Palm Sunday
This week we are invited to walk with Jesus through the last days of His life on this earth – through his celebration of the Last Supper, his suffering and death, and finally his Resurrection! “Holy” means “different” and “set apart”. How will you make this week “different” and “set apart” from every other week of your life? How will you make this, for you, a truly “Holy” Week?
5th Sunday of Lent
This weekend I helped with a High School Discipleship Retreat – we have some incredible young men and women in northern Wisconsin who love Jesus Christ and want to know our Lord more and more! It’s truly inspiring to be a part of these retreats! Both our first reading and Gospel speak of situations where some people are trapping and others are being trapped: in both readings God sets His people free. God has the power to free us from whatever situations are weighing us down, even if they seem impossible to get out of or be gotten rid of. Our God is a God Who saves and sets free! How has God set you free in life? How does God want to free you more right now?
4th Sunday of Lent
“Pain’s there for a reason. It lets your body know something’s wrong and it needs to be fixed.” These words are true of our body, but they are also true of our emotions, heart, soul, and spirituality. Pain is there for a reason – it lets us know that something is wrong and needs to be fixed – as both of the brothers in our Gospel this weekend experience, and as we have and continue to experience in our own lives. Pain is often coupled with an invitation from God to come home, to come to the fullness and wholeness that our Father wants to give us!
Thank you for your prayers last weekend as I brought not 10 but 11 young men on a college seminary visit to Winona. It was a great opportunity for these young men to see the life of a seminarian and be inspired by how these seminarians are listening for God’s call in very intentional ways. We were able to join in prayer, sports, classes and fun. Our high school men walked away with a deeper desire to follow Jesus Christ in whatever path HE might lead them. Thanks again for your prayers and support, and please continue to pray that all of our youth might hunger to know Jesus Christ more deeply in their lives each day. And my homily for this weekend:
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” Strong words from Jesus in our Gospel today – very strong words. Repentance is turning toward God and admitting our sins…and it’s not easy for us as humans. We’re sinners. That’s not meant to be depressing, but freeing. We are sinners, we’ve messed up, and Jesus came to free us from our sins, to take that weight off of our shoulders so that we can get on living. Jesus tells us today that this path to freedom, however, starts with repentance – turning toward God, admitting our mistakes, and allowing His forgiveness to enter our lives and lift us up.
This weekend I will be taking 10 high school men from our diocese on a seminary visit to Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. Please keep us in your prayers, both for safe travels and that these young men might be open to discovering God’s will for their lives.
Because of this seminary visit, I will not be preaching this weekend. Lucky for you, however, I have a Throwback Homily on our readings this weekend for the 2nd Sunday of Lent!
1st Sunday of Lent
Lent is a great opportunity for us – an excuse to slow down a bit, a time to shake us out of our daily routine (through fasting and no-meat Fridays, with our personal resolutions: giving something up or adding healthy spiritual practices). Lent provides us more chances to LOOK UP to our God and ask for His help in our lives. The Israelites were led by Moses out of Egypt, they were tempted in the desert and failed three times by not turning to God and trying to fix the issue themselves. In our Gospel today, Jesus is led into the desert for forty days and forty nights, tempted by the devil, and Jesus wins three times! How? He LOOKS UP to the Father for help and doesn’t try to do it alone. This Lent you will be led into the desert (some things in your life will be hard and difficult), and you will be tempted (like the Israelites, like Jesus). Will you try to do it alone, or will you LOOK UP?
Ash Wednesday
The day you’re a little more self-conscious (if you went to Church in the morning). The day people look at you funny, wondering why your forehead is dirty but probably not willing to say anything to you about it. The day you find out which of your co-workers are Catholic. The ashes placed on the foreheads of millions of Christians throughout the world this day proclaim three things: we belong to God, we are totally dependent on God, and we have decided today to take concrete steps during these next 40 days to turn back to the Lord!
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In our Gospel today Jesus challenges us, before pointing the finger at someone else, to point it first right into the mirror. “How do I look (spiritually)? How could I look better (spiritually)?” This week, this Lent, take a long, hard look in the mirror…give some serious thought to what you’d like to do to make this your best Lent ever!
Once again I encourage everyone (all listeners, wherever you’re from – if you’re listening consider yourself part of our parish community) to register for FORMED by going to superiorcatholic.formed.org. Should it ask you for an Access Code ours is: 6RC4CN. This week’s homily was 3 minutes short so that you would use those 3 minutes to register for FORMED, login, and see the resources they have to offer! Take advantage of this great opportunity for your own study and spiritual growth, available at your fingertips wherever wi-fi or data is present ; )
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
This weekend Jesus tells us, “Stop judging and you will not be judged.” Seems straightforward…but it also seems to put us as followers of Jesus in a crossfire. On the one hand, God shows us the path to a fulfilled life in this world and the next, asks us to follow it, and invites us to challenge others to do the same. On the other hand, when we challenge others to follow this path, when we stand up and say that certain actions are right and wrong, that certain decisions are good and bad, we’re told, “Stop judging!” So can I judge, or can’t I? (Hint: the answer to that questions is, “Correct!”). Listen to find out why!
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lent is just around the corner (2 1/2 weeks away) and I am excited to announce an incredible opportunity for all of my parishioners, as well as anyone from afar who stays connected with us through my website, podcast or recorded homilies. FORMED is a top-quality online resource that gives you access to all the best Catholic content, all in one place, and it has been provided FREE for our parishes (and listeners) thanks to a generous donation this year! As you look forward to Lent, as you consider the ways you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ this year, I would encourage you to see what FORMED has to offer – for you, for your family, for your friends – and work some of it’s many possibilities into your Lenten resolutions. Register through us online, for free, at superiorcatholic.formed.org