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Our Blog

The Hidden Depths of the Mass #15

By Fr. Jeff | 11/16/2023

The Liturgy of the Word – The Homily & CreedAfter the readings are finished, the congregation sits while an ordained person offers the homily.  The homily is to help break open the readings and help people apply them to life…

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What’s It Going to Take for People to Realize the State of Things?

By Fr. Jeff | 11/14/2023

I hope I am not sounding like a broken record that keeps repeating itself.  Last week I wrote, “What’s It Going to Take to End the Violence.”  There I said the answer laid in tears that came from the depths…

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 11/13/2023

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AWisdom 6:12-16Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (2b)1 Thessalonians 4:13-18Matthew 25:1-13November 12, 2023 Jesus presents us with this parable of “ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of…

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New Video – Made for Discipleship Part II

By Fr. Jeff | 11/10/2023

Yesterday I offered Part II in my series, Made for Discipleship. You can now view the slides and video at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/madefordiscipleshippart2. If you watch it in the next few days, you can complete an online evaluation afterwards at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXAxnQnVoeUvYBRr1b_DAiFWrmh2IWtAExxBGeUsicdtPnSw/viewform?usp=sf_link. Part…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #14

By Fr. Jeff | 11/09/2023

The Liturgy of the Word – Daily Mass ReadingsJust as on Sunday, during the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter the readings for daily Mass are selected to correspond to the themes of the season.  At daily Mass there…

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What’s It Going to Take to End the Violence?

By Fr. Jeff | 11/07/2023

There is a lot of violence in the world today. We see the wars between Israel and Hamas, and the Ukraine and Russia. How many mass shootings have there been recently in our Untied States? Maine, Cincinnati… What’s it going…

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 11/05/2023

Jesus says, “Call no one on earth your father.” His words are pure, simple, and clear. So, why do Catholics call priests “father”? Doesn’t this go against what Jesus said? Taken at face value, it would. We need to look…

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Mass of Remembrance

By Fr. Jeff | 11/02/2023

Mass of RemembranceWisdom 3:1-9Psalm 23Romans 6:3-9John 6:37-40November 2, 2023 Tonight we gather to offer this Mass of Remembrance for our loved ones who died in the last year.  Some died as the result of an accident.  Some died of old…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #13

By Fr. Jeff | 11/02/2023

The Liturgy of the Word – How the Readings Are Selected Last week, we read about the importance of the Word of God.  Today we take a look at how the Sunday readings are chosen.  Every Latin Rite Catholic Church…

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All Saints Day – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 11/01/2023

All SaintsRevelation 7:2-4, 9-14Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-61 John 3:1-3Matthew 5:1-12aNovember 1, 2023 Do you want to be a saint? The first saints were all martyrs.  They sacrificed their earthly lives for their faith.  The martyrs become powerful witnesses to the…

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A Response to a Question About Greed in Generous Situations

By Fr. Jeff | 10/31/2023

The following is my response to Linda’s comment that she posted on my blog.  Here is her comment. A topic I would like your opinion on is that of greed.  Although I know what I think greed is, maybe I’m…

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Two Things

By Fr. Jeff | 10/31/2023

Once again, I will begin this week’s article with a brief discussion of the ongoing the conflict between Israel and Hamas (see my previous articles “Escalating Conflict,” 10/10/23, “The Importance of Building Relationships,” 10/17/23, “Is Life Being Respected” 10/24/23). Israel has now begun…

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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 10/29/2023

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AExodus 22:20-26Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10Matthew 22:34-40October 29, 2023 “Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of…

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Updated – New Video – Made for Discipleship Part I

By Fr. Jeff | 10/27/2023

I started my new series on discipleship, Made of Discipleship, yesterday. The video and slides for Part I are now available online at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/madefordiscipleshippart1 . If you view it in the next couple of days, you can give me feedback…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #12

By Fr. Jeff | 10/26/2023

The Liturgy of the WordAfter the Collect (opening prayer), we begin the Liturgy of the Word.  This includes all the readings, the homily the Creed, and the Prayers of the Faithful (aka General Intercessions).  The readings we share are the…

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Is Life Being Respected?

By Fr. Jeff | 10/24/2023

For the third week in a row, I find myself beginning a blog article by mentioning the conflict between Israel and Hamas (see “Escalating Conflict,” 10/10/23 and “The Importance of Building Relationships,” 10/17/23). The situation in Israel is important in…

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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 10/22/2023

The number of Christian disciples in many parts of the world is shrinking. Fewer people identify as Christians. Some because they formally reject God while others have not been taught that God exists and loves them. Add to this the…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #11

By Fr. Jeff | 10/19/2023

The Collect (Opening Prayer) After the Gloria comes the Collect, often called the opening prayer.  The priest begins, “Let us pray” and then there is silence.  The silence is intentional as a moment to collect our thoughts to bring together…

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The Importance of Building Relationships

By Fr. Jeff | 10/17/2023

Last week I wrote about the escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel. Since then, the fighting has continued with many people injured or killed. It looks like Israel is preparing to go into Gaza with ground troops. Clearly the situation…

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28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 10/15/2023

28th 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 15, 2023 We say we are disciples of Christ but what does this mean? In secular terms a disciple is a student of a…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #10

By Fr. Jeff | 10/12/2023

The Penitential ActAfter the greeting, the priest may offer a few words on the readings or recalling why we come to Mass.  Following that, he says, “Let us acknowledge our sins so as to prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred…

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Escalating Conflict

By Fr. Jeff | 10/10/2023

There is more fighting in the world than there was last week. The conflict between Israel and the Hamas is nothing new but the level of fighting escalated a few days ago. I heard one report said that the attacks…

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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 10/08/2023

In our first reading today Isaiah writes of his friend who “had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hew out a…

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The Hidden Depths of the Mass #9

By Fr. Jeff | 10/05/2023

The Greeting After the Sign of the Cross, the priest offers the greeting. There are three options for the greeting by the priest. The first one is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion…

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Do You Pray for the Church?

By Fr. Jeff | 10/03/2023

Do you pray for the church? There are two ways we can look at this question. First, if we consider the transcendent church, meaning the church that is beyond human institution, one might say why would I pray for the…

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