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Today (May 31st), we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of Mary. One might wonder why this feast falls at this time of year. We are in Ordinary Time. However, yesterday, for our Sunday Mass we celebrated the Solemnity of…
Read MoreThe Most Holy Trinity, Year BDeuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22 (12b)Romans 8:14-17Matthew 28:16-20May 30, 2021 Today we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are three persons yet one God. This can…
Read MoreIn my last article, “Hopes and Dreams”, I spoke of helping people and leading people to Jesus. In my past article, “What Sort of Church Should We Be?”, I spoke of serving the people. Today I would like to write…
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 MorePentecost, Year BActs 2:1-11Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 (32)1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13John 20:19-23May 23, 2021 Fifty days ago we celebrated Easter. Easter is the most important day of the year (Christmas is #2). Today, we celebrate the third most…
Read MoreLast night I offered another webinar, Three Saints to Aid Us, covering St. Michael the Archangel, St. John Fisher, and St. Thomas More. The video recording of the webinar and slides are available on my website at www.renewaloffaith.org/threesaints. I will…
Read MoreI would like to pose a question for reflection – “Do you belong to your parish or does your parish belong to you?” For the latter, what do you expect from your parish? Do you only go to your parish…
Read More7th Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20 (19a)1 John 4:11-16John 17:11b-19May 16, 2021 We come today between our celebration of the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost. This is the time frame in our first reading…
Read MoreAscension ThursdayActs 1:1-11Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 (6)Ephesians 1:17-23Mark 16:15-20May 13, 2021 Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. The Ascension might seem like just a step along the way from the Resurrection to Pentecost. In the chronology of the…
Read MoreIn the last article, “Why is Change Difficult?”, that I wrote on the subject of change, I found myself reminiscing about the past. The past is something valuable, something we can learn from. This includes the past as it pertains…
Read More6th Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 (2b)1 John 4:7-10John 15:9-17May 9, 2021 Peter is led by God to the house of Cornelius. There Cornelius falls “at his feet” to pay homage to Peter. Peter…
Read MoreI wrote the following for our parish bulletin for Mother’s Day. Mothers are important. Eve was the first mother in the Bible. “She was the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20). There is Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and the mother…
Read MoreAfter learning I would be moving to another parish at the end of June, in mid-April I wrote an article, “The Next Change.” In that article, I talked about the inevitability of change, that we are not alone in needing…
Read MoreIn March I wrote an article called “Chastity and Sexuality”. As part of that article, I discussed how sexual acts are meant to be an expression of the love between a man and a woman in marriage. Sex without love…
Read More5th Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 9:26-31Psalm 22:26-27, 29, 30, 31-32 (26a)1 John 3:18-24John 15:1-8May 2, 2021 The story told in the Acts of the Apostles is the story of the early church. Acts tells us how “the church throughout…
Read MoreI recently read the book Things Worth Dying For: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living by Archbishop Emeritus Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap. (New York: Henry Holt and Company. 2021). Reading it has led me to share some thoughts about…
Read MoreAs I prepare to move to another parish, I reflect on what God has called me to do at St. Luke’s and what God will be calling me to do at St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s. In…
Read More4th Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 4:8-12Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 (22)1 John 3:1-2John 10:11-18April 25, 2021 Who is our shepherd? Who is it that we expect to help us? Do we trust in man, meaning do expect…
Read MoreAfter we confessing our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and receiving a penance, we say an Act of Contrition. This expresses our sorrow for our sins. We say the Act of Contrition as part of the ritual of the…
Read MoreThere is a saying that change is inevitable. Change certainly seems common. Once again I am about to experience a change in my parish assignment. It was announced this weekend that I will be leaving St. Luke the Evangelist Parish…
Read More3rd Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 3:13-15, 17-19Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9 (7a)1 John 2:1-5aLuke 24:35-48April 18, 2021 Easter is a season of resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus is pivotal in our Christian faith. Thus, Jesus doesn’t want us to…
Read MoreDifficult people…we probably have all dealt with difficult people in our lives. It isn’t easy or we won’t call them “difficult” people. There is no one single way to deal with all difficult people. It takes patience. It takes understanding.…
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 More2nd Sunday of Easter, Year BActs 4:32-35Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (1)1 John 5:1-6John 20:19-31April 11, 2021 On this Second Sunday of Easter we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. In today’s gospel Jesus gives the power to forgive sins to the disciples…
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