between us and the God who is always moving and yet always beckoning to us, "Come, follow me!" The rich man is not cited for sins of commission, today, but sins of omission - complacency - all those choices that he made NOT to make God the priority in his life. As disciples of Jesus Christ, where are areas that we have become complacent? How can we recommit to continual growth in a life lived with the Lord?
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend I officially took over the sacramental and administrative duties for three more parishes in our area after the retirement of Fr. Greg Hopefl, a long-time and honored priest of our diocese. This was my first weekend preaching at St. Philip in Stone Lake, St. Francis Solanus on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reserve, and St. Ignatius in New Post. These three parishes, along with St. Joseph in Hayward and St. Ann in Cable make up the new five parish Hayward cluster, of which I am the pastor and Fr. Karun from India is my associate. Please pray for us - priests, people and communities - during this time of transition. I am excited to see what God has in store for us in the future!
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend I officially took over the sacramental and administrative duties for three more parishes in our area after the retirement of Fr. Greg Hopefl, a long-time and honored priest of our diocese. This was my first weekend preaching at St. Philip in Stone Lake, St. Francis Solanus on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reserve, and St. Ignatius in New Post. These three parishes, along with St. Joseph in Hayward and St. Ann in Cable make up the new five parish Hayward cluster, of which I am the pastor and Fr. Karun from India is my associate. Please pray for us - priests, people and communities - during this time of transition. I am excited to see what God has in store for us in the future!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year. Jesus Christ practiced prayer and generosity to the point of death; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year. Jesus Christ practiced prayer and generosity to the point of death; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As disciples, we are called to be salt of the earth people. Not too salty (we've all had bad experiences of that), but also not non-salty...because that's just not being true to who we are as Christians. We're called to be healthily salty, normally salty. Disciples of Jesus Christ ought to be ordinary, fun, prayerful, genuine, striving, faithful, real people - normal human people. That is what I envision when I imagine a disciple of Jesus Christ: someone that others are slightly intrigued by, for whatever the reasons, someone that others want to spend a little time with!
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our response during this Apostolic Time starts with something we already know very well: relationships. We have been rescued by Jesus and sent to bring others to relationship with Him so that He can rescue them, too! The whole reason the Catholic Church exists is to bring people to Jesus. "Bringing people to Jesus" doesn't mean shouting on the street corner or annoyingly and oppressively forcing the topic of faith into every conversation you have. "Bringing people to Jesus" means that there are 3-5 people in your life right now, people that you already know and have some sort of relationship with, whom Jesus is sending you to to simply start a conversation with. Witnessing to Jesus isn’t rocket science or deep theology, it’s simply relationship and natural conversation (and if you think it’s more complicated than that, then you’ve got the wrong idea).
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Part II: a taste of where we're headed in the upcoming weeks and months!
Corpus Christi
You ever wonder why you brought your kids up going to Church and educated them in Catholic schools…and yet most of them don’t go to Church anymore? You ever worry about why, even though you tell your kids and grandkids that they should go to church and pray, and even though you tell them that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, they still don’t come and don’t believe? I mean, that’s how you were raised, and you’re here, right? So that’s how you raised your kids…so why aren’t they here?! Christendom times vs. Apostolic times - that's the reason! We have gone from Christendom times to Apostolic times, but we're still trying the tactics that used to work but don't anymore. The good news: the Catholic Church thrives in Apostolic times - we just need to remember anew how to live in them!
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Last summer I challenged everyone to Meet 6, to meet six people from church. This summer I'm asking you to take the next step. Christian community isn't simply meeting or knowing people or getting together; that's a first step...but Christian community involves Jesus Christ! Christian community is about Christ-informed relationships, faith-filled friendships and interactions. The next step in the process, whether it's someone you know well or someone you don't know at all, is to ask a very simple, yet a very powerful, question once you've met them: “Is there something I can pray for you for?” “How can I pray for you?”
This summer, Ask 6! Step out of your comfort zone to ask six people, “Is there something I can pray for you for?” Then bring that intention to prayer before God on that person's behalf. We all know our world needs the light of Christ, and you, O Christian, have the power to bring that light into our world with an extremely simple and inviting question: “Is there something I can pray for you for?” “How can I pray for you?” Then pray!
Third Sunday of Easter
God wants to do great things in our lives and in our parishes! But we're also short on priests (and, in our diocese, short on American priests) which means that more and more is expected of our current priests. So how will God do great things in us and through us and around us if the priest doesn't have time to do it? It has to happen through you, O Christian! God wants to and will do great things in our world when individuals, when the lay faithful, step up and step into their baptismal calling to use the gifts and talents they've been given to build up God's kingdom here and now! God wants to do great things in our lives and in our parishes...through YOU!
4th Sunday of Lent
Do you ever get distracted in prayer? It’s normal, it’s human; sometimes focus is within our control, sometimes it is not. There are, however, better and worse ways to respond to distraction, better and worse ways to enter back into prayer and time with our God. Want to know what some are? Then listen to this weekend’s homily!
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This Lent I don't want you to give up chocolate, I don't want you to give up sweets (we'll focus on the topic of fasting next year). This Lent I want all of us, as the parish family of St. Joseph and St. Ann, to focus on prayer! I'd like us all to focus on growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ through daily prayer. One percent of our day is 14 minutes and 24 seconds - this Lent the challenge is to spend one more percent of your day, each day, in prayer. If you aren't praying every day yet, this is the time to start! If you are praying regularly, then it's time to add an extra 14 minutes and 24 seconds of intentional prayer with the Lord. Try any and all prayer resources available and find the ones that help you to row the most in your relationship with the Lord!
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As Christians we are proclaiming ourselves to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, followers of Christ. Our Christian life is built on this relationship with the Lord out of which everything else flows. Daily talking with God is not an achievement in the Christian life, it's the foundation and the minimum, the beginning of the Christian life! Christians pray every day.
This Lent, our focus as parishioners of the cluster of St. Joseph and St. Ann parishes will be on prayer - on personally taking one step deeper in our relationship with Jesus Christ, no matter where we are currently at in our life and habits of prayer, taking one step deeper, together.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
We will be starting a journey as the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Ann beginning this Lent, starting a journey in the direction God is truly calling us as His disciples! Some things, like the Israelites in our first reading, we will discover to be different than we were originally told or taught, even by those in the Church. We are going to be hitting the "reset" button on what Jesus truly calls us to as Christians in this beautiful Catholic faith, which will involve detoxing from misunderstanding and false notions. Step One (and our focus during Lent this year) will be focusing on growing in prayer and our relationship with God. Step Two, which grows out of our relationship with God in prayer, is uncovering and living out our specific roles in the Body of Christ, which Paul describes in our second reading this weekend. I'm excited to lead us on down this path which may seem new to us, but is in fact old, very old - it's the way Jesus Christ Himself called us to live!
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it. We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other. Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, "Children, obey your parents in everything...Wives, be subordinate to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives." Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death. We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
3rd Sunday of Advent
The story of Advent is that the Eternal Son of the Father, God Himself, became human to save us from our sin and show that He IS with us. God is always with me - every moment of the day. I’ll be honest, though: that’s really hard to see sometimes. But it’s the reality! When I go through my day not consciously experiencing the presence of God with me, that’s living in a fantasy, it’s living in a lie, it’s living with my eyes closed to reality. God is with me! The challenge this week: I dare you to try to live one hour of your normal, daily life conscious that Jesus IS with you!
1st Sunday of Advent
As we begin this new Church Year we are reminded by Paul “to be blameless in holiness”. What does holiness really mean? What does holiness really look like? Holiness is not something far out there or high up beyond our reach; I would argue that holiness is something close to us…too close…uncomfortably close. Holiness is doing all of the normal things we do with and for the Lord, living in God’s kingdom and spreading God’s kingdom in and through the daily situations and interactions of our lives. That’s our mission, that’s real holiness, and that can be attained by anyone — which is why it’s scary: because it means I no longer have an excuse!
“God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission.” ~ St. John Henry Newman
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rules are for children who don't yet fully understand; as we mature we begin to grasp the deeper reasons behind the rules, along with their nuances and qualifications. In the Gospel today Jesus heals Bartimaeus the blind man, who then follows Jesus on 'the way'; Bartimaeus isn't leaving to follow a set of rules and regulations, He's leaving to follow a person - Jesus Christ. An immature understanding of our faith sees Catholicism as a bunch of rules, while an adult understanding acknowledges that all of these rules are for the sake of living out a healthy, strong, mature relationship with a person - Jesus Christ!
Like Bartimaeus, God has done great things for each of us as well! Can we respond maturely and set out on 'the way' with Jesus, next to Bartimaeus, not simply following rules but actually growing in a relationship with a person - Jesus Christ?
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Freedom is a word very often used in society today...but what does it actually mean? Are there different kinds of freedom? What kind of freedom leads to happiness and fulfillment? What kind of freedom does Jesus offer to us if we follow Him?
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First, I will share a story with you of an inheritance. Then, moving to our Gospel, Jesus speaks very forthrightly about a place of unquenchable fire called Gehenna and that sin is what leads us there. Do we believe Jesus' words? Do we believe in hell and that sin leads people to it? Or have we learned now, as opposed to that antiquated time that the Son of God walked this earth, that God loves everyone so much that nobody would ever go to hell? Have we learned that Jesus was wrong? And what does that have to do with an inheritance?
24th Sunday In Ordinary Time
Peter is often the first of the Apostles to step up and, while he is also very quick to fall, in today’s Gospel he confidently proclaims that Jesus is the Christ. I have been proud in these past months when, after a homily, you have responded by acting and living out the challenges — going out of your comfort zone to come to confession, meet new people at Church, or thank others for coming to Church (especially those that might be near the age of your own kids and grandkids that you wish would come back to Church). I want that to be a common experience: that you’re regularly talking about and celebrating how you’ve gone out of your comfort zone, stepped up by putting into practice what’s been said here, and what happened when you did! Then step up again...and repeat!
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week we celebrated the Feast of St. Monica, patron of praying wives and mothers desiring the conversion of their husbands and children. The day after we celebrated the Feast of St. Augustine, Patron Saint of our Diocese of Superior...Monica's once wayward son become an incredibly influential figure in the history of the Church. So many Catholics these days have kids, grandkids, siblings that we wish would come to Church...but sadly they don't; and often it seems like they never will. So what do we do with that? What do we do with our deep desire to see them encounter God and experience true conversion, along with the heaviness and discouragement of seeing so many of our words and invites fall on deaf ears, closed minds and hard hearts? Well I have an answer, I have a dream - simple, practical, powerful and real - that would change hearts and lives...and it involves YOU!
Solemnity of the Assumption
In heaven, Scripture says, we shall be like God, for we shall see Him as He is (1 Jn 3:2). Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary, that she was assumed/taken up soul and body into heaven by a singular grace of God. Mary, by God's grace and her free will, radically followed and trusted God - she already looked like God in this life! Our call as "Christians" is to be "followers of Christ", "other Christs" - to look like Christ; we start looking more like Christ when we start acting more like Christ.
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year. Jesus Christ practiced prayer and generosity to the point of death; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We as Catholics have a set of beliefs that stem from a particular, fundamental platform out of which all of our beliefs make sense. Other Christian denominations and their beliefs stem from a particular, fundamental platform out of which their beliefs make sense. The problem is, we often use the same words or do the same actions and rituals, but we actually understand them quite differently...which leads to confusion because it looks and sounds like we're talking about the same things, but we're actually understanding them quite differently (examples being Communion, confession, and the intercession of the saints just to name a few).
In this homily I lay out the fundamental Catholic platform as well as a best attempt at a fundamental non-Catholic Christian platform (I say "best attempt" because there are so many denominations with various platforms that no one platform unites them all...otherwise it would be one denomination...but I believe the distinctions I make are a fair representative of the whole). These distinctions help explain a number of differences between Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, with a very important one being a much more complete understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation! Enjoy!
(If you would like to read the text of Deacon Brian's excellent and challenging homily from last week, it will be available shortly on this page of our website: https://stjoseph-hayward.org/recent-homilies)
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Part 1: The current practice of the Anointing of the Sick.
Part 2: In today's Gospel Jesus sends out his Apostles two by two to preach repentance and drive out demons. He doesn't send them out alone, not one by one, but two by two...together...because we're always stronger together, and we're made to walk this path of faith together with other believers, especially Catholic believers. Being an individual believer...alone...the demons love that! They have a heyday with our minds and fill us with every seemingly reasonable excuse to NOT take that next step in faith that we know God is calling us to. But together, we as fellow Catholics call out each other's mediocrity, we encourage each other in the faith, we support someone when they're falling and we are supported when our faith seems to fail, we rejoice with each other in spiritual growth and victories. Two by two is always better than one by one!
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parting words of Jesus to his followers before He ascended into heaven (His 'final words', if you will) were: "Go and make disciples of all nations." Jesus called all of his followers to go on mission and bring others back to the Father. Too often, however, we have forgotten that mission, as a Church and as individuals, and we find ourselves simply going through the motions, stuck in a maintenance mode that is not the energetic, grace-filled, difficult yet joyous life that Jesus lived and called His followers to. We at St. Joseph and St. Ann will be embarking on a journey over the next number of years to reclaim the vibrant life that Jesus calls us to live in our parishes. Step #1: Christ-Centered Relationships. The first followers of Jesus lived in close relationship with each other centered on Christ; there was a true community grounded in deep faith and they encouraged and challenged each other on. If we want our parishes to have a vibrant life and faith, we need to reclaim first the importance of Christ-Centered relationships! Because if we can't confidently talk about and learn about our faith with each other, how on earth are we ever going to share it with someone who doesn't yet believe?!
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
When we look at everything around us, we see that God has a way of taking something small and making it BIG! Whether the shoot from the tree in our first reading, or the mustard seed in our Gospel, God often takes small things and slowly grows them until they are BIG! He does that in our lives in so many ways, but I believe that the Lord is calling our parishes of St. Ann and St. Joseph here and now to start small in developing relationships with others who believe in and follow Jesus Christ, especially other Catholics, and especially our fellow parishioners. So the challenge for this summer - get to know 6 more people from Church by the end of summer! Invite them out for breakfast, lunch, dinner after Mass; invite them over for a beer on the deck or a pontoon ride; get to know them personally. And when we start with these small but powerful and meaningful efforts, God will grow us over time here at St. Ann and St. Joseph into something BIG!
Pentecost
Unlike so many other religions, Christianity makes the incredibly bold claim that the God who created all things desires a personal relationship with each one of us. Our God is anything but impersonal; our God, as revealed through Scripture and especially in the Person of Jesus Christ, is incredibly personal! But it's easier for us as humans to be impersonal in all kinds of different matters, and that tendency to lean toward the easy and impersonal can sneak its way into our faith as well. But God desires a close, deep, rich, personal relationship with each or us. So this week are you willing to let your relationship with God get personal?!
5th Sunday of Easter
Jesus says in our Gospel today, "Remain in me, as I remain in you." Jesus, am I remaining with You throughout my day? Jesus, am I remaining with You throughout Mass?
4th Sunday of Easter
After healing a crippled man in the name of Jesus Christ, Peter says to the leaders and the people in our 1st reading, speaking of Jesus Christ, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” That's a bold statement! Could it possibly be true?! Because if it is, then it also has some very large repercussions that modern society will not want to hear...
Easter Sunday
Our faith is not primarily a set of rules and obligations, nor is it a moral code. Our faith is not a collection of beliefs for a good life or that help us merit heaven. Our faith is in a person - Jesus Christ! - and the relationship He offers to us! Without that relationship, all we're left with is a bunch of rules and obligations that don't seem to connect or make sense. In light of that relationship, everything begins to fall into place and make perfect sense because it's all in light of growing in a relationship with Him! God is relationship (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and God in Jesus Christ invites us into this relationship. So how do you see our faith? How do you experience the expectations of our faith? Do you see it as about something or some things...or do you see it as about SomeONE?!
4th Sunday of Lent
The words 'Passover' and 'Paschal' are often heard in the prayers of Mass...but what on earth do they mean? As we approach Holy Week, and Holy Thursday - when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, which was His celebration of the Jewish Passover meal with his Jewish disciples and became the outline for the Eucharist that we celebrate each weekend as Catholics - I think it very appropriate to revisit the meaning of those words 'Passover' and 'Paschal' and the rich tradition that they draw us into, even unknowingly, at every single Mass!
2nd Sunday of Lent
Jesus reveals himself in our Gospel as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, signified by his speaking with Moses and Elijah who represent the Scriptural writings of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus also fulfills what was begun in our first reading with the story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his only son, Isaac. Jesus is the long awaited Lamb of God, who is sacrificed on our behalf for the forgiveness of our sins when we had broken our covenant with God, Jesus who cuts a New and Eternal Covenant in his own Body and Blood to open up for us eternal life!
Ash Wednesday
What is Lent about? Is it about giving something up? Well...not exactly. Is it about sacrifice? Well...not exactly. Lent is about Jesus Christ. Lent is about us intentionally following Jesus and growing closer to Jesus. If we forget that, then anything and everything we do during Lent - all the practices, all the sacrifices, all the resolutions - in the end, mean nothing. The deeper presence of Jesus Christ in our lives is the meaning of Lent. In our Gospel Jesus gives us three rich Biblical practices for that presence to become a reality in our lives: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Done with Jesus and for Jesus, these have incredible power. Done purely by our own strength of will or just because "that's the rule"...then we're just spinning our wheels.
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
When we think of Lent we often think of some sort of sacrifice that we make, something that we "give up" for Lent. But a great question to ask the Lord as you consider your Lenten resolution(s) is, "How will this help me grow closer to You, Jesus?" The whole point of a sacrifice in Lent is to be a sacrifice of love to the Lord, an intentional turning to God. When our Lenten resolutions simply become a test of our own will power, however, then we've missed the whole point. The whole point of this Lenten season is to draw closer to Jesus Christ. If we are not intentionally growing closer to the Lord, then our Lent will be in vain. So as you consider your resolution(s) for this Lent, I want you to ask the Lord, "How will this help me grow closer to You, Jesus?"
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our readings today give us an outline of the Christian life, the three necessary steps of what it means to live as a Christian. Our destiny is to be in a total, life-giving, rich relationship with Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit for all eternity...and to begin living in that reality now through these three steps. Christianity is quite simple...it's not easy, but it's quite simple. G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” So this week, will you give it a try? Today, which step is God calling you to focus on?
The Baptism of the Lord
Today Jesus is baptized, not to be washed by the water but to wash the water; not to be cleansed by the waters but to cleanse the waters. Today Jesus isn't baptized by water - water is baptized by Jesus. So when we go down into the water in baptism, we no longer just get wet, we get Jesus Christ! At our baptism we were set free from the hold of sin, worry and anxiety in our life, brought into God's family, and given the power of the Holy Spirit to live this new life in God. The challenge this week: how are we doing? How are we living out the graces of our baptism? Have we in some ways forgotten the power and strength God gave us on our baptism day and settled for a less than full and vibrant life of faith? This week, let's ask for a renewal of that strength of our baptism!
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it. We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other. Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, "Children, obey your parents in everything...Wives, be subordinate to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives." Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death. We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!
Merry Christmas!
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night, Oh night divine
4th Sunday of Advent
On this 4th Sunday of Advent, Deacon Brian gives an incredible homily on Mary's fiat to God ("may it be done to me according to your word") which lays the groundwork of the vision for our parishes in the coming year. In it he uses the analogy of a NASCAR race to portray God's first call and primary challenge for all the lay faithful to be drivers for Christ in the great Christian race of missionary discipleship, with the clergy being your pit crew and the fans being the whole world!
As we, lay parishioners and ministers alike, discern in this coming year how to transform our parishes of St. Joseph and St. Ann into communities that welcome the Lord's call to "go and make disciples of all nations", we ask for your prayers and support, that together we all might echo back to God Mary's fiat: "may it be done to me according to your word," and that we might draw many more to echo those word along with us!
3rd Sunday of Advent
People started following and listening to Jesus in large part because of the signs that accompanied his message - the miracles he was performing. December 12th was the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1531 Mary appeared to an Aztec peasant named Juan Diego asking that a Church be built on the spot. Accompanying these apparitions were three miracles - the miracle of the roses, the miracle of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appearing on Juan Diego's cloak/tilma (which can still be seen today in Mexico and which defies all modern explanation), and the miracle of over 9 million people converting to Christianity in a matter of years and following Christ because of this apparition and image. In our Gospel today John the Baptist is preparing the way for our Lord; Mary has prepared the way for our Lord Jesus in so many ways, both through her life on this earth and her continued apparitions to God's children. Inspired by the miracles that God has done, let's ask God to continue to work miracles in our lives and in this world, that we may follow Him with more conviction and that others may be opened to hearing the message of Jesus Christ!
1st Sunday of Advent
We humans change one step at a time - it's just the way we're wired. And once we've made a change that tends to become the new normal and we stick to it, for better or for worse. This Advent season God wants to work in your life in new and powerful ways! But for that change to occur, there is a requirement: DAILY prayer and reflection. To give Jesus the space He needs in our lives and minds and hearts to work out His grace within us requires the daily practice of openness to God in prayer and reflection. One day a week is okay, 2 days is all right, 3 is getting better...but if we're wondering why we've plateaued and not much seems to be changing or growing in our spiritual life, it's because God needs our daily permission to work His good grace in us, one step at a time!
Feast of Christ the King
We've been so concerned recently with who's going to be our president, have we stopped to ask ourselves how concerned we've been with Who's going to be our King? This weekend, as we near the end of our liturgical year, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King as we we look ahead to the end of time - when Jesus Christ will come in glory to rule all of creation forever. If politics can get us passionate and worked up about a man who will run our country for a handful of years and then go into the history books, then our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ should inspire us to incredible passion for sharing Who is going to be our King for all eternity! As citizens of God's kingdom, we're not called only to live personally as disciples of Jesus Christ, but we're also expected to reach out call others to join this incredible kingdom. How do we do that? Start listening to find out!
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This last week we celebrated both All Saints Day and All Souls Day. On All Saints we rejoice and thank God for those whose souls are fully united to God in heaven; on All Souls day we pray for those people who have died and whose bodies are decomposing yet whose souls live on into eternity. Why do we pray for them? What need would they have that we can help with? Why not just celebrate All Saints Day and forget about All Souls Day? When the word "purgatory" gets brought up in conversation I'm usually met with incredulity, people thinking of it as an outdated or unnecessary idea - if God is love why would there be a purgatory? But maybe the way we're thinking about it is all wrong; maybe there's something incredibly relevant and timely about purgatory, both for us and for all souls, whether living in the body or out of it.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists of all time, loved sculpting most of all. He could look at a block of marble, see the potential, a vision for what that block of marble was hiding, and then carve away everything that was not that potential. When we stand in front of the mirror, each one of us is looking at a block of marble called, "The rest of your life." Do we have a vision for what we want that block of marble to look like at the end of our life? Can we see and appreciate its full potential? Because God has a vision for each one of us, He sees so much potential, He tells us in the Gospel today that within each of us is a heart that can love God with everything we've got and love our neighbor as ourself. What do you want to look like at the end of your life: a roughly carved block of untapped potential tromping around heaven, or a true masterpiece of God's creation? It's already inside of you! How will you let God keep carving you this week?
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable which Jesus gives about a king inviting guests to the wedding reception of his son is ultimately a parable about eternal life and heaven (which our 1st reading from Isaiah speaks of as "God's holy mountain"). The king in the parable is God, his son is Jesus, and the wedding banquet is eternal salvation. Some have ignored the invitation (God's original Chosen People, the Israelites), so the king has sent out his servants (the Apostles) to invite anyone and everyone, the bad and the good alike (the Church), to this wedding reception. One man, however, is thrown out for not wearing his wedding garment. While it may seem harsh, the wedding garment symbolizes the garment we were given at baptism when we were asked to put on Christ. We may say "yes" to God's original invitation, but Jesus makes it clear that one "yes" is not enough. After that, we also have to say "yes" to putting on Christ each and every day, to wearing the wedding garment we've been given. And as we learn at the end of the parable, busy-ness, laziness, forgetfulness, whatever made that man not wear his garment, is not a good enough excuse when the final day comes. What are you wearing today?
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday's Gospel we have a story of change: one son says "no" to his dad's request but then changes his mind and does it; the other says "yes" to his dad's request but then changes his mind and doesn't do it. We all have the possibility to change, for better or for worse, every single day. Every day is an opportunity to follow God's voice again...or to choose to let that voice fade into the background. A disciple is one who follows the voice of God each and every day; one who has an obedient and faithful heart - not just in word, but especially in action; not just on Sunday, but on Monday through Friday as well. Which son are you now? Which son will you decide to be tomorrow? Change is always possible!
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend our readings center on forgiveness, especially on how we will NOT be forgiven unless we first forgive others. While Jesus in the Gospel responds to a question by Peter saying he must forgive seventy-seven times (which seems very magnanimous), Jesus also goes on to give a parable in which a man is punished and condemned because that man does not forgive others and treat them with mercy (which seems quite harsh to our ears). Jesus ends the parable by saying our Heavenly Father will do the same to us if we don't forgive others. The Scriptures make it clear that in order for us to be forgiven, we must forgive others...ALL others. So what does that have to do with politics?! Listen to find out, and no matter where you stand on whatever issue, be prepared to feel the Lord challenging you to more!
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Authority is a theme in our readings today - in both our first reading and Gospel "keys" are spoken of, symbolic of a position of authority. This time of Coronavirus has led to a lot of discussion about who has authority: who's in charge of what, to what extent can a governor proclaim a state of emergency, what rulings and content are under the authority of state Supreme Courts , what authority does the CDC have, how much authority does a governor have to mandate action, who has the authority to enforce those mandates? For as much as we like to talk about all these things and weigh in with our opinion, the truth is that we individually have almost no authority in changing overall societal response to Covid. I think that we as humans (me included) really enjoy talking about how others should use their authority and what decisions they should be making, but we really don't enjoy confronting how we are neglecting to use OUR God-given authority! So what exactly is the authority that God has given to each of us? Listen to find out!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It's proven that certain practices make for a happier and healthier person - prayer and generosity being two of those practices. Why is that? God made us to live in relationship with Him, Jesus lived a life of intense moments of prayer and generosity, and the more we live that prayer and generosity the more we become like Jesus Christ and enter into the only relationship that can truly make us happier and healthier in all senses of those words!
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus comes to the disciples today walking on the water - that's a Big Moment, a miraculous moment, one that's hard to miss, and it strengthens their faith. Elijah is told in our 1st reading that the Lord will be passing by: there is a great wind, a tremendous earthquake, a blazing fire, and yet, Scripture says, God was in none of those seemingly big moments. Rather, God was in a tiny, whispering voice - a Small Moment, so small it could be easily missed, but just as real as a Big Moment...and I would say even more important! God's ordinary language is in Small Moments, countless little whispers to us throughout the day. He gives us a few privileged Big Moments precisely so that we will continue looking and listening for Him in the hundreds of Small Moments every day.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
There are two movements in the Christian life - one is a turning away from sin, the other is a stepping towards God. The readings this weekend are more focused on the latter - stepping towards God. The individuals in our parables find something of great value to them! To get it, however, they have to sell everything else. It's a question of priorities and re-prioritizing things in their lives. There are so many good things we can focus on in life, so many good actions and decisions we can pursue...but only one can be our top priority, and only one our second priority, and only one our third. All of these good things can't be our top priority, which means that much of the Christian life is deciding which priorities God is calling us to put first, and which ones (however good they may be) the Lord is asking us to put further down the list. Following God isn't just doing good things; following God is doing the good things God has planned for us to do!
As a second installment I invited Dan Tracy, a seminarian for our Diocese, to say a few words at the end of Mass. He spent part of the summer here with us at St. Joseph and St. Ann parishes and will be heading back to seminary in the weeks ahead - he is a good man and will be greatly missed!
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
With all of the polarization in the media and the emotionally driven statements part of me wonders what happened to true, honest, good ol' arguments. In this sermon, building off of my last sermon on judgment, I explore why I think our country has lost the art of argument (which we used to possess) and what steps we as individuals can take to bring that art back. It won't be easy, but bringing God back into the public sphere (which then brings respect for every life back into the public sphere) is part of the answer!
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Life requires decisions, decisions require judgments. Tt follows, then, that we make judgments all day long. Every decision we make involves judging and judgment of various factors (even indecision is making the choice not to decide, which is guided by our judgments). So why does "judging" get such a bad wrap? Why does God speak so directly against judging others in Scripture? Can we judge or can't we? The answer is, "Yes, we can and should judge"...but there is a distinction to be made between two very different kinds of judgment - one that we must make, and one that we ought never to make. The problem is, we often jump right from the first into the second!
Corpus Christi
As a freshman in high school I remember the day it hit me: that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist! How many times had I heard that in religion class or at Church? And yet it seemed to always go in one ear and out the other. But this particular day it finally hit me - what looks like bread and what looks like wine is actually changed entirely into Jesus! If the Eucharist is a nice symbol of Jesus...so what? There are lots of nice symbols of Jesus in our world. But if the Eucharist IS Jesus Christ...then that changes everything! That was the start of my reconversion to the faith, and that was the start of my call to the priesthood. So what does it mean for you that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (vs. symbolically present)? What difference does that make in your life? For me it's made all the difference!
Ascension Sunday
This weekend we celebrate Jesus' Ascension into heaven - that after rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples for a number of days, Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The ascension is not just a one-and-done event of history, though: creation is called to follow where its Master has gone before. The ascension is still happening - heaven is waiting for it to be complete in three distinct ways! Can you name them?
5th Sunday of Easter
Every Christian, by their baptism, is anointed priest, prophet and king. Peter challenges us this weekend to that first anointing: "be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God." There is the ordained priesthood by which priests in the Church offer to God the sacrifice of Christ and offer to God's people the sacraments, but there is also the priesthood of the baptized by which every Christian, in Jesus, is called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Every day we can offer these spiritual sacrifices, and at Mass we have the opportunity to collect them all from that past week - our thoughts, words, prayers, actions, and intentions...even our anxieties, worries, concerns, hopes, and dreams - and place them on that altar as our sacrifice to God in the power of our baptismal priesthood! And like He does with the bread and the wine, He can take what we offer to Him and transform those sacrifices into something even greater.
3rd Sunday of Easter
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks up alongside two of his disciples, though He's not recognized for who He is but thought to be a stranger. This Stranger begins to unpack for them the Scriptures and how they foretell and prefigure the Christ. The hearts of these two disciples are set on fire as Jesus teaches them, though they don't fully realize it in the moment. It's only at the end of the day, in the breaking of the bread, that they recognize Who was with them, and then Jesus vanishes from their sight. Take a walk on the road to Emmaus, let Jesus draw close, even if you don't recognize Him at first, let Him teach you about the Scriptures and Himself, let Him set your heart on fire!
2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Deacon Brian reflects on the immensity of God's mercy. He lays out two common traps (both springing from pride) that we as Christians can fall into and which limit our reception of God's mercy. Like children at Christmas or Easter who freely and joyfully receive gifts, he encourages us to remember the mercy of God as an undeserved gift, but a gift that God desires to give to us. Let us open our arms, hearts and minds to accept (with the joy and enthusiasm of a child) the incredible gift of mercy that our Savior desires to share with each of us!
Happy Easter!
During this time of COVID-19 I've heard people say both how unfortunate and difficult of a time this is, and how many blessings are hidden in this time. While I agree with both (and I most certainly see God's hand at work in my life, in our Church, and in our world in the midst of the difficulties) there is an easy mistake to fall into while trying to make sense of it all. The mistake is to look at the blessings and the good coming out of it and say, "God did this so that...(list your blessing or good thing)." The problem is that if we say that God did this in order to bring about good things, then we also have to say that it's His fault that bad things and struggles are happening in so many lives - we inadvertently, but very quickly, turn God into a monster. The appalling message of Easter, of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is that God can bring good out of ANY situation. Not that He wants bad things to happen, not that He wanted His son to be rejected, tortured, and murdered, but out of anything - whether good, neutral, bad, or downright horrific - God is able to bring good. God's goodness is unstoppable! Not even death can stop Him! Christ is Risen! Alleluia, alleluia!
Palm Sunday
“Holy” literally means “different.” As we enter into this year’s Holy Week we are certainly experiencing a very “different” time in our country and world. I would propose, however, that this time of COVID-19 can actually assist us in entering more deeply into this Holy Week, more deeply into the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, than we ever have before!
Note: I will be live streaming Easter morning Mass from St. Joseph at 9:00am on Sunday, April 12! Please visit the parish website www.stjoseph-hayward.org to view live or watch the recording.
5th Sunday of Lent
This weekend one of my deacons, Deacon Brian McCaffrey, preaches the homily. During this unique time of COVID-19, I have decided to record and upload my deacons' homilies onto my website and podcast as well. While nobody is able to see us preach in person, I pray that being able to at least hear the homily will help us feel connected in these very unique times of "Safer at Home" which Wisconsin has instituted.
This weekend Deacon Brian considers the sin of anger, how it often goes unnoticed as sinful, how it takes root in our lives, how we give into and feed it, and how it prevents us from being the person God is calling us to be. Like Lazarus in the Gospel who, after coming out of the tomb, Jesus orders to be unbound from his burial cloths, God desires to untie us from the sin of anger in the ways that it still binds us. When we give unrepented anger over to the Lord, the power of the Son can transform us into something spiritually new and incredible!
4th Sunday of Lent
We are certainly in a unique and unprecedented time in our country (and world) with this response to COVID-19. In the Gospel today Jesus opens the eyes of a man born blind. He smears a muddy mixture of saliva and dirt on the man's eyes - not a clean or comfortable experience - then asks the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man does...and is healed! This time of COVID-19 and our nation's response is an experience of a muddy mixture being smeared in our eyes and into our lives - it's neither pleasant nor comfortable. But Jesus invites us in this time, like He did the blind man, to go wash in the Pool of Siloam - trying new and different ways of prayer and service and learning to unite to God in this unique time. If we don't, this will all just be a muddy experience. But if we do, this mud might also become an opportunity for incredible spiritual power in our lives!
2nd Sunday of Lent
Temptations come from 3 main sources: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Movements of God within us start with a thought, and temptations also start with a thought. As these various thoughts and reasonings fill our mind, we eventually come to a fork in the road - we have to decide which thoughts to hold onto, and which thoughts to set aside...it's not as easy as it sounds. Those thoughts of temptation are so subtle, and so mischievous, they'll do whatever they can to draw us away from the one thing God is calling us to in that moment. They'll even tempt us with good things, actions and thoughts that are noble and virtuous, so long as those actions and thoughts are NOT what God is asking of us in that moment. God calls us, His children, to an incredible glory, prefigured in Jesus' transfiguration that we hear of in today's Gospel. This week: how will we resist the temptations that come our way, and resolutely follow the impulses of God within our hearts? One path leads to glory, the other to fleeting pleasure followed by lasting emptiness. Which thoughts will we decide to hold onto this week, and which ones will we decide to throw away?
1st Sunday of Lent
Our readings today present us the with tale of 2 men: The 1st man - Adam - and the New Adam - Jesus Christ. Both are tempted by the serpent. The Old Adam falls and turns away from the Father; the New Adam stands strong in faithfulness to His Father. This Lent is a journey into the desert with Jesus. It will be a time of testing and temptation for us just as it was for Him. In the face of the temptations to come, will we be like the Old Adam, or the New Adam?
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God our Father is the Divine Physician, the greatest doctor of both body and spirit in this entire universe. In Jesus Christ the Divine Surgeon has expertly removed the cancer of our sin, through the Scriptures the Divine Physical Therapist gives us our necessary exercises, and in the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Eucharist the Divine Nutritionist gives us the sustenance necessary to be strengthened for the task. God's love and mercy is that He provides all of this to us for free (who by no means deserve it and have no means of paying Him back). But God's love and mercy can't do it for us - we have to work with these gifts to reap the healing benefits that are freely offered. And in this treatment plan, we all, when we're totally honest with ourselves, know what our next step is. This week, let' start with our own personal next step of that treatment plan.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Our first reading today foretells the coming of the Lord to the Temple, fulfilled in our Gospel when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the Temple, according to Jewish custom, to present him to the Lord. But this Lord, says our first reading, comes to purify, like a refiner's insanely hot fire or a fuller's chemically harsh lye...and in both examples we are the thing that is being purified. God, like a good parent, wants to raise His children to be strong, mature, able, loving adults. The process is not magic, nor is it easy, nor can our Parent do it for us - it involves our own growth and maturation through the process of accepting the challenges and purification our Father offers. This week, instead of running from that purification or making excuses like, "It's just the way I am," how will we lean into God's purification and mature into the adult He knows we can be?
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you remember as a kid walking around outside in the dark, seeing something move in the shadows and then freezing in horror - you tried hard to focus on it, sometimes you were convinced it was moving, sometimes you were convinced it couldn't be - your imagination running wild...then other shadows and objects seem to start moving...only to come back the next morning, in the full light of day, to find that it was something as harmless as a pine tree or as simple as a fencepost?
In the darkness many things become confusing and uncertain - we think we see or understand something, we draw conclusions that seem to make sense in the darkness, only to realize in the light of day that the truth is quite different. In the readings today Jesus fulfills an age-old prophecy from Isaiah and enters the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, historically dark and gloomy (from the perspective of faith in God), in order to bring the light. As Christians, we are called to follow Christ and bring the light to places of darkness and confusion in our culture. Those in the darkness become pretty convinced that they are correct in their deductions, but it is our call as Christians to bring the bright the light of day, the truth, to seemingly difficult and controversial contemporary issues. Christ came to bring the light, and we are Christ-ians - let's live up to our name at least one more time than usual this week!
Epiphany
Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star. The presence of these three non-Jewish kings shows that God is calling not only the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus. God’s sign was a star; everyone can see the stars. So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star? Was everyone else just too busy? Were they so caught up in life that they didn’t even notice the sign? We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don’t notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don’t follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it. This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it. We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other. Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, "Children, obey your parents in everything...Wives, be subordinate to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives." Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death. We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
3rd Sunday of Advent
This weekend we encounter a powerful New Testament figure, John the Baptist, in a difficult and dark time - literally and figuratively. John has been imprisoned, he probably knows he is not getting out anytime soon, and he (who proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God and prepared for Jesus' coming by his preaching and teaching) is now questioning whether or not Jesus is the promised one of God. We can all take two important lessons away from John's experience, lessons useful for our everyday life of prayer, but especially in our own times of darkness: 1) John is honest with his doubts 2) John lays his doubts at the feet of Jesus. When we are raw with our thoughts and emotions, when we lay them at the feet of our Lord without any filter, then we finally give God permission to enter into the most important areas of our life. Try it (I dare you) and God will bring great things out of it!
2nd Sunday of Advent
I had the privilege of spending this weekend with 50 inspiring high-school-aged young men and women from throughout our diocese! This fulfilled no Confirmation requirements for them, neither were any of them forced to come to this retreat - they generously set aside this time to step away from their busy lives and focus on growing closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, learning, sacraments, and community. They are making God a priority in their lives, and they inspire me to want to make God more of a priority in mine as well. Please continue to pray for the incredible youth of our diocese and the good work that God is doing in their lives!
1st Sunday of Advent
We invest in the things that are important to us - we invest time, energy, emotions, intellect, mental space, money, resources. The more we invest in something, the more important it is to us, and the more returns it will yield; the less we invest in something, the less important it is to us and the less returns it will yield. As we begin this Advent season, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and the more we invest in that preparation the more of a return this experience will yield for us. While we prepare in a general sense for Christ's coming, I'd like us to focus this Advent specifically on the Mass: how invested are we in the Mass? How much more could we bring to the table? What are the ways that others invest themselves in the experience of the Mass? What can I learn from them and how can I come back next week ready to invest a little more in the weekend Mass experience? God comes to us at every Mass, He has a word to speak to each one of us that pertains to this exact moment in our life, and the the more I'm investing, the more I'll experience God at work in my life at every weekend Mass!
Solemnity of Christ the King
As Americans we are naturally weary of anything having to do with a "king", we also don't like the word "authority" all that much - it was the abuse of power by some oppressive authority, even some kings, that brought many of our ancestors to America in the first place. Scripture, however, has no problem with the idea of a king or authority; in fact, Scripture makes it very clear that all authority has been given to Jesus Christ, that Jesus came to this earth to bring a kingdom, and that He is the King of that kingdom! As Christians we proclaim that we are followers first and foremost of Christ, our true King, and that we are committed to bringing His kingdom more fully onto this earth. His kingdom started in us at our baptism and is meant to grow in us throughout our lives. Can you invite Jesus to reign in your heart for a little bit longer each day this week? Think, if we each did that for a few more minutes every day, how much more of a reality the words we pray in the Our Father would become - thy kingdom come!
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Hellfire, brimstone, damnation - words we don't hear very often anymore, but words that our first reading calls to mind (and themes that arise out of our Scriptures). And lest we think that Jesus ushered in an age full of only mercy, pardon and mushy-gushy "love", Jesus Himself, multiple times in the Gospels, speaks strongly about judgment, hellfire, the separation of the righteous and the wicked, warning us of the wide and easy road that leads to destruction and encouraging us to follow the narrow and difficult road that leads to life. This week I challenge you: have conversations about some of these difficult topics with friends and other believers, Catholic or otherwise. These ideas aren't culturally acceptable, many discount them these days, but if we call ourselves Christian, if we believe what Jesus (the Son of God, the Author of all truth) says, then we have to start taking these ideas seriously!
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Why is it that we as Catholics are the only Christians that pray for our beloved dead? Why is it that we are the only Christians who believe in Purgatory? In this homily I will explore how other Christians believe Jesus saves us versus how we as Catholics believe Jesus saves us, and what that difference means in praying for the dead, purgatory, and how we live our lives here and now!
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sometimes God works incredible miracles that are visually and experientially miraculous. In our first reading and Gospel today we have 11 lepers who are all miraculously cured by God...but they're healed in very non-incredible ways: taking a bath and out for a walk. More often than not, God's ways are subtle, quiet and seemingly indirect. God's hand is moving and blessing and answering prayers, but often in unexpected ways, which means that it's easy to miss God's blessings in our lives and the lives of others. Of the 11 lepers cleansed, only 2 come back to thank God for answered prayers. As we approach God in prayer, as we attend Mass, let's join with the 2 lepers who came back, and let's give thanks to God for His many blessings and answered prayers in our lives!
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today Jesus tells us one of His most confusing parables: "Look at this shady, crooked, underhanded businessman... You should learn a lesson from him!" Many people are clever in the ways of this world - they are smart and resourceful in using the people and situations around them to further their own gain (even if it is selfish and underhanded, as the steward/manager/businessman is today). Jesus challenges the "children of light" to be as smart and resourceful in obtaining benefits for heavenly life, as clever in living out our faith in the midst of this busy world and culture, as this shady businessman was in obtaining benefits for his earthly life.
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The most encouraging, effective and result producing words kids can hear from their parents are: "I love you; I'm proud of you." In our Gospel today Jesus shares three parables, all portraying the illogical, unreasonable, over-the-top love that the Father has for each one of us. No matter what we've done, no matter how far we've wandered away, the Father never stops seeking us out. And when we finally let ourselves be found, He says to us, "I love you; I'm proud of you!" Jesus heard His Father say those words to Him; can we hear our Father say those words to us?
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It's proven that generosity makes for a happier person; generosity springs from gratitude - to the degree that we're thankful for the gifts we've been given in life, we have a desire to share these gifts with others. Thankfulness and generosity, though, are two virtues that you will not be challenged to grow in by popular culture, but they are two virtues at the heart of what it means to be Christian - the more thankful and generous we are, the more we become like our Maker!
This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides so many incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in thankfulness and generosity (in all senses of those words) and I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In order to live in this world, we have to trust all kinds of things we see, hear and experience. On a daily basis we extend trust thousands of times - to people, situations, information...everything. A generic definition of "faith" is: "confidence or trust in a person, thing or concept." By this definition, every single person lives their lives by faith each and every day. Faith in God, then, means having confidence and trust in God - that He will do what He says, that what He promises to us humans He will do. In our readings today we see how God comes through on His promises, that God IS trustworthy, that we CAN trust God! The faith held up for us today is that whatever life may bring, no matter how bumpy the road, we know that God has us in the palm of His hand!
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel this weekend the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. After giving a short version of the Our Father, Jesus tells a semi-humorous story (in my opinion) highlighting the importance of persistence - in the context of this passage of persistent prayer. In our first reading we see a model of this kind of persistence in the conversation Abraham has with God (also a rather humorous exchange, in my opinion). But both readings make the point that God seriously encourages persistent prayer. The question remains, though, "What or who does prayer actually change? Does it change me or God?" Listen to find out!
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
After Moses gave the 10 Commandments to God's chosen people, he said something very interesting: that these commands were already written in their hearts. If, as Paul says in our second reading, all things are created in Christ, then it makes sense that the Maker would leave His mark deep within each of us, guiding us to what is best. God has given each of us a conscience, His voice deep within our gut, leading us on the right way. But then why do we need commandments or rules at all? Why can't we just each follow our own conscience?
Our conscience can sometimes be a burden and we don't always want to listen to that voice. So as we grow "smarter" and "wiser" we learn to rationalize away that voice of God deep within, until we hear only what we want to hear. This week we're challenged by Jesus to go back to the basics, to be reminded of what we already know deep within our hearts, and to listen for that simple and clear (but often difficult and inconvenient) voice of God which speaks to us from deep within - and to follow it!
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our readings today, we hear a number of call stories: God calling others to follow Him in a particular way. Whenever one of these calls happens in Scripture...that person is almost always busy! They have other plans; something else is on the agenda for the day; other big things are already going on in life. Sound familiar?! When God calls it's never convenient - it wasn't before and it isn't now. But as disciples of Jesus Christ we are meant to listen for and answer God's calls to us, no matter how big or small...or inconvenient. The challenge this week: grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ by listening for and answering a few more of those calls!
Corpus Christi
We believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. But what do we mean by that? Is it really possible that bread and wine literally become Jesus' flesh and blood? Do we chew on Jesus' flesh and touch our lips to His blood at every Mass? Let me share a couple stories with you...
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
In the new parishes I am serving - St. Joseph in Hayward and St. Ann in Cable - we have three gifted deacons. It is the custom in this cluster that the deacons preach every 1st and 3rd weekend of the month. As a result, I will be preaching less often. Lucky for you, I have homilies from previous years that I will continue to share ; ). This is last year's homily from Trinity Sunday: (Enjoy!)
Pentecost Sunday
The coming of the Holy Spirit CHANGED the first followers of Jesus. We received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass...but how much are we CHANGED by these experiences? Do you ever long for more in your faith but just don't know why you aren't getting it? If that's ever been you, listen to this homily, and most importantly - remember to breathe (spiritually)!
Ascension Sunday
In the new parishes I am serving - St. Joseph in Hayward and St. Ann in Cable - we have three gifted deacons. It is the custom in this cluster that the deacons preach every 1st and 3rd weekend of the month. As a result, I will be preaching less often. Lucky for you, I have homilies from previous years that I will continue to share ; ). This is last year's homily from Ascension Sunday: (Enjoy!)
6th Sunday of Easter
Have you ever heard one Christian teach one thing about Jesus, and then heard shortly thereafter another Christian teaching the opposite? Who's right? How do we find out the truth? In our first reading we see where the first followers of Jesus turned to find the truth in the midst of disagreements and controversies over what they should believe...and where they turned then is still where we as Catholics turn now!
5th Sunday of Easter
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead turned everything we thought we knew completely upside down! God showed that He has the power to bring good out of anything...even evil, and even the difficult and painful moments of our lives. This weekend I celebrated my final weekend of Masses in the Superior area. I have been asked to assist in covering the Masses in the Hayward and Cable Catholic Churches effective immediately. Thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your hearts and lives. Though this time of change and transition will be difficult, I know that God has the power to bring good out of all things. Please welcome whatever priest comes to this area next with the same warmth and love as you did me, and he will be one lucky priest!
4th Sunday of Easter
Jesus says today in our Gospel, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me." What does God's voice sound like in your life? What happens when you follow it? What do we and others miss out on when we don't? Often God's voice/invitation doesn't give us the whole story or plan He has, just the next step in the process...so we can easily dismiss those thoughts, that voice, because it might not seem, from our perspective, to make sense in that moment. But I challenge you this week: listen for that voice, and the next time you hear it (even if it doesn't seem to make sense or takes you out of your comfort zone), follow it! God has something special in store!
3rd Sunday of Easter
Our Gospel story today is one of the passages we as Catholics point to in the Scriptures where Jesus sets Peter apart from the other Apostles, in which we read the beginnings of the papacy and the pope! God gave us a great gift in our pope, a leader and figurehead meant to keep Jesus' Church united as ONE body. Jesus' great prayer was that all of his followers might be one, as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, that we would all be ONE...at present there are over 40,000 different Christian denominations. Thanks be to God for our ONE Catholic Church, united throughout the whole world, for the gift of the pope to keep us united (even in the midst of struggles and difficulties and disagreements - kind of like the head of a family), and for the gift of the Eucharist where we become what we are: ONE in the Body of Christ!
2nd Sunday of Easter
Is it wrong to question God? Is wanting to know how or why something happened considered a weakness or lack of faith, or even a sin? In the Gospel today Jesus appears to His apostles, but Thomas isn't there. When Thomas comes back and all of the others are claiming that Jesus is risen, he refuses to believe unless he sees it himself. Is that wrong of him? I think not!
Easter Sunday
Happy Easter to all of you and your families!
One question this Easter: What does God want to do for you?
Palm Sunday
This week we are invited to walk with Jesus through the last days of His life on this earth - through his celebration of the Last Supper, his suffering and death, and finally his Resurrection! "Holy" means "different" and "set apart". How will you make this week "different" and "set apart" from every other week of your life? How will you make this, for you, a truly "Holy" Week?
5th Sunday of Lent
This weekend I helped with a High School Discipleship Retreat - we have some incredible young men and women in northern Wisconsin who love Jesus Christ and want to know our Lord more and more! It's truly inspiring to be a part of these retreats! Both our first reading and Gospel speak of situations where some people are trapping and others are being trapped: in both readings God sets His people free. God has the power to free us from whatever situations are weighing us down, even if they seem impossible to get out of or be gotten rid of. Our God is a God Who saves and sets free! How has God set you free in life? How does God want to free you more right now?
4th Sunday of Lent
"Pain's there for a reason. It lets your body know something's wrong and it needs to be fixed." These words are true of our body, but they are also true of our emotions, heart, soul, and spirituality. Pain is there for a reason - it lets us know that something is wrong and needs to be fixed - as both of the brothers in our Gospel this weekend experience, and as we have and continue to experience in our own lives. Pain is often coupled with an invitation from God to come home, to come to the fullness and wholeness that our Father wants to give us!
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
"But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" Strong words from Jesus in our Gospel today - very strong words. Repentance is turning toward God and admitting our sins...and it's not easy for us as humans. We're sinners. That's not meant to be depressing, but freeing. We are sinners, we've messed up, and Jesus came to free us from our sins, to take that weight off of our shoulders so that we can get on living. Jesus tells us today that this path to freedom, however, starts with repentance - turning toward God, admitting our mistakes, and allowing His forgiveness to enter our lives and lift us up.
This weekend I will be taking 10 high school men from our diocese on a seminary visit to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. Please keep us in your prayers, both for safe travels and that these young men might be open to discovering God's will for their lives.
Because of this seminary visit, I will not be preaching this weekend. Lucky for you, however, I have a Throwback Homily on our readings this weekend for the 2nd Sunday of Lent!
2nd Sunday of Lent
In the midst of our Lenten journey, we catch a glimpse today of Jesus transfigured in glory on top of a mountain. This Jesus who was seen by Peter, James and John 2,000 years ago is the same Jesus who has appeared to us, who has tangibly broken into our lives at particular moments, who has woken us up (if only for an instant) to the reality of His presence in and around us! What are some of your mountaintop moments? These experiences are meant to strengthen us for the journey. When the road seems too long, remember the view from mountaintop, and keep your eyes open...who knows when you'll suddenly find yourself on top of a mountain again?
1st Sunday of Lent
Lent is a great opportunity for us - an excuse to slow down a bit, a time to shake us out of our daily routine (through fasting and no-meat Fridays, with our personal resolutions: giving something up or adding healthy spiritual practices). Lent provides us more chances to LOOK UP to our God and ask for His help in our lives. The Israelites were led by Moses out of Egypt, they were tempted in the desert and failed three times by not turning to God and trying to fix the issue themselves. In our Gospel today, Jesus is led into the desert for forty days and forty nights, tempted by the devil, and Jesus wins three times! How? He LOOKS UP to the Father for help and doesn't try to do it alone. This Lent you will be led into the desert (some things in your life will be hard and difficult), and you will be tempted (like the Israelites, like Jesus). Will you try to do it alone, or will you LOOK UP?
Ash Wednesday
The day you're a little more self-conscious (if you went to Church in the morning). The day people look at you funny, wondering why your forehead is dirty but probably not willing to say anything to you about it. The day you find out which of your co-workers are Catholic. The ashes placed on the foreheads of millions of Christians throughout the world this day proclaim three things: we belong to God, we are totally dependent on God, and we have decided today to take concrete steps during these next 40 days to turn back to the Lord!
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel today Jesus challenges us, before pointing the finger at someone else, to point it first right into the mirror. "How do I look (spiritually)? How could I look better (spiritually)?" This week, this Lent, take a long, hard look in the mirror...give some serious thought to what you'd like to do to make this your best Lent ever!
Once again I encourage everyone (all listeners, wherever you're from - if you're listening consider yourself part of our parish community) to register for FORMED by going to superiorcatholic.formed.org. Should it ask you for an Access Code ours is: 6RC4CN. This week's homily was 3 minutes short so that you would use those 3 minutes to register for FORMED, login, and see the resources they have to offer. Take advantage of this great opportunity for your own study and spiritual growth, available at your fingertips wherever wi-fi or data is present ; )
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend Jesus tells us, "Stop judging and you will not be judged." Seems straightforward...but it also seems to put us as followers of Jesus in a crossfire. On the one hand, God shows us the path to a fulfilled life in this world and the next, asks us to follow it, and invites us to challenge others to do the same. On the other hand, when we challenge others to follow this path, when we stand up and say that certain actions are right and wrong, that certain decisions are good and bad, we're told, "Stop judging!" So can I judge, or can't I? (Hint: the answer to that questions is, "Correct!"). Listen to find out why!
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lent is just around the corner (2 1/2 weeks away) and I am excited to announce an incredible opportunity for all of my parishioners, as well as anyone from afar who stays connected with us through my website, podcast or recorded homilies. FORMED is a top-quality online resource that gives you access to all the best Catholic content, all in one place, and it has been provided FREE for our parishes (and listeners) thanks to a generous donation this year! As you look forward to Lent, as you consider the ways you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ this year, I would encourage you to see what FORMED has to offer - for you, for your family, for your friends - and work some of it's many possibilities into your Lenten resolutions. Register through us online, for free, at superiorcatholic.formed.org
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God's calls to us often come as thoughts, just simple thoughts. It's easy to miss them if we're not paying attention, or (if you're like me) you reason yourself out of them. But God calls us every day, in little moments, to reach out to others, to pray for others, to share our experiences of the Lord. Like Isaiah and Peter in our readings today, we might not feel like we're the best fit for the job, we won't know what following a call will actually entail. But like Isaiah and Peter, when we hear these calls of God during our day, these simple thoughts and tugs of the heart, let's go for it and unleash more of God's life into this world bit by bit!
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Walls are necessary for security, to protect the life that is fostered within those walls. Just before our first reading begins, the Jewish people have finally been allowed to go home to Jerusalem after being conquered and sent away years ago. The first thing they do is rebuild the walls to ensure their security. Then our reading picks up with the great stories of their history being retold to this people who had in many ways forgotten their heritage and identity as God's Chosen People - they are being formed again so that they can become the light to the world that God intended. It is much the same in our Catholic Church today. To be strong and secure in our Catholic faith we do need to be set apart, we do need to build walls to protect our life inside from the attacks of the outer world. But we are also invited – like the Israelites – to reclaim our identity and then throw open the windows to let this life transform those around us: it’s both/and. Where do you need to strengthen a wall this week? And where are you being asked to open a window?
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this week's Gospel Jesus performs his first known miracle: turning water into wine at a wedding reception. Jewish wedding receptions lasted 5-7 days; it was the third day of this wedding reception and they're already running out of wine - it would have been a complete humiliation for the newlyweds. For this miracle, however, Jesus didn't magically become aware of the wine shortage, snap his fingers and fix it all in an instant. Rather, this miracle involved a number of people: noticing a problem, bringing it to Jesus, persevering through seeming rejection, carrying out laborious and seemingly useless orders, all backed by a trust that it would turn out OK in the end. What would have happened if one link in that chain had been broken by someone stopping from discouragement or doing something other than what Jesus asked because it would have been the more logical or sensible thing to do? The miracle probably wouldn't have happened. This week: how will you fit into that chain of events as God tries to use you to work a blessing, even a miracle, in the life of someone else?
The Baptism of the Lord
Today Jesus is baptized, not to be washed by the water but to wash the water; not to be cleansed by the waters but to cleanse the waters. Today Jesus isn't baptized by water - water is baptized by Jesus. So when we go down into the water in baptism, we no longer just get wet, we get Jesus Christ! At our baptism we were set free from the hold of sin, worry and anxiety in our life, brought into God's family, and given the power of the Holy Spirit to live this new life in God. The challenge this week: how are we doing? How are we living out the gift of our baptism? Have we in some ways forgotten the power and strength God gave us on our baptism day and settled for a less than full and vibrant life of faith? This week, let's ask for a renewal of that strength of our baptism!
Epiphany
Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star. The presence of these three non-Jewish kings shows that God is calling not only the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus. God’s sign was a star; everyone can see the stars. So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star? Was everyone else just too busy? Were they so caught up in life that they didn’t even notice the sign? We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don’t notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don’t follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it. This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus was born into a human family, with everything that entails. He learned to live with an immediate and extended family (and based on the lineage we hear in other Bible passages, his relations were far from perfect). In an imperfect world, with imperfect people and imperfect families, today's readings give us some very practical advice on how we can live more fulfilling lives: put the wants and needs of others before your own...as Christ did.
Paul gives us a very concrete example of how this looks in one of the most fundamental sets of relationships we find ourselves in: the family. Before getting up-in-arms about how Paul could write, "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands," let's look at the reading in context and see how Paul is challenging everyone to stretch their hearts and love others the way Christ loved us.
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
4th Sunday of Advent
We’ve looked at the light of Christ in our thoughts and actions. Now, in this final week of Advent, we look at the light of Christ in our words. In my experience, people WANT to talk about God and faith in their lives…they’re just afraid of what others will think and uncertain where others stand on the issue — so they don’t say anything. Our words have the power to give people that opportunity to speak about God's presence in their life. Our words have the power to invite God into a conversation. Our words have the power to crack open the door to God’s presence. Others don’t have to walk through that door; they can pass by our invitation. But for those who want to go there and just don’t know how, we can give them that opportunity. Something as simple as, “I’ll pray for you,” can be enough. This week: use your words to invite God into a conversation! (I think you'll be surprised by how positive responses can be!)
3rd Sunday of Advent
Last week it was spending time at the manger, allowing the Light of Christ to settle in our thoughts and minds. This week it's allowing the Light of Christ into our actions. Little kids are so good at giving presents: at first glance their artwork might not be a Van Gogh or Monet, but their intention in making these various works as gifts turns them into masterpieces! Intention and generosity can transform something mediocre into something truly beautiful. As we prepare for Jesus's Birthday, let's make some presents for Him this week, let's make some works of art for Him - an extra act of generosity, an extra prayer, a task of holiday preparation or an hour of ordinary work, intentionally offered up to God as a gift: these actions might not be perfect in themselves, but given as a gift to the Lord they are transformed into something that He sees as beautiful and worthy of going up on the heavenly frig. Let the Light of Christ into your actions this week: "God, I made this for You!"
2nd Sunday of Advent
Have you ever put yourself in the manger scene? Have you ever experienced the birth of Jesus or the time after His birth, with Mary and Joseph, or the shepherds, or the wise men? Lectio Divina (Latin for "Divine Reading") is a form of Christian prayer where we read a passage of Scripture and then use our imagination to place ourselves in the scene: then we see, hear, touch, taste and feel everything as if we were there! We interact with others in the story. We take on different roles. And through this form of imaginative prayer the Scriptures come alive! At Christmas we celebrate the coming of Christ into the world, the coming of clear Light into a sometimes foggy and murky world, into our sometimes foggy and murky lives. This week, find some time to let the Light of Christ enter your mind - spend some time in that manger scene. (Then next week we'll talk about the Light of Christ shining in our actions, and the final week of Advent how the Light of Christ can shine in our words.)
Feast of Christ the King
We as Americans don't always like the idea of authority, a king, a ruler. We pride ourselves on democracy, equality, independence and standing on our own two feet. But as Christians we claim that God is God and we are not, as Christians we claim to submit ourselves to Jesus Christ, as Christians we claim to bring about the reign of God's kingdom on earth - beginning with our own lives: minds, hearts, words and actions. So what am I? Am I more of a modern American with a mind of independence? Or am I more of a Christian with the mind of being entirely dependent on my God? This feast is a challenge for us as a Church and as individuals to ask ourselves, "Where in my life do I still try to be independent? What in my life have I not offered to God? Do I allow Christ to be the King of my life? Is He King of all of it, or just some of it?" We will always feel like something is missing in life, like there must be something more, like something in us is just not quite filled, until we give our God every aspect of our life, total control: until Jesus Christ is truly our King!
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
What do you see when you look in the mirror? The problem is that we can only see the external; a mirror can't show us what we look like internally: how our souls look, how our thoughts, words and actions are changing us, for better or for worse. Our first reading and Gospel are apocalyptic readings that refer, in part, to the end of time. "Apocalypse" doesn't mean "destruction," it means "pulling back the veil, uncovering." The day will come when the veil will be pulled back and we will see not just the external, but the whole truth of every person and situation: we will see everything as it truly is, and everything will see us as we truly are - all things will be unveiled. Will we be attractive? Will we be the beautiful, genuine person God created us to be? If you invite Jesus in now, He can heal those deeper, darker, blemished parts of your heart and soul...but only if you invite Him in. What do you see when you look in the mirror? Can you look deeper?
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend I joined almost 60 high schoolers from around our diocese for the winter High School Discipleship Weekend. These are young men and women serious about living out their Catholic faith: they want to continue growing in a deep and genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, they are learning to be active leaders in the faith, they are growing in intentional service to God and others, and they freely chose to give up their entire weekend in order to make these things a priority in their busy lives. Although I had basically lost my voice by Sunday morning, here is my homily from this amazing weekend!
Themes: trust in God, giving what little we have, God compares us to our former selves (not to other people), knowing when spiritual growth really begins to happen (which is opposite of what we usually think) - all of which, by the way, lead to a freedom in life, a freedom of heart, a deeper peace that we all want but that can only be given by God!
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel this weekend Jesus sums up the entirety of the Scriptures with the simple teaching to "love God and love neighbor." Christianity IS that simple...but it's not that easy! Growing in love of God and others is painful: like the pain and frustration you see go across a child's face when they have to learn how to share with someone else, we experience that same pain of transformation as we say goodbye to our selfish inclinations and learn to open ourselves up to love of God and others - which makes us become more of the person God created us to be! Our belief in Purgatory (which separates us as Catholics from all other Christians) is rooted in this idea of transformation from the inside out. Heaven is a place where every individual completely loves God and completely loves others...that transformation, those growing pains, have to take place at some point, whether during this life or after.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I was young, I didn't like doing the dishes - it was an obligation, a duty, something I HAD to do. When my parents came up to visit me the other week, I cooked them a nice meal, and then miracle of miracles...I wanted to do the dishes! Out of thankfulness for all they've done for me, I WANTED to do that service for them. In our Gospel today Jesus heals a blind man who then follows Him along the way. This once blind man is not living his faith out of a sense of duty or obligation - he's living his faith with enthusiasm because he's thankful for what Jesus has done for him. How do we live out our faith? How do we live out our relationship with God? Is it under a burdening sense of duty and obligation, or as an energizing, thankful and joyful response to what Jesus has done in our lives? What has Jesus done for you recently? Keeping that answer at the forefront of your mind will transform your faith!
Diocesan Youth Rally
When I was little I loved playing basketball. As I grew I moved from a little foam basketball to a little heavy basketball to a women's basketball to a men's basketball, from granny shots to real shots; then, one day, I finally realized what it felt like to make the perfect shot - you may as well turn around and start heading down the court because as soon as it leaves your hand you know it's going to be a swoosh! That swoosh experience, that feeling of everything working exactly how it's supposed to (no matter what the sport or activity)...you know what that feels like! "That's exactly how it's supposed to be!" we say to ourselves. Now what if you could say that about life? What if you could get to the end of a day and say, "That's exactly how life's supposed to be!" With the Lord...you can!
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It's a natural human tendency to make sense of things. We ask the question "Why?" and we come up with an answer to appease our minds. Our brains will even make up answers (even wrong ones, and totally believe them) just to satisfy this impulse to make sense of things. When it comes to suffering, pain, difficulty, and even death, however, coming up with an answer for "Why?" often makes God into some kind of monster. In the Scriptures God never gives an answer to "Why?" (I don't think there is one), but what He does do is show us "where" He is when it comes to suffering, pain, difficulty, and even death: "I'm right there with you! I walked that path already so that you would never have to walk it alone! You're never alone!"
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
An enthusiastic young man comes to Jesus in our Gospel asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Having followed all the commandments from his youth, Jesus invites the young man to take a step in faith...but this young man is very wealthy. At Jesus' challenge to sell what he owns and follow Jesus alone, this good young man walks away - he isn't willing to put something in his life down to take hold of Jesus. We only have two hands, and this weekend Jesus is stretching out his hand asking us to take hold and be raised to another level of our relationship with him. But we only have two hands, and keeping hold of Jesus often involves putting something else down in life - even good things. We've only got two hands: what are you holding onto?
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
How do we evaluate a day, a week, a month, a season in our life? Is it by how little we've done wrong or sinned? In the Gospel today Jesus comes down hard on sin: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out!" While we may become complacent with our sins, Jesus never does. And yet, if our goal is never to sin, that neither makes us holy nor prepares us for heaven! The Christian life isn't about not sinning; heaven isn't about not sinning. Turning away from sin is only the first step of the Christian life. Then we walk the path of the Gospel in a real and living relationship with Jesus! So how do we evaluate a day, a week, a month, a season in our life? A Christian would evaluate it based on how generously he or she lived, how many opportunities to help others were taken advantage of, how much more a man or woman of the Gospel they became during that time.
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel today a deaf man with a speech impediment is brought to Jesus. Jesus takes him away from the crowd, touches his ears and tongue, prays, and cures both his deafness and speech impediment. In our society it seems that many of us Catholics, like the man in our Gospel, have experienced what it feels like to be tongue-tied: we don't always how to respond to people who are hostile to the Church (especially in light of the recent scandals) or how to answer difficult questions about what we believe clearly and concisely, and we're not always comfortable telling other people what Jesus Christ has done in our lives. Like He did the man in our Gospel today, Jesus wants to take us aside and cure our tongue-tied-ness...but like the man in the Gospel, the healing doesn't begin with the tongue.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Benedict Groeschel once told me, "The Church will get much smaller before it gets bigger." In our Gospel, Jesus' teaching that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood (the Eucharist) to find eternal life turned many people away. But the Church has to get smaller, and more genuine, before it can grow through authentic and powerful witness. People get up in arms about Paul's words in our second reading, "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands." They fail, however, to read the rest of that chapter, where Paul asks all Christians to be subordinate to one another, to put the wants and needs of others before your own, because that is true love, that is what Christ did for us.
Sadly, we see in the recent news from Pennsylvania and the numerous scandals in the Church that some, even the Church's own ministers and leaders, have NOT chosen to follow this path that Paul (in following Jesus) laid out. Rather, they have chosen their wants and needs at the expense of and to the harm of others. Because of that bad example, many will leave the Church and even lose faith in God. And for those who remain, there is now more ammunition to be hurled at us. The Church will get smaller because of this, but it's a time of purification. "The Church will get much smaller before it gets bigger." But it will get bigger...through GENUINE witness to Jesus Christ!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus says that one must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life. The people of his day and age are scandalized by that - "How can we possibly eat his flesh and drink his blood! That's preposterous!" Does Jesus apologize? Or soften his words? Or say that he's just speaking figuratively? No. In fact, he ups the ante. We miss it in the English translation, but in the Greek, in response to their pushback, Jesus uses a different word for "eat", a more vivid, primitive, and animalistic word, to make sure he clearly gets his point across. Our belief in the Eucharist as the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is at the same time our belief that God wants to be intimately close to us: that He literally wants to just eat us up!
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the spiritual life, it's often the case that when you want to go up, you'll first "feel" like you're going down (emphasis on "feel"). God grows us through struggle and perseverance, and it's in those times when we "feel" like we're going down that God is giving us the opportunity to grow in exactly that place where we feel weak. So the next time you are struggling, don't blame the situation, don't blame yourself or think you're doing something wrong. Perhaps everything is at it's supposed to be. Perhaps you're doing nothing wrong. Perhaps God is giving you the opportunity to grow in this place where you "feel" weak and "feel" like a failure. Maybe what feels like going down is actually going up!
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It seems to be a natural human tendency to begin something new with energy and enthusiasm...then the path begins to get long and difficult...our energy and excitement seem to dry up...we begin to doubt our initial commitment and wonder whether or not the change is really worth it...then we slowly fall back into the way things used to be - not because the old way was better, but simply because we were familiar with it, which makes it easier. That's the experience of the Israelites in the first reading, and in response God gives them manna, bread from heaven, food for the journey, so that they have the strength to continue down this new and better (but not easier) path. Jesus is the new Bread from heaven, the Food for our journey toward heaven here on earth. Every Mass, if we have eyes to see, we receive this Food and are given just enough strength to walk another week on our journey: away from our old (but easy and familiar) bad habits, and toward our God and our better selves.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today Jesus goes up a mountain to preach. This sixth chapter of John's Gospel, surprisingly enough, is all about the Mass and the Eucharist. People come and gather around Jesus, sitting at His feet and listening to His words - exactly what we do as we gather at Mass. Jesus then miraculously feeds thousands - at Mass we are fed with bread and wine miraculously become the Body and Blood of Christ. The more of ourselves we can put into the Mass, the more we will get out of it. So this week I leave you with three practical tips of how to enter more deeply into every Mass and carry that experience with you throughout the rest of the week.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our first reading from Jeremiah, in the midst of very challenging times - the nation's leaders were not following the Lord and Jerusalem was on the path to destruction - God promises that one day He will come and shepherd His people rightly. That promise is fulfilled 500 years later in Jesus, Who comes to us, His people, as the true Shepherd in the line of King David, to lead us to our true home. That sounds very nice and poetic...but if we actually believe it, then it means that certain demands have been placed upon us: to submit to and follow our true Shepherd and King. How am I doing this week?
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today, Jesus' apostles "anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them." This is one of the roots of our practice of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. When should someone get anointed? When do you call in the priest? Is it supposed to be during one's final hours on this earth? Or could it be sooner? Listen to find out more.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week I moved from Medford to Superior, Wisconsin to begin my new assignment at the 5 parish cluster in and around Superior. This homily is "some" of my story of re-conversion to our amazing Catholic faith and how I began hearing God's call to the priesthood (I say "some" because there is so much more to the story, just not enough time in one homily to cover it all!).
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our God is a God of life: He creates life and He upholds life. "God did not make death," our first reading says...and yet death is all around us. The reading continues, "but by the envy of the devil, death entered the world." We believe in the supernatural - we believe in angels. Angels are amazing immaterial creations of God! They are smarter, stronger and more powerful than humans, and they aren't limited by bodies like we are. Yet, God chose to make us in His image and likeness, not them. Out of pride and jealousy, some angels chose to turn away from God, becoming envious of the destiny that God has laid out for humanity. Through their envy and temptation of our first parents, death entered the world. Yet, God still calls us to an amazing destiny: made in His image and likeness, becoming a member of His family in baptism, God's plan is to raise humanity above all the choirs of angels and all other creation, to be seated at the right hand of the Father! We have an amazing destiny, and not even death can stop God from fulfilling it!
Nativity of John the Baptist
This weekend we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist. John was a crucial figure, bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments and preparing people for the coming of the Lord. He spent most of his life in quiet preparation in the desert, and even though his role was crucial when he stepped out of the desert and into the spotlight, his time "on stage" was very short. Maybe in your life you don't feel like you're on the front lines; maybe parts of your life seem un-amazing and un-eventful; maybe you don't feel like God is using you often for a special purpose. Perhaps, like John, this is your time in the desert, when God is preparing you for the time when He wants you to step on stage and play a crucial role in the life of someone else.
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God has a way of taking something small and making it big. We see it in the parable of the shoot from a great cedar in our first reading, in the parable of the mustard seed from our Gospel, in the Church that Jesus established which has grown across the world over 2,000 years, and even in our own growth: from a one-celled organism in your Mama's belly to the 49 trillion-celled person you are today. God has a way of taking something small and making it big. He wants to do this with your faith as well! No matter how small you think your faith might be, give it to the Lord this day/this summer, place it on that altar at Mass, and He will make it bigger - it's just what He does!
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The first book in our Bible, the book of Genesis, begins with two different creation stories...two DIFFERENT creation stories! What does it mean? What do they mean? Could they have something to say about who we are, what our relationship to God is, and why there is evil, pain and suffering in the world as we know it? Listen to hear more!
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Somethings we experience in life are beyond description - words can't reach as deep or as high as the reality. Love is a good example. We can use all different kinds of images and words and phrases to try and describe it, but in the end it's something indescribable with words - the experience and reality of love is deeper and truer than any words can express. In the Trinity, we bump up against another reality (or is it actually the same reality?) that words will always fail to describe. Words might fail, but we can live in and experience the reality of the Trinity in our lives if we are willing.
Pentecost
The coming of the Holy Spirit CHANGED the first followers of Jesus. We received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass...but how much are we CHANGED by these experiences? Do you ever feel like you're in a spiritual rut? Do you ever long for more in your faith but just not know why you aren't getting it? If that's ever been you, listen to this homily, and most importantly - remember to breathe (spiritually)!
Ascension Sunday
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers! This weekend we celebrate Jesus' Ascension into heaven - that after rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples for a number of days, Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The ascension is not a one-and-done event, though. We are the Body of Christ still present on this earth, so His ascension is still happening in us. As we follow Jesus, as we run faster and jump higher, as we overcome the obstacles of life and refuse to give up in our pursuit of a more meaningful relationship with God, we also ascend!
6th Sunday of Easter
Love requires both intention AND action: a good action without good intention is not love; the best intention without action is not love. Our readings today challenge us to love if we are to remain in God. But how can we remain in love all day long in the midst of our many different obligations and mundane duties? The good news is that every daily, ordinary action we do can be transformed into an act of love when we attach it to a good intention by offering it up with a short prayer! In our faith life, too, love is intention AND action. Intending to love God isn't enough: we actually have to act on it!
5th Sunday of Easter
All day, every day, we are making decisions. Ultimately, what we do and don't do, how we respond or don't respond to different people and situations, is our decision. I believe everyone WANTS to be a good person: a good mother or father, husband or wife, family member, friend, worker and coworker...but it's our daily decisions (regardless of what we say we want to be) that determine whether we actually ARE any of those things. In the Gospel today Jesus challenges us to remain in Him always. God never stops being with us, but we often, on account of our many obligations and pressures and duties, choose not to remain in Him. But those things are only excuses, because our decisions are entirely ours. What will I decide to do this week to remain in God just a little bit longer each day?
4th Sunday of Easter
Peter says in our 1st reading today, speaking about Jesus Christ, "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." If salvation is only in Jesus, then who can be saved? Can non-Catholics go to heaven? Can Hindus or Buddhists or Muslims go to heaven? And what part do we have to play in it? Listen and find out!
3rd Sunday of Easter
When Jesus appears today to His disciples and says, "Peace be with you," they at first think it might be a ghost. Ghosts and the supernatural are not talked about very much in our current Church culture. What do we believe as Catholics about ghosts? What if we or someone we know claims to have experienced a presence beyond this physical world? Should we be afraid? Can they hurt us? Or can we help them?
2nd Sunday of Easter
In our Gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors and rather shockingly (since most of these people deserted Him during his arrest and crucifixion) He says, "Peace Be With You." Then He shows them His wounds - His hands and His pierced side, still present even on His resurrected and glorified body. God wants to give us a deep, abiding peace in this life. The path to that peace, however, is counterintuitive: it involves admitting and confessing just how much we have wounded others and God along the way - our sins - because to the extent that we admit our sinfulness, we experience God's amazing mercy; and to the extent we experience God's desire and love for us even in the midst of our brokenness, we experience God's peace!
Easter Sunday
And I will raise you up
And I will raise you up
And I will raise you up on the last day.
What does God want to do for you? How does He want to raise you up? What does He want to do in your life right now?
Palm Sunday
We are entering the holiest week of the year: we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Easter can be a beautiful time filled with family and travels and preparations and celebrations (and I hope it is for you), but I encourage you, in the midst of all the preparations, to set aside some special time for the Lord. This Holy Week, for you, will only be as "holy" as you make it - so let's make it a good one!
(The Triduum is the Church's liturgical celebration beginning on Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, continuing on Good Friday with the special veneration of the cross, and concluding with the Saturday night Easter Vigil - one of the most ancient and beautiful liturgies the Church has to offer. If you have never tried to attend the special Triduum liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil, I would highly recommend you put that near the top of your bucket list. Have a blessed Holy Week!)
4th Sunday of Lent
I can name plenty of ways that I would be able to grow and improve; I know plenty of areas in my life that could use some more attention and strengthening; I am a work in progress. And Lent is about opening myself to be changed and transformed by God, because God wants to work on me as well! God wants to make me a better me, to make me into the person He has created me to be - both for myself and others. Paul says in our second reading that we are God's "handiwork". May our Lenten practices and resolutions open us up to the ways that God wants to work on our lives and transform them for the better!
3rd Sunday of Lent
Every time we say "yes" to something, we're at the same time saying "no" to lots of other things. When we say "yes" to someone in marriage, we're saying "no" to all of the other people we could possibly spend our life with. When we say "yes" to having kids, we're saying "no" to lots of our freedom and comfort...and sleep. When we say "yes" to God, when we decide to enter into a relationship with God, that means we are also saying "no" to lots of other things. But for the sake of that relationship, those "no's'" are entirely worth it! I'd invite you today to rethink how you see the rules, regulations and practices God asks of us in the Bible and through the Catholic Church. Maybe all these little "no's" are actually beautiful (sometimes inconvenient and difficult, but beautiful) ways that we can live out our big "yes" to God.
2nd Sunday of Lent
In our first reading this weekend we hear the seemingly troubling story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Certain situations in our lives, too, can make it seem like God is distant, cruel or mean. Yet, in the end, this story proves God's trustworthiness and faithfulness. Jesus believed in the Father's trustworthiness and faithfulness, even it led him to crucifixion and death...but that crucifixion and death led to the resurrection and eternal life for all of us! Today let us thank God for his faithfulness to us, and ask that we might, through this journey of Lent, become more faithful to Him and more trusting of His ways.
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We are about to enter into the Lenten season. Lent is an opportunity to encounter God in a new way, to pause the distractions in life and focus on those things that matter most. As you consider what your Lenten resolutions will be, I have a few suggestions: ADD something to your days for the Lord, do something POSITIVE that will provide you with opportunities to encounter Jesus, give God the space, time and attentiveness He needs in your life to speak to you. Don't just give up chocolate this Lent. DO something that will bring you closer to Jesus; GIVE God the time to transform you!
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Paul felt an obligation to preach the Gospel...but he can't be the only one. Every Christian, as a follower of Jesus, is called to be a light in the world, to share with others what God has done for them. So how? How do we share our faith in a way that is attractive but not pushy, engaging but not offensive? I have a few ideas, and I'll share them in this homily. Today's young adults and students are a different generation who require a different way of hearing and experiencing the Gospel - let's be willing to speak a language they will understand!
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Paul says in our 2nd reading: "I should like you to be free of anxieties." That would be pretty nice...but how on earth are we supposed to do that?! Paul's life gives us an answer.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
God speaks to us every day. Yet, if we're not careful, we can miss the Lord's voice or mistake it for someone or something else. The Mass is a particular hour each week when God speaks directly to us - do we know what His voice sounds like? Or are our minds sometimes distracted by all the other things going on in our lives? Samuel is being called by God in our first reading...but he mistakes the voice of God for the voice of another person. It's not until the fourth time God calls his name that Samuel finally says, "Speak, Lord, you servant is listening." It might take us a few tries, too, but let's start making Mass a time when we spend our energies not on daydreams, but focusing on what God has to say to us that week: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."
Epiphany
Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star. The presence of these three non-Jewish kings reveals that God is not only calling the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus. God's sign was a star; presumably everyone could see it. So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star? Was everyone else just too busy? Were they so caught up in life that they didn't even notice the sign? We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don't notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don't follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it. This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?
Feast of the Holy Family
In today's readings we get some very practical advice about how to live as Christians: put the wants and needs of others before your own...as Christ did. Paul gives us a very concrete example of how this looks in one of the most fundamental sets of relationships we find ourselves in: the family. Before getting up-in-arms about how Paul could write, "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands," let's look at the reading in context and see how Paul is challenging everyone to stretch their hearts and love others the way Christ loved us.
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
4th Sunday of Advent
God made a promise to King David, that He would establish a house and kingdom for him that would last forever, and that an heir of his would rule in this kingdom. 1,000 years later, that promise came true in a little baby born on Christmas - Jesus. God gave us, in Jesus, the greatest present of all: a savior to be present with us always, so that we would never be separated from God. This Christmas our Father wants a special present from us (in fact, the only thing He ever wants from us) - our presence with Him!
3rd Sunday of Advent
Christ is Coming! Amidst all the preparations for Christmas - food, shopping, cleaning, gifts, cards, travel plans - it's all because Christ is coming! The most important preparations we make, then, aren't the externals of the beautifully cleaned and decorated house or the delicious food we've prepared, but the internals of how we've cleaned and made room in our heart for Jesus, how we've prepared a meal for Him in our souls - through prayers and actions - when He comes at Christmas. All the preparations are necessary, but the most necessary ones are the preparations that no one else can see but God.
Feast of Christ the King
God's judgment is totally different than ours. Our judgment of people and situations is narrow and subjective - concluded based on our limited perception. God's judgment, on the other hand, takes into account every thought, every inclination, every factor, every pressure, every influence - God's judgment is absolutely fair. After our own particular judgment at the end of our life, and after the final judgment at the end of time when everyone's life will be completely laid open for all to see and we will understand how our life fit into God's great story, we will know ourselves (and others) as God knows us (which is fully and entirely, nothing hidden)...and we will end up in exactly the place we belong in God's love: no shame, no pride, just an honest acknowledgment of the decisions we freely chose to make in this life, whether for God, others, or ourselves. God is absolutely fair, and we will end up exactly where we've chosen to be.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Master in this weekend's gospel puts a serious amount of cash into the hands of his servants, gives them absolute freedom, and then leaves on a trip. When he comes back, we realize that his end game is NOT about the money: it's about having his servants share in his work so that they can also share in his JOY. Do you lack joy in your life? God has given us everything we have - our faith, education, personality, interests, money, business skills, life experiences, talents - along with absolute freedom, and then "stepped back"...so that we can decide (like the first two servants) to use what He's given us to build up His kingdom - then we'll experience His JOY! Or not...like the third servant. How will you use what you've been given this week?
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The image most often used in the Bible to describe God's relationship with us is that of a marriage. In the Gospel parable today, 10 virgins are waiting for the groom to arrive and lead them all (with the bride) to the wedding celebration. The groom was running late. Five of the virgins brought extra oil for their lamps while five of them did not. When the five who did not had to leave to get more oil, they missed the groom leading everyone to the wedding. Arriving to the door late, they found themselves locked out. The oil is our relationship with God. We are called to stock up on it throughout a lifetime of shared experiences as we come to know the Lord more and more deeply. Jesus wants to lead all to eternal life, to the wedding party, but He warns us to be ready. If our relationship with God is not a top priority for us and we think we can wait to stock up on this oil, or that we can just borrow from others in a pinch, we may find ourselves missing the party, too.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Every person in this world is called to have a deep, rich, personal relationship with God - that is the first and primary vocation (call) from God to each and every one of us. After that universal vocation comes our particular vocations - how we can best share our love for God with others - whether that's through marriage, priesthood, religious life or single life. As we focus on vocations to the priesthood and religious life during this National Vocations Awareness Week, what are some practical steps that can be taken to support our young people in these particular vocations? You'd be surprised, but the answer starts with YOU!
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists of all time, loved sculpting most of all. He could look at a block of marble, see the potential, a vision for what that block of marble was hiding, and then carve away everything that was not that potential. Each one of us is standing in front of a block of marble called, "The rest of your life." Do you have a vision for what you want that block of marble to look like at the end of your life? God has a vision for each one of us, He sees so much potential, He tells us in the Gospel today that within each of us is a heart that can love God with everything we've got and love our neighbor as ourself. What do you want to look like at the end of your life: a roughly carved block of untapped potential tromping around heaven, or a true masterpiece of God's creation? It's already inside of you! So what are you carving?
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today, Jesus' opponents want Him SILENCED! They set a trap for Him in the form of both a political and religious kenundrum of the time: the census tax of Caesar. Jesus skillfully beats them at their own game, refusing to be silenced. Present day opponents of Christ and His Good News are seeking to silence the voice of Christ in this world by silencing us. Whether it's the pressure to keep Jesus and religion out of politics, a false understanding of "separation of church and state", the temptation to understand faith as simply a personal matter, or the lie that it's harmful to impose our beliefs on others, opponents of Jesus are trying to silence the voice of Christ. Jesus wouldn't be silenced by His opponents and we as His Body won't be silenced either! Proclaim your faith, O Christian, because the world needs your voice!
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable which Jesus gives about a king inviting guests to the wedding reception of his son is ultimately a parable about eternal life and heaven (which our 1st reading from Isaiah speaks of as "God's holy mountain"). The king in the parable is God, his son is Jesus, and the wedding banquet is eternal salvation. Some have ignored the invitation (God's original Chosen People, the Israelites), so the king has sent out his servants (the Apostles) to invite anyone and everyone, the bad and the good alike (the Church), to this wedding reception. One man, however, is thrown out for not wearing his wedding garment. While it may seem harsh, the wedding garment symbolizes the garment we were given at baptism when we were asked to put on Christ. We may say "yes" to God's original invitation, but Jesus makes it clear that one "yes" is not enough. After that, we also have to say "yes" to putting on Christ each and every day, to wearing the wedding garment we've been given. And as we learn at the end of the parable, busy-ness, laziness, forgetfulness, whatever made that man not wear his garment, is not a good enough excuse when the final day comes. What are you wearing today?
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A vineyard is meant to produce grapes, which turn into wine, which lightens and cheers the hearts of all those willing to drink of it. Isaiah says that God's Chosen People, the Jews, were the vine, hand-selected by God, to produce amazing wine for this world - but they didn't produce good fruit. So God took the vineyard from them and gave it to other tenants: now we, as the Church of Christ, have been given this vineyard to tend, so that we can produce good fruit for the world. It means first being intoxicated by our own relationship with God, and then intentionally sharing these "spirits" with others so that they can find deep meaning, purpose and happiness of heart in relationship with God. Then they will also begin producing good fruit for others. Our potential is amazing! So how are you bearing fruit?
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday's Gospel we have a story of change: one son says "no" to his dad's request, then changes his mind and does it; the other says "yes" to his dad's request, then changes his mind and doesn't do it. We all have the possibility to change, for better or for worse, every single day. Every day is an opportunity to follow God's voice again...or to choose to let that voice fade into the background. A disciple is one who follows the voice of God each and every day; one who has an obedient and faithful heart - not just in word, but also in action; not just on Sunday, but on Monday through Friday as well. Which son are you now? Which son will you decide to be tomorrow? Change is always possible!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend's readings center on unity. God desires complete unity for us: in our families, in our communities, and in our Church. Today's readings show how God uses confrontation and correction (always in love) to bring about true unity...as opposed to cheap unity, which avoids differences and assumes that since there's no arguing, everyone must be united. God's dream is for one Church, truly united, walking together on the road to heaven, picking each other up when we fall and encouraging (and even correcting each other) on the way. Are we willing to speak up and try to win someone over for Christ this week?
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Life gives us many crosses and we have 2 choices: avoid them or embrace them. Jesus embraced His cross and He asks us, His followers, to do the same. When we try to avoid our crosses they begin to slow us down and sap the life out of us. But when we invite Jesus in and embrace our crosses, He gives us the strength to live a strong and rich life even in the midst of our struggles and difficulties. "Jesus, I give you my crosses today, come and give me Your strength to carry them with my head held high and to live a rich life. Amen."
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus brings his disciples to a great pagan temple today with hundreds of niches housing the statues of all kinds of different gods. With all these other gods in the background, Jesus asks his disciples, point-blank, "Who do you say that I am?" Most of us have been taught since we were young to answer,"Jesus is God, the Christ." While we might know the right words, our daily actions and decisions also speak on our behalf about who Jesus is to us. In the busy-ness of our lives, does Jesus ever become for us just another concern among all the many others? Does Jesus fade into the background and fill another niche? (I know that's a tendency for me). Or do our thoughts, decisions, and actions invite Jesus to stand front and center in our lives by proclaiming, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"?
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today, a pagan woman approaches Jesus asking Him to heal her daughter. Jesus' actions should bother us: First, Jesus doesn't respond. Second, He rejects her. Third, He insults her. Then finally, when she refuses to stop, He works a miracle for her. What is Jesus doing? He's coaxing out of her an extreme act of faith and perseverance. Have you ever asked for a deeper faith? Does it ever seem like some of your prayers haven't been answered by God? Maybe He's trying to do the same thing with you that He was doing with this woman in the Gospel - maybe He's trying to call out of you an extreme act of faith; maybe He's trying to grow in you a heroic faith!
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus comes to the disciples today walking on the water - that's a Big Moment, a miraculous moment, one that's hard to miss, and it strengthens their faith. Elijah is told in our 1st reading that the Lord will be passing by: there is a great wind, a tremendous earthquake, a blazing fire, and yet, Scripture says, God was in none of those seemingly big moments. Rather, God was in a tiny, whispering voice - a Small Moment, so small it could be easily missed, but just as real as a Big Moment...and I would say even more important! God's ordinary language is in Small Moments, countless little whispers to us throughout the day. He gives us a few privileged Big Moments precisely so that we will continue looking and listening for Him in the hundreds of Small Moments every day.
Most Holy Trinity
Every time we say, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," we are proclaiming that our God is a Trinity - that from all time our God has been a relationship of love: 3 distinct Persons, fully united as 1 God. And this God made us - humanity - to share in His love! But to know God as Trinity is not something we can describe with words alone, it is something that has to be experienced to be believed!
Pentecost
In our baptism we received the same Holy Spirit that the disciples received 2,000 years ago. By our Confirmation we were sealed and strengthened in that Holy Spirit. So why don't we see the miracles and wonders that the presence of the Spirit brings, like those in our 1st reading? In order for the power of the Spirit (which is already within us) to be unlocked and unleashed through our lives, we have to be able to say, in all areas of our life, with our whole heart, "Jesus is Lord!" The more we can say that, the more the Holy Spirit can come out with power!
Ascension Sunday
Jesus ascended into heaven not to distance Himself from us, but so that He could turn around, reach down, and raise us up to where He is!
5th Sunday of Easter
Every Christian, by their baptism, is anointed priest, prophet and king. Peter challenges us this weekend to that first anointing: "be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God." There is the ordained priesthood by which priests in the Church offer to God's people the sacraments, but there is also the priesthood of the baptized by which every Christian, in Jesus, is called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Every day we can offer these spiritual sacrifices, and at Mass we have the opportunity to collect them all from that past week - our thoughts, words, prayers, actions, and intentions...even our anxieties, worries, concerns, hopes, and dreams - and place them all on that altar, asking God to transform them just as He does the bread and wine.
4th Sunday of Easter
Dreams are hopeful and safe - they can't be failed. Goals, on the other hand, are not safe - they can be failed. It's easy to dream; it's not easy to make goals and follow through on them. In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus calls himself the good shepherd whose sheep hear his voice and follow him as he leads them to good pastures. Dreamers hear that voice but don't actually move anywhere. Disciples hear that voice and have the courage to take a step: to set concrete spiritual goals in their daily lives, to fail, to get up again, and to succeed. How are we disciples? How are we dreamers? Where is the Lord calling us to take another step?
3rd Sunday of Easter
In the Gospel today, Jesus joins two disciples on the way to Emmaus, but they do not recognize Him until "the breaking of the bread". In the Eucharist, at every Mass, Jesus not only draws close to walk with us on our journey through life, He also transforms bread and wine into His Body and Blood so that He can be physically united with us: thanks be to God for this great gift of the Eucharist!
Palm Sunday
We are entering into the holiest week of the year as we join Jesus for his final days of earthly life: partaking with his disciples at the Last Supper, grieving with his followers as he is led to the cross and crucified, waiting in silence as he lies in the grave, and then rejoicing with the whole world as he rises from the dead! I know this is a busy time - lots of preparation for Easter and family and travels...but in the midst of this week, take some time to join the Father in "paying a visit", if you will, to the grave of Jesus, so that come Easter Sunday you can experience in a new and deeper way the unbelievable power of the resurrection!
4th Sunday of Lent
A Catholic university professor once asked a group of his students how they would respond if they were to die that very night, appear before God, and be asked the question, "Why should I let you into heaven?" All the answers had one thing in common: they were all wrong. The answers revolved around the things we do for God. But the Good News of the Gospel is that it's all about what God has done for us! Jesus Christ came to this earth to carry the weight of our sins, to suffer and die for us, so that we could enjoy eternal life with Him! Any good that we do...it's because of what God first did for us!
3rd Sunday of Lent
In the Gospel today, as Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, He proves how God is not slowed down in the slightest by our unworthiness or mistakes or sinfulness: God still thirsts for this woman's faith and trust. Even though she is in what we'd call today an "irregular marital situation" (married 5 times and currently living with a man who's not her husband) Jesus still offers to her the Holy Spirit. Jesus thirsts for each and every one of us, too - God thirsts for souls! Will you give Him a drink of yours?
2nd Sunday of Lent
In the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John glimpse for a moment Jesus as He truly is, in His radiant glory as God. The voice of the Father proclaims "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," and Jesus takes the compliment, allowing it to strengthen Him for his coming suffering and death in Jerusalem. By our baptism, we are made radiant as God's children as well, and the Father says to us, "You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased!" Those words are meant to strengthen us for the struggles in life, not to be pushed out by all the excuses we come up with. Do you know how to take the compliment?
What if I told you there is no scientific discovery that can disrupt our faith? What if I told you that the Catholic Church LOVES science? What if I told you that most of what you've heard about science and faith is extremely misinformed? Join me for this 1 hour presentation and prepare to have your mind blown!
1st Sunday of Lent
Our readings today present us the with tale of 2 men: The 1st man - Adam - and the New Adam - Jesus Christ. Both are tempted by the serpent. The Old Adam falls and turns away from the Father; the New Adam stands strong in faithfulness to His Father. This Lent is a journey into the desert with Jesus. It will be a time of testing and temptation for us just as it was for Him. In the face of the temptations to come, will we be like the Old Adam, or the New Adam?
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus tells us in our Gospel this week not to be anxious about food, clothing, or tomorrow. There are so many things in life that we worry about...is it really that easy to just stop worrying? We worry when we feel alone, but Jesus challenges us this Sunday to "seek first the kingdom of God." We are made, as humans, for deep, rich relationships. When we seek a deep and rich relationship with God first (and then seek to honor the other relationships in our lives next), then all these things that used to cause us worry just won't worry us anymore.
This Lent, don't just give up chocolate or sweets, add something to your life in these amazing 40 days to bring you closer in your relationship with Jesus.
A resource you may find helpful: BestLentEver.com
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
What does Jesus mean when He says, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect"? The Greek word for perfect comes from the root word telos, meaning 'end'. The Greeks called something 'perfect', not because it was flawless, but if it fulfilled its end, if it did what it was made to do. God, from all eternity, is a deep, rich, loving, giving relationship. We humans are made in the image and likeness of God: we are made to have deep, rich, loving, giving relationships. When other things get in the way of our relationships - our job, our hobbies, our selfish interests - we are imperfect. When we put our relationships first - with God, our spouse, our kids, our families, our friends - even though we aren't flawless, we can still be perfect.
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the Old Testament God promised to Abraham a kingdom and a people. Last week Jesus began to fulfill that promise of a kingdom by beginning the calling of his 12 Apostles. These 12 would eventually form the Church - the new kingdom of God that will last into eternity. This week, Jesus describes the attributes of those who belong to this kingdom, what kingdom citizens look like: they look like the 8 beatitudes. How can I become more a kingdom citizen this week? And how can I help others to become more of a kingdom citizen this week?
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
God loves bringing light into the darkness, and especially light out of the darkness. Zebulun and Naphtali were the northern regions of Israel that were taken over by the Assyrians, and the people of God there lived under oppression for hundreds of years. It is precisely to this region that Jesus goes in our Gospel, announcing the kingdom of heaven and coming as light into the darkness. What is an area of your life that is a place of gloom, worry, anxiety, hopelessness, darkness? God has always been bringing light out of darkness, and maybe that's exactly what He wants to do for you!
Epiphany
Today the three wise men follow a star to the Savior of the world. Many people saw the star. The devout religious in Jerusalem knew the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. Yet, it is only the three wise men who actually follow God's sign. Matthew Kelly says that "Wisdom is truth lived." And of all the people in our Gospel story, it is only the three magi that can be called wise. What are the signs God is placing in your life? When you see a star, do you follow it? "Wisdom is truth lived."
Solemnity of Mary Mother of God
Most Christian denominations hold onto what I will call a "Me & Jesus" view of heaven - that in heaven we are totally caught up in God and we are no longer involved with others on earth. As Catholics, however, we believe that we are still united with all those men and women of faith who have gone before us and are in heaven with God - it's always "Us & Jesus". So we can ask them to pray for us to God (just as we ask friends on earth to pray for us). On this celebration of the motherhood of Mary, let us ask for the prayers of our Mother in a special way!
Christmas
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
4th Sunday of Advent
In our 3rd and final installment of this homily series "Invested" (I know it was supposed to be 4, but I wasn't able to preach last weekend - I apologize), I encourage you to consider this question: do you come to Mass as a spectator or as a player? The Second Vatican Council encourages us to "full, conscious and active participation" in the Mass. The interaction in Mass that we have as Catholics is a great gift meant to keep us fully engaged as we worship God together. So what do you consider your role to be in Mass - spectator or player?
2nd Sunday of Advent
Investing means we're putting something down in hopes that the return will be worth the investment. So what's the return of investing your time, attention and energy in Mass? That God wants to speak a word to you that will empower you to engage all of next week with strength, confidence and faith (instead of being tired out and worn down come Tuesday evening). The Mass is heaven come down to earth and God has something special to say just to you. The more you invest, the louder His voice will sound.
1st Week of Advent
This is the first of a 4-part Advent homily series on the Mass. The title of this series is "Invested". Nothing in our lives can grow unless we are invested in it. Investing in what is important to us takes many different forms: time, energy, effort, attention, money, care, thoughtfulness (to name a few). The more we invest, the more we see results. Our participation in and experience of the Mass is no different: the more we invest, the more we see results. As we begin this Advent journey, I invite you to take an honest look at how invested you are in the Mass on a typical weekend. Mark it down as a starting point, so that come Christmas you will be able to look back and count some ways you've grown in your investment in the Mass.
32nd Sunday in ordinary time
The martyrs in our first reading were living for the life to come. And in our Gospel Jesus gives us a glimpse into this life: a life of such deep and fulfilling relationship with God that earthly marriages are only a shadow of what's coming. This week we are challenged: Are you intentionally living for the life to come? Are you intentionally encouraging others to live for the life to come? Priesthood and celibacy only make sense if we're looking toward the next life. If young men are going to become priests, it's our job to inspire them by living our lives for the life to come.
What does the Church believe about life beyond death? How might that existence interact with life before death? Join me for this 1 hour presentation on death, judgment, heaven, hell, saints, souls, purgatory, ghosts, angels and demons. We have an amazingly beautiful and powerful faith that answers questions both in this life and beyond.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday's Gospel Jesus invites Himself into the home of a sinner - Zacchaeus the tax collector...and THEN Zacchaeus has a change of heart. Change doesn't come first; first comes God, then comes change. Jesus invites Himself into our "house" at every Mass each time we come forward for Communion. Jesus wants to be received into your heart and into your house in a new and deeper way than ever before. Don't say, "But I'm not ready! I still need to change!" We make it a lot easier on ourselves if we just let Him in - then God will do the hard work for us. First comes God, then comes change.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Like last weekend, this weekend's readings center on prayer. They show us that God loves real, honest, raw prayer! God wants you to tell Him what's going on inside of you, even if you don't think it's "holy" or "godly" or whatever - God wants your prayer to be REAL. Like the tax collector in the Temple, we go home justified (and fulfilled...and fed...and blessed) when we are utterly honest with the Lord. So try it this week: 10 minutes of prayer each morning, walk through your day with Him before it happens, asking Him for strength, and then tell God what's really on your mind, what's really preoccupying you these days. God loves that kind of prayer!
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus humorously encourages us today to be like a nagging, old woman when we come to prayer - that means to pray always, again and again, bother the Father! God wants us to come to Him time and again not because He forgets or is unaware of our needs, but because the more face time we have with Him, the deeper our relationship grows. 3 practices that will make "pray always" a reality: spend the first 10 minutes of each day with the Lord, offer different hours during the day for others (like Moses, your prayers will help someone win battles in their life), and find a good friend to share how your resolutions are affecting your life, and vice-versa.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend my parish is celebrating Stewardship Weekend. Thank you, fellow Christian, for all that you have done with the gifts God has entrusted to you. Thank you for those ways that you have been a good steward. Gratitude for what God has given us leads to generosity. And generosity leads to a joyful heart. In our Gospel Jesus heals 10 lepers...only 1 comes back to thank Him. Be the one to come back and thank Jesus; count your blessings - then you'll find yourself wanting to give more. And as you give, your heart will grow, and you will be filled with a joy that no one can take from you!
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today we receive a wake-up call. In the first reading God condemns the ruling elite of Israel for their complacence and indifference. In our Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in which the rich man finds himself in hell, not because he was evil or wicked or immoral, but simply because he was indifferent - he didn't use the blessings God had given him to help bless others. We are fed with the Body and Blood of Jesus each week so that our hearts can move from indifference to generosity, so that our hearts can become like Jesus' heart. We're called Christians for a reason; let's become who we are!
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today Jesus tells us one of His most confusing parables: "Look at this shady, crooked, underhanded businessman... You should be like him!" Many people are clever in the ways of this world - they are smart and resourceful in using the people and situations around them to further their own gain (even if it is selfish and underhanded, as the steward is today). Jesus challenges the "children of light" to be as smart and resourceful in obtaining benefits for heavenly life, as clever in living out our faith in the midst of this busy world and culture, as this shady businessman was in obtaining benefits for his earthly life.
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The most encouraging, effective and result producing words kids can hear from their parents are: "I love you; I'm proud of you." In our Gospel today Jesus shares three parables, all portraying the illogical, unreasonable, outlandish love that the Father has for each one of us. No matter what we've done, no matter how far we've wandered away, the Father never stops seeking us out. And when we finally let ourselves be found, He says to us, "I love you; I'm proud of you!" Jesus heard His Father say those words to Him; can we hear our Father the time say those words to us?
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
"My child, conduct your affairs with humility." Humility is one of the most important and misunderstood virtues. Humility is NOT walking around with your head bowed down, or being quiet/submissive/weak, or downplaying things you're good at. Humility is acknowledging the truth; it's living in reality. It's an interior attitude recognizing that everything we have comes from outside of us - ultimately from God. Living out of this reality means that certain things need to be strongly fought for and proclaimed without worry of what others think (Side 1), while other times we just need to take one on the chin (Side 2). So if you're feeling daring, ask for humility this week!
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
We respect and expect hard work and dedication in so many areas of life; why should the spiritual life be any different? Jesus says to us today, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate." Are we striving? Are we even trying? Our relationship with Jesus Christ and our spiritual life require time, effort, hard work and dedication - just like anything else we value in life. The gate is narrow because it's in the shape of Jesus. If you look in the mirror each morning and ask, "Do I look like Jesus? How can I look more like Him today?" If you look in the mirror each night and ask, "How was I like Jesus today? Where can I do better tomorrow?" Then you will find yourself becoming more and more Jesus-shaped every day, and when you get to that gate you'll be just the right size!
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Athletes in the Olympic games put in endless hours of practice, pushing their bodies to the furthest limits - mentally and physically beyond what most people could handle - so that they can be the best in the world. Paul says today that all of us Christians are also in a contest and we are to "persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus." As we run Jesus warns that we will experience push-back, adversity, that His message and our way of life will bring division because people won't like what we are doing or what we have to say - the Prophet Jeremiah was left for dead, Jesus was crucified, Paul was beheaded. But are we willing to fix our eyes on Jesus and keep running the race, no matter what kind of resistance we meet? Because that is what separates the mediocre from the great.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Faith is not simply believing in God. If it were, then even the devil would have faith. Faith, rather, is trusting in God, trusting that He will take care of us, trusting that He will do what He says...even if it's not exactly when we'd want or expect it. Today Abraham is held up as a model of faith. Through his example, we are invited to a new way of seeing our life and the world - through the lens of radical trust in our Father. What's one area in your life where you have a lot of worry or anxiety, an area where you could use more trust? Say a prayer to God each day this week, asking for more faith, more trust, asking to see His hand at work through it all!
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
So many things in this world and in our life are simply passing by: when we spend too much of our precious time, energy, and thoughts on them, when we give them more weight than they deserve, it's like chasing bubbles - some day they will pop and disappear forever, leaving us empty. But Paul challenges us to seek what is above, and Jesus urges us to become rich in what matters to God. We all know what's really important in life, we know those things that truly last...but those take real work. It's a lot easier to get distracted by the bubbles. What's one way this week that you can stop chasing empty things and start investing in those actions that will make you rich in what matters to God?
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our conscience is God's voice speaking deep in our hearts, guiding us along the path, urging us to do the right, dissuading us from the wrong. The only problem is that over time we learn how to rationalize that voice away to get to the conclusions that we want. We are reminded today in our readings that we were created through Christ, made with God's law and voice inside of us, and that Jesus challenges us, in the story of the Good Samaritan, not to outthink ourselves, but to return to the simplicity of following the voice of God deep within us - our conscience.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today in our Gospel Jesus sends 72 out ahead of him to prepare the way; today you have been sent out ahead of Jesus to prepare the way. In the midst of the joyful celebrations of the 4th of July this weekend, we are challenged to keep an eye open for anyone around us who is hurting, who has a heavy heart, and to help lighten their load, if only just a little. In this way we can bring the light of Christ to hurting hearts, preparing the way for explosions of God's grace! Even the biggest fireworks are started by a tiny, little flame.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The learning process never ends - we continue learning our whole life long. Our life of faith is meant to grow our whole life long as well: "disciple" means "learner". In our readings today God calls certain people to follow Him - the big call. But we also see God asking daily favors of those who already follow him - the small calls. As disciples of Jesus, God is calling us, in big ways and small, to deeper faith, to lives of service, to lives of prayer, to following these spontaneous and often inconvenient calls that bring about His Kingdom in our lives and on this earth. What small calls does He have in store for you this week?
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Have you ever been accused of being like your parents? Usually, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. On this Father's Day weekend, Jesus asks his disciples, and us, "Who do you say that I am?" If we take Jesus at His word, then we believe that He is the Son of God the Father, and that in Jesus we are also sons and daughters of a heavenly Father. Jesus was like His Dad: "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." As followers of Jesus, as sons and daughters of God, do we live and act and talk in such a way that others can accuse us of being like our heavenly Father?!
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our readings today show that we have a God with an attitude of forgiveness. As God's people, we are called to take on this same attitude. Whether it's something as small as bad driving or as large as lifelong divisions and family rifts, we are called to begin living our lives with an attitude of forgiveness. Unforgiveness is exhausting; we carry around the weight of resentment and bitterness. These people and situations don't deserve to have that kind of hold on us. Forgiveness lightens us, frees us to live life the way we were made to live it!
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The readings today announce God as the giver of life - physical and spiritual. God wants us to live rich, fulfilled, happy lives. In the Gospel Jesus raises a dead man to life by the touch of His hand. Is there a part of my life that seems lifeless? Is there an area in my life that is not as rich, deep, and fulfilling as I'd like it to be? Today, ask Jesus to lay His hand on you, and to bring that part of you back to life.
Corpus Christi
At the Mass we celebrate each weekend, when the priest says those words in the name of Jesus - "This is my body...this is my blood...." - bread and wine are transformed entirely into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. How might your daily life be different if you experienced Jesus Christ with you, in you, next to you every hour of every day of your week? When we receive Communion, Jesus is physically with us, in us, next to us...and He stays with us every hour of every day, even if we don't realize it. How will this change your week?
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
From all eternity God has existed in a relationship of love - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These Three Persons of the Trinity are so united in love that they are actually 1 God. This is the amazing faith we proclaim every time we make the sign of the cross. And we have personally experienced this life of God: every single time we experience love, we taste for a moment the Trinity - for 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). That's what we look forward to in heaven. That's why, when we don't feel like we have anymore love, patience, kindness or compassion to give during the daily grind, we ask for strength from God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then we start loving with Trinitarian love.
Pentecost
The Holy Spirit comes on this Pentecost day to strengthen us in 3 ways:
- In our relationship with Jesus Christ
- In defending the faith
- In spreading the faith
Every day this week, pray, "Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit." When you're relationship is faltering, when the Church is being looked down on, when someone needs to hear the good news of Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit who will give your His strength and His words to speak into that situation! Come, Holy Spirit!
Solemnity of the Ascension
After a brief word from Pope Francis ; ) we celebrate how Jesus ascends today into heaven. This ascension is still happening every time a faithful soul passes from this life into the next. Those who are in heaven cheer us on and assist us in our ascension to God. But even when every soul is in the presence of God, heaven will still be waiting: waiting for the resurrection of their bodies, and waiting for God to create a new heavens and a new earth. The ascension happened 2,000 years ago, it's happening today, and it will be happening until God's master-plan of salvation is entirely fulfilled.
6th Sunday of Easter
Our 1st reading opens with a controversy: Paul and Barnabas preaching salvation in Jesus one way, another group preaching salvation in Jesus another way. Who's right? What's the true faith? The first Christians, with a deep sense that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church to the true faith, brought their dispute to Jerusalem and the apostles. Presently, we bring our disputes to Rome and the successors of the Apostles - the bishops and Pope - confident that it is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church to truth, as Jesus promised.
4th Sunday of Easter
Congratulations to all of our students who received their First Holy Communion this weekend! There is an exhortation for priests that says, "O Priest of Jesus Christ, celebrate this Holy Mass as if it were your First Mass, your Last Mass, your Only Mass." Whether you've been receiving the Eucharist for 1 year or 100 years, whether you're young or old, I challenge you at every Mass you attend to make that exhortation your own: attend that Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass; and receive Communion as if it were your first Communion, your last Communion, your only Communion.
3rd Sunday of Easter
We are blessed to have an amazing Pope right now - Pope Francis! And in our Gospel we hear one of the great Biblical texts supporting the papacy: Jesus singles out Peter to fee his lambs and tend his sheep. In this we see Jesus' commissioning of Peter as the first shepherd of His Church, the first Pope. Passed down through the centuries, this office of head shepherd has kept the Catholic Church united as one, even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable struggles and difficulties. Thanks be to God for giving us the gift of the papacy, that we may all stand together to praise and worship our God with one voice throughout the world!
2nd Sunday of Easter
To ask God questions, to seek to understand the "Why?" behind our beliefs or events in our life, is not a lack of faith. Rather, it's an indication of faith. We are a people of faith seeking understanding - it's precisely our faith that drives us to want to understand where and how God fits into these events and beliefs. In the resurrection story from our Gospel today, I think Thomas generally gets a bad rap. Jesus doesn't punish him for questioning, wondering, doubting - Jesus answers him! So we shouldn't be afraid to ask questions, to be discerning, to be skeptical; if we do these things honestly and sincerely, the Lord will answer and our faith will be deepened.
Happy Easter!
What the Father did in raising Jesus from the dead, He also wants to do in us: God wants to raise us up - literally, at the end of life, but also right now, figuratively, in our present life. God wants to raise us up to a rich life filled with purpose, meaning, deep happiness and joy! Jesus came that we might have Life (with a capital "L"). What's weighing you down? What's holding you back? What things keep you from rising? Jesus rose today so that He could walk with you, carry your load, and give you Life! Invite Him now to be a part of your life again; give Him permission to enter; ask Him again to raise you up - that's all He wants!
We enter now into the holiest week of the year as we walk with Jesus through His final days, culminating with His death and resurrection. We heard today the reading of the passion narrative and we are invited to personally enter into this Holy Week so that we might die with Jesus and rise with Him on Easter. For us, this week will be as holy as we make it - so let's make it a good one!
5th Sunday of Lent
What if you were alive when Jesus was preaching and teaching? What if you were a part of the stories in Scripture? What if you heard Jesus speak to you? God's Word is living and active, and the same God who was at work then is still at work now. Lectio Divina ('Divine Reading') is a way of reading the Scriptures by inserting yourself into the story - the sights, the smells, the sounds, the feelings - you read through a passage slowly, place yourself in the story and experience what God has to say to you through His living Word. Try it! It'll change your life.
4th Sunday of Lent
Pain in our body warns us that something is wrong - physically. Pain in our interior life warns us that something is wrong - spiritually. Both the younger son and the older son in today's Gospel experience pain. It's pain that leads the younger son home. It's pain that keeps the older son from going back inside his home. Pain, as a warning, is also an invitation: an invitation from our merciful Father to come home, to come back inside, so that we can experience the feast that God is preparing for us!
3rd Sunday of Lent
Jesus is serious in today's Gospel: "But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" When we sin, we choose 'Not-God', and we get exactly what we want - 'Not-God' - that's the definition of hell. Jesus came to save us from this choice, so He calls us to repentance - to take full responsibility for our mistakes and to beg for God's forgiveness, to turn away from sin and turn toward God. Then Jesus can finally do what He's been waiting to do - He can take away our sins and fill us with His life! Then we know, by experience, the mercy of the Father.
2nd Sunday of Lent
In the midst of our Lenten journey, we catch a glimpse today of Jesus transfigured in glory atop a mountain. This Jesus who was seen by Peter, James and John is the same Jesus who has appeared to us, who has tangibly broken into our life at moments, who has woken us up, if only for an instant, to the reality of His presence in and around us. What are some of your mountaintop moments? These experiences are meant to strengthen us for the journey. When the road seems too long, remember the view from mountaintop, and keep your eyes open...who knows when you'll suddenly find yourself on top of another mountain?
1st Sunday of Lent
Lent is a great opportunity for us - an excuse to slow down a little bit, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, and spend some extra time with our Father. Our Lenten practices shake us out of our daily routine and provide us an opportunity to look up to our God. Jesus in the desert wins against the temptations of the devil by looking up to His Father for strength. In the midst of your Lenten practices, do you do them by your own will power? Or do you let these practices turn your heart and mind to the Father in true and honest prayer? Then even the simplest actions will give your faith a supernatural strength.
Ash Wednesday
The ashes of today remind us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. But in the certainty of death is also our hope - we know that we are more than ashes, that the Lord has breathed life into this dust, that we are filled with God's Spirit, that death is not the end - we're headed somewhere! So, how are you doing on the way? What Lenten practices will you take up in order to better hear God's daily calls and act on them? Lean on Jesus this Lent, and He will give you the strength to live it!
Some Lenten daily reflections I suggest:
Dynamic Catholic: Best Lent Ever - http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/
Bishop Barron's Daily Lent Reflections - http://www.lentreflections.com/
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God's calls to us often come as thoughts, just simple thoughts. It's easy to miss them if we're not paying attention, or, if you're like me, you reason yourself out of them. But God is calling to us daily, in little moments, to witness to our faith, to reach out to others, to pray for others, to share our experiences of the Lord. As Lent quickly approaches, how will you resolve to do something positive this year in order to hear these little calls of God more clearly in the daily grind?
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
We have opportunities each day to speak simply of our experience of God and perhaps change someone's life by our words...even if it's just a little. We're called by Jesus to be fishers of men, to cast out some lines in the midst of our day-to-day routine. Will some disregard our words? Yes. But will some, even if it's just one, be changed by what we say? YES! And I bet we'll be surprised by how many faith-filled people are out there, and by how a simple little comment can lead to extremely encouraging conversations. Our words have power, so let's use 'em!
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Walls are necessary for security, to protect the life that is fostered within those walls. To be strong in our Catholic faith we do need to be set apart, we do need to build walls to protect our life inside from the attacks of the outer world. But we are also invited - like the Israelites, like Noah on the ark - to open the windows at opportune times and let this life transform those around us: it's both/and. Where do you need to strengthen a wall this week? And where are you being asked to open a window?
Solemnity of the Epiphany
In our Gospel today we see the three magi coming from the east. They saw the signs God placed in their lives, and they followed them - straight to Jesus. God wants to lead all people to Jesus, and God works signs in the life of every person on this earth - Christians, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, New Agers...it doesn't matter. The presence of the magi today shows that God IS working in the lives of all, calling all people to His Son, whether they know it or not. What are the signs God is placing in your life? How are you following them?
Feast of the Holy Family
Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it. We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other. Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, "Children, obey your parents in everything...Wives, be subordinate to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives." Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death. We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!
Merry Christmas!
What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud,The Babe, the Son of Mary.
4th Sunday in Advent
The sacrifices and offerings God asks for in the Old Testament are meant to show forth the interior reality that God's people desire to do His will before their own. Jesus came physically into the world on Christmas day so that He could live not just next to us, but, ultimately, IN us - in the Eucharist and through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amidst the busy-ness of Christmas preparation this year, take time to remember why we do all these external things: to invite and celebrate Jesus' coming into us again this Christmas!
3rd Sunday of Advent
We celebrate Gaudete Sunday - "Rejoice" Sunday - this weekend. What are we joyful about? That Jesus came and gave us something we could never get on our own, a gift of supernatural power that brings us beyond even the strongest human ability, the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is only in the Holy Spirit that we find a joy, a peace, a thankfulness that surpasses anything this world can offer. That's why we rejoice this Sunday, that we already have this gift. Have you unwrapped it yet? Come, Holy Spirit!
2nd Sunday of Advent
John the Baptist challenges us in this second week of Advent to be prepared for Christ's coming, to make straight a highway for our God. God came to this earth because He wanted our hearts, and He'll keep coming until He gets them. When Jesus comes, will He find the road to your heart smooth-sailing for His holiday travel...or is it going to be a bumpy and windy ride? What needs to be cleared away? What needs to be added? "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" this Advent season!
1st Sunday of Advent
Happy New Year! Today we begin, in the Church, a new liturgical year with Advent - the season of waiting, watching, and praying for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. Pope Francis has also proclaimed this coming year a Jubilee Year of Mercy, wherein the Holy Door of St. Peter's basilica will be opened. We are all invited, in spirit, to step through that door from a life of sin into a life of grace, to recommit ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ, and, in a special way, to both receive God's mercy in our own lives and to be agents of that mercy in the lives of those around us.
Solemnity of Christ the King (34th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
This feast is a challenge for us: is Jesus Christ the King of our lives? And by that I mean, is Jesus Christ the King of EVERY area of our lives: family life, work life, public life, private life, personal life, mind, body? Jesus is the King of all, and He wants to be King in your life, but He waits for you to decide. So will you invite Jesus in today to be the King of your heart?
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Apocalypse literally means to pull back the veil, to uncover, to see things as they ARE. When Jesus comes again all things will be unveiled; we will see all things as they are - visible and invisible - and all things will see us as we are - down to our depths. Sin spiritually disfigures the soul, while grace and virtue makes ordinary people beautiful, strong and attractive at the core. So today we speak and act in such a way that if the Lord called us right now, we would be ready to meet him, unveiled!
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus Christ is present, 100% Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist - that's amazing! And in adoration we get to spend time with this Jesus, one on one; we get to see this Jesus! We all want God's presence and God's peace in the midst of our busy lives. Adoration is that opportunity to give ourselves a break, to experience the peace and rest that only God can bring. You've worked hard - experience peace for a moment, come to adoration.
Solemnity of All Saints
Holiness isn't the call of a select few, it is the ordinary call of every Christian - it's the norm! Everyone in heaven is a saint. Saints aren't angels, they're survivors, with their own shares of difficulties and joys in this life, but who turned to Jesus again and again and again. Want a direct path to genuine holiness, follow St. Therese's Little Way, simply ask throughout the day, "What's the right thing to do in this moment?"
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus calls us to be His disciples, but true discipleship involves a relationship with Jesus - a relationship built on a thankful, joyful love, not an imposed duty or obligation. Our Psalm proclaims, "The Lord has done great things for us!" What great things has God done in your life? Out of that thankfulness is where we begin to live true discipleship!
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
God wants to walk with us in our struggles. Jesus came to us in our sin and weakness and suffering precisely so that He could walk through it with us. Jesus doesn't avoid suffering, He takes it head on, trusting that not even suffering can separate Him from His Father. And we as Christians are called to that same mission. Following Jesus means learning to suffer in love, learning to walk through our difficulties with Jesus, and then to walk through difficulty with others, as Jesus did.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The rich young man comes to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Having followed all the commandments from his youth, Jesus invites him into the Major Leages, to follow Him in a deeper way...and this good young man walks. There are lots of 'good' people in this world, but the only thing that matters is whether we are willing to choose Jesus. Are you willing to put something down in life in order to pick up Jesus? We've only got two hands: what are you holding onto?
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Marriage, Divorce, Homosexuality, Gay Marriage - living in the tension of showing genuine love, care and concern for every person as a child of God and walking with others through any struggle they may encounter, while standing for our belief in marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman - distinction between supporting a person and supporting actions/lifestyles - let's be the example of faithful love and true care for ALL!
The Pope is in the United States! And we should be proud: Pope Francis is modelling to us how to show active care and concern for all, especially those pushed to the fringes of society, while at the same time actively upholding the principles we stand by as Christians and Catholics - before Congress, before the United Nations, before the world. Never be afraid to let your voice be heard!
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Many of us, I think it's safe to say, feel like we have some degree of a spiritual speech impediment: when confronted about Jesus or some aspect of our Catholic faith, we suddenly become tongue-tied - we don't always know the "Why?" behind many of the actions we traditionally do. But there ARE answers and we CAN know them: by listening, by hearing, by regularly 'plugging in' to Jesus. So how do you stay plugged into God throughout the week?
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Laws and rules protect the values our nation upholds, and they allow us the freedom to live by these values. Laws and rules in sports allow for the freedom to play the game. The laws and rules of God teach us how to be human so that we can have the freedom to live fully human - which means fully happy - lives. They are not meant to be blindly followed, but to consciously bring us into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then they're not even rules anymore, they're simply the best way to live!