Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke (Luke 4:14-21) is a hard text to get your head around from preaching. There is no dramatic story for me to break down, no wise and confusing parable for me to explain, nor is there a dramatic miracle that takes place that I can talk about. This is a simple short story about Christ’s first sermon. Read More
On the Inside; On the Outside
This has been quite the roller coaster of a week for me, with a variety of highs and lows. Unfortunately, the lows seem to keep coming.
With today being the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, I turned to him for some words of peace. No matter where you are in your life, these words should provide some comfort. Read More
I often hear from people that they struggle with praying on a daily basis. Like anything else, you need to make prayer something that you do everyday until it becomes a habit. But the question I always get is, “How do I get started?”
Here are a few examples of how to start your day with prayer. Once you continue to do this, you will find yourself going deeper and doing more spontaneous prayers. I hope these help you grow your prayer life. Read More
Here is a prayer often attributed to Oscar Romero, but actually written by the late Bishop Ken Untener:
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. Read More
The past couple of months have been crazy at our house. We had been preparing to send off our twins to college, so we had a whole bunch of errands and things to do to get them ready. So now, we all three of our sons in college – in three different states, and my wife Stephanie and I find ourselves alone again.
Around the same time, the Beloit College Mindset List came out for the Class of 2016, the same year as our twins entering college. This is a non-scientific report that comes out every year to remind teachers that college freshmen see the world in a much different way than you and I. Here are some of the facts: Read More
Are you tired? Are the worries of life slowing you down? Is there a heavy weight upon your shoulders? Then today’s Gospel reading from Matthew should be of interest to you:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.”
It’s the fifth of July, and it’s going to be another hot summer day. After surviving a scorching July 4th of 102 degrees, it should be interesting how this day will shape up. Temperatures are climbing again, forecasted to be around 103 degrees or so, with high humidity. It is very important to stay hydrated, and to begin the day on the right foot. Read More
This was printed in America Magazine, written by Fr. James Martin, S.J.
Dear God, sometimes I get so frustrated with your church.
I know that I’m not alone. So many people who love your church feel frustrated with the Body of Christ on earth. Priests and deacons, and brothers and sisters, can feel frustrated, too. And I’ll bet that even bishops and popes feel frustrated. We grow worried and concerned and bothered and angry and sometimes scandalized because your divine institution, our home, is filled with human beings who are sinful. Just like me. Read More
With Mother’s Day being this Sunday, I wanted to share this blog post written by Mary Bielski this week. Mary is a Catholic Youth Minister and national speaker. This is a good reminder not only for teens, but for adults as well.
Of the many images in John’s Gospel, probably one of the most descriptive is that of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. For like a shepherd, Jesus is concerned with the welfare and care of his sheep.
Jesus tells us that sheep follow the shepherd because “they recognize his voice.” In other words, sheep become used to a particular shepherd and the sound of his voice, and so come to trust him – and that gives them a sense of security. Read More
