Yesterday, I celebrated my 5th anniversary as a priest. While in some ways it feels like just yesterday that I was ordained, when I look back over those 5 years, I am still in awe over how God can use someone like me to be His presence to people in the world. To… Continue reading Ascension Sunday 2020 / Memorial Day Homily
6th Sunday of Easter Year A
Earlier this year I was invited to speak at a university as a part of a panel of different religions. After we briefly introduced our faith traditions, the floor was opened for questions. It didn’t take long for someone to ask me, “if the Christian faith is all about having a personal relationship… Continue reading 6th Sunday of Easter Year A
5th Sunday of Easter Year A / Mother’s Day
There is no doubt, the coronavirus has brought death to the forefront of people’s minds. While nearly 75,000 people have died from the virus in the United States[1], over 2.8 million people died in the USA in 2018.[2] It shouldn’t take a pandemic like the coronavirus to make us think about death, because… Continue reading 5th Sunday of Easter Year A / Mother’s Day
4th Sunday of Easter Year A
When you think of God, what image pops into your head? Some of you may think of a judge wearing a long black robe, maybe others of you imagine Him as a grandpa sitting on a rocking chair, and perhaps others of you imagine a great kingly ruler. Certainly, if I asked each… Continue reading 4th Sunday of Easter Year A
3rd Sunday of Easter Year A
In today’s Gospel we encounter two followers of Jesus who are leaving the city of Jerusalem, three days after they watched from a distance as Jesus died a criminal’s death on the cross. Imagine their pain and dejection. They had heard Jesus, come to believe He was the long-awaited Messiah, and left everything… Continue reading 3rd Sunday of Easter Year A
Divine Mercy Sunday 2020
Because I know that I am a sinner and I want to spend as little time in purgatory is possible, 3 days a week, I teach a theology course to seniors at a local high school. In the fall semester, those lucky seniors get me for biomedical ethics, which I thoroughly enjoy, but… Continue reading Divine Mercy Sunday 2020
Easter 2020
Today, as we gather to encounter Christ we hear the angel announce to us “He is not here … He has risen.”[1] My friends, what more do we need to hear? Jesus who was killed, placed in a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers and then when all hope seemed lost, He kept His… Continue reading Easter 2020
Good Friday
Today, we are brought face to face with the crucifix. As we stare at Jesus hanging on the cross, we recall that as disciples, as followers of Jesus, each of us must also take up our cross and follow Him.[1] In telling His followers to take up their cross and follow Him, Jesus… Continue reading Good Friday
Holy Thursday
Just over 2,000 years ago, the apostles gathered one last time with Jesus to celebrate the Passover meal, the annual Jewish celebration that recalls the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Every year the Jewish people gather together to tell the saving story we heard in our first reading, to memorialize… Continue reading Holy Thursday
Palm Sunday Year A
Today we hear the longest Gospel of the year, but in her wisdom, the Church leaves explicit instructions to the preacher that he should only give a brief homily.[1] How then is a priest supposed to summarize the whole story of Holy Week briefly? Well of course that’s not possible and fortunately it’s not… Continue reading Palm Sunday Year A
