Author: Fr. David Neuschwander

Real Holiness

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Advent

1st Sunday of Advent

As we begin this new Church year we are reminded by Paul “to be blameless in holiness”.  What does holiness really mean?  What does holiness really look like?  Holiness is not something far out there or high up beyond our reach; I would argue that holiness is something close to us…too close…uncomfortably close.  Holiness is doing all of the normal things we do with and for the Lord, living in God’s kingdom and spreading God’s kingdom in and through the daily situations and interactions of our lives.  That’s our mission, that’s real holiness, and that can be attained by anyone — which is why it’s scary: because it means I no longer have an excuse!  

“God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission.” ~ St. John Henry Newman

What Has Jesus Done For You?

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Rules are for children who don’t yet fully understand; as we mature we begin to grasp the deeper reasons behind the rules, along with their nuances and qualifications.  In the Gospel today Jesus heals Bartimaeus the blind man, who then follows Jesus on ‘the way’; Bartimaeus isn’t leaving to follow a set of rules and regulations, He’s leaving to follow a person – Jesus Christ.  An immature understanding of our faith sees Catholicism as a bunch of rules, while an adult understanding acknowledges that all of these rules are for the sake of living out a healthy, strong, mature relationship with a person – Jesus Christ!

Like Bartimaeus, God has done great things for each of us as well!  Can we respond maturely and set out on ‘the way’ with Jesus, next to Bartimaeus, not simply following rules but actually growing in a relationship with a person – Jesus Christ?

An Inheritance

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First, I will share a story with you of an inheritance.  Then, moving to our Gospel, Jesus speaks very forthrightly about a place of unquenchable fire called Gehenna and that sin is what leads us there.  Do we believe Jesus’ words?  Do we believe in hell and that sin leads people to it?  Or have we learned now, having outgrown the narrow mindset of that antiquated time that the Son of God walked this earth, that God loves everyone so much that nobody would ever go to hell?  Have we learned that Jesus was wrong?  And what does that have to do with an inheritance?

Step Up, Share, Repeat

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

24th Sunday In  Ordinary Time

Peter is often the first of the Apostles to step up and, while he is also very quick to fall, in today’s Gospel he confidently proclaims that Jesus is the Christ.  I have been proud in these past months when, after a homily, you have responded by acting and living out the challenges — going out of your comfort zone to come to confession, meet new people at Church, or thank others for coming to Church (especially those that might be near the age of your own kids and grandkids that you wish would come back to Church).  I want that to be a common experience: that you’re regularly talking about and celebrating how you’ve gone out of your comfort zone, stepped up by putting into practice what’s been said here, and what happened when you did!  Then step up again…and repeat!

Look Up then Look Out

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week we celebrated the Feast of St. Monica, patron of praying wives and mothers desiring the conversion of their husbands and children.  The day after we celebrated the Feast of St. Augustine, Patron Saint of our Diocese of Superior…Monica’s once wayward son become an incredibly influential figure in the history of the Church.  So many Catholics these days have kids, grandkids, siblings that we wish would come to Church…but sadly they don’t; and often it seems like they never will.  So what do we do with that?  What do we do with our deep desire to see them encounter God and experience true conversion, along with the heaviness and discouragement of seeing so many of our words and invites fall on deaf ears, closed minds and hard hearts?  Well I have an answer, I have a dream – simple, practical, powerful and real – that would change hearts and lives…and it involves YOU!

Prayerful Generosity

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

Solemnity of the Assumption

In heaven, Scripture says, we shall be like God, for we shall see Him as He is (1 Jn 3:2).  Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary, that she was assumed/taken up soul and body into heaven by a singular grace of God.  Mary, by God’s grace and her free will, radically followed and trusted God – she already looked like God in this life!  Our call as “Christians” is to be “followers of Christ”, “other Christs” – to look like Christ; we start looking more like Christ when we start acting more like Christ!

This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).  The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin – for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes – opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand!  I’m challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits.   I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.  Jesus Christ practiced prayer and generosity to the point of death; let’s act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!

Why Confession?

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We as Catholics have a set of beliefs that stem from a particular, fundamental platform out of which all of our beliefs make sense.  Other Christian denominations and their beliefs stem from a particular, fundamental platform out of which their beliefs make sense.  The problem is, we often use the same words or do the same actions and rituals, but we actually understand them quite differently…which leads to confusion because it looks and sounds like we’re talking about the same things, but we’re actually understanding them quite differently (examples being Communion, confession, and the intercession of the saints just to name a few).

In this homily I lay out the fundamental Catholic platform as well as a best attempt at a fundamental non-Catholic Christian platform (I say “best attempt” because there are so many denominations with various platforms that no one platform unites them all…otherwise it would be one denomination…but I believe the distinctions I make are a fair representative of the whole).  These distinctions help explain a number of differences between Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, with a very important one being a much more complete understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation!  Enjoy!

(If you would like to read the text of Deacon Brian’s excellent and challenging homily from last week, it will be available shortly on this page of our website: https://stjoseph-hayward.org/recent-homilies)

Two by Two

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Part 1: The current practice of the Anointing of the Sick.

Part 2: In today’s Gospel Jesus sends out his Apostles two by two to preach repentance and drive out demons.  He doesn’t send them out alone, not one by one, but two by two…together…because we’re always stronger together, and we’re made to walk this path of faith together with other believers, especially Catholic believers.  Being an individual believer…alone…the demons love that!  They have a heyday with our minds and fill us with every seemingly reasonable excuse to  NOT take that next step in faith that we know God is calling us to.  But together, we as fellow Catholics call out each other’s mediocrity, we encourage each other in the faith, we support someone when they’re falling and we are supported when our faith seems to fail, we rejoice with each other in spiritual growth and victories.  Two by two is always better than one by one!

Christ-Centered Relationships

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parting words of Jesus to his followers before He ascended into heaven (His ‘final words’, if you will) were: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus called all of his followers to go on mission and bring others back to the Father.  Too often, however, we have forgotten that mission, as a Church and as individuals, and we find ourselves simply going through the motions, stuck in a maintenance mode that is not the energetic, grace-filled, difficult yet joyous life that Jesus lived and called His followers to.   We at St. Joseph and St. Ann will be embarking on a journey over the next number of years to reclaim the vibrant life that Jesus calls us to live in our parishes.  Step #1: Christ-Centered Relationships.  The first followers of Jesus lived in close relationship with each other centered on Christ; there was a true community grounded in deep faith and they encouraged and challenged each other onward.  If we want our parishes to have a vibrant life and faith, we need to reclaim first the importance of Christ-Centered relationships!  Because if we can’t confidently talk about and learn about our faith with each other, how on earth are we ever going to share it with someone who doesn’t yet believe?!