Ordinary Time, 19th Sunday (C) Today we hear a witness from one of our Diocesan seminarians. He helps us see that faith is not a made-up fairy-tale. When we see the world through the eyes of faith, WE SEE IT AS IT REALLY IS. The reason why faith is comforting is ultimately because it's actually true. Jesus is real. We can trust him. Jesus promised he would rise from the dead. And his promises came true. "Walk with me," Jesus said. By faith, Logan walked away from his girlfriend and began attendi...
Aug 11, 2025•19 min•Season 15Ep. 36
Ordinary Time, 18th Sunday (C) What's in God's wallet? Certainly not cash, credit cards, receipts, or insurance cards. The only thing in God's wallet is photos of his kids. Lots and lots of photos, because God has lots and lots of kids. And he knows each one's name and their story. God loves every child like an only child. The Catholic Church believes that every person has a dignity and value that comes from God himself. There are so many temptations not to recognize the dignity and value of eve...
Aug 03, 2025•14 min•Season 15Ep. 35
Ordinary Time, 15th Sunday (C) I was away on a Steubenville youth conference. I had the privilege of listening to Bishop Barron preach on how Jesus is like the Good Samaritan. My favorite part of the homily is that the Catholic Church is kind of like the inn. We are helping those wounded by sin recover from their injuries. (13 July 2025) Going Deeper: Can you find me in the picture? Learn more about the Steubenville Conferences . Photo credit Bishop Robert Barron Facebook post | Over 14 years of...
Jul 13, 2025•10 min•Season 15Ep. 34
Ordinary Time, 14th Sunday (C) The Jews think that Jerusalem is invincible because they are the Chosen People and they have the Temple. But they fail to obey God and He allows Babylon to destroy the city. Many are tempted to adopt the lifestyle and beliefs of the Babylonians. But God calls his people to continue to be faithful to him while living in a foreign land. The Christians of Galatia are living in a pagan world soaked in sex, violence, gluttony, and every kind of material excess. St. Paul...
Jul 06, 2025•17 min•Season 15Ep. 33
June 30, 2025 • Today I celebrate the eighteenth anniversary of my ordination as a Catholic priest. Babies born the year I was ordained a priest are now graduating from high school! I have a few thoughts to share about priesthood. Blessed to be a Blessing Saturday I attended the ordination of Fr. Nico Stellpflug . At the end of the ceremony, he gave his first priestly blessing to the Bishop who ordained him. After Mass, members of the congregation lined up to receive his blessing. A priest is bl...
Jun 30, 2025•15 min•Season 15Ep. 32
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (C) We cannot have deep, meaningful relationships with other people unless we are willing to be vulnerable with them. When we know our own worth, then we will be able to open up and share with others even if they don't always receive us well. The Eucharist shows that God is willing to be vulnerable with us. Satan knows that God hurts when we are hurting ourselves and hurting others. God became vulnerable when he became human, and his vulner...
Jun 22, 2025•12 min•Season 15Ep. 31
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (C) The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. There are not three gods, but one God. We call this mystery, "The Holy Trinity". Human beings are body, mind, and spirit. When our spirit is led by the Holy Spirit, it can lead the body and mind into a harmony, a communion, a human trinity. The family is husband, wife, and children. When the husband listens to God and to his family, he can lead the family into unity. A healthy family balances th...
Jun 15, 2025•15 min•Season 15Ep. 30
Pentecost Sunday (C) We are made for communion. We are called to communion. But you can't force anyone into communion. God respects our free will so much that if we say "No" to him, he won't override us. This is why we don't pray for the souls in hell; it's too late for them to change their minds. I firmly believe two contradictory things: 1) You need to be perfect, free of all sin and sinful habits, in order to enter heaven. 2) Jesus died for every person and God offers salvation to every perso...
Jun 08, 2025•15 min•Season 15Ep. 29
Ascension of the Lord • We know that the earth is a giant sphere suspended in outer space. The ancient people thought of the world like a snow globe. Jesus is ascending to the highest point of the universe. From there he can see everything and lead his people to victory. The cloud of God's glory leads the Israelites out of Egypt, meets Moses on the top of Mt. Sinai, and takes up residence in the newly-consecrated Temple of Solomon. The cloud appears at the Transfiguration. So when Jesus is hidde...
Jun 02, 2025•11 min•Season 15Ep. 28
Easter, 6th Sunday (C) The First Reading is from the Sixth Sunday and the Second Reading and the Gospel are taken from the Seventh Sunday . God's deepest desire is to be in communion with us. We can find happiness in many places. But we can only find fulfillment in communion. Our communion with God started with our Baptism when we were dunked into the very life of God. It deepened when we received our first Holy Communion. God is in us and we are in God. The consumer mentality makes me a black h...
May 26, 2025•17 min•Season 15Ep. 27
Easter, 5th Sunday (C) Our parish exists for one reason: Communion . Through Baptism we are "dipped" into God's love for us. When we receive Holy Communion, God enters us. So we are in God and God is in us. That's the very definition of communion ! Today Jesus tells us, "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." I think many of us nod and smile at these words without realizing what they mean. We think Jesus is telling us to be nice, to tolerate others, to be accepting and inclus...
May 19, 2025•11 min•Season 15Ep. 26
Easter, 4th Sunday (C) Even from the very beginning, children need a felt sense of safety and security in order to thrive. Physically speaking, we live in a very secure country. And yet, we seem to be suffering from an epidemic of anxiety. Jesus offers a sense of safety and security that no one can take from us. Look how Paul and Barnabas feel safe even amidst persecution and riots. The Good Shepherd will lead them safely to eternal life. I want to take a little time to do an imaginative exercis...
May 12, 2025•15 min•Season 15Ep. 25
Easter, 3rd Sunday (C) This Gospel is one of my personal favorites. It was given to me on a Teens Encounter Christ retreat in 2004. John chapter 20 ends with these words: Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,...
May 04, 2025•13 min•Season 15Ep. 24
Easter, 2nd Sunday (Divine Mercy) Happy Doubting Thomas Sunday! The early church fathers saw Sunday as the first day of the New Creation. Christians rest on Sunday as a preparation for the eternal Sunday, the great Easter that is heaven. Jesus appears on Sunday and offers his Apostles peace. He breathes into them the Spirit of life, a new divine life. He is, "the first and the last, the one who lives." Once he was dead, but now he is alive forever and ever. He I holds the keys to death and the n...
Apr 29, 2025•17 min•Season 15Ep. 23
Easter Sunday • We have three reasons to be happy for Easter. The first reason is what we move from fasting to feasting. Happy "feaster" everybody! The second reason is that we can dress up nicely and have a good day with family and friends and our church family. And the third reason to be happy is that Jesus has risen from the dead. The Resurrection means that we can find hope even in our most hopeless places. It is hard for us to appreciate how truly hopeless Good Friday looked to Jesus' first...
Apr 20, 2025•24 min•Season 15Ep. 22
Good Friday • Our own Good Friday experiences can cause us to doubt that God is a good father. The Passion reading is full of people acting out of self-protection and self-reliance. Jesus, on the other hand, continues to trust in his Father's Presence, Providence, and Protection. Do you live like Jesus, trusting in your Good Father, or do you live like those who killed him? (18 Apr 2025) Going Deeper: How would your life, and your death, look different if you lived the way Jesus does? Image Sour...
Apr 18, 2025•6 min•Season 15Ep. 21
Holy Thursday • God is with us! He is with us in the happy Christmas times, the intimate Holy Thursday moments, and our tragic Good Fridays. No matter how much we run from him, abandon him, or choose everything else besides him, God is still with us! And he chooses us. Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, but he still washed his feet and did everything he could to show love. If only Judas had been able to receive God's love. If only Judas had chosen Jesus. The Christian life is not about tryi...
Apr 18, 2025•16 min•Season 15Ep. 20
Palm Sunday (C) Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, also known as "Passion Sunday." First we read Luke's account of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then we read this same Gospel's account of the death of Jesus. God the Father calls Jesus to total self-giving love. We were made by love and for love. We only find fulfillment in self-giving love. So why can't we love like Jesus? Fear and selfishness become obstacles to truly loving. As we read the Passion reading, we notice how many of the c...
Apr 13, 2025•8 min•Season 15Ep. 19
Lent, 5th Sunday (C) The Pharisees have set a trap for Jesus. They can accuse him either of breaking Roman law or of breaking Mosaic law. Jesus cleverly escapes their trap by stating, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” But first, he starts writing in the dust with his finger. What was he writing? Scholars have been fascinated by this question. I have heard three different theories of what Jesus is writing. The first is that he was writing the sins co...
Apr 07, 2025•15 min•Season 15Ep. 18
Lent, 4th Sunday (C) We are not expecting the father to welcome his prodigal son home again. We can all be like the prodigal son sometimes. We waste the father's gifts on ourselves and our pleasures, only to find ourselves empty and unhappy. In our desperation we turn back to our Father and he loves us and welcomes us home. We often turn around and start wasting God's gifts all over again. Other times we are like the older brother. We do all the right things, but we do so out of duty or obligati...
Mar 31, 2025•13 min•Season 15Ep. 17
Lent, 3rd Sunday (C) Moses is rescued from death by a mini-ark and is adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. When he witnesses injustice, he first tries to dominate and control, then he runs and hides. God meets him in the desert in the burning bush. He is terrified by the power of the Egyptian government, but he lets God lead him. His impossible mission is wildly successful. We feel inadequate because we are inadequate. The world is too big for us and God asks us to do impossible things. We tend to res...
Mar 24, 2025•16 min•Season 15Ep. 16
Lent, 2nd Sunday (C) You shouldn't start a journey if you don't know what the destination is. Lent is a journey and today we are shown the destination. Where are we going? First, we are headed to Easter! We fast now because we plan to feast later. It's a little easier to be disciplined about our sacrifices if we remember that Easter is not so far away. Easter is a celebration of new life. As the world comes to springtime, we also want to experience new life spiritually. Moses teaches us that new...
Mar 17, 2025•17 min•Season 15Ep. 15
Lent, 1st Sunday (C) On May 10, 1940, the Nazi German Army invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. By May 21, German forces had trapped the British, Belgian, and French field armies along the northern coast of France. The British withdrew to Dunkirk, the closest good port, in a desperate attempt to evacuate the army across the English Channel. German tanks and dive bombers were closing in. Winston Churchill had just taken office. He was not known to be religious, but at the request of King...
Mar 08, 2025•9 min•Season 15Ep. 14
Ordinary Time, 8th Sunday (C) Imagine looking back on your Lent from the perspective of Easter. Is it easier to give up candy now if you remember that Easter candy is coming? In a similar way, how will your life look different from the perspective of eternity? The trials of this life expose what is in our heart. They also give us opportunities to trust God and to love and give and sacrifice. Without God, I am nothing but a small pile of dust. "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm,...
Mar 02, 2025•13 min•Season 15Ep. 13
Ordinary Time, 6th Sunday (C) Today we hear an excerpt from the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49). Jesus admonishes us to "love your enemies" and "do good to those who hate you." At first glance, these words look like admonishments that any teacher or guru might give to his disciples. He wants us to be kind to others, right? Look again... these words seem like a terrible idea. Why would I turn my other cheek and give expecting nothing back? Why is Jesus expecting us to respond to evil in a way ...
Feb 24, 2025•20 min•Season 15Ep. 12
Ordinary Time, 5th Sunday (C) Peter looks good on the surface; he has a good life and a successful career and he's not interested in what Jesus is offering. But underneath, Peter is not so good. He feels like he is failing at fishing and failing at life. Even deeper down, though, Peter is Very Good. He is loved by God and he hasn't ruined God's plans for his life. Jesus invites Peter to "put out into the deep." He is not only calling him to go fishing, but also inviting Peter to move below the s...
Feb 09, 2025•9 min•Season 15Ep. 11
Candlemas (Feast of the Presentation of the Lord) • Today we celebrate Candlemas, the final feast day of the Christmas season. Mary received God's gift, helped to grow this gift, and now gives him back to God. This is what parents do when they have a child Baptized. They give their child back to God. The parents are given a lit candle and told: "Receive the light of Christ. Parents and godparents, this light has been entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly, so that you child, enlightened by...
Feb 03, 2025•10 min•Season 15Ep. 10
Ordinary Time, 3rd Sunday (C) In addition to a sabbath day, Jewish law also prescribed a Sabbatical Year . Every seventh year, the land was to be left fallow and debts would be forgiven. After seven such sabbatical years, or 50 years, the Bible calls for a Jubilee. This was like a super sabbatical year. Slaves were freed and land that had been sold returned to its hereditary owners. The land is a gift from God and all human ownership is temporary. We all owe debts to God, and we are destined for...
Jan 26, 2025•12 min•Season 15Ep. 9
Ordinary Time, 2nd Sunday (C) The Holy Spirit gives us many gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, varieties of tongues, interpretation of tongues. The Spirit gave Donal Walsh a deep sense of faith. His life was a gift, but he realized it was a gift that was meant to be given away. He died of cancer at the age of 16, but he used his short and difficult life to bless others. At the wedding feast at Cana, the bride and groom find that the...
Jan 19, 2025•14 min•Season 15Ep. 8
Feast of Epiphany • The Feast of Epiphany is older than Christmas. Early Christians celebrated January 6th as three feasts in one: the visit of the magi, the Baptism of the Lord, and the miracle of water into wine at Cana. In the East, the Baptism of the Lord emerged as the most important of the three feasts. In the West, the Baptism migrated to next Sunday and Epiphany became "Three Kings Day." What can we learn from this feast? Sometimes we need to seek Jesus. It could be a long journey. We wi...
Jan 06, 2025•14 min•Season 15Ep. 7
