Baptized: Children of the Father

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Feasts

Baptism of the Lord

When we are baptized in the waters, we are adopted into God’s family and actually become, in Jesus, children of the Father.  Baptism happens once and is the doorway to the other sacraments.  Receiving the Eucharist (which we do again and again and again) is becoming who we are: the Body of Christ.  So ask yourselves a few questions: “How do I come to Mass?  What do I see as my role at Mass?  How am I engaged at Mass?”

“Priest of God,
Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass,
Your last Mass and your only Mass.”

“People of God,
Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass,
Your last Mass and your only Mass.”

Part 3/4: Rescued with Joy

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Advent

3rd Sunday of Advent

We were created by God for the kingdom of eternal life with him; by our own free choices to turn away from God and ‘go at it on our own’ we’ve been captured by the kingdom of sin, death, darkness and Satan.  Jesus becoming a baby at Christmas is the invasion of one kingdom (the kingdom of darkness, hell, death, sin and Satan) by a stronger kingdom (the kingdom of God).

Jesus came as a warrior, a predator.  He became one of us, waited 33 years, lived and taught the kingdom of God by example, both showing us the way and luring in his quarry — Satan, the devil — and then finally on the cross Satan fell prey to the trap set for him in a manger decades earlier!

Jesus on the cross is not poor or helpless. He’s not the hunted. Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter.  And so when death unknowingly took in its jaws, chewed up and swallowed the Author of Life, something extraordinary happened: death itself was slain from within!  That’s the good news that we have to share, that’s why we can be full of joy this Advent — Christ has conquered, and we can now live in His kingdom, if we so choose.

Part 1/4: Created in Hope

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Advent

1st Sunday of Advent

During this Advent season we will be doing a 4-part homily series as we Journey to the Manger together to welcome the Christ-child at Christmas.  Our story starts with God’s incredible creation – of the universe, and of each of us – and the hope that it promises.

As Fr. Riccardo says: “God created and runs this immense universe, and nothing is more important to him than you and me…He thinks you’re worth the trouble.”  That’s what it means to be created!

So on this Journey, when you are feeling “drowsy” from “the anxieties of daily life”, I encourage you to take a moment and look at the world with fresh eyes.  Allow God to reinvigorate you with hope.  Pause and be filled with wonder each day.

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, 
Consider all, the worlds thy hands have made.”

Advent: Journey to the Manger

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

Solemnity of Christ the King

Together, during this Advent season, all 5 of our parishes (along with Christians throughout the world) prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes in new and deeper ways, and as we are practicing hospitality in opening our hearts and homes to God, let us also practice hospitality by inviting others in our lives to join us.

On this Feast of Christ the King, Christ is a King Who doesn’t force His way into hearts, He doesn’t strong-arm His way into our lives, Christ is a King who came first as a baby, silently, quietly, yet in the full power of God to destroy the darkness of sin and to bring the joy and peace that only God can. The Journey to the Manger is both the triumph of Christ the King and the Triumph of Christ the Babe, Who wants a warm place of welcome in the manger of your heart, and who wants us to invite others to join us as we Journey to the Manger, so that He can have a warm welcome in their hearts as well!

Hudson: Post-Election

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

I want to talk about 2 things today:

  1. How do we as Catholics respond to an election?
  2. What will actually change our country for the better?

This weekend I preached in my hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin, at the parish of St. Patrick where I grew up.  It was a blessing to be home!  (One disclaimer is that the answer to the homiletic answer to first question above I begged, borrowed, and stole from an excellent homily of my own Deacon Dave DiSera of Hayward which he gave the weekend before the election. I thought that his words were so pertinent they bore repeating. So thank you, Deacon Dave!)

“God, what do You want me to do for You?”

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus asks Bartimaeus today, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bartimaeus’s request is granted, he receives his sight, and he follows Jesus on the way.  Being a disciple of Jesus is being in a relationship with Jesus, and a relationship is a two-way street.  When Jesus asks us that question, we are called to respond from the depths of our heart with what we really, really want Jesus to do for us.  But as now-country artist Jelly Roll sings: do we only talk to God when we need a favor?  Are we sometimes one sided or overly self-focused in our interactions with God?  As disciples of Jesus, in a relationship with Him that is a two-way street, do we also ask the question often and frequently, “God, what do You want me to do for You?”

The Typewriter

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Life in a fallen world brings us all plenty of suffering, and our readings today take up that theme of suffering.  Our sufferings – wether mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or some combination thereof – have varying levels, but the key to all of it is that I have a choice in the midst of my suffering, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: one way is the common response to suffering, the other way was modeled by Jesus in His suffering. Which one will we choose to confront our sufferings today?