New Year, New Beginning Week 1: Family "Anguish and burden come with family - nuclear families, extended family and parish family. I know some of you feel tempted to pull away. I can only say this..." (December 27, 2015 - Holy Family Sunday, Year C)
New Beginning "I'd like to address a question to Star Wars fans: If Obi-Wan Kenobi can become a Catholic, what about you?..." (December 25, 2015 - Christmas Homily)
Are You Missing Out? Week 4: Mary "A guy came to me all upset because of something President Obama said. I told him..." (December 20, 2015 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C)
Are You Missing Out? Week 3: Joy "My example was humorous. Other injustices are no laughing matter. They can break your heart and even break your spirit - for example..." (December 13, 2015 - Third Sunday of Advent, Year C)
From Alaska to Patagonia "Then he saw something even more amazing - an image of a lady clothed with sun with moon at her feet...As Pope Francis says, today we commemorate Our Lady of Guadalupe from Alaska to Patagonia...." (December 12, 2015 - Our Lady of Guadalupe bilingual homily)
Are You Missing Out? Week 2: Mercy with Justice " Will God simply sweep those abuses under the carpet? Will bullies have the last laugh?..." (December 6, 2015 - Second Sunday of Advent, Year C)
Are You Missing Out? Week 1: Jesus' Warning "Sometimes I wish we were like the Evangelicals - everyone at church with Bible in hand. I would tell you to open to Luke, chapter 21..." (November 29, 2015 - First Sunday of Advent, Year C)
Something for You Week 5: Power "Jesus' power comes through weakness. I would like to illustrate this in two ways: one is literary and the other historical..." (November 22, 2015 - Christ the King Sunday, Year B)
Something for You Week 4: Confidence "To speak personally: My body abides in confidence, not because I exercise and eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables..." (November 15, 2015 - Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Something for You Week 3: Abundance "A few weeks ago someone gave a "Dennis the Menace" cartoon. It shows Dennis in church between his mom and dad. The collection basket is in front of Dennis..." (November 8, 2015 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Something for You Week 2: Communion "There's a second reason not to worry. In heaven we will have nothing to hide. When Peter introduces himself, he will not say, "I was the first pope." No, he will say..." (November 1, 2015 - All Saints Day)
Something for You Week 1: Faith "Today's Gospel indicates how much God wants something for us. It begins with a man living in Jericho. In the Bible Jericho represents the world without God..." (October 25, 2015 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment in Action Week 3: Meaning of Suffering "St. Padre Pio has a helpful image. He invites us to imagine a small boy looking up at his mother doing embroidery. Seeing only knots and tangled threads, he asks his mother..." (October 18, 2015 - Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment in Action Week 2: How Much Do I Need? "Last year a young woman who had a $600,000 a year job handed to her, asked herself if 'on some fundamental level' she could care about money. She concluded, 'I couldn't...'" (October 11, 2015 - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment in Action Week 1: Masculinity & Femininity "A couple months ago, when I signed up for gmail, I got these options: male, female, other! It reminded me of the old Phyllis Diller joke...'" (October 4, 2015 - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment of Spirits Week 5: Keeping Focus "He told a friend about his fear. Listening sympathetically, his friend said, "gee, don't sweat the small stuff." That advice infuriated him. ...'" (September 27, 2015 - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment of Spirits Week 4: Overcoming Desolation "God has given you exactly what you need. That includes our disappointments and suffering. The late-night comedian, Stephen Colbert, made a remarkable statement about the anguish he experienced in his childhood...'" (September 20, 2015 - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment of Spirits Week 3: Most Important Rule "Make your spiritual decision during consolation, when you feel the closeness of God - and hold on during desolation. It will pass. I only know two circumstances where desolation may last a long time...'" (September 13, 2015 - Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment of Spirits Week 2: The First Step "'Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.' If you and I do not pray, we literally don't have a prayer against Satan....'" (September 6, 2015 - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Discernment of Spirits Week 1: What is it? "Usually we can sense how evil spirits attack and mislead us. But sometimes it gets murky. Jesus mentions 'human traditions' - things that people do without really knowing why...'" (August 30, 2015 - Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Dimensions of the Eucharist Week 5: Freedom "Freedom is a springboard from which to dive into the infinite sea of divine goodness, but it can also become a tilted plane on which to slide towards the abyss of sin and evil....'" (August 23, 2015 - Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Dimensions of the Eucharist Week 4: Fission "Pope Benedict used the word 'fission' when explaining the Eucharist to young people at World Youth Day...'" (August 16, 2015 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Dimensions of the Eucharist Week 3: Forgiveness "Seventy-three years ago (August 9, 1942) she and her sister gave their lives at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Our World Youth Day group will visit that site where they joined their lives and deaths to the one sacrificial offering...'" (August 9, 2015 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Dimensions of the Eucharist Week 2: Faith "A man imbued with Jesus was J.R.R. Tolkien. He wrote, "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work..." When Frodo and Samwise struggle across that harsh landscape, what sustains them?...'" (August 2, 2015 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Dimensions of the Eucharist Week 1: Food "Food has three purposes. First, to repair the body. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said...'" (July 26, 2015 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Building on Strength Week 3: Sacrament of Reconciliation "Confession does reveal human misery and darkness. But that's not the whole story. Confession also reveals human greatness...'" (July 19, 2015 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Building on Strength Week 2: Teaching Authority of Church "It took the Church quite a while to have a complete Bible and to decide which books belong. The Bible came from the Church - that's the first way the Bible is related to her teaching authority...'" (July 12, 2015 - Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Building on Strength Week 1: Scripture as Word of God "Now, you might be thinking I am doing some bragging. I have completed six years as your pastor and look forward to six more. It may sound like I am taking credit for our areas of strength...'" (July 5, 2015 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Through Him Week 4: Do Not Be Afraid, Have Faith "To lead into the homily I begin with a humorous observation by Venerable Bishop Sheen. He explains the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic...'" (June 28, 2015 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Through Him Week 3: Love of Christ Impels Us "'Meg,' Thomas writes, 'Nothing can come but what God allows. And I am sure that whatever it may be, however bad it might seem, it shall indeed be for the best...'" (June 21, 2015 - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Through Him Week 2: How it is with the Kingdom "Even if a guy never sees any of the plays, Shakespeare has affected the way he thinks, speaks and relates to others. We could say something similar about Jesus, with this difference..." (June 14, 2015 - Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Through Him Week 1: A Dynamic Presence "You and I are on the same page. The Disciple Makers Index survey showed that 82% of you 'strongly agree' that the 'Eucharist really is the body and blood of Jesus...'" (June 7, 2015 - Corpus Christi - Body & Blood of Jesus)
Disciple Makers Week 9: The Final Goal "The Trinity is also the goal. If you and I can grasp that, it will help us enormously. Let me illustrate..." (May 31, 2015 - Trinity Sunday)
Disciple Makers Week 8: Holy Spirit Makes It Possible "When Hitler began his attacks against European Jews, Pope Pius XI declared that we Christians are "spiritual Semites." The Nazis were anti-Semites. You and I are Semites..." (May 24, 2015 - Pentecost Sunday)
Disciple Makers Week 7: Be Part of the Story "She hardly has the stunning beauty of Arwen or courage of Eowyn. But for me the Lord of the Ring would not be the same without Rosie Cotten..." (May 17, 2015 - Ascension of the Lord)
Disciple Makers Week 6: Assurance & Requirement "It is difficult to talk about commandments. But there's one commandment that young people recognize. This is going to surprise some parents..." (May 10, 2015 - Sixth Sunday of Easter)
Disciple Makers Week 3: Try Prayer "Prayer is the essential step to becoming a disciple. If you've never done it, why don't you try today?..." (April 19, 2015 - Third Sunday of Easter)
Disciple Makers Week 2: Receiving Mercy "St. Faustina received Divine Mercy revelations at Lagiewniki - about an hour distant from Auschwitz: arguably the most merciless place in human history..." (April 12, 2015 - Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday)
Disciple Makers Week 1: Totally Fixable "A journalist tracked down survivors of suicide attempts on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He asked them what was going in their minds during the 4 seconds of that fall..." (April 5, 2015 - Easter Sunday)
New Mind and Heart Week 6 "If you are like me, you hate waste. I take home food from funeral buffets. I pick up pennies..." (March 29, 2015 - Palm Sunday)
New Mind and Heart Week 5 "It's not easy to die. C.S. Lewis tells about a young man who falls into hell because of his attachment to a lizard that perches on his shoulder. The lizard whispers in the boy's ear and gives him pleasure..." (March 22, 2015 - Fifth Sunday of Lent)
New Mind and Heart Week 4 "The devil has bitten all of us. Wounds of envy, anger, lust and spiritual boredom - those wounds fester and can lead to death. We have only one remedy - the cross..." (March 15, 2015 - Fourth Sunday of Lent)
New Mind and Heart Week 3 "I have a lot of sympathy with an honest atheist - with someone who rejects God not because he wants to do his own thing, but because he feels God-forsaken. I ask him..." (March 8, 2015 - Third Sunday of Lent)
New Mind and Heart Week 2 "Unless you are a dermatologist, when you look at a face, you want more than what science can provide..." (March 1, 2015 - Second Sunday of Lent)
New Mind and Heart Week 1 "Wild beasts represent not only the dangers that surround us, but also dangers within. We humans do sometimes act like animals..." (February 22, 2015 - First Sunday of Lent)
New Mind and Heart "As a symbol of repentance, you will receive a cross of ashes on your forehead. And what is repentance? In his book, A Lenten Journey, Archbishop Sartain defines repentance..." (February 18, 2015 - Ash Wednesday)
Jesus' Authority Week 3 "A guy can consider himself compassionate and generous, but the people he lives with tell a different story. Like the first stages of leprosy, it's difficult to see personal faults..." (February 15, 2015 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Jesus' Authority Week 2 "Even during Mass I was thinking about how I was going to respond to him. A fever gripped me, but hardly the kind described in a popular song!..." (February 8, 2015 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Jesus' Authority Week 1 "Acknowledging one's sin and accepting Jesus' mercy are huge. In some ways they seem like everything. Still there is more..." (February 1, 2015 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
A Scientist Who Renewed His Baptism "Steno - a man who investigated the mysteries of the created world - shows the fruitfulness of an adult renewal of baptism..." (January 11, 2015 - Baptism of the Lord)
Two Uses of Science "In the attitudes of Herod and the Magi we can see that science is neither good nor bad in itself. It all depends on how a person uses it. Science has given us Zyklon B, napalm and the atom bomb. It has also given us kidney transplant surgery, MRI's and pasteurized milk..." (January 4, 2015 - Epiphany of the Lord)
The Battle for Our Young People's Hearts " We are in a battle, but we fight not by attacking today's Epicureans. No, it is a spiritual battle. We fight as Mary did by contemplation, especially before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. And we fight as Aaron did - by blessing others..." (January 1, 2015 - New Year's Day - Mary Mother of God)
