Bishop Bill Wack, CSC podcast

"Jesus could not perform any mighty deed there; he was amazed at their lack of faith." In this we learn that God needs our faith! God will not force us to do anything - even to receive His grace, forgiveness, love, and gift of eternal life. We have to open ourselves up to God and knock, seek, and ask. Not only does God need our faith to do mighty deeds, God actually listens to our petiti...

Today we celebrate what is commonly known as "Trinity Sunday". It is, in effect, God's feast day. While we have come to know many things about God, thanks to His self-revelation in time, we ought not to get tripped up in trying to define God. Rather, we have come to know God as Love Itself. Love creates, unites, restores, gathers, redeems, etc. We -- God's creation and the Church...

Come, Lord Jesus! This is the cry of all Christians, as we wait in joyful hope for his Second Coming. If we can imagine God responding, we may hear in our hearts, "I am coming. Are you ready?" While we call upon God and ask for certain things like forgiveness, redemption, and peace in our time, we must also do our part in being sorry for our sins and opening ourselves up to the good thin...

Jesus gives us the parable of the foreman who hired workers at different times of the day. Some were hired in the morning, some at noon, and some right before quitting time. Yet they were all paid the same amount. As the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed, "God's ways are not our ways". The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. As God is merciful to us, we should be merciful and l...

The Gospel for today contains a very simple parable by Jesus. A man had two sons, and he asked them to go into the field. One said, "Yes sir", but didn't go. The other said "No", but changed his mind and went. Which did his father's will? The latter. In the same way, God continually offers us the invitation to follow him. No matter what we have done or how many times we...

Many people gathered in a field close to a former mission in Tallahassee to celebrate the close of the diocesan phase of the Cause for Beatification of Servants of God Antonio Inija and Companions, Martyrs of La Florida. In this homily, I give thanks to God for the martyrs and saints who have gone before us, and I speak briefly about the Martyrs of La Florida, as well as the process that has broug...

"Come to the feast!" Today Jesus gives us the parable of the king who throws a banquet for his son. Clearly, it is Jesus' way of teaching us that all of us are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb -- i.e., heaven. All we need to do is accept that invitation (and show that we have done so in the way we live).

*Note: In this homily I was incorrect in speaking about when St. Augustine was ordained a bishop. It was four years after he was ordained a priest.* Today's readings are directed mainly at the religious leaders of the day. The prophet Malachi directs his criticism toward those priests who have forgotten the covenant of the Lord, and Jesus addresses those Pharisees and Scribes who are more inte...

Jesus reveals himself as "The Gate" for the sheep. We think of him as the Shepherd, but in this part of the 10th chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus declares that he is the means of salvation. Elsewhere he teaches that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the gate that protects us, and he is the gate that leads us to forgiveness and everlasting life. Let us go with confidence to...

In the course of the Easter Season, we see what happened in the earliest days of the Church: At first our main focus is on the Resurrection of Christ. As the disciples realized, however, we need to move from awe and wonder to doing what Jesus said to do. He told his followers, "When I go to my Father and your Father, you will do the things that I have done." The Holy Spirit incorporates...

At this Mass (in which we celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for several young people), we witness the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands and the prayer of the bishop. Jesus Christ imparted the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and it is through their successors that we receive the same Holy Spirit today.

The Ascension is not something that we celebrate in isolation. Rather, it is part of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. It is all connected: Jesus' Incarnation, his Passion and death, his Resurrection from the dead, his Ascension in glory, and Pentecost. So today's solemnity gives us an opportunity to reflect on what it is that we believe when we confess that we have been redeemed in Chr...

There is a lot of joy and energy surrounding the Resurrection accounts. In the first few days and weeks of Easter, we hear another story about what happened on that morning or later on in the day when Jesus rose from the dead. Do we have that same joy today? Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! This is the Good News that changes everything. Because of the Resurrection, we have forgiveness for our sins...

Today's Gospel reading concerning "Doubting Thomas" gives us an opportunity to reflect on how we look at something that seems "too good to be true". Yes, we tend to be cynical and pessimistic, especially with all of the problems and difficulties we experience. However, we should not carry those attitudes over to our hope for the future. We should rather set our hearts on th...

In all three of the readings for today's liturgy, we receive a command to do something as a perpetual institution or action. God commands Moses and the Israelites to celebrate the Passover every year in commemoration of the Exodus. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples in the Gospel and tells them to wash each other's feet. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that he is handing on to them what...

Today we gather to celebrate the Eucharist with almost all of the priests of the diocese, along with many deacons, religious, and lay faithful. Within the Mass the priests will renew their priestly promises, and we will bless the holy oils that will be used throughout the liturgical year. All of this should move us to reflect on the overwhelming generosity of God. As God is generous to us, so shou...

With today's liturgy we enter into Holy Week. This blessed week gives us the special opportunity to walk with Jesus the Way of the Cross, and to follow him in prayer through death to the Resurrection. As we do this, however, we ought to remember two things: First, we should not simply treat the events of Christ's Passion, death and Resurrection as "things of the past". In the lit...

With this liturgy we being the season of Lent.  The readings today are a call to action -- not so much to become even busier in our daily lives, rather to do what we need to do in order to focus more and more on God.  Through our acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, may we learn to turn away from sin and turn toward the Lord and his Gospel.

Jesus is tempted by the devil.  The Scripture readings today have much to teach us - specifically, about resisting temptation.  Whereas Eve and Adam gave in to the wiles of the Ancient Foe, Jesus stood up to the devil and said "No."  But he did more than that.  In his responses to the temptations, Jesus said "Yes" more and more emphatically to the Father and to His will.  ...

In the Transfiguration, God reveals the glory of His Son for the disciples and for us all.  Not only does this help us to "see" who Jesus really is, it strengthens us during times of trial and difficulty.  What we see in the glory of Jesus Christ will be ours one day if we follow him.  May the words spoken in the Gospel today be directed to each one of us: "This is my beloved son/da...

In the long Gospel reading from the fourth chapter of John, we hear of the encounter that Jesus has with the (Samaritan) Woman at the Well.  In the course of this amazing conversation, Jesus reveals himself more and more to the woman.  She moves quickly from complete ignorance of Jesus to the point where she goes and says to her neighbors, "Could this be the Messiah?"  This woman is...

(Pardon the introductory words to the congregation present in the church that morning) In giving us the Beatitudes, Jesus is expounding on the Law and bringing it to perfection.  Whereas the Law of Moses (i.e., the Ten Commandments) help us to live at peace with God and one another here on earth, the Beatitudes point us to the Kingdom of Heaven.  We must remember that we were made for co...

Today's first reading and gospel reading refer to "the regions of Naphtali and Zebulon", places where people have "walked in darkness", but will one day see a great light.  We may not know about the significance of these regions (or the tribes for which they are named), but it is important for us to grasp a little history here.  Jesus begins his public ministry in this region.  He i...

Today we celebrate Epiphany - a feast within the Christmas season.  While we traditionally focus on the event of the Visit of the Magi (today's Gospel) on Epiphany, really everything that Jesus did and said was an epiphany, a manifestation of the glory and presence of God.  We ought to strive to be like the Magi who welcomed the Lord with great wonder and joy.  And then, afterwards,...

Bishop Bill's homily from the Memorial Mass for Pope Benedict XVI.   Come to me, all who are weary, says the Lord, and I will give you rest.