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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #4Preparation for Mass What do we mean by preparation? It should include taking a few minutes before Mass to quiet our thoughts and to center ourselves on the Lord. This is often best done by spending…
Read MorePope Francis recently encouraged a group of young Russians to be “bridge builders.” I think this is something we all need to think about. Before I entered seminary, I literally helped build bridges. I worked for the New York State…
Read MoreThe Hidden Depths of the Mass #3 Can We Fully Understand It? As we learn more about the Mass, an important piece to consider is that the Sacraments, including the Eucharist are rooted in mystery. We are not going to…
Read MoreThe national and world news has been a little different in the last week or two. First, I would like to mention the situation in Niger. Where is Niger? It’s in Africa. What happened? There was a coup by the…
Read More20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 56:1, 6-7Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (4)Romans 11:13-15, 29-32Matthew 15:21-28August 20, 2023 Jesus entered the land of Tyre and Sidon. There He encountered a Canaanite woman. As a Canaanite, she would not have…
Read MoreThe Origins of the Mass Initially, Christians gathered with Jews on the Sabbath for the Jewish worship that included readings from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and a sermon. Then the Christians gathered on Sunday for the Eucharist. As hostility…
Read MoreToday we celebrate the Assumption of Mary. We give our praise and worship to God alone. We venerate (honor) Mary but we do not worship her. Our gospel reading today is the story of the Visitation of Mary. When Mary…
Read MoreAfter Jesus had multiplied the loaves and fed the vast crowd, He “made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side.” So begins today’s gospel. As He made his disciples leave in the boat, He…
Read MoreBeginning this week you will see a new series of articles in our parish bulletin for St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s that I am writing to help people better understand and better appreciate what we do at Mass. …
Read MoreTwo weeks ago I wrote my first article, “What Does It Mean to be a Eucharistic People,” on Timothy P. O’Malley’s book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022, part of the Engaging Catholicism series.)…
Read MoreToday’s gospel begins, “Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.” Why did He take them with him? He knew what was going to happen and He wanted them to see…
Read MoreLast week I wrote my first article, “What Does It Mean to be a Eucharistic People,” on Timothy P. O’Malley’s book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022, part of the…
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