20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It’s proven that certain practices make for a happier and healthier person – prayer and generosity being two of those practices.  Why is that?  God made us to live in relationship with Him, Jesus lived a life of intense moments of prayer and generosity, and the more we live that prayer and generosity the more we become like Jesus Christ and enter into the only relationship that can truly make us happier and healthier in all senses of those words!

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.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend I joined almost 60 high schoolers from around our diocese for the winter High School Discipleship Weekend.  These are young men and women serious about living out their Catholic faith: they want to continue growing in a deep and genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, they are learning to be active leaders in the faith, they are growing in intentional service to God and others, and they freely chose to give up their entire weekend in order to make these things a priority in their busy lives.  Although I had basically lost my voice by Sunday morning, here is my homily from this amazing weekend!

Themes: trust in God, giving what little we have, God compares us to our former selves (not to other people), knowing when spiritual growth really begins to happen (which is opposite of what we usually think) – all of which, by the way, lead to a freedom in life, a freedom of heart, a deeper peace that we all want but that can only be given by God!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus Christ is present, 100% Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist – that’s amazing!  And in adoration we get to spend time with this Jesus, one on one; we get to see this Jesus!  We all want God’s presence and God’s peace in the midst of our busy lives.  Adoration is that opportunity to give ourselves a break, to experience the peace and rest that only God can bring.  You’ve worked hard – experience peace for a moment, come to adoration.

My Homily from this weekend.