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How Well Do You Know God? What does it even mean to know God? Is it a matter of how much we know about God? We need to learn about God but knowing God is not just a matter of…
Read More21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 22:19-23Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 (8bc)Romans 11:33-36Matthew 16:13-20August 23, 2020 Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” I pose a slightly different question, why do you…
Read MoreIt’s hard to know but it seems like I have heard of increasing numbers of acts of violence (mainly shootings). I currently serve in a parish about thirty minutes outside of Rochester, NY. Last weekend, Rochester had three separate shootings…
Read MoreThe question for this article is how do we experience Church? As we explore this question, please note that I capitalized the word “Church”. This is because, ultimately, it is a transcendent “Church” that we are called to belong to.…
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 16, 2020 A Canaanite woman came to Jesus seeking help for her daughter who was “tormented by a demon.” Many people came to…
Read MoreDoes God change? God is eternal, without beginning or end. Does He ever change? I ask the question because recently I was asked about God’s vengeance. There is some tendency to see God in the Old Testament as a punishing…
Read MoreThe Coronavirus shutdown our Masses for three months. It continues to impact attendance as people stay home to protect themselves. For those who do come in person, attendance hovers about 30-40% of normal. There are others who continue to watch…
Read More19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13aPsalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14, (8)Romans 9:1-5Matthew 14:22-33August 9, 2020 After sending his disciples on their way, Jesus “went up on the mountain by himself to pray.” There He encountered God…
Read MoreOne of the things I like to write about here on my blog is current events in the news. I also desire to incorporate current events into my homilies. I think this is important because we need to show our…
Read MoreHello, Today I recorded a new 18 minute video on church vestments and liturgical colors. You can see the video at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/video—vestments.html. I hope it aids you in the riches of our liturgy. I am looking forward to a series…
Read MoreAs a church, as the people of God, we face difficult times. Right now, we are dealing with the Coronavirus. We are celebrating public Masses (with face masks and social distancing), albeit with smaller numbers as people stay home to…
Read More18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 55:1-3Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 (16)Romans 8:35, 37-39Matthew 14:13-21August 2, 2020 All our readings today share the theme of being fed. In the first reading, the Lord invites “all who are thirsty” to “come…
Read MoreWe live in the world, meaning this physical world, but we are not of this world. What does this mean? We have physical bodies in this world. We are dependent on things of this world for our physical existence. We…
Read MoreHave you ever pondered the question, “what will Heaven be like?” I don’t expect to end up there anytime soon but it is a question we might ask. After all, we expect to spend eternity there. The question comes to…
Read More17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A1 Kings 3:5, 7-12Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 (97a)Romans 8:28-30Matthew 13:44-52July 26, 2020 God said to Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” If God said this to…
Read MoreIn the bulletin for this weekend, July 26th, I wrote a column about my passion for faith formation beyond children. I include some of my plans for this Fall. Here is the column: The three things where I most find…
Read MoreWhen we celebrate Mass we are praying together. What do you pray for on your own? How often do you pray? Today, I would like to talk about two of my daily prayer intentions. If you have come to daily…
Read More16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AWisdom 12:13, 16-19Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (5a)Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43July 19, 2020 Jesus continues to speak in parables. The first one we heard today is about the weed that is sown among the good seed. …
Read MoreA standard feature of many churches is the bell tower. One might wonder why churches have bells. Church bells can be used to signify different things. One of the oldest purposes is to signify (“Your attention Please”) that it is…
Read MoreLast week I wrote a blog article called, “We Need Heroes.” In that article I wrote about our need for role models. As Christians, Jesus is the ultimate role model. We also have the saints as role models. Today I…
Read More15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 55:10-11Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Luke 8:8)Romans 8:18-23Matthew 13:1-23July 12, 2020 Word of what Jesus is doing and saying had spread such that large crowds were coming to him. So, He got into…
Read MoreWe need heroes. Where we do we find them? The first question really is what is a hero? A hero as I see it is someone who does good deeds that we can look to as a role model. When…
Read MoreWe look for success but how do we know when we have succeeded? What is our measure of success? What does it even mean to succeed? Success is to achieve a goal. What is our goal? What is it that…
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