Coronavirus

Techniques to Listen to God

By Fr. Jeff | 06/13/2020

I offer this article in response to a comment posted by Brennan to my article, “Is God Angry With Us?”.  I thank Brennan for his comment, which follows: “Well said! Like you have said in previous posts, you would think…

Read More

Is God Angry With Us?

By Fr. Jeff | 06/13/2020

“Is God Angry With Us?” This is the question that began a comment posted on my blog. It is an important question. It is a question a lot of people may be asking. I think the best way to begin…

Read More

How Do We Look at the World?

By Fr. Jeff | 06/09/2020

How do you look at world? How many people want to know what the world can do for them? They make everything they do about themselves. They are interested in what makes them look good (pride). They are interested in…

Read More

The Battle Against Sin

By Fr. Jeff | 06/05/2020

Earlier this week I wrote an article, “Is There Still Sin in the World?” I ended that article by referring to the battle against sin and said I would write an article about battling sin. Well, here it is. I…

Read More

Pentecost, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 05/31/2020

Pentecost, Year AActs 2:1-11Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 (30)1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13John 20:19-23May 31, 2020 In the Old Testament we hear of God.  He is called by different titles but He is generally understood in the sense of “one…

Read More

A Stressful Time

By Fr. Jeff | 05/31/2020

We live in stressful times. The Coronavirus is causing us stress in keeping us home from work, school, and leisure activities. Restrictions are beginning to ease but we will continue to be affected by the virus even after things open…

Read More

The Sunday Sabbath

By Fr. Jeff | 05/29/2020

“‘Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the LORD, your God, commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may…

Read More

The Need for Trust

By Fr. Jeff | 05/26/2020

To function as a society we need to be able to trust one another. Otherwise, we would always live in fear of what others might do. What do we need to be able to trust others to do? Here I…

Read More

7th Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 05/24/2020

7th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 1:12-14Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8) (13)1 Peter 4:13-16John 17:1-11May 24, 2020 On Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of Jesus.  The apostles witnessed Jesus ascend to Heaven.  Today we hear that they then “returned to Jerusalem”…

Read More

Where is God’s Hand in the Coronavirus?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/22/2020

Why are we faced with this Coronavirus pandemic? We believe God to be all-powerful and all-knowing. So, why doesn’t He end the Coronavirus? This question involves what is referred to as the “the problem of evil.” Carried to the extreme,…

Read More

Amen

By Fr. Jeff | 05/18/2020

Amen. How many times do we say “amen” when we pray? How many times do you say it on your own? How many times do we say “amen” together at Mass? I don’t know how many times you say “amen”…

Read More

6th Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 05/17/2020

6th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 8:5-8, 11-17Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 (1)1 Peter 3:15-18John 14:15-21May 17, 2020 Jesus calls us to proclaim the gospel message.  Just before his Ascension, Jesus tells his disciples to go out and baptize…

Read More

Who Wrote the Bible?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/15/2020

Who wrote the Bible? The answer to this question depends on what one means by “wrote”. Are you referring to the person who physically wrote the stories? Or are you referring the source of the content? If the latter, do…

Read More

Connecting the Old and New Testaments

By Fr. Jeff | 05/13/2020

In my last article, “Are All Bibles the Same?”, I began to talk about connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We need one to understand the other. Here, I think of the story of the two disciples…

Read More

Are All Bibles the Same?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/11/2020

Last week I shared some thoughts on why it is important for us to read the Bible (see “Have You Read From the Bible Lately?”). Today I would like to offer some thoughts about which Bible we use. Which Bible?…

Read More

5th Sunday of Easter, Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 05/10/2020

5th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 6:1-7Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22)1 Peter 2:4-9John 14:1-12May 10, 2020 Today’s gospel is a familiar one to many, at least the first half.  The first six verses are often chosen as the gospel reading…

Read More

Have You Read From the Bible Lately?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/09/2020

As we find ourselves in isolation from the Coronavirus, how are you doing with your faith? Are you struggling? That’s understandable since we can’t gather together for the Eucharist. Some are finding their faith stronger (see article – “Polls Show…

Read More

Cafeteria Catholic? Not!

By Fr. Jeff | 05/05/2020

You may have heard the term “Cafeteria Catholic” (Protestants would say Cafeteria Christian) and wondered what it means. We go to a restaurant and order what we want. If we don’t like something, we don’t have it. The strongest example…

Read More

Look Beyond and Finding Meaning

By Fr. Jeff | 05/03/2020

As Catholics we have many rites for how we do things. For instance, we have specific rubrics as to how we celebrate Mass (see “The Roman Catholic Mass Explained”). We have particular rites for every Sacrament. It is important for…

Read More

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 05/03/2020

4th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 2:14a, 36-41Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (1)1 Peter 2:20b-25John 10:1-10May 3, 2020 Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter.  Every year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter we read from the Good Shepherd discourse…

Read More

The Right Atmosphere

By Fr. Jeff | 05/02/2020

Earlier this week I wrote a blog article, “Silence, How Much and When” where I talked about silence in private prayer as well as silence at Mass. Now, I would like to discuss how silence at Mass needs to be…

Read More

Forgiveness Can Be Hard

By Fr. Jeff | 05/01/2020

The Coronavirus shutdown continues. Some states are beginning to lift restrictions. New York State, where I live, continues under shutdown. We are now around the six week mark. Of course, the challenges caused by the pandemic started before we actually…

Read More

Silence, How Much and When

By Fr. Jeff | 04/27/2020

In the midst of the Coronavirus you may find yourself alone or in small groups of just your family far more often than normal. Does that necessarily mean we have more “silence”? That depends on what you do with your…

Read More

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 04/26/2020

3rd Sunday of Easter Year AActs 2:14, 22-33Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 (11a)1 Peter 1:17-21Luke 24:13-35 With the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke boldly to the Israelites.  He spoke of how they saw Jesus’ “mighty deeds, wonders,…

Read More

Perspectives on Prayer

By Fr. Jeff | 04/25/2020

During the Coronavirus shutdown I have been reading books that have been sitting on my shelf for a while. This week I read Rev. Evan Pilkington’s Paths to Personal Prayer (Twenty-Third Publications: Mystic, Connecticut. 1988. The edition I read is…

Read More

Archives