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Last Saturday I read a news story (Sarah Maddox, “Why thousands of U.S. congregations are leaving the United Methodist Church.” September 9, 2023. CBSnews.com.). You may remember that in 2019, the United Methodist Church held a conference that discussed same-sex…
Read MoreIn the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” In the Act of Contrition we “firmly resolve to sin no more and to avoid whatever leads us to sin.” Avoiding temptation is not…
Read MoreThe Hidden Depths of the Mass #5Gestures Before we enter our pew we genuflect. When we come up for Communion we bow before we receive Communion. Why? Because our gestures mean something. In this case, they signify our reverence for…
Read MoreSome people love change. I’m not one of them but I do believe some change is natural and not necessarily something to be feared. Change can be good. There is change we seek. It might starting a new job that…
Read More22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AJeremiah 20:7-9Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)Romans 12:1-2Matthew 16:21-27September 3, 2023 Last week we heard Peter proclaim to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter got that right. Jesus…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreIn today’s gospel Jesus continues to teach in parables. The first two parables speak of something so valuable that one would be willing to sell everything that one has to obtain the treasure that is offered. Jesus says the Kingdom…
Read MoreAlmost three and a half years ago, our churches were shutdown by the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic. In his new book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022), part…
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 23, 2023 “Where have the weeds come from?” The man had sowed only good seed. Why were weeds growing in the field? His enemy had…
Read MoreI am presently planning to do a fall series of presentations of discipleship. The question at hand is what does it mean to be a Christian disciple. With that in mind, I thought I would share some initial thoughts with…
Read More15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 55:10-11Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Luke 8:8)Romans 8:18-23Matthew 13:1-23 July 16, 2023 The crowds that came to Jesus were large. They all had heard something about Jesus that drew them there. Perhaps they…
Read MoreRecently I wrote an article, “When to Call the Priest,” to help people understand the change of understanding from Extreme Unction/Last Rites to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Today I would like to offer some thoughts on…
Read MoreIn the time of our first reading today the Israelites were under foreign rule. Israel had been a great nation but had been defeated by their enemies. They were saddened in this situation. Through the prophet Zechariah the Lord tells…
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