Our Blog
Recently 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 MoreHow 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 More