Words of Encouragement
Dear Brothers and Sisters, If we go back to last week’s gospel, you will recall Jesus admonishing his disciples to not fold due to fear or pressure but remain resolute in proclaiming the gospel they...
Dear Brothers and Sisters: We have been focusing on the section of Matthew’s gospel where Jesus put’s forward the mission of the Twelve. He now comes to the portion where he shares some very heavy...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our gospel text today has Jesus traveling throughout the towns and cities healing the sick and casting out demons. The Gospel also tells us about his emotional distress....
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today we celebrate the Churches greatest gift, the Eucharist. Last week we celebrated the feast of who God is in himself, a Trinity of Persons, a knowable mystery. Today...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity – a feast that celebrates the mystery of God in who God is. Our Gospel selection today comes from early in Jesus’ ministry. He has...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Feast of Pentecost to each of you! This weekend I have the great honor to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on several adults from our community. What a joy to be...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, We have been focusing on the gospels of Easter over these last few weeks, but today as we prepare to close the Easter season our first reading takes us back to the...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, At this point in his Farewell Discourse which has been the source of our Gospel texts for the last few weeks, Jesus introduces a new and important element: Love leads to...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Have you ever heard the saying, “Home is where the heart is”? I think of that saying every time I read this scripture. The word Jesus used here for house, (oikia), often...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Good Shepherd Sunday! The image of God as a shepherd has deep roots in the scriptures, particularly in the words of the prophets as found in the Old Testament. Our...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our Gospel this weekend continues the Easter narrative. It is later in the day on Easter Sunday. Jesus has arisen and the word has spread, but for some it has added to...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter and Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday. A few brief words of thanks to all who helped to make our Holy Week and Easter Celebrations so memorable. From the people who...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Alleluia! The Lord has truly been raised! Happy Easter! I was perusing YouTube the other day and I came across an interview with Stephen Colbert, one of my favorite...
Brothers and Sisters, Blessed Holy Week to you all! Matthew tells us that Judas has already made plans to betray Jesus even before the Passover meal. This moment of betrayal stands in complete...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, As we enter into the latter part of our Lenten journey the Church gives us the story of Lazarus to reflect on. If you have noticed the Gospels have been rife with ‘signs’...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last week we focused on the Samaritan woman who encounter’s Jesus at the well and winds up becoming an evangelizer to her own community. Today we focus on the man born...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, For the next three weeks of Lent our Sunday gospels focus on what it means to have faith in Jesus. This week we focus on the Samaritan woman whom Jesus meets at the well....
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last weekend we started our Lenten journey with Jesus being led by the Spirit into the Judean Desert to be tempted by the devil. Today we move ahead in Jesus’ ministry by...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Lent! Yes, ‘Happy’. Here we are at another opportunity to renew ourselves. Any opportunity to be renewed, to become a better version of ourselves’ should be a cause...
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our Gospel today begins a section on Jesus and his relationship to the law. Its clear right from the get go that Jesus sees his blossoming ministry in complete continuity...
Brothers and Sisters, If the beatitudes are Jesus’ teaching of what the demeanor of his disciples should be, then the gospel selection we have today is their call to arms. Following right on the...
