This weekend we have a missionary priest visiting who will be giving the homilies, so no homily for me : (
Have a blessed week!
Priesthood of the Baptized
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’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 all on that altar, asking God to transform them just as He does the bread and wine.
Dreamers or Disciples?
4th Sunday of Easter
Dreams are hopeful and safe – they can’t be failed. Goals, on the other hand, are not safe – they can be failed. It’s easy to dream; it’s not easy to make goals and follow through on them. In the Gospel this weekend, Jesus calls himself the good shepherd whose sheep hear his voice and follow him as he leads them to good pastures. Dreamers hear that voice but don’t actually move anywhere. Disciples hear that voice and have the courage to take a step: to set concrete spiritual goals in their daily lives, to fail, to get up again, and to succeed. How are we disciples? How are we dreamers? Where is the Lord calling us to take another step?
First Holy Communion
3rd Sunday of Easter
In the Gospel today, Jesus joins two disciples on the way to Emmaus, but they do not recognize Him until “the breaking of the bread”. In the Eucharist, at every Mass, Jesus not only draws close to walk with us on our journey through life, He also transforms bread and wine into His Body and Blood so that He can be physically united with us. Thanks be to God for this great gift of the Eucharist!
No Homily this weekend
This weekend our Deacon is preaching, so I will not have a homily of my own to record. If you miss my voice enough, go into the archives and listen to one of my previous homilies! Have a Blessed Easter season and you’ll hear from me next week, which is our First Holy Communion weekend.
Rise: Spiritually and Physically
Happy Easter!!!
Paying a Visit
Palm Sunday
We are entering into the holiest week of the year as we join Jesus for his final days of earthly life: partaking with his disciples at the Last Supper, grieving with his followers as he is led to the cross and crucified, waiting in silence as he lies in the grave, and then rejoicing with the whole world as he rises from the dead! I know this is a busy time – lots of preparation for Easter and family and travels…but in the midst of this week, take some time to join the Father in “paying a visit”, if you will, to the grave of Jesus, so that come Easter Sunday you can experience in a new and deeper way the unbelievable power of the resurrection!
No Homily This Weekend
This weekend I will be travelling to Green Bay to receive my 4th Degree Exemplification in the Knights of Columbus. Please say a prayer in thanksgiving for all Knights and the great work that they do on behalf of our God and our Church.
Why Should I Let You Into Heaven?
4th Sunday of Lent
A Catholic university professor once asked a group of his students how they would respond if they were to die that very night, appear before God, and be asked the question, “Why should I let you into heaven?” All the answers had one thing in common: they were all wrong. The answers revolved around the things we do for God. But the Good News of the Gospel is that it’s all about what God has done for us! Jesus Christ came to this earth to carry the weight of our sins, to suffer and die for us, so that we could enjoy eternal life with Him! Any good that we do…it’s because of what God first did for us!
Thirsty for Souls
3rd Sunday of Lent
In the Gospel today, as Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, He proves how God is not slowed down in the slightest by our unworthiness or mistakes or sinfulness: God still thirsts for this woman’s faith and trust. Even though she is in what we’d call today an “irregular marital situation” (married 5 times and currently living with a man who’s not her husband) Jesus still offers to her the Holy Spirit. Jesus thirsts for each and every one of us, too – God thirsts for souls! Will you give Him a drink of yours?