Bishop Bill Wack, CSC podcast

Today's Gospel gives us one of the most well-known of all verses: John 3:16.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...".  To know the Son is to have eternal life.  How do we know him?  By being born again through water and the Holy Spirit.  Lent is a privileged time for us to renew the grace that is given to us in baptism, so that we can stand with our brothers and sisters who will...

"A leper approached Jesus, fell down on his knees, and said, 'Lord, if you will it, you can heal me.'" This man is the model disciple.  Even though we do not have leprosy  (thanks be to God), we are all sinners, and thus are all "unclean".  May we approach the Lord, give him glory, and believe that he has the power to forgive us and to make us clean again.

Today's Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is part of what we call the Epiphany; a manifestation of Our Lord to the whole world.  Jesus Christ, true God from true God, did not need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sin; rather he was baptized in order to give us the Sacrament of Baptism, that we may be united to him.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and he has established the sacraments...

Today's feast of the Holy Family, situated within the season of Christmas, helps us to understand and appreciate the mystery of the Incarnation.  We have much to learn from the Holy Family -- namely: 1) That we, too, should practice our faith daily, for this is pleasing to God; and 2) That our faith compels us to serve, teach, forgive, comfort, and share the love of God with the world.

At Christmas we celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation.  We profess what we can scarcely understand: God became flesh for our sake, so that we could become like God one day.  God's Presence abides with us always, especially in the Holy Eucharist.  At every Mass God is present to us in the Word and in the Eucharist -- not symbolically but really and truly present.  We are called to take that Pres...

"Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother?  7 times?"  Jesus answer's St. Peter's question in such a way as to do at least two things: First, he shows us that God's love and mercy are infinite; there is no limit to the times that God will forgive those who approach Him with sorrow and contrition.  Secondly, Jesus is once again teaching us that we should strive to be like God in this way - to...

"God's ways are not our ways."  To that we say, "Thanks be to God!"  The parable of the landowner and the hired hands may go against our understanding of 'fairness' or 'justice', but it shows God's abundance and His desire for each one of us.  Even though God's ways are not our ways, our ways should be more and more like God's way.

It is clear in all of the Gospels that Jesus intends that his disciples do what he did.  In fact, he summed this up well during the Last Supper, after washing his disciples' feet: "What I have done was give you an example; as I have done, so you must also do."  This entails not only the ministry of service, it includes the passing on of the Truth that has been handed on to us through St. Peter and...

Imagine if God were to give you a blank check.  "As me for anything and I will give it to you."   What would you ask for?  What is your request of God?

Today's Gospel gives us a couple of parables, with the focus on the first, the story of the wheat and the weeds.  Jesus explains what we already knew: God is the sower, the weeds are sown by the devil, and we are all called to be wheat (i.e., to bear good fruit).  Whereas we, like the workers in Jesus' story, want God to come down here and pull up all the weeds, we must recognize that God delays b...

Do we receive love from God because we deserve it or because we do good things? No, it is the other way around: We are compelled to do good things because we are loved by God.  Even though the readings today seem to indicate that  certain things are done in order to experience the love of God, we know that "God so loved the world..." and thus we pray that we may accept that love (and mercy, and fo...

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."  Our Lord came to call us to an intimate relationship with the Father through him and in the Holy Spirit.  He came not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.  We would do well to accept that invitation to come to him again and again.  Then, having learned from him, we can be his presence, his lo...

Today's Gospel gives us the story of "Doubting Thomas".  It's easy for us to identify with Thomas, because I think it's safe to say that we all have questions and even doubts from time to time.  But have we considered what the other disciples were going through (in light of Thomas' doubts)?  Perhaps that could give us an insight into how many of us are feeling during this time of 'social distancin...

The Gospel for today is from John, chapter 11: the raising of Lazarus.  This miracle of Jesus teaches us a great deal about God's power, the compassion of Jesus, and what God wants for each of us (i.e., eternal life).  Personally, I find Jesus' words to the disciples to be very comforting: "This illness is not to end in death."  No matter what we experience here on earth, we MUST remember that 'th...

"Something strange is happening today...".  That line, taken from an ancient homily on Holy Saturday, speaks well to what we are experiencing in out world today.  Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our life has changed for the moment.  On top of everything else, the suspension of Masses with a congregation brings with it a great deal of sadness, anxiety, and even anger.  Through it all, however, God...

The readings on the First Sunday of Lent every year include the temptations of Jesus in the desert by the devil.  This year it is proclaimed after the story of the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden.  We can learn both how NOT to respond to the devil's attacks in the reading from Genesis; as well as how TO respond to temptation and sin by imitating the responses and actions of Jesus.  May we...

God calls us to holiness -- even, perfection.  The Law was given to us through Moses with the invitation: "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy."  This refrain is woven throughout the Book of Leviticus, teaching us that the reason God gives us the Law is so that we may be holy.  Jesus, the perfect Moses, fulfills the Law and points us to something greater:  "Be perfect, as your heavenly Fath...

Epiphany is the manifestation of the Light -- that is, Jesus Christ (Light from Light, True God from True God).  As St. John writes in the Prologue to his Gospel: "The light has come into the world, and the darkness cannot overcome it."

Why was Jesus baptized?  If the Sacrament of Baptism frees us from sin -- original sin and anything after that -- they why did Jesus submit to the "baptism of John"?  Whereas baptism cleanses us and incorporates us into the Body of Christ, Jesus' baptism sanctified the water and and made the font a means of our sanctification.  This is the Father's plan for us, and God is 'well pleased' to give us...

(I got to preside and preach at Mass at my family's church today, since I am visiting them in Indiana this week). The Feast of the Holy Family is well-situated within the Octave of Christmas, since it helps us to grasp a little more the awesome mystery of the Incarnation.  At the same time, this feast reminds us of the dignity of our families and the family of the church and the world.  May our fa...

"...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."  This is the Good News that is ours today on Christmas.  The prophet Isaiah pointed us to this day -- although he could only dream of what that might look like.  Like the shepherds and the first to witness the birth of the Lord, we must go out into the world to proclaim this Good News.  Yes, we do this through our words; we do it more effectively...

(The volume on this recording is a little high.  I think I was just so excited at the nearness of Christmas!) The Advent season comes to a climax as we get ready to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.  It is God's will to be with us -- not just temporarily or symbolically; but eternally and truly.  In light of this, may we have the gift of reverence and awe, with the faith of a child.  God...

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say 'Rejoice'!  The Lord is near."  These words, from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, set the tone for this day.  We are invited to rejoice in hope as we contemplate both the Lord's coming at the end of time, as well as his very presence among us even now.  Even in the midst of sorrow and trials of all kinds, we should rejoice.  The Lord is near.

En esta fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, celebramos el hecho que Dios está con nosotros.  Dios envió a su Hijo Jesucristo a encontrarnos y a salvarnos por su muerte y la resurreccion.  Y ahora, depués de la acensión, está con nosotros todavía, por su santa iglesia.  Cuando María aparacío a San Juan Diego en 1531, ella le dijo que Dios nos ama y Él quiere que todo el mundo lo conozcan.  La Ma...

Today especially we honor Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe.  What does that mean?  The readings for Mass today help us to understand this.  St. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, describes Jesus as the pre-existent One, in whom the fullness dwells.  Thus he is truly Lord of heaven and earth.  In the first reading we hear about King David, who was taken from among his people and made th...