Anchored In The Lord

3rd Sunday of Easter On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks up alongside two of his disciples, though He's not recognized for who He is but thought to be a stranger.  This Stranger begins to unpack for them the Scriptures and how they foretell and prefigure the Christ.  The hearts of these two disciples are set on fire as Jesus teaches them, though they don't fully realize it in the moment.  It's only...

2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Deacon Brian reflects on the immensity of God's mercy.  He lays out two common traps (both springing from pride) that we as Christians can fall into and which limit our reception of God's mercy.  Like children at Christmas or Easter who freely and joyfully receive gifts, he encourages us to remember the mercy of God as an undese...

Happy Easter! During this time of COVID-19 I've heard people say both how unfortunate and difficult of a time this is, and how many blessings are hidden in this time.  While I agree with both (and I most certainly see God's hand at work in my life, in our Church, and in our world in the midst of the difficulties) there is an easy mistake to fall into while trying to make sense of it all.  The mist...

Palm Sunday "Holy" literally means "different."   As we enter into this year's Holy Week we are certainly experiencing a very "different" time in our country and world.   I would propose, however, that this time of COVID-19 can actually assist us in entering more deeply into this Holy Week, more deeply into the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, than we ever have before! Note...

5th Sunday of Lent This weekend one of my deacons, Deacon Brian McCaffrey, preaches the homily.  During this unique time of COVID-19, I have decided to record and upload my deacons' homilies onto my website and podcast as well.  While nobody is able to see us preach in person, I pray that being able to at least hear the homily will help us feel connected in these very unique times of "Safer at Hom...

4th Sunday of Lent We are certainly in a unique and unprecedented time in our country (and world) with this response to COVID-19.  In the Gospel today Jesus opens the eyes of a man born blind.  He smears a muddy mixture of saliva and dirt on the man's eyes - not a clean or comfortable experience - then asks the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.  The man does...and is healed!  This time of COVI...

2nd Sunday of Lent Temptations come from 3 main sources: the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Movements of God within us start with a thought, and temptations also start with a thought.  As these various thoughts and reasonings fill our mind, we eventually come to a fork in the road - we have to decide which thoughts to hold onto, and which thoughts to set aside...it's not as easy as it sounds. ...

1st Sunday of Lent Our readings today present us the with tale of 2 men:  The 1st man - Adam - and the New Adam - Jesus Christ.  Both are tempted by the serpent.  The Old Adam falls and turns away from the Father; the New Adam stands strong in faithfulness to His Father.  This Lent is a journey into the desert with Jesus.  It will be a time of testing and temptation for us just as it was for Him....

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time God our Father is the Divine Physician, the greatest doctor of both body and spirit in this entire universe.  In Jesus Christ the Divine Surgeon has expertly removed the cancer of our sin, through the Scriptures the Divine Physical Therapist gives us our necessary exercises, and in the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Eucharist the Divine Nutritionist gives us the sustenance...

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Our first reading today foretells the coming of the Lord to the Temple, fulfilled in our Gospel when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the Temple, according to Jewish custom, to present him to the Lord.  But this Lord, says our first reading, comes to purify, like a refiner's insanely hot fire or a fuller's chemically harsh lye...and in both examples...

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Do you remember as a kid walking around outside in the dark, seeing something move in the shadows and then freezing in horror - you tried hard to focus on it, sometimes you were convinced it was moving, sometimes you were convinced it couldn't be - your imagination running wild...then other shadows and objects seem to start moving...only to come back the next morning, i...

Epiphany Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star.  The presence of these three non-Jewish kings shows that God is calling not only the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus.  God's sign was a star; everyone can see the stars.  So why is it only these three wise men who followe...

Feast of the Holy Family Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it.  We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other.  Our readings today all challenge us t...

Merry Christmas! What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping?

3rd Sunday of Advent This weekend we encounter a powerful New Testament figure, John the Baptist, in a difficult and dark time - literally and figuratively.  John has been imprisoned, he probably knows he is not getting out anytime soon, and he (who proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God and prepared for Jesus' coming by his preaching and teaching) is now questioning whether or not Jesus is the promi...

2nd Sunday of Advent I had the privilege of spending this weekend with 50 inspiring high-school-aged young men and women from throughout our diocese!  This fulfilled no Confirmation requirements for them, neither were any of them forced to come to this retreat - they generously set aside this time to step away from their busy lives and focus on growing closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, learni...

1st Sunday of Advent We invest in the things that are important to us - we invest time, energy, emotions, intellect, mental space, money, resources.  The more we invest in something, the more important it is to us, and the more returns it will yield; the less we invest in something, the less important it is to us and the less returns it will yield.  As we begin this Advent season, we are preparing...

Solemnity of Christ the King As Americans we are naturally weary of anything having to do with a "king", we also don't like the word "authority" all that much - it was the abuse of power by some oppressive authority, even some kings, that brought many of our ancestors to America in the first place.  Scripture, however, has no problem with the idea of a king or authority; in fact, Scripture makes i...

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Hellfire, brimstone, damnation - words we don't hear very often anymore, but words that our first reading calls to mind (and themes that arise out of our Scriptures).  And lest we think that Jesus ushered in an age full of only mercy, pardon and mushy-gushy "love", Jesus Himself, multiple times in the Gospels, speaks strongly about judgment, hellfire, the separation of...

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Why is it that we as Catholics are the only Christians that pray for our beloved dead?  Why is it that we are the only Christians who believe in Purgatory?  In this homily I will explore how other Christians believe Jesus saves us versus how we as Catholics believe Jesus saves us, and what that difference means in praying for the dead, purgatory, and how we live our li...

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sometimes God works incredible miracles that are visually and experientially miraculous.   In our first reading and Gospel today we have 11 lepers who are all miraculously cured by God...but they're healed in very non-incredible ways: taking a bath and out for a walk.  More often than not, God's ways are subtle, quiet and seemingly indirect. God's hand is moving and bl...

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Today Jesus tells us one of His most confusing parables: "Look at this shady, crooked, underhanded businessman... You should learn a lesson from him!"  Many people are clever in the ways of this world - they are smart and resourceful in using the people and situations around them to further their own gain (even if it is selfish and underhanded, as the steward/manager/b...

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time The most encouraging, effective and result producing words kids can hear from their parents are: "I love you; I'm proud of you."  In our Gospel today Jesus shares three parables, all portraying the illogical, unreasonable, over-the-top love that the Father has for each one of us.  No matter what we've done, no matter how far we've wandered away, the Father never stops...

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time It's proven that generosity makes for a happier person; generosity springs from gratitude - to the degree that we're thankful for the gifts we've been given in life, we have a desire to share these gifts with others.  Thankfulness and generosity, though, are two virtues that you will not be challenged to grow in by popular culture, but they are two virtues at the heart...

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time In order to live in this world, we have to trust all kinds of things we see, hear and experience.  On a daily basis we extend trust thousands of times - to people, situations, information...everything.  A generic definition of "faith" is: "confidence or trust in a person, thing or concept."  By this definition, every single person lives their lives by faith each and ev...