First, Last, Only Communion

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

4th Sunday of Easter

Congratulations to all of our students who received their First Holy Communion this weekend!  There is an exhortation for priests that says, “O Priest of Jesus Christ, celebrate this Holy Mass as if it were your First Mass, your Last Mass, your Only Mass.”  Whether you’ve been receiving the Eucharist for 1 year or 100 years, whether you’re young or old, I challenge you at every Mass you attend to make that exhortation your own: attend that Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass; and receive Communion as if it were your first Communion, your last Communion, your only Communion.

Peter, the Pope and Unity

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

3rd Sunday of Easter

We are blessed to have an amazing Pope right now – Pope Francis!  And in our Gospel we hear one of the great Biblical texts supporting the papacy: Jesus singles out Peter to fee his lambs and tend his sheep.  In this we see Jesus’ commissioning of Peter as the first shepherd of His Church, the first Pope.  Passed down through the centuries, this office of head shepherd has kept the Catholic Church united as one, even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable struggles and difficulties. Thanks be to God for giving us the gift of the papacy, that we may all stand together to praise and worship our God with one voice throughout the world!

Faith Seeking Understanding

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

2nd Sunday of Easter

To ask God questions, to seek to understand the “Why?” behind our beliefs or events in our life, is not a lack of faith. Rather, it’s an indication of faith. We are a people of faith seeking understanding – it’s precisely our faith that drives us to want to understand where and how God fits into these events and beliefs. In the resurrection story from our Gospel today, I think Thomas generally gets a bad rap. Jesus doesn’t punish him for questioning, wondering, doubting – Jesus answers him! So we shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions, to be discerning, to be skeptical; if we do these things honestly and sincerely, the Lord will answer and our faith will be deepened.

I Will Raise You Up

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Easter Season

Happy Easter!

What the Father did in raising Jesus from the dead, He also wants to do in us: God wants to raise us up – literally, at the end of life, but also right now, figuratively, in our present life.  God wants to raise us up to a rich life filled with purpose, meaning, deep happiness and joy!  Jesus came that we might have Life (with a capital “L”).  What’s weighing you down?  What’s holding you back?  What things keep you from rising?  Jesus rose today so that He could walk with you, carry your load, and give you Life!  Invite Him now to be a part of your life again; give Him permission to enter; ask Him again to raise you up – that’s all He wants!

Palm Sunday

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

We enter now into the holiest week of the year as we walk with Jesus through His final days, culminating with His death and resurrection.  We heard today the reading of the passion narrative and we are invited to personally enter into this Holy Week so that we might die with Jesus and rise with Him on Easter.  For us, this week will be as holy as we make it – so let’s make it a good one!

Lectio Divina

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

5th Sunday of Lent

What if you were alive when Jesus was preaching and teaching?  What if you were a part of the stories in Scripture?  What if you heard Jesus speak to you?  God’s Word is living and active, and the same God who was at work then is still at work now.  Lectio Divina (‘Divine Reading’) is a way of reading the Scriptures by inserting yourself into the story – the sights, the smells, the sounds, the feelings – you read through a passage slowly, place yourself in the story and experience what God has to say to you through His living Word.  Try it!  It’ll change your life.

Pain, Invitation and Mercy

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

4th Sunday of Lent

Pain in our body warns us that something is wrong – physically.  Pain in our interior life warns us that something is wrong – spiritually.  Both the younger son and the older son in today’s Gospel experience pain.  It’s pain that leads the younger son home.  It’s pain that keeps the older son from going back inside his home.  Pain, as a warning, is also an invitation: an invitation from our merciful Father to come home, to come back inside, so that we can experience the feast that God is preparing for us!

Repentance and Mercy

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

3rd Sunday of Lent

Jesus is serious in today’s Gospel: “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”  When we sin, we choose ‘Not-God’, and we get exactly what we want – ‘Not-God’ – that’s the definition of hell.  Jesus came to save us from this choice, so He calls us to repentance – to take full responsibility for our mistakes and to beg for God’s forgiveness, to turn away from sin and turn toward God.  Then Jesus can finally do what He’s been waiting to do – He can take away our sins and fill us with His life!  Then we know, by experience, the mercy of the Father.

Click here for my homily from this weekend.

Mountaintop Moments

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

2nd Sunday of Lent

In the midst of our Lenten journey, we catch a glimpse today of Jesus transfigured in glory atop a mountain.  This Jesus who was seen by Peter, James and John is the same Jesus who has appeared to us, who has tangibly broken into our life at moments, who has woken us up, if only for an instant, to the reality of His presence in and around us.  What are some of your mountaintop moments?  These experiences are meant to strengthen us for the journey.  When the road seems too long, remember the view from mountaintop, and keep your eyes open…who knows when you’ll suddenly find yourself on top of another mountain?

Click here for my homily from this weekend.

Looking Up

On By Fr. David NeuschwanderIn Lent

1st Sunday of Lent

Lent is a great opportunity for us – an excuse to slow down a little bit, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, and spend some extra time with our Lord.  Our Lenten practices shake us out of our daily routine and provide us an opportunity to look up to our Father.  Jesus in the desert wins against the temptations of the devil by looking up to His Father for strength.  In the midst of your Lenten practices, do you do them by your own will power?  Or do you let these practices turn your heart and mind to the Father in true and honest prayer?   Then even the simplest actions will give your faith a supernatural strength!

Click here for my homily from this weekend.