From Big Moments to Small Moments

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus comes to the disciples today walking on the water – that’s a Big Moment, a miraculous moment, one that’s hard to miss, and it strengthens their faith.  Elijah is told in our 1st reading that the Lord will be passing by: there is a great wind, a tremendous earthquake, a blazing fire, and yet, Scripture says, God was in none of those seemingly big moments.  Rather, God was in a tiny, whispering voice – a Small Moment, so small it could be easily missed, but just as real as a Big Moment…and I would say even more important!  God’s ordinary language is in Small Moments, countless little whispers to us throughout the day.  He gives us a few privileged Big Moments precisely so that we will continue looking and listening for Him in the hundreds of Small Moments every day.

Priorities

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are two movements in the Christian life – one is a turning away from sin, the other is a stepping towards God.  The readings this weekend are more focused on the latter – stepping towards God.  The individuals in our parables find something of great value to them!  To get it, however, they have to sell everything else.  It’s a question of priorities and re-prioritizing things in their lives.  There are so many good things we can focus on in life, so many good actions and decisions we can pursue…but only one can be our top priority, and only one our second priority, and only one our third.  All of these good things can’t be our top priority, which means that much of the Christian life is deciding which priorities God is calling us to put first, and which ones (however good they may be) the Lord is asking us to put further down the list.  Following God isn’t just doing good things; following God is doing the good things God has planned for us to do!

As a second installment I invited Dan Tracy, a seminarian for our Diocese, to say a few words at the end of Mass.  He spent part of the summer here with us at St. Joseph and St. Ann parishes and will be heading back to seminary in the weeks ahead – he is a good man and will be greatly missed!

The Lost Art of Argument

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

With all of the polarization in the media and the emotionally driven statements part of me wonders what happened to true, honest, good ol’ arguments.  In this sermon, building off of my last sermon on judgment, I explore why I think our country has lost the art of argument (which we used to possess) and what steps we as individuals can take to bring that art back.  It won’t be easy, but bringing God back into the public sphere (which then brings respect for every life back into the public sphere) is part of the answer!

Should We Judge? …YES!

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Life requires decisions, decisions require judgments.  Tt follows, then, that we make judgments all day long.  Every decision we make involves judging and judgment of various factors (even indecision is making the choice not to decide, which is guided by our judgments).  So why does “judging” get such a bad wrap?  Why does God speak so directly against judging others in Scripture?  Can we judge or can’t we?  The answer is, “Yes, we can and should judge”…but there is a distinction to be made between two very different kinds of judgment – one that we must make, and one that we ought never to make.  The problem is, we often jump right from the first into the second!

The Day It Hit Me

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Feasts

Corpus Christi

As a freshman in high school I remember the day it hit me: that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist!  How many times had I heard that in religion class or at Church?  And yet it seemed to always go in one ear and out the other.  But this particular day it finally hit me – what looks like bread and what looks like wine is actually changed entirely into Jesus!  If the Eucharist is a nice symbol of Jesus…so what?  There are lots of nice symbols of Jesus in our world.  But if the Eucharist IS Jesus Christ…then that changes everything!  That was the start of my reconversion to the faith, and that was the start of my call to the priesthood.  So what does it mean for you that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (vs. symbolically present)?  What difference does that make in your life?  For me it’s made all the difference!

The Ascension is Still Happening!

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season, Feasts

Ascension Sunday

This weekend we celebrate Jesus’ Ascension into heaven – that after rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples for a number of days, Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.  The ascension is not just a one-and-done event of history, though: creation is called to follow where its Master has gone before.  The ascension is still happening – heaven is waiting for it to be complete in three distinct ways!  Can you name them?

Priesthood of All the Baptized

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

5th Sunday of Easter

Every Christian, by their baptism, is anointed priest, prophet and king.  Peter challenges us this weekend to that first anointing: “be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.”  There is the ordained priesthood by which priests in the Church offer to God the sacrifice of Christ and offer to God’s people the sacraments, but there is also the priesthood of the baptized by which every Christian, in Jesus, is called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God.  Every day we can offer these spiritual sacrifices, and at Mass we have the opportunity to collect them all from that past week – our thoughts, words, prayers, actions, and intentions…even our anxieties, worries, concerns, hopes, and dreams – and place them on that altar as our sacrifice to God in the power of our baptismal priesthood!  And like He does with the bread and the wine, He can take what we offer to Him and transform those sacrifices into something even greater.

Note: At the beginning of the COVID-19 response when public Masses were cancelled I was recording and posting the homilies of my Deacons on this podcast as well to help everyone stay connected with the weekend homily.  Now that we are live streaming weekend Masses and you can both hear and see our deacons preach right on our website (www.stjoseph-hayward.org), I will no longer be posting the audio of my Deacons’ homilies on this podcast.

Road to Emmaus

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

3rd Sunday of Easter

On the road to Emmaus Jesus walks up alongside two of his disciples, though He’s not recognized for who He is but thought to be a stranger.  This Stranger begins to unpack for them the Scriptures and how they foretell and prefigure the Christ.  The hearts of these two disciples are set on fire as Jesus teaches them, though they don’t fully realize it in the moment.  It’s only at the end of the day, in the breaking of the bread, that they recognize Who was with them, and then Jesus vanishes from their sight.  Take a walk on the road to Emmaus, let Jesus draw close, even if you don’t recognize Him at first, let Him teach you about the Scriptures and Himself, let Him set your heart on fire!

Deacon Brian: Divine Mercy

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Deacon Brian reflects on the immensity of God’s mercy.  He lays out two common traps (both springing from pride) that we as Christians can fall into and which limit our reception of God’s mercy.  Like children at Christmas or Easter who freely and joyfully receive gifts, he encourages us to remember the mercy of God as an undeserved gift, but a gift that God desires to give to us.  Let us open our arms, hearts and minds to accept (with the joy and enthusiasm of a child) the incredible gift of mercy that our Savior desires to share with each of us!

I live streamed Mass on Saturday at 4:00 pm from St. Ann’s in Cable.  Please visit the St. Joseph website www.stjoseph-hayward.org or our Facebook Page St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hayward WI to view live or watch the recording.

I plan to live stream Mass from St. Joseph next Saturday, April 25 at 4:00 pm , and to continue live streaming and recording Masses on the weekend for the duration of COVID-19.  View live or watch the recording through the links above!

Did God Do This?

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

Happy Easter!

During this time of COVID-19 I’ve heard people say both how unfortunate and difficult of a time this is, and how many blessings are hidden within it.  While I agree with both (and I most certainly see God’s hand at work in my life, in our Church, and in our world in the midst of the difficulties) there is an easy mistake to fall into while trying to make sense of it all.  The mistake is to look at the blessings and the good coming out of it and say, “God did this so that…(list your blessing or good thing).”  The problem is that if we say that God did this in order to bring about good things, then we also have to say that it’s His fault that bad things and struggles are happening in so many lives – we inadvertently, but very quickly, turn God into a monster.

The appalling message of Easter, of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is that God can bring good out of ANY situation.  Not that He wants bad things to happen, not that He wanted His son to be rejected, tortured, and murdered, but out of anything – whether good, neutral, bad, or downright horrific – God is able to bring good.  God’s goodness is unstoppable!  Not even death can slow Him down!  Christ is Risen!  Alleluia, alleluia!

I will be Live Streaming Easter Mass this morning at 9:00am, go to the St. Joseph website (www.stjoseph-hayward.org) or our Facebook Page (St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hayward WI) to watch the Live Stream.  The video will then be available as a recording on both platforms afterwards.  May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you all on this Easter Day!