Shawn The Baptist - Sunday Scriptures

Aren't we all hungry? We have so many desires to satisfy. A lot of them are good, but we need to keep them in the right balance.

Why so much focus on death during Lent? Sometimes having a "deadline" might just be the life-giving trick that we need.

The following homily was given to students from Bishop Miege High School had just returned from the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.

Generations from now when abortion is relegated to the shameful past, we want to say that we did something. Today's homily has an idea.

How is it that the non-Jewish Magi from far away can show up at ground zero for Jewish Messiah watching and catch everyone off guard?

Reflect on the beauty of family. Learn how you can create a holy family and honor the lessons from Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas knows. Do you?

Sometimes people speak of the Old and New Testaments as if they are different stories. The baby Jesus of Bethlehem is the same I AM of Sinai.

St. Paul is not telling us to be happy in the face of evil, but rather to rejoice. Joy and peace are possible even in the darkest times.

Today's homily helps answer some important questions and alleviate unnecessary fear of confession.

For our Jewish ancestors, the time waiting for the Messiah was focused not on a tree, but on a stump and on a shoot that was to spout from it.

Viva Cristo Rey What does it mean to say that Christ is King? Today's homily discusses how the faithful in Mexico help us to answer this question. During the 1920'2 and 30's a severe persecution of the Church was being carried out by those in power in the Mexican government. It was essentially made illegal to be Catholic and thousands of priests and faithful were rounded up, tortured, and killed....

Four! At Bishop Miege High School where I am the chaplain, the football players have the tradition at the end of the 3rd quarter of raising their hands showing four fingers and going up and down the sideline yelling "Four!" This is to remind everyone of the importance of the 4th quarter about to begin. This is the last quarter. The game will end soon. As we come to the end of our liturgical year,...

The Temple and the Mass Today's 2nd reading continues from the the Letter to the Hebrews. It was written by Christians to a Jewish audience attempting to explain how Jesus is the fulfillment of everything God had promised his chosen people throughout history. One of the most significant aspects of Jewish life at the time of Jesus was the presence of the Temple in Jerusalem. Today's homily looks at...

Something Beautiful for God This is the first in a series of homilies explaining various elements of the Mass and Catholic worship in honor of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II. Today's homily focuses on some aspects of  the role of Sacred Music in the liturgy. It is also an answer to a question that comes up from time to time with regard to the role of the priest celebrant. I ho...

Answer the Call In today's Gospel Jesus calls a young man to follow him. It is the greatest moment in his life, and yet we are told he goes away sad. His riches stand in the way of his answering the call. What stands in the way of us saying yes to God? Whatever it is, sell it, be free, and follow Jesus. God will not be outdone in generosity!

From Worse to Better As you survey the state of marriage in our society today, it would be easy to get discouraged. Yet we see in our gospel today that even at the time of Jesus they struggled with marriage. When Jesus explains what is required of married people, some of the apostles even question if maybe it would be better not to get married at all. Today's homily speaks of some of the tough iss...

You are a prophet! Perhaps you're wondering about just what a prophet is supposed to do. Today's homily can help.

Be Opened In today's gospel, Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man. Maybe we think all of our senses are working just fine, but what about our spiritual senses? What about our ability to recognize someone in need? Today's homily tells the amazing story of what God did with one simple unknown scout who had this awareness. If we're a little closed off to the needs of others, perhaps we need to ask God...

All That Jazz When we're growing up, no kid seems to like rules. I remember a similar experience learning to play the trumpet. My teacher wanted me to learn a bunch of scales. I just wanted to play songs. Our readings today also speak of rules, but especially having them in the right balance. It's good to follow the rules, but we can't become obsessed with the rules. No musician will perform scale...

How Important is the Eucharist We've spent the last several weeks learning about the Eucharist as we read St. John's gospel. However, there comes a time when you have to make a decision to act. It's not enough just to think about the Eucharist or understand it. Ultimately, our lives must answer the key question, "How important is the Eucharist?" Today's homily looks at how three different priests...

Behold the Lamb of God This weekend's homily continues the theme of considering various aspects of the Eucharist as we reflect on St. John's gospel. Today we learn about what is meant by the term "Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." What sacrifice is this referring to? What does it mean that Jesus is the Lamb of God?

Not As It Appears We normally use our senses to understand our world and to identify what things are. However, things aren't always as they appear. In in philosophy, we use two important terms to differentiate between what our senses can tell us about something and what that thing actually is. The properties that are perceptible to our senses we call "accidents." This would include things like col...

Athletes of Christ I always enjoy watching the Olympics. There are so many sports that I would never watch if it weren't for the Olympics. I was watching diving the other day and marveled at all the complicated moves they are able to do. All of the athletes are so inspiring. We marvel at the "finished product" we see on TV, but I especially enjoying hearing the stories of all the hard work it took...

New Life for Your Marriage This week is Natural Family Planning Awareness Week. If you are now asking yourself, "What is Natural Family Planning?" then you see the need for the week. Today's homily considers the joy and sacrifices of married love and the great gift of family. For those unfamiliar with NFP, it will also hopefully be an introduction to something that is not only free and over 99% ef...