Christmas
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
4th Sunday of Advent
In our 3rd and final installment of this homily series “Invested” (I know it was supposed to be 4, but I wasn’t able to preach last weekend – I apologize), I encourage you to consider this question: do you come to Mass as a spectator or as a player? The Second Vatican Council encourages us to “full, conscious and active participation” in the Mass. The interaction in Mass that we have as Catholics is a great gift meant to keep us fully engaged as we worship God together. So what do you consider your role to be in Mass – spectator or player?
I am sorry to say that uncontrollable nosebleeds yesterday put me on house arrest (by doctor’s orders) before I could celebrate Mass, and house arrest continues until Monday when I can talk to my regular ENT. As a result, I do not have a homily to publish for this weekend. The theme of Advent is “waiting”, so it looks like we’re all waiting together ; )
2nd Sunday of Advent
Investing means we’re putting something down in hopes that the return will be worth the investment. So what’s the return of investing your time, attention and energy in Mass? That God wants to speak a word to you that will empower you to engage all of next week with strength, confidence and faith (instead of being tired out and worn down come Tuesday evening). The Mass is heaven come down to earth and God has something special to say just to you. The more you invest, the louder His voice will sound.
1st Week of Advent
This is the first of a 4-part Advent homily series on the Mass. The title of this series is “Invested”. Nothing in our lives can grow unless we are invested in it. Investing in what is important to us takes many different forms: time, energy, effort, attention, money, care, thoughtfulness (to name a few). The more we invest, the more we see results. Our participation in and experience of the Mass is no different: the more we invest, the more we see results. As we begin this Advent journey, I invite you to take an honest look at how invested you are in the Mass on a typical weekend. Mark it down as a starting point, so that come Christmas you will be able to look back and count some ways you’ve grown in your investment in the Mass.
I will be gone the next 2 weekends recovering from an upcoming surgery on my nose: septoplasty. The doctor said I must have gotten a pretty hard knock sometime in my life to cause a deviated septum. I said I couldn’t remember anything in particular, but asked if I could just blame it on my older brother…he said that would be fine. Doctor’s orders – it’s all Patrick’s fault! If you miss me too much, I uploaded an hour long talk last week; just play that on repeat until I’m back in good health. I will be praying for you all during my recovery, please keep me in your prayers.
32nd Sunday in ordinary time
The martyrs in our first reading were living for the life to come. And in our Gospel Jesus gives us a glimpse into this life: a life of such deep and fulfilling relationship with God that earthly marriages are only a shadow of what’s coming. This week we are challenged: Are you intentionally living for the life to come? Are you intentionally encouraging others to live for the life to come? Priesthood and celibacy only make sense if we’re looking toward the next life. If young men are going to become priests, it’s our job to inspire them by living our lives for the life to come.
What does the Church believe about life beyond death? How might that existence interact with life before death? Join me for this 1 hour presentation on death, judgment, heaven, hell, saints, souls, purgatory, ghosts, angels and demons. We have an amazingly beautiful and powerful faith that answers questions both in this life and beyond.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus invites Himself into the home of a sinner – Zacchaeus the tax collector…and THEN Zacchaeus has a change of heart. Change doesn’t come first; first comes God, then comes change. Jesus invites Himself into our “house” at every Mass each time we come forward for Communion. Jesus wants to be received into your heart and into your house in a new and deeper way than ever before. Don’t say, “But I’m not ready! I still need to change!” We make it a lot easier on ourselves if we just let Him in – then God will do the hard work for us. First comes God, then comes change.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Like last weekend, this weekend’s readings center on prayer. They show us that God loves real, honest, raw prayer! God wants you to tell Him what’s going on inside of you, even if you don’t think it’s “holy” or “godly” or whatever – God wants your prayer to be REAL. Like the tax collector in the Temple, we go home justified (and fulfilled…and fed…and blessed) when we are utterly honest with the Lord. So try it this week: 10 minutes of prayer each morning, walk through your day with Him before it happens, asking Him for strength, and then tell God what’s really on your mind, what’s really preoccupying you these days. God loves that kind of prayer!