18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08/03/25 Retirement: For Me or For God? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who stored up riches for himself, only to be called a fool by God—not for working hard, but for forgetting eternity. He lived as though his future belonged to him, not to God. This challenges us in a culture that views retirement as finally doing what we want. The Christian question is different: Is retirement about me, or is it about God and others? Ecclesiastes reminds us that...
Aug 08, 2025•7 min•Season 2025Ep. 30
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (07/13/25) Wanting to Want “All” In this episode, we reflect on Jesus’ call to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind—a total, undivided love. We ask the honest question: Do I really love God with all , or just a lot, a majority, or maybe only some? This homily challenges us to move from partial devotion to wholehearted surrender, inviting us to desire a deeper, fuller love for God that shapes every part of our lives.
Jul 18, 2025•10 min•Season 2025Ep. 29
This week, we reflect on the meaning of freedom—not just as Americans celebrating Independence Day, but as Christians sent into the world. True freedom isn’t about doing whatever we want; it’s the gift of choosing love, sacrifice, and God’s will. In the Gospel, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples two by two—not alone, but united in mission and reliant on God’s grace. Their joy comes not from their own accomplishments but from seeing what God did through them. As we cherish our country’s libert...
Jul 12, 2025•6 min
Solemnity of Saints Peters and Paul We are not on this journey of faith alone. We turn to each other so naturally when we need help, especially to our friends and family. The saints are our friends in heaven, our family in heaven; they are alive in Christ! So ask for their help, their prayers, their support as fellow members of the Body of Christ. St. Peter...pray for us. St. Paul...pray for us. All you holy men and women...pray for us.
Jul 03, 2025•5 min
Pentecost Sunday God is doing great things here in our family of parishes! More people are coming to Church; more young couples are attending Mass; more kids are being baptized; more families are joining the Church; more people are becoming Catholic — great things are happening here because of you and your witness! God's Spirit is being poured out in other places as well. God is doing great things in vocations in our diocese. God is doing great things at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwauke...
Jun 12, 2025•7 min
Ascension Sunday We are called to follow where Christ our Savior went first. We, like Jesus, are called to be light enough to ascend to the Father: some things weigh us down, and some things raise us up. Do you ever feel heavy? Do you ever feel weighed down? Jesus wants to lighten your load. Ask Jesus for the grace today, ask the Holy Spirit for the power today: “Lord, give me the grace and the power to let go of one more thing I’m holding onto that’s weighing me down. And Lord, help me with you...
Jun 02, 2025•5 min
6th Sunday of Easter On this Memorial Day Weekend, we give thanks to God for the lives we are able to live in our country as we remember those who have died while serving in our Armed Forces, protecting us and upholding the rights and liberties which we enjoy here and now; we remember them and we pray for eternal rest and peace for their souls. If I'm being totally honest, though, in my day-to-day life, I usually take these freedoms for granted. I also take many of the blessings of life for gran...
May 29, 2025•5 min
4th Sunday of Easter Just a few days ago, on Thursday, May 8th, something happened that I never thought I would see in my lifetime: Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! …And he’s American! Robert Francis Prevost is a native of Chicago; an Augustinian priest (a religious order priest) who spent much of his priestly life as a missionary in South America, and eventually serving as a Bishop in Peru. More recently, he was called to Rome, where he worked in the Dicastery for Bishops. On this Good Shepherd S...
May 12, 2025•6 min
Easter Sunday "Roll away the stone. See the glory of God. Roll away the stone." What stones are still blocking the tomb of your heart? This Easter, God wants to roll those stones away. Christ doesn’t roll it away to shame us—He rolls it away so that He can enter in . Just as He stepped out of the tomb into the garden of new life, bringing into our world something entirely new — so Jesus wants to step into the tombs we’ve been trapped in and say, “Peace be with you, ” bringing His light and His h...
Apr 22, 2025•8 min
5th Sunday of Lent “Then Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.'” “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” “forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead,”
Apr 10, 2025•8 min
2nd Sunday of Lent In our Gospel today, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain, and He is transfigured before them, they get a glimpse of the dazzling bright white glory of Jesus’ divinity, a foretaste of heaven and of who we are called to be! But our Gospel today says, “Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory!” Jesus was already in conversation with Moses and Elijah and showing forth his tremendous glory…before Peter, James and ...
Mar 16, 2025•8 min
1st Sunday of Lent On this Safe Haven Sunday, we are asked to to, first and foremost, make the home a safe haven for our kids by taking practical steps to help our kids engage technology in holy and virtuous ways and, inasmuch as possible, protect them from exposure to explicit content. This is also an opportunity for individuals of all ages, young and old, to not only ask whether our media use is healthy in regards to explicit content, but also in regards to where it encourages our focus, energ...
Mar 11, 2025•10 min
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus calls us to be transformed, to be renewed in mind and action, to look and act differently than others normally do: this theme runs through all of our readings. Yes, we are called to be disciples of Jesus, but our mission is more than just following Jesus as a disciple. Jesus’ last words on this earth before He ascended into heaven give us our mission: “Go and make disciples”. So we are called to not only be disciples, but missionary disciples, reaching out genui...
Feb 24, 2025•7 min
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time What does our world need? Whom does God seek? Not the "perfect" or the "sinless", but the willing. No matter how unworthy we are, He calls us, and when we willingly say "yes," He cleanses us, and He strengthens us to go on whatever mission He has planned for us. This week, let's be the ones whom God seeks and whom our world needs: the willing ones. "Here I am, Lord. Send me."
Feb 15, 2025•9 min
Baptism of the Lord When we are baptized in the waters, we are adopted into God's family and actually become, in Jesus, children of the Father. Baptism happens once and is the doorway to the other sacraments. Receiving the Eucharist (which we do again and again and again) is becoming who we are: the Body of Christ. So ask yourselves a few questions: "How do I come to Mass? What do I see as my role at Mass? How am I engaged at Mass?" “Priest of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass...
Jan 12, 2025•8 min
Epiphany How do I come to Mass?
Jan 06, 2025•5 min
Merry Christmas! Come, they told me — pa rum pum pum pum A newborn King to see — pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring — pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the King — pa rum pum pum pum Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum. So to honor Him — pa rum pum pum pum When we come.
Dec 25, 2024•9 min
3rd Sunday of Advent We were created by God for the kingdom of eternal life with him; by our own free choices to turn away from God and ‘go at it on our own’ we’ve been captured by the kingdom of sin, death, darkness and Satan. Jesus becoming a baby at Christmas is the invasion of one kingdom (the kingdom of darkness, hell, death, sin and Satan) by a stronger kingdom (the kingdom of God). Jesus came as a warrior, a predator. He became one of us, waited 33 years, lived and taught the kingdom of G...
Dec 16, 2024•13 min
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 3 Levels of the Heart God wants to give us peace at the deepest level, a peace which endures all things.
Dec 11, 2024•11 min
1st Sunday of Advent During this Advent season we will be doing a 4-part homily series as we Journey to the Manger together to welcome the Christ-child at Christmas. Our story starts with God’s incredible creation - of the universe, and of each of us - and the hope that it promises. As Fr. Riccardo says: “God created and runs this immense universe, and nothing is more important to him than you and me…He thinks you’re worth the trouble.” That’s what it means to be created! So on this Journey, whe...
Dec 02, 2024•7 min
Solemnity of Christ the King Together, during this Advent season, all 5 of our parishes (along with Christians throughout the world) prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes in new and deeper ways, and as we are practicing hospitality in opening our hearts and homes to God, let us also practice hospitality by inviting others in our lives to join us. On this Feast of Christ the King, Christ is a King Who doesn’t force His way into hearts, He doesn’t strong-arm His way into our lives, Ch...
Nov 25, 2024•8 min
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I want to talk about 2 things today: How do we as Catholics respond to an election? What will actually change our country for the better? This weekend I preached in my hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin, at the parish of St. Patrick where I grew up. It was a blessing to be home! (One disclaimer is that the answer to the homiletic answer to first question above I begged, borrowed, and stole from an excellent homily of my own Deacon Dave DiSera of Hayward which he gave the ...
Nov 11, 2024•13 min
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus asks Bartimaeus today, "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimaeus's request is granted, he receives his sight, and he follows Jesus on the way. Being a disciple of Jesus is being in a relationship with Jesus, and a relationship is a two-way street. When Jesus asks us that question, we are called to respond from the depths of our heart with what we really, really want Jesus to do for us. But as now-country artist Jelly Roll sings: do we only talk to God whe...
Oct 28, 2024•5 min
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Life in a fallen world brings us all plenty of suffering, and our readings today take up that theme of suffering. Our sufferings - wether mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or some combination thereof - have varying levels, but the key to all of it is that I have a choice in the midst of my suffering, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: one way is the common response to suffering, the other way was modeled by Jesus in His suffering. Which one will we cho...
Oct 23, 2024•9 min
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time The famous architect Antoni Gaudi designed the incredible basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, which has been under construction for 128 years. A genius of architecture, he built a model of the church with strings...UPSIDE DOWN...to find and test balance and proportion, because each change in balance would immediately change all of the arches and balance throughout the entire upside down structure. He turned it UPSIDE DOWN to learn how to do it in the bes...
Sep 23, 2024•12 min
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time The people in our first reading today, the Israelites, are at a decision point — they need to decide whom they will follow. This ancient Biblical situation is wildly applicable for us today. November 5th is the upcoming presidential election. Everyone is getting so worked up over politics, and we are all guilty of becoming more and more demonizing to anybody who disagrees with what we think. I'd invite you to ask yourself: “Whose side am I on? Whom do I support?” I t...
Aug 24, 2024•12 min
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA). The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand! I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits. I challenge you pa...
Aug 19, 2024•9 min
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time God works so powerfully in and around us at different times in our lives...but like the Israelites in our first reading, it's so easy to forget the good things God has done in our lives. When we remember what God has done for us and consciously give Him thanks for those blessings, we begin to enter more fully into the celebration of the Eucharist, where we "give thanks" to God for what He has done for us, especially in giving us the greatest gift of all: the gift of ...
Aug 09, 2024•7 min
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time We mistakenly think that comfort will lead to happiness…but the human experience proves that those who do NOT regularly push themselves outside their comfort zones experience a slow but sure atrophy of their spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational health, and thus a slow but sure atrophy of happiness and fulfillment. Those who consistently push themselves outside their comfort zones are healthier, happier, more fulfilled people: spiritually, emotionally, physi...
Jul 15, 2024•11 min
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time A question to ask ourselves today: "Am I living for myself, or am I living for God?" And the answer for most of us is probably, "A little bit of both...depending on when you catch me during the day." In our Bishop's Pastoral Letter on Evangelization he gives the image of three circles of what our life can look like and explains them: first, second or third circle. I want third circle Catholicism, and I hope you do, too! (Listen to find out what that means!)...
Jun 26, 2024•7 min
