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Our Blog

Threat and Opportunity

By Fr. Jeff | 08/10/2020

The 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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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 08/09/2020

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13aPsalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14, (8)Romans 9:1-5Matthew 14:22-33August 9, 2020 After sending his disciples on their way, Jesus “went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”  There He encountered God…

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Praying for the Unemployed and Underemployed

By Fr. Jeff | 08/07/2020

Today, August 7th, has a couple of different options at Mass listed for saints. All are optional in the United States. The first option listed is for St. Sixtus II, Pope and Martyr and his companions. They were martyred for…

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What’s in the News

By Fr. Jeff | 08/06/2020

One of the things I like to write about here on my blog is current events in the news. I also desire to incorporate current events into my homilies. I think this is important because we need to show our…

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New Video on Vestments

By Fr. Jeff | 08/05/2020

Hello, Today I recorded a new 18 minute video on church vestments and liturgical colors. You can see the video at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/video—vestments.html. I hope it aids you in the riches of our liturgy. I am looking forward to a series…

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We Face Difficult Times

By Fr. Jeff | 08/04/2020

As a church, as the people of God, we face difficult times. Right now, we are dealing with the Coronavirus. We are celebrating public Masses (with face masks and social distancing), albeit with smaller numbers as people stay home to…

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18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 08/02/2020

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 55:1-3Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 (16)Romans 8:35, 37-39Matthew 14:13-21August 2, 2020 All our readings today share the theme of being fed.  In the first reading, the Lord invites “all who are thirsty” to “come…

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In the World But Not of the World

By Fr. Jeff | 07/31/2020

We live in the world, meaning this physical world, but we are not of this world. What does this mean? We have physical bodies in this world. We are dependent on things of this world for our physical existence. We…

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What Will Heaven Be Like?

By Fr. Jeff | 07/27/2020

Have you ever pondered the question, “what will Heaven be like?” I don’t expect to end up there anytime soon but it is a question we might ask. After all, we expect to spend eternity there. The question comes to…

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 07/26/2020

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A1 Kings 3:5, 7-12Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 (97a)Romans 8:28-30Matthew 13:44-52July 26, 2020 God said to Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”  If God said this to…

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Purgatory and Indulgences

By Fr. Jeff | 07/23/2020

Last Fall I mentioned Purgatory in Part I of my series, Our Saints and Intercessors. I again mentioned Purgatory in the introduction to my series, Sacraments: Channels of God’s Grace. In both cases, people expressed interested in hearing more about…

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Coming This Fall – “Uncovering the Treasures of the Mass”

By Fr. Jeff | 07/23/2020

In the bulletin for this weekend, July 26th, I wrote a column about my passion for faith formation beyond children. I include some of my plans for this Fall. Here is the column: The three things where I most find…

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What Should We Pray For?

By Fr. Jeff | 07/20/2020

When we celebrate Mass we are praying together. What do you pray for on your own? How often do you pray? Today, I would like to talk about two of my daily prayer intentions. If you have come to daily…

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 07/19/2020

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AWisdom 12:13, 16-19Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (5a)Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43July 19, 2020 Jesus continues to speak in parables.  The first one we heard today is about the weed that is sown among the good seed. …

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Your Attention Please

By Fr. Jeff | 07/16/2020

A standard feature of many churches is the bell tower. One might wonder why churches have bells. Church bells can be used to signify different things. One of the oldest purposes is to signify (“Your attention Please”) that it is…

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How Do You Describe Yourself?

By Fr. Jeff | 07/14/2020

Last week I wrote a blog article called, “We Need Heroes.” In that article I wrote about our need for role models. As Christians, Jesus is the ultimate role model. We also have the saints as role models. Today I…

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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 07/12/2020

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 55:10-11Psalm 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Luke 8:8)Romans 8:18-23Matthew 13:1-23July 12, 2020 Word of what Jesus is doing and saying had spread such that large crowds were coming to him.  So, He got into…

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We Need Heroes

By Fr. Jeff | 07/09/2020

We need heroes. Where we do we find them? The first question really is what is a hero? A hero as I see it is someone who does good deeds that we can look to as a role model. When…

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Seeking Success

By Fr. Jeff | 07/07/2020

We look for success but how do we know when we have succeeded? What is our measure of success? What does it even mean to succeed? Success is to achieve a goal. What is our goal? What is it that…

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 07/05/2020

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AZechariah 9:9-10Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 (1)Romans 8:9, 11-13Matthew 11:25-30July 5, 2020 Jesus gives praise to the Father.  The psalmist speaks of praising, extoling, and blessing our God and King. Jesus praises God for,…

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I am Not My Own Potter

By Fr. Jeff | 07/04/2020

Today we celebrate our United States holiday celebrating our independence on the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. As we celebrate our independence, “freedom” is very important to us. People take freedom to…

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Coronavirus Check-in

By Fr. Jeff | 07/02/2020

After the Coronavirus first became present in the United States in March and April of this year, I posted some articles here about how we were responding in terms of our stress and adjustments in our lives. (For some of…

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Being a Disciple of Christ

By Fr. Jeff | 06/30/2020

We call ourselves disciples of Christ but what does this really mean? Let’s start with asking what it means to call ourselves “Christian.” The term is generally applied to anyone who is baptized and/or says they believe in Christ. Yes,…

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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 06/28/2020

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16aPsalm 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19 (2a)Romans 6:3-4, 8-11Matthew 10:37-42June 28, 2020 We are Christians.  We believe in Jesus.  We need to take this seriously.  Jesus himself tells us the we must love…

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Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura

By Fr. Jeff | 06/26/2020

Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura are two Latin terms that became popular among the Protestant Reformers. “Sola Fide” means “by faith alone.” Ultimately, we cannot save ourselves. It is God who saves us through Jesus sacrificing his life for us…

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