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Our Blog

Connecting the Old and New Testaments

By Fr. Jeff | 05/13/2020

In my last article, “Are All Bibles the Same?”, I began to talk about connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We need one to understand the other. Here, I think of the story of the two disciples…

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Are All Bibles the Same?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/11/2020

Last week I shared some thoughts on why it is important for us to read the Bible (see “Have You Read From the Bible Lately?”). Today I would like to offer some thoughts about which Bible we use. Which Bible?…

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5th Sunday of Easter, Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 05/10/2020

5th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 6:1-7Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22)1 Peter 2:4-9John 14:1-12May 10, 2020 Today’s gospel is a familiar one to many, at least the first half.  The first six verses are often chosen as the gospel reading…

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Have You Read From the Bible Lately?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/09/2020

As we find ourselves in isolation from the Coronavirus, how are you doing with your faith? Are you struggling? That’s understandable since we can’t gather together for the Eucharist. Some are finding their faith stronger (see article – “Polls Show…

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The Final Video in My Series on the Sacraments

By Fr. Jeff | 05/07/2020

Last night was the final presentation in my series, Sacraments: Channels of God’s Grace, We covered the Sacraments of Service, Marriage and Holy Orders. We are still under the Coronavirus shutdown so there was no in-person presentation. Instead, we did…

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Cafeteria Catholic? Not!

By Fr. Jeff | 05/05/2020

You may have heard the term “Cafeteria Catholic” (Protestants would say Cafeteria Christian) and wondered what it means. We go to a restaurant and order what we want. If we don’t like something, we don’t have it. The strongest example…

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Look Beyond and Finding Meaning

By Fr. Jeff | 05/03/2020

As Catholics we have many rites for how we do things. For instance, we have specific rubrics as to how we celebrate Mass (see “The Roman Catholic Mass Explained”). We have particular rites for every Sacrament. It is important for…

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Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 05/03/2020

4th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 2:14a, 36-41Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (1)1 Peter 2:20b-25John 10:1-10May 3, 2020 Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter.  Every year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter we read from the Good Shepherd discourse…

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The Right Atmosphere

By Fr. Jeff | 05/02/2020

Earlier this week I wrote a blog article, “Silence, How Much and When” where I talked about silence in private prayer as well as silence at Mass. Now, I would like to discuss how silence at Mass needs to be…

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Forgiveness Can Be Hard

By Fr. Jeff | 05/01/2020

The Coronavirus shutdown continues. Some states are beginning to lift restrictions. New York State, where I live, continues under shutdown. We are now around the six week mark. Of course, the challenges caused by the pandemic started before we actually…

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New Video – A Tour of the Church

By Fr. Jeff | 04/29/2020

I just finished making a 20 minute video giving a tour of the church. We may know what the names of items in the church are but how often do we think about why we have them in church. Together…

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Silence, How Much and When

By Fr. Jeff | 04/27/2020

In the midst of the Coronavirus you may find yourself alone or in small groups of just your family far more often than normal. Does that necessarily mean we have more “silence”? That depends on what you do with your…

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3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 04/26/2020

3rd Sunday of Easter Year AActs 2:14, 22-33Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 (11a)1 Peter 1:17-21Luke 24:13-35 With the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke boldly to the Israelites.  He spoke of how they saw Jesus’ “mighty deeds, wonders,…

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Perspectives on Prayer

By Fr. Jeff | 04/25/2020

During the Coronavirus shutdown I have been reading books that have been sitting on my shelf for a while. This week I read Rev. Evan Pilkington’s Paths to Personal Prayer (Twenty-Third Publications: Mystic, Connecticut. 1988. The edition I read is…

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The Sign of Peace

By Fr. Jeff | 04/23/2020

As we began to implement precautions against the Coronavirus before the suspension of public Masses, one of the precautions was to cease exchanging the Sign of Peace. It is ingrained in us to shake hands and to say “peace be…

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A Little About This Blog and an Invitation for Feedback

By Fr. Jeff | 04/20/2020

During this time of the Coronavirus I have been posting articles here on the blog every two to three days.  I have very much enjoyed being able to do this.  I started this blog about ten years ago (see “Why…

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2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy) Homily – Year A

By Fr. Jeff | 04/19/2020

2nd Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy SundayActs 2:42-47Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (1)1 Peter 1:3-9John 20:19-31 The disciples are in distress.  A lot has happened in the last few days for them.  They had come to believe that Jesus was…

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Is Society Losing Its Appreciation of Ritual?

By Fr. Jeff | 04/17/2020

In late February through early March, I wrote a series of blog articles on the question, “How do you evangelize a culture that used to be Christian?”. (Here’s a link to the final article in the series that in turn…

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The Liturgical Books for Mass

By Fr. Jeff | 04/16/2020

I just created a new video for my website called “The Liturgical Books for Mass.” It’s about eleven minutes long but it has been a longtime coming. Three years ago I created a seven minute video, “So What’s on the…

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Answering a Comment About Real Presence Through the Internet

By Fr. Jeff | 04/13/2020

I am writing this blog to provide an extended answer to a question asked in a comment under my most recent blog article, “Whom Are You Looking For?” In case you haven’t seen the question, I include it here: My…

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Whom Are You Looking For?

By Fr. Jeff | 04/13/2020

The gospel for tomorrow, Tuesday of Holy Week (April 14, 2020), John 20:11-18, is the passage that follows the gospel we heard on Easter morning (John 20:1-9). On Easter we heard that Mary of Magdala went to Jesus’ tomb “and…

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Easter Vigil Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 04/11/2020

Easter VigilGenesis 1:1-2:2Exodus 14:15-15:1Isaiah 55:1-11Romans 6:3-11Matthew 28:1-10April 11, 2020 Tonight we celebrate our Easter Vigil.  It is the highest liturgy of our liturgical year.  We started our Easter Triduum Thursday evening with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper with the…

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Who is Our Savior?

By Fr. Jeff | 04/10/2020

If you read this the same day I write it, Good Friday, the answer to the question in the title, “Who is Our Savior?” might seem obvious. However, there are people who don’t go for the Christian answer. There are…

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Holy Thursday Homily

By Fr. Jeff | 04/09/2020

Holy ThursdayExodus 12:1-8, 11-14Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-181 Corinthians 11:23-26John 13:1-15April 9, 2020 As we begin our Easter Triduum tonight, I note that the Jewish people just began their Passover last night.  Our first reading tonight is the story of the…

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What Will Your Life be Like After the Coronavirus?

By Fr. Jeff | 04/07/2020

What was your life like before the Coronavirus? Maybe you were very busy at work. Maybe you were very busy with your children’s (or grandchildren’s) activities. Maybe you are retired and you didn’t do much because it always seemed like…

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