Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, Jesus gave a challenging homily in his hometown Synagogue, and the people nearly threw Him off a cliff. So you can understand my hesitancy to challenge people on sensitive or awkward topics, yet sometimes I do need to call these things to our attention. Please do not throw me off a cliff. 😊 We believe that Jesus is really, truly, substantially present in the Eucharist. Every particle of the consecrated Host is Jesus. This is why we fast from other food for at least an hour before receiving Him. We don’t want the Eucharist to be treated like any other food. Similarly we want to stop and pray for at least 15-20 minutes after receiving Him befor

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, We are entering into Catholic Schools Week this week. We celebrate the blessing it is for us to have the freedom publicly to educate our children in faith and morals as well as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Our Catholic Schools provide holistic formation in discipleship; we develop each child’s spiritual gifts along with their natural gifts and talents. Holy Mass plays an integral part in their week. This is not unlike the priest Nehemiah and the Scribe Ezra in our first reading as they taught “in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand.” We want our children, like the Israelites, to listen attentively

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, The Holy Mass is the greatest prayer we can offer as a Church. We respond to Jesus’ invitation to “Do this in memory of Me.” By offering the Holy Mass we fulfill our purpose as Church, as the Body of Christ. Our offering of Holy Mass includes the public reading and meditation on Sacred Scripture, our Liturgy of the Word. It also includes our public renewal of the declaration of our faith in the Nicene Creed and our prayer intentions, our petitions. But ultimately it is the Eucharist that makes the Mass the most powerful prayer we can offer to the Father, the very Body and Blood of Christ offered to the Father for the remission of sins and the u

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, The coming of the Holy Spirit upon God’s Chosen Messiah is a surprisingly peaceful event. Isaiah prophesies the Messiah’s justice as quiet and calm: “not crying out, not shouting…a bruised reed he shall not break.” Psalm 29 declares: “The voice of the LORD is mighty,” and yet our refrain is “The Lord will bless his people with peace.” How can this be? The victory of God’s justice is not a violent event to be feared, but the peaceful restoration of right order to Creation. When God extends His power over us, we are set right. It is the comforting hand of the Father interposed between squabbling children, or the protecting arm of a mother snatchi

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, Instead of a New Year’s resolution this year, how about an Epiphany project? The Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord is the celebration of the spreading of Christ’s light to all the nations. Is there something that we can do, as individuals, families, or as a parish, to spread the Gospel to someone new in our lives? How can we let the light of Christ shine through us more clearly in our day to day actions? The Prophet Isaiah lays out the need for our evangelization: “See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your s