Anchored In The Lord

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,"  

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 alread...

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 i...

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 ma...

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...

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...

Epiphany How do I come to Mass?  

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.

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).   Jesu...

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.

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.   O ur 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...

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, Ch...

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...

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,...

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 com...

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 t...

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.   T his 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 d...

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 your...

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 thank...

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 outsi...

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...

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time I head a lot of complaining and blaming in this day and age.  Jesus had a lot that he could have complained about in his time...a lot...but we don't hear Him complain once in the Gospels about any of the things that we often complain about.  Why?  Because His mission wasn't first and foremost to fix the world.  Rather, Jesus came to save individual people from their si...

Holy Trinity Each time we make the sign of the cross we are proclaiming that our God is a Trinity - God IS a relationship, so united that the Three are actually One, and yet the One remains Three.  And we, caught up in this relationship of God through baptism, are called by Jesus today to, "Go and make disciples." Luckily, it's not as complicated or scary as it might sound - it's all about relatio...

Pentecost The Holy Spirit comes on this Pentecost day to strengthen us in 3 ways: In our relationship with Jesus Christ In defending the faith In spreading the faith Every day this week, pray, "Come, Holy Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit."  When you feel your relationship with the Lord is not what it could be, when the Church is being looked down on, when someone needs to hear the en...

6th Sunday of Easter "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you." "In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us." "As the Father loves me, so I also love you.   Remain in my love."