Discipleship

How We Treat Sinners

By Fr. Jeff | 02/18/2025

As I prayed the Office of Readings for Saturday Week I recently, I was struck by the following verses in the first reading, “Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that…

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Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Encountering Our Lord (2025)

By Fr. Jeff | 02/09/2025

Isaiah’s service as our Lord’s prophet started with an encounter with the Lord (as told in today’s first reading).  He “saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne.”  How would encountering the Lord in this way affect you?…

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Thoughtful Speech

By Fr. Jeff | 02/04/2025

We’ve probably all said something in a hasty response that we later wished we could take back.  We do well to ask ourselves if we think before we speak. You might be thinking of someone you know that you think…

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Towards a Culture of Life

By Fr. Jeff | 01/28/2025

Last, week I posted the article “Being Pro-life Is About Much More Than Just Abortion”. In that article I mentioned the phrase, “consistent ethic of life” as part of a broad approach to pro-life teaching. This week I take “consistent…

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We Are Broken

By Fr. Jeff | 01/23/2025

As a society, I feel we are broken.  We are in need of healing.  Why do I think we are broken?  I see several signs of the brokenness.    We see it in heated initial responses different groups say to each…

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This Looks Like a Job For…

By Fr. Jeff | 01/14/2025

When I was a kid, I was a fan of superhero shows and movies.  As a kid, it was cool to think of having superpowers and what you could do with them.  This remains true of superheroes today.  When I…

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What Baptism Does for Us

By Fr. Jeff | 01/12/2025

Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.  On Christmas day Jesus was born a man.  In Baptism, He born spiritually as “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him.” John the Baptist baptized many but the baptism…

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We Need Hope Part III

By Fr. Jeff | 12/17/2024

This is third and final article in my article in my series reflecting on Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction, “Spes Non Confundit” (Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, May 9, 2024).  (see “We Need Hope…

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We Need Hope Part II

By Fr. Jeff | 12/10/2024

Last week I began a short series of articles on the upcoming jubilee year of hope (see “We Need Hope Part I).  I ended last week at paragraph 3 of Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction, “Spes Non Confundit” (Bull of…

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Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year B (2024) – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 11/24/2024

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the UniverseDaniel 7:13-14Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5 (1a)Revelation 1:5-8John 18:33b-37November 24, 2024 Today we celebrate this last Sunday of the present church year with the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.…

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B (2024) – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 11/10/2024

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B1 Kings 17:10-16Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 (1b)Hebrews 9:24-28Mark 12:38-44November 10, 2024 Jesus continues to use opportunities that arise naturally to teach.  Today He tells the crowds to “Beware of the scribes.”  The scribes should…

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Where Do We Go from Here?

By Fr. Jeff | 11/06/2024

The 2024 election in the United States is over.  There are winners and losers.  Who won and who lost is not a topic I will discuss in this article.  My concern is not politics.  I think Archbishop Broglio’s statement today…

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All Saints – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 11/01/2024

All SaintsRevelation 7:2-4, 9-14Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-61 John 3:1-3Matthew 5:1-12aNovember 1, 2024 How many saints do you know by name?  St. Francis of Assisi, St. Benedict, St. Joseph, St, Ignatius, St. Bonaventure…the list could go on and on.  Every saint…

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Reading the Signs of the Times

By Fr. Jeff | 10/25/2024

How do we look at our present age?  How do we interpret what we see in the world today? Jesus speaks to us (see today’s gospel) of how we know that when we see certain things in the weather, we…

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Managing Distractions

By Fr. Jeff | 10/22/2024

I hear people talk about how they are distracted by worldly things at Mass.  The same can be true when praying at home.   I would like to offer three possible categories for these distractions. First, is the “noisy child” at…

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A Lifetime of Conversion

By Fr. Jeff | 10/01/2024

No matter how much we know about our faith, there is always room for growth.  This is evident for me in the celebration of the Feast of the Archangels on September 29th.  This year the feast fell on Sunday so…

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The Same Old Thing

By Fr. Jeff | 09/17/2024

If you have been a reader of my blog, you’ve probably noticed that I repeat topics.  At times, it is because of something in the news that presents a new perspective on a topic.  One example of this is the…

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24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 09/15/2024

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BIsaiah 50:5-9aPsalm 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (9)James 2:14-18Mark 8:27-35September 15, 2024 Generally speaking, people want things to be easy.  We think that if we “walk before the LORD,” it should be easy to be…

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Be Strong, Fear Not! – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

By Fr. Jeff | 09/08/2024

The Lord speaks “to those whose hearts are frightened.”  Are you one whose heart is frightened? I am. My heart is not frightened in the sense of being scared of the Lord.  I know that the Lord loves me.  My…

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Pop-Quiz On Sin

By Fr. Jeff | 09/03/2024

I would like to start today with a short pop-quiz.  Don’t worry!  No one will see your answers (well, except God).  To make it simple the questions are all true/false.  They are all based on God’s Commandments and The Seven…

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Do People Really Want to Grow Closer to Jesus?

By Fr. Jeff | 08/27/2024

I spoke about the choices we make in the article I posted Sunday, “To Whom Shall We Grow? – 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.” Following on that article, today I begin with another question, “Do people really want…

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To Whom Shall We Go? – 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

By Fr. Jeff | 08/25/2024

Joshua said to the people, “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve” (today’s first reading) We each have a choice to make.  Do we want to serve God or not?   It…

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It Makes Me Think

By Fr. Jeff | 08/20/2024

I recently wrote about graduation as one of life’s milestones (“Milestones-Graduation”).  This summer I experienced what could have been a milestone in my life. I received a letter from AARP that said “Happy Birthday” on the envelope.  No, the letter…

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Follow Me

By Fr. Jeff | 08/09/2024

One can go to a sporting event and see someone holding up a sign that reads “John 3:16.”  What does John 3:16 say?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in…

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

By Fr. Jeff | 06/30/2024

What did God create us for? Wisdom tells us “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.” God does not want us to die in our sin.  He did not create us to…

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