JESUS IS VICTORIOUS! JN 18:33B-37 The Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King November 22, 2015 It has been reported that the number of “radicalized” ISIS recruits pouring i...
Living Hope MK 13:24-32 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time November 15, 2015 The National Academy of Sciences recently published the results of a study by economists from Princeton Unive...
Trust MK 12:41-44 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time November 8, 2015 This Sunday’s Gospel has a nickname. It is frequently referred to as: “The Widow’s Mite.&...
Open House MT 5:1-12A All Saints November 1, 2015 I was talking to a friend who told me that one of the several colleges which her “senior” is interested in waives the application ...
Prove Who You Are MK 10:46-52 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 25, 2015 More and more often these days, we are being called to show “proof of identity.” However, things su...
Joined to the Sufferings of Jesus MK 10:35-45 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 18, 2015 In last week’s Gospel, we heard the story of a pious, faithful, and wealth...
Proud to be a Catholic MK 10:17-30 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 11, 2015 I’ve often heard it said that on St. Patrick’s Day: “The Irish are proud...
Essential to the Building of this Country MK 10:2-16 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time October 4, 2015 I recently had the great honor of presiding at the wedding ceremony of a...
What Do I Need? MK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 27, 2015 A few years ago, I helped plan the 60th anniversary of a friend’s entry into her relig...
A Servant of Others as Well MK 9:30-37 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 20, 2015 In last week’s Gospel, Jesus asked His disciples: “Who do people say I am...
Your True Identity Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 13, 2015 MK 8:27-35 Once, while traveling through a large city, I stopped at an ATM machine to get some cash. I w...
Be Open Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time September 6, 2015 MK 7:31-37 I am at that point in life where I enjoy “senior discounts.” But with the perks there are also some down s...
A Truly GOOD CELEBRATION Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time August 30, 2015 MK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Whenever I read this Sunday’s Gospel passage, I think of an experience I...
Make a choice! Are you with me? Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time August 23, 2015 JN 6:60-69 Pollsters weren’t tracking and publishing approval ratings in Old Testament ti...
“That ain’t the way to have fun” Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 16, 2015 JN 6:51-58 Way back in 1970, just about the time that I really needed to hear it….one...
GRUMBLE…MURMUR…COMPLAIN! Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 9, 2015 JN 6:41-51 Infants and toddlers cry and make a fuss anywhere and at any time. As children grow and develo...
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 2, 2015 JN 6:24-35 That line, delivered (actually shouted) from the witness stand in a military courtroo...
Free Food Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 26, 2015 JN 6:1-15 I have to admit, if I need to go to Sam’s Club, I try to schedule my shopping for late morning. I want t...
Come away and rest awhile Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 19, 2015 MK 6:30-34 There was a cute commercial on TV over the winter months. It showed a series of kids, talking t...
MAYBE YOU 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 12, 2015 MK 6:7-13 If you sit in a barbershop, or enjoy an early morning cup of coffee in a local diner, or nurse a beer in a neighborho...
STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 5, 2015 MK 6:1-6 There will be lots of patriotic speeches this weekend as our nation celebrates the freedom we enjoy as...
I Forgive Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 28, 2015 MK 5:21-43 I couldn’t figure out was happening when the families of the victims of the South Carolina “church...
LORD, HELP US! Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 21, 2015 MK 4:35-41 When I was much, much younger, I often sailed with a very close friend. I was not a skilled crew member, alt...
It’s Time to Grow Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time June 14, 2015 MK 4:26-34 I was visiting some friends who were babysitting their little granddaughter. She was anxious for m...
CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY 2015 June 7, 2015 MK 14:12-16, 22-26 It isn’t an easy task to give a meaningful explanation of what we Catholic Christians celebrate today…The Feast of The Bo...
Trinity Sunday May 31, 2015 MT 28:16-20 I arrived late for the 90th birthday celebration of the matriarch of a large family in my parish. Even before I walked into the hall, the so...
The Gifts We Need to Use Pentecost Sunday May 24, 2015 JN 15:26-27; 16:12-15 Last Sunday, May 17, when the Church celebrated the Ascension of our Lord, if my father were still aliv...
OUR APOLOGIES! I support “re-cycling” in all areas except homilies and reflections. Due to technical difficulties, last week’s Reflection was a “repeat.R...
Experience the Peace of Jesus Sixth Sunday of Easter May 10, 2015 JN 15:9-17 We live in an age of “instant replays.” Everything is fair game for recording, including tragic events....
Grow in Grace Fifth Sunday of Easter May 3, 2015 JN 15:1-8 Last Wednesday was “Earth Day.” The purpose of setting aside a special day to celebrate our planet…our home…is clearly to...
Followers of The Way Fourth Sunday of Easter April 26, 2015 JN 10:11-18 We routinely relinquish our freedom of movement, often without a second thought. When the maitre’d in a rest...
The Gift of Peace Third Sunday of Easter April 19, 2015 LK 24:35-48 We live in an age of “instant replays.” Everything is fair game for recording, including tragic events. For exam...
How Can This Be? Second Sunday of Easter April 12, 2015 JN 20:19-31 Palm Sunday evening, there were a number of programs about Jesus on television. I happened to be watching one th...
ALLELUIA! Easter Sunday April 5, 2015 JN 20:1-9 Taking the liberty of changing the currency, there is an old Jewish saying that goes something like this: When talking about the inf...
“The Way” Palm Sunday March 29, 2015 MK 14:1—15:47 When people travel to the Holy Land as Christian pilgrims and not merely tourists, it is often said that they are able to “...
LIFE In Its Fullest Fifth Sunday of Lent March 22, 2015 JN 11:1-45 One cold, dark January evening a number of years ago, I was visiting a friend in the hospital. She was nearing th...
“The Theory of Everything” except Love Fourth Sunday of Lent March 15, 2015 JN 9:1-41 British physicist Stephen Hawking is enjoying a new wave of celebrity, and it’s not limited to...
A Fitting Dwelling Place for the Lord Third Sunday of Lent March 8, 2015 JN 4:5-42 Around the time that the life of Jesus Christ was being recorded in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew,...
Visit to the Mountaintop Second Sunday of Lent March 1, 2015 MK 9:2-10 The first full week of Lent separates the proclamation of Mark 1:12-15 (The Temptation in the desert) and Mar...
FULLY HUMAN First Sunday of Lent February 22, 2015 MK 1:12-15 I recall that way back in 1988, The Detroit Free Press committed the entire front page of the entertainment section of...
Black and White 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time February 15, 2015 MK 1:40-45 Recently, I was invited to be one of three clergy participants in a “theology on tap” held at a...
Our Own “Selfie” 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time February 8, 2015 MK 1:29-39 Autograph books are a thing of the past. Today, it’s all about the “selfie.” ...
Urgent Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 1, 2015 MK 1:21-28 If you listened closely to the Second Reading last Sunday, which we all should certainly do, (1 Cor 7:29-31 just i...
“N-E-T” Third Sunday in Ordinary Time January 25, 2015 MK 1:14-20 I have read and reflected on, prayed over, and preached on today’s Gospel for 20 years; I know it well...
The Light of Christ Second Sunday of Ordinary Time January 18, 2015 John 1:35-42 Last Sunday, January 11, 2015, led by rulers from nations around the world, well over a million peo...
Life of Christ The Baptism of the Lord January 11, 2015 MK 1:7-11 Somehow, last week, I allowed myself to be talked into watching a “foreign film,” complete with Englis...
What Are You Looking For? The Epiphany of the Lord January 4, 2015 MT 2:1-12 I recently heard an interview of a 25-year-old woman named Lt. Heidi Beemer; who is currently stationed...
The Wrapping of God’s Gift Feast of The Holy Family December 28, 2014 LK 2:22-40 Among my childhood memories of Christmas, (and most of us are blessed with treasured memories of “C...
Our Spiritual Warm-Up Fourth Sunday of Advent December 21, 2014 LK 1:26-38 People who are faithful to exercise appreciate the value of “stretching” or “warming up...
John the Baptist Third Sunday of Advent December 14, 2014 JN 1:6-8, 19-28 A key figure in the Advent season is John the Baptist. We met him in Mark’s Gospel last week and we meet h...
Are You Walking? Second Sunday of Advent December 7, 2014 MK 1:1-8 Just over a year ago, Pope Francis traveled to the home of his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, to meet with a ga...
Our Journey Together First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2014 MK 13:33-37 Whether or not we enjoy it, most of us will be doing a whole lot of walking over the next few weeks. At th...