Pilgrim Priest

Ordinary Time, 25th Sunday (B) The Bible and our Catholic faith teach that life begins at conception and that every child is a gift from God. Every one of us is wanted, every one of us is willed, and we each reveal something special about God. " Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me. " Many parents nowadays...

Ordinary Time, 24th Sunday (B) Which world religion is the true religion? You don't have to look at every religion, you just have to answer this question: Is Jesus who he says he is ? Every other founder of a major religion has claimed to have a special insight or revelation from God. Only Jesus claimed to BE GOD. Most people accept that Jesus was at least a good and holy man. But that is the one...

Ordinary Time, 23rd Sunday (B) After an attempt at rolling my kayak, my ears had to be opened in order for me to hear clearly. Just because we can hear doesn't mean that we are really listening. What would happen if God actually spoke to you during your prayer time? Some of us might feel he was interrupting our prayers. When working with foreign priests, I have learned that just because he says, "...

Ordinary Time, 22nd Sunday (B) Is Jesus opposed to rituals and traditions? I see that Jesus has three objections to the behavior of the Scribes and Pharisees. Using external rituals to say, "I'm better than you." We can and should judge right and wrong behavior. But we cannot judge hearts. And we must not use external rituals to compare ourselves to others. The rituals and traditions must not beco...

Ordinary Time, 21st Sunday (B) Why have so many people left the Catholic faith? Some left because they didn't experience the Catholic church to be a loving, healthy family. Others have left because they don't believe that we teach the truth. But the vast majority of people have left for one simple reason: they want to be happy. We all know that I'll be happy if I get my way, getting to have the th...

Ordinary Time, 19th Sunday (B) The Eucharist looks like bread and it tastes like bread but it's really Jesus. Catholics have started to lose a sense of God's presence in the Eucharist. But first we lost a sense of the sacramentality of the whole world. Creation speaks to us about the Creator. Humans reveal who God is, and the nature of God reveals what we were made to be. As we began to uncover th...

Ordinary Time, 18th Sunday (B) The Israelites were well-fed slaves! We modern Americans think we are free because we can have whatever we want. The problem is, the more we want, the less satisfied we feel. I become enslaved by my desires. Only Jesus can satisfy the deep hungers in the human heart. This is why Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist. He invites us to move away from being glutton...

Ordinary Time, 17th Sunday (B) I notice three lessons from the multiplication of the five loaves and the two fish: First, we are hungry. Humans have many deep needs. We need to feel valuable, to know that we are good, to feel that we matter, to be seen and known by others, to live with security and a sense of justice, to have a life of meaning and purpose, to find peace and contentment, and to liv...

Ordinary Time, 16th Sunday (B) Bad leaders confuse and scatter. Good leadership leads to clarity, unity, and peace. The clarity comes from a respect for truth. The unity comes from the love for the sheep. Being led according to truth and love leads to peace. The Apostles are being good shepherds by bringing people to the Good Shepherd. Have you seen the news about the National Eucharistic Congress...

Ordinary Time, 15th Sunday (B) The whole human race has a long love affair with self-reliance. We are convinced that a good, happy, and successful human life will be the fruit of our hard work and intelligence. Repent! When Jesus sends his missionaries out two-by-two, he precisely prevents them from relying on themselves. They can only carry what they need for the day and they have to trust God fo...