Our Blog
Today I would like to continue the discussion of morality by offering two contrasting perspectives on what might be our principal guide in our moral choices. The first one may be held by Christians and non-Christians alike but I see…
Read MoreI just uploaded the video of the webinar I offered last night as part II of my series Uncovering the Treasures of the Mass. Here’s the link – www.renewaloffaith.org/masspart2 Peace, Fr. Jeff
Read MoreGod gave his people commandments as a gift. The Ten Commandments are given to us to help us live a good life (cf. “God’s Commandments”). However, that does not mean they are easy to follow. Good, God-loving people struggle at…
Read MoreThe first reading in yesterday’s (28th Sunday in Ordinary Time) Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours led me to think about where we are at as a Church with regards to the number of people who practice…
Read More28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 25:6-10aPsalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (6cd)Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20Matthew 22:1-14October 11, 2020 Isaiah speaks of “a feast of rich food and choice wines.” The Lord will provide a great banquet to which He invites…
Read MoreJesus underwent great suffering for us during his Passion. The gospel readings on both Palm (Passion) Sunday and Good Friday tell the story of Jesus’ suffering from his entry into Jerusalem at the start of his final days through his…
Read MoreOctober 4th is the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of the most popular saints and is known as the patron saint of animals. So, it is a custom for some parishes to offer a pet…
Read More27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 5:1-7Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 (Isaiah 5:7a)Philippians 4:6-9Matthew 21:33-43October 4, 2020 Is the Lord with us in our struggles? The Lord is always with us. Everything that is good comes from the…
Read MoreThe Eighth Commandment is “You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor.” How is society to function if we cannot trust others to tell the truth? Likewise, we need to be able to trust others not to steal, commit…
Read MoreI find myself doing something I have never done before. I am “re-posting” a homily I posted here on this blog from the Feast of the Archangels on September 29th in 2017. Why am I “re-posting” an old post? There…
Read More26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AEzekiel 18:25-28Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (6a)Philippians 2:1-11Matthew 21:28-32September 27, 2020 Today Jesus poses a question to the chief priests and the elders. They have been asking him questions. They often asked Jesus questions to…
Read MoreAs I have begun to write articles explicitly on morality, I acknowledge that discussion on the morality of specific behaviors can be difficult. I pray that nothing I will write be interpreted as judgment on anyone. My goal is always…
Read MoreI started my new series of webinars, Uncovering the Treasures of the Mass, last night. You are view the recording of the webinar on my website at www.renewaloffaith.org/masspart1. Peace, Fr. Jeff
Read MoreLast week I wrote an article here, “The Easy Path or the Hard Path”, discussing morality. I said that I plan to offer more on morality but that I am unsure what form it will take or when. I remain…
Read MoreIf you are reading this, then you are probably trying to live a Christian life. What does that entail? It includes prayer. It means that we believe that Jesus was crucified on the Cross and rose on the third day,…
Read MoreRecently I was watching the news about the wildfires on the West Coast. They say that over 4 million acres have burned this year. California has already passed their record for the number of acres burned in a single year…
Read More24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year ASirach 27:30-28:7Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 (8)Romans 14:7-9Matthew 18:21-35September 13, 2020 It can be hard to forgive. It can be even harder to forgive the same person over and over for the same thing. …
Read MoreI remember back in my school days hearing about utopian societies. Such groups are the attempts of the members to form a perfect society. In my limited knowledge of them, they were small, insular societies. To me, the world didn’t…
Read MoreOne of the topics I have covered a few times during the Coronavirus is prayer (see https://blog.renewaloffaith.org/?cat=12 for those articles & homilies). Today I would like to cover a particular form of prayer required of clergy and religious but an…
Read More23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AEzekiel 33:7-9Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8)Romans 13:8-10Matthew 18:15-20September 6, 2020 Today we hear about how God calls us to respond to sin. The first reading is sometimes known as the Parable of the Watchman. …
Read MoreAt Baptism, we are asked six questions as our “baptismal promises.” (When we are baptized as infants, our parents answer for us.) At Confirmation we renew our baptismal promises ourselves. Each year at Easter time, we renew them. We respond,…
Read More22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AJeremiah 20:7-9Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)Romans 12:1-2Matthew 16:21-27August 30, 2020 Last week Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”. Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the…
Read MoreI recently read a book about Franciscan Spirituality relating to our care for the environment. I am not going to focus on that topic today but I mention the book (Care for Creation by Delio, Warner, and Word, Cincinnati: St.…
Read More