God Takes Nothing Away, and Gives Us Everything
Priests are supposed to live a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience. For a diocesan priest…
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3 Ways to Increase Faith When Overwhelmed
Merry Christmas, everyone, and a special Merry Christmas to our guests! I told you three…
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When Frustrated, Remember the Big Picture
Merry Christmas, everyone! A special welcome to all of our guests; it’s great that you’re…
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Willing the Good of the Other at Christmas
Let’s start with a short history lesson of the Church in North America. The Church was,…
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The Confidence to Invite
How many of us feel confident about saying “Merry Christmas” to people at work, in the stores,…
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Praying that Loved Ones Come to Jesus
When we announced God’s vision for our parish on July 15, 2018, one of the…
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Coming to God Through Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
When was the last time we cried because of something positive? Here are three examples of being…
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The Most Powerful Prayer in the World
Have we ever made excuses for missing Sunday Mass? Here are two of the worst excuses…
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What a Priest Does All Day
Every now and again, someone asks, “What does a priest do all day?” assuming basically…
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Solicitude for the Needy
Have I ever ignored any of you? I would never have done it on purpose, but…
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Two Reasons Why God Allows Us to Suffer
There’s a famous story about Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. When he was 13, he…
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Why I Gave Up My Lightsaber
Have we ever met someone who lived a different kind of life, who showed us…
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Welcoming the Sinner
Here is perhaps a hard question for some of us: If our parish is focused…
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Hospitality is Everyone’s Responsibility
Pray, pay and obey—do we know to what that refers? Pray, pay, and obey. Many people, especially…
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The Way of Becoming a Disciple
Some theologians have identified five stages of conversion through which all people go in order…
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Welcoming Strangers as Friends
I’ll never forget a story about a Dominican priest who went to Calcutta to give…
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Sex Abuse Scandal and Cover-Up
The topic today is the sexual abuse scandal and its cover-up, but the focus is on Jesus. Jesus says,…
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Commitment to the Eucharist Gives Stability
Please don’t get too shocked when I tell you the following incident. One Sunday morning,…
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Benefits of the Eucharist
It’s a funny situation: Some people think they know what I want to hear when…
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The Mass Satisfies Our Spiritual Needs
How many times a year do Catholics have to come to Mass? 54 times: Every Sunday plus…
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Interruptions Can Be Blessings
Jesus today wants to give us a spiritual skill to deal with one of…
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A Bold Vision for Our Parish
A few years ago, there was a marriage preparation course called God’s Plan for a Joy-filled…
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Can You Handle the (Prophet’s) Truth?
I have a friend who can’t stand this one priest. Whenever this priest comes up…
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Faith Overcomes Obstacles
The opening question is: What’s one thing in our life we should be doing but…
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Living Out Our R.I.M.
I once read about a kind of depression called “Sunday neurosis.” It’s when we’re completely busy…
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Christ’s Church is Catholic
We’re going to start with a difficult but real subject, one that some people might…
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Eucharist as a Covenant
Have we ever had to tell someone that they shouldn’t receive Holy Communion at Mass? …
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Jealousy Blocks Our Mission
Our opening idea is insecurity and how it makes us jealous. I remember, for example,…
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Maturing in Knowledge of God
Fr. James Mallon once described an image I’ve never forgotten: Imagine we go home and find…
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Jesus Wants Our Joy to Be Complete
Let’s slow down for a moment, get reflective, and ask ourselves, “How joyful are we today?” On…
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