Discipleship
We celebrate the 4th Sunday of Easter today. The gospel reading on the 4th Sunday of Easter always come from Jesus’ Good Shepherd discourse in chapter 10 of the Gospel of John. We also celebrate it as the World Day…
Read MoreWe just celebrated our Easter Triduum. The Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the Priesthood. It continues with the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s death. Yes, we celebrate his death. …
Read MoreDo you ever feel like people aren’t really listening to what you have to say? You try to present your perspective but you feel you either they weren’t listening or you must have not explained it well. We might do…
Read More“God put Abraham to the test.” How would you fair with the same test? Last week I spoke about our struggles to resist temptation. Who you do any better with the test that Abraham faced when God told him, “Take…
Read MoreHow much time do you spend trying to make other people happy? Now, there are clearly some people that we should want to make happy. Certainly, a married person should want their spouse to be happy. We should want our…
Read MoreSome Christians will ask, “when were you saved?”. Generally, the people who ask this question have experienced a time in their lives when they felt a profound conversion in their lives and gave their lives over to Christ. This is…
Read MoreYesterday I completed my series, Made for Discipleship. My website is presently undergoing an overhaul, leaving me unable to update it for a few days. So, here is a link to watch the video recording of yesterday’s webinar on my…
Read MoreIf you hear a homily that speaks about spending more time in prayer, do you immediately dismiss it because you are too busy? If you read in the bulletin that your parish is looking for more volunteers, do you immediately…
Read MoreOur Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe, Year AEzekiel 34:11-12, 15-17Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 (1)1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28Matthew 25:31-46 November 26, 2023 The Lord speaks through the prophet Ezekiel in a time when those who had been appointed shepherds…
Read MoreWhy am I Catholic? Traditionally, the answer to the question why are you Catholic was, “Because my parents and grandparents are Catholic.” Being Catholic was part of our identity. One went to church for Christmas and Easter because that’s what…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreYesterday 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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read More28th 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…
Read MoreI am happy to say I will be beginning a new series of presentations in October exploring what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The series is called Made for Discipleship. Honestly, I am a little behind on my…
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 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 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 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 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 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 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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