Discipleship
7th Sunday of Easter, Year CActs 7:55-60 Psalm 97:1-2, 6-7, 9 (1a, 9a)Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20John 17:20-26 May 29, 2022 Jesus knew He was about to be arrested, tried, and crucified. The Gospel of John presents in chapters 14-17 Jesus’…
Read MoreLast week I started a new series of articles reflecting on Judith Valente’s book How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing. 2018) with my article, “Being Spiritual in…
Read More“This is a book about living. Not about surviving, but living a balanced, meaningful, and attentive life” (1). These are Judith Valente’s opening words in her book How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness,…
Read MoreAs we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter in Year C, our first reading continues to come from the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early church. In chapter 2 the disciples…
Read MoreToday a letter I wrote, with comments and suggestions from staff, will be going out to all our parishioners in the two parishes I serve. While it is with St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s in mind, I…
Read More3rd Sunday of Easter, Year CActs 5:27-32; 40b-41 Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13 (2a) Revelation 5:11-14John 21:1-19 May 1, 2022 Last week we heard how the disciples gathered in the locked room for fear of the Jews. This happened…
Read MoreWe need God’s mercy. Our world is in need of God’s mercy and we need it as individuals. We are human beings who are not perfect. At times we fall short of doing good and we need forgiveness. As look…
Read MoreWhat do you want from Jesus? Do you come to Mass on Sunday looking for an hour of peace? Mass should bring us “peace” but not simply as an escape from everything else going on in our lives. In faith,…
Read More2nd Sunday of Lent, Year CGenesis 15:5-12, 17-18Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14 (1a)Philippians 3:17-4:1Luke 9:28b-36March 13, 2022 Peter, James, and John “saw his glory.” Imagine getting to see Jesus transfigured into glory as we will see him in Heaven. It…
Read MoreWe are a full two years into the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of us have been worn out by the pandemic. We are tired of shutdowns, social distancing, and facemasks as well as the polarization over these. Presently, there is good…
Read MoreOur first reading today is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. The Israelites were preparing to cross into the promised land. It has been a long time since Jacob brought his family to Egypt in a time of drought. They…
Read MoreAs Jesus continues his Sermon on the Plain, today’s gospel begins, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.“ Are we really supposed to love our enemies?…
Read MoreThree weeks ago I began a series of articles reflecting on my reading of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). Today, I would like to offer my sixth and final article on The…
Read More6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year CJeremiah 17:5-8Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6, (40:5a)1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20Luke 6:17, 20-26February 13, 2022 In this gospel passage Jesus begins his Sermon on the Plain. The passage is explicit in saying He “stood on…
Read MoreThis is the fifth of sixth articles I offer here inspired by my reading of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the previous articles see “Are You for Real?”, “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”,…
Read MoreWe are all called to be disciples of Jesus. We are all called to serve God in some way. In today’s readings we hear three call narratives. It begins with the call of Isaiah in our first reading. Isaiah is…
Read MoreThis will be my fourth article inspired by Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the previous articles see “Are You for Real?”, “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”, and “We Need to Stand for…
Read MoreToday I continue my series inspired by Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the two previous articles see “Are You for Real?” and “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”) Today I would like…
Read MoreA few days ago I began a new series of articles based on Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019) with an article titled “Are You for Real?” Today I offer my second article…
Read More“Authentic. Genuine. Handcrafted. Vintage. Real.” These are the first words in chapter 1 (page 17) of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). Are we who we claim to be? Do we…
Read MoreIt is winter where I live. This means cold weather and snow but how predictable is the weather? Since about mid-last week, the weather forecasters in the northeast were calling for a significant snowstorm for Sunday into Monday. By last…
Read MoreIn a few days this year of 2021 will come to a close. Like 2020, 2021 has been a challenging year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. In July, it seemed things had turned for the better. The number of new…
Read MoreI recently posted an article, “Helping Our Children be Disciples,” inspired by my recent reading of An Evangelizing Catechesis: Teaching from Your Encounter with Christ by James C. Pauley (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. 2020). Today I would like to…
Read MoreOur Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year BDaniel 7:13-14Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5 (1a)Revelation 1:5-8John 18:33b-37November 21, 2021 This is the last Sunday of our liturgical year. We always celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of…
Read MoreToday’s first reading comes from the fourth of four passages in the Book of Isaiah that speak of a “suffering servant.” People see suffering as something terrible and to be avoided. However, in the first reading, regarding the suffering servant,…
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