Evangelization
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BJeremiah 31:7-9Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 (3)Hebrews 5:1-6Mark 10:46-52October 24, 2021 As Jesus leaves Jericho, “Bartimaeus, a blind man,” is sitting by the roadside begging. When he hears that Jesus of Nazareth is there,…
Read MoreI recently read St. Joseph and His World by Mike Aquilina (New York: Scepter Publishers. 2020). I purchased this to read with the Year of St. Joseph called for by Pope Francis (Dec. 2020-December 2021) in mind. As indicated by…
Read MoreEarlier this week I wrote an article, “Is Faith a Matter of Opinion?”, based on F.X. Cronin’s book, The World According to God (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press. 2020). That article reflected on the first fifty pages. Today I would like…
Read MoreIs what one chooses to believe merely a matter of personal preference? Does God exist? These are two of the key questions F.X. Cronin discusses in his new book, The World According to God (Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press. 2020).…
Read MoreRecently, I have been using Fr. James Mallon’s new book, Divine Renovation Beyond the Parish (Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press. 2020) for reflection both on change and leadership. Today, I offer my final article using this book. In…
Read MoreSince it was announced that I will be moving to a new assignment, I have written several articles related to change. The first one, “The Next Change”, started with the saying “change is inevitable.” For me, change almost seems a…
Read MoreFour weeks from today I will be moving to my new assignment at St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s. As I prepare to lead them, I continue to reflect on what it is that God calls us to.…
Read MoreAs preparations continue for me to transition to St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s at the end of June, a couple of people from there have asked me about my “hopes and dreams” for the parish. It is…
Read MoreAs I have said before, many people today have some knowledge of what the Catholic Church teaches on various topics without knowing why the Church teaches it. Helping people understand not just what the Church teaches but why is at…
Read MoreIt is no secret that 2020 was a difficult year. A number of my blog articles in the last year reflect that. In particular, there were the articles, “2020: What a Year!” and “2020 is Over!”. Now, we try to…
Read More2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 (8a and 9a)1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20John 1:35-42January 17, 2021 Jesus asked the two disciples of John the Baptist, “What are you looking for?” Jesus asks…
Read MoreOn November 29th, we began a new year in the church with the First Sunday of Advent. In my homily that day, I spoke of people making new year’s resolutions for the secular new year on January 1st and how…
Read MoreWith fewer and fewer people coming to church even before the Coronavirus, one asks the question, “Why don’t more people come to Jesus?” Jesus offers us something wonderful. Do people understand what Jesus offers us, namely, salvation? I just finished…
Read MoreThe first reading in yesterday’s (28th Sunday in Ordinary Time) Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours led me to think about where we are at as a Church with regards to the number of people who practice…
Read MoreI started my new series of webinars, Uncovering the Treasures of the Mass, last night. You are view the recording of the webinar on my website at www.renewaloffaith.org/masspart1. Peace, Fr. Jeff
Read MoreI remember back in my school days hearing about utopian societies. Such groups are the attempts of the members to form a perfect society. In my limited knowledge of them, they were small, insular societies. To me, the world didn’t…
Read MoreOne of the topics I have covered a few times during the Coronavirus is prayer (see https://blog.renewaloffaith.org/?cat=12 for those articles & homilies). Today I would like to cover a particular form of prayer required of clergy and religious but an…
Read MoreAt Baptism, we are asked six questions as our “baptismal promises.” (When we are baptized as infants, our parents answer for us.) At Confirmation we renew our baptismal promises ourselves. Each year at Easter time, we renew them. We respond,…
Read MoreHow Well Do You Know God? What does it even mean to know God? Is it a matter of how much we know about God? We need to learn about God but knowing God is not just a matter of…
Read MoreIt’s hard to know but it seems like I have heard of increasing numbers of acts of violence (mainly shootings). I currently serve in a parish about thirty minutes outside of Rochester, NY. Last weekend, Rochester had three separate shootings…
Read MoreThe question for this article is how do we experience Church? As we explore this question, please note that I capitalized the word “Church”. This is because, ultimately, it is a transcendent “Church” that we are called to belong to.…
Read MoreDoes God change? God is eternal, without beginning or end. Does He ever change? I ask the question because recently I was asked about God’s vengeance. There is some tendency to see God in the Old Testament as a punishing…
Read MoreThe Coronavirus shutdown our Masses for three months. It continues to impact attendance as people stay home to protect themselves. For those who do come in person, attendance hovers about 30-40% of normal. There are others who continue to watch…
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