It Starts With a Thought

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

2nd Sunday of Lent

Temptations come from 3 main sources: the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Movements of God within us start with a thought, and temptations also start with a thought.  As these various thoughts and reasonings fill our mind, we eventually come to a fork in the road – we have to decide which thoughts to hold onto, and which thoughts to set aside…it’s not as easy as it sounds.  Those thoughts of temptation are so subtle, and so mischievous, they’ll do whatever they can to draw us away from the one thing God is calling us to in that moment.  They’ll even tempt us with good things, actions and thoughts that are noble and virtuous, so long as those actions and thoughts are NOT what God is asking of us in that moment.  God calls us, His children, to an incredible glory, prefigured in Jesus’ transfiguration that we hear of in today’s Gospel.  This week: how will we resist the temptations that come from the world, the flesh and the devil, and resolutely follow the impulses of  God within our hearts?  One path leads to glory, the other to fleeting pleasure followed by lasting emptiness.  Which thoughts will we decide to hold onto this week, and which ones will we decide to throw away?

The Old Adam and The New

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

1st Sunday of Lent

Our readings today present us the with tale of 2 men:  The 1st man – Adam – and the New Adam – Jesus Christ.  Both are tempted by the serpent.  The Old Adam falls and turns away from the Father; the New Adam stands strong in faithfulness to His Father.  This Lent is a journey into the desert with Jesus.  It will be a time of testing and temptation for us just as it was for Him.  In the face of the temptations to come, will we be like the Old Adam, or the New Adam?

The Divine Physician

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God our Father is the Divine Physician, the greatest doctor of both body and spirit in this entire universe.  In Jesus Christ the Divine Surgeon has expertly removed the cancer of our sin, through the Scriptures the Divine Physical Therapist gives us our necessary exercises, and in the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Eucharist the Divine Nutritionist gives us the sustenance necessary to be strengthened for the task.  God’s love and mercy is that He provides all of this to us for free (who by no means deserve it and have no means of paying Him back).  But God’s love and mercy can’t do it for us – we have to work with these gifts to reap the healing benefits that are freely offered.  And in this treatment plan, we all, when we’re totally honest with ourselves, know what our next step is.  This week, let’ start with our own personal next step of that treatment plan.

Purified to Maturity

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Feasts, Ordinary Time

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Our first reading today foretells the coming of the Lord to the Temple, fulfilled in our Gospel when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the Temple, according to Jewish custom, to present him to the Lord.  But this Lord, says our first reading, comes to purify, like a refiner’s insanely hot fire or a fuller’s chemically harsh lye…and in both examples we are the thing that is being purified.  God, like a good parent, wants to raise His children to be strong, mature, able, loving adults.  The process is not magic, nor is it easy, nor can our Parent do it for us – it involves our own growth and maturation through the process of accepting the challenges and purification our Father offers.  This week, instead of running from that purification or making excuses like, “It’s just the way I am,” how will we lean into God’s purification and mature into the adult He knows we can be?

Zebulun & Naphtali

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Ordinary Time

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do you remember as a kid walking around outside in the dark, seeing something move in the shadows and then freezing in horror – you tried hard to focus on it, sometimes you were convinced it was moving, sometimes you were convinced it couldn’t be – your imagination running wild…then other shadows and objects seem to start moving…only to come back the next morning, in the full light of day, to find that it was something as harmless as a pine tree or as simple as a fencepost?

In the darkness many things become confusing and uncertain – we think we see or understand something, we draw conclusions that seem to make sense in the darkness, only to realize in the light of day that the truth is quite different.  In the readings today Jesus fulfills an age-old prophecy from Isaiah and enters the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, historically dark and gloomy (from the perspective of faith in God), in order to bring the light.  As Christians, we are called to follow Christ and bring the light to places of darkness and confusion in our culture.  Those in the darkness become pretty convinced that they are correct in their deductions, but it is our call as Christians to bring the bright the light of day, the truth, to seemingly difficult and controversial contemporary issues.  Christ came to bring the light, and we are Christ-ians – let’s live up to our name at least one more time than usual this week!

Following Stars

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

Epiphany

Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star.  The presence of these three non-Jewish kings shows that God is calling not only the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus.  God’s sign was a star; everyone can see the stars.  So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star?  Was everyone else just too busy?  Were they so caught up in life that they didn’t even notice the sign?  We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don’t notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don’t follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it.  This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?

Subordination & Love

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Feasts

Feast of the Holy Family

Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family – with all the joys and frustrations that go with it.  We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other.  Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, “Children, obey your parents in everything…Wives, be subordinate to your husbands…Husbands, love your wives.”  Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death.  We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!

What Child Is This?

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

Merry Christmas!

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

Raw Prayer

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Uncategorized

3rd Sunday of Advent

This weekend we encounter a powerful New Testament figure, John the Baptist, in a difficult and dark time – literally and figuratively.  John has been imprisoned, he probably knows he is not getting out anytime soon, and he (who proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God and prepared for Jesus’ coming by his preaching and teaching) is now questioning whether or not Jesus is the promised one of God.  We can all take two important lessons away from John’s experience, lessons useful for our everyday life of prayer, but especially in our own times of darkness: 1) John is honest with his doubts 2) John lays his doubts at the feet of Jesus.  When we are raw with our thoughts and emotions, when we lay them at the feet of our Lord without any filter, then we finally give God permission to enter into the most important areas of our life.  Try it (I dare you) and God will bring great things out of it!

High School Discipleship Retreat

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Advent

2nd Sunday of Advent

I had the privilege of spending this weekend with 50 inspiring high-school-aged young men and women from throughout our diocese!  This fulfilled no Confirmation requirements for them, neither were any of them forced to come to this retreat – they generously set aside this time to step away from their busy lives and focus on growing closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, learning, sacraments, and community.  They are making God a priority in their lives, and they inspire me to want to make God more of a priority in mine as well.  Please continue to pray for the incredible youth of our diocese and the good work that God is doing in their lives!