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Imagine that the Lord was calling you to a mission, and he tells you to go to a country you have never been before. He tells you not to worry about any of the common preoccupations... and that you would have to depend on the hospitality of strangers. How many would respond to such a call? If the Lord would ask you to travel with just one suitcase, or none at all, how many would take him seriously? Imagine that the mission the Lord is sending you was to a country famed for its hostilities to strangers, would you still go? [Click to read more]

The readings for this weekend suggest that the call of God requires our urgent but free response. It leaves no room for delays. In the First Reading, the Lord calls Elisha to be a supporter and helper of Elijah. Although Elisha wanted to follow Elijah, he however asked for leave so he could kiss his parents goodbye... [Click here to read more]

Here we are in the natural season of Summer, the Liturgical season of Ordinary Time (Growing Time, for our children in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program). Life is blossoming all around us...How is the Lord wanting to cultivate your heart during this season? [Click to read more]

This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi Solemnity, from the Latin meaning “Body of Christ.” This feast originated in France in mid thirteenth century, but was extended to the universal Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. It is typically celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday (which was last Sunday), but for pastoral reasons the bishops of the United States and elsewhere have moved it to the Sunday following Trinity Sunday. This solemnity focuses our attention on the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, and calls us to profess our faith in the Eucharist, Christ’s gift of himself to us for our salvation and sanctification. This solemnity is also a privileged moment to reflect on the mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ. [Click to read more]

We celebrate this weekend the mystery of the Godhead. We celebrate that God is a Trinity of distinct, yet undivided, persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are not three Gods but one. God is one but not solitary. He is a community of persons. And each person is equal in substance, in majesty, and power. [Click to read more]

We celebrate Pentecost Sunday this weekend and we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples who were united in prayer in anticipation. Pentecost concludes Eastertide. It is also the birthing of the Church and the commissioning of the disciples as Apostles – those sent. [Click here to read more]

This weekend the Church commemorates the Ascension of Our Lord into heaven forty days after his post resurrection mission among his disciples. Christ ascends into heaven, into a sanctuary not made by human hands. And he now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory interceding for us. Our faith teaches us that where Christ our head has gone before, we his body will follow. We see that he was already preparing his disciples’ minds for his ascension.

Imagine that your best friend is leaving town and there is no way to change things. How would you feel? What would you do with your sorrow? This seems to be the scene in this weekend’s gospel. Jesus is comforting his disciples because he is moving, not just to a different town, but away from this world. His departure is certain and there is nothing the disciples can do about it. [Click here to read more]

Before his passion, our Lord gives a ‘New Commandment.’ This is a commandment of love, which would characterize the new community he is establishing, which is the church. Jesus says, love one another (not as yourself, which is already admonished in the Old Testament, but as he, Jesus, loves you). This begs the question, how has Jesus loved us? And the response would be: “Look at the Cross.” His dying and rising are proof of his love. The cross demonstrates the extent to which he would go for love of us. [Click to read more]

Last week we examined evidence for the claim that Jesus actually died on the cross, as opposed to the critical claim that he merely fainted before waking up in the tomb. This week we will examine the charge that Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead, but that the disciples either mistakenly visited another empty tomb or that Jesus’ body was stolen. [Click to read more]

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is popularly called “Good Shepherd Sunday” because each year the Gospel reading is from John 10, the “Good Shepherd Discourse.” On this day prayers are offered for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, because priests and religious are visible manifestations to us of Christ in his role as the Good Shepherd. [Click to read more]

The miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead is the central historical claim at the heart of Christianity. Some people have claimed that there is no good evidence that Jesus rose from the dead; but in fact, the Resurrection explains the evidence we have better than any other hypothesis...

What inspiration can Christians today gain from the defiance of the disciples? They had been instructed by the Sanhedrin not to preach in the name of the risen Christ again. These fearful men, who only some days before, had fled and abandoned the Lord as he went to his death, now stand in defiance before the highest Jewish authority. Where did they get this courage? [Click here to read more}

Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti. The resurrection of Jesus is the central mystery of our faith. By his death and resurrection Christ our victorious king has destroyed death, and won life for all of humanity. This is why we have hope in our own bodily resurrection because Christ, the first fruit of all who have fallen asleep has conquered sin and death. The resurrection occurred to fulfill what had been written about the Christ, that it was necessary that he should suffer these things and so enter into His glory (Luke 24:26). Every weekend and on Solemnities we profess boldly that Christ “rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” It might seem easy for us, who are historically removed from the events we commemorated these past days to mouth the above words, but it was not so for the disciples of this itinerant preacher from Nazareth. Though the disciples came to faith in the resurrection and even gave their lives defending this faith, it was not without some initial difficulty. They had been privileged to see the empty tomb and angels who asked why they sought the living among the dead (Luke 24:5), yet they did not seemed convinced that Christ had risen as he said. [Click to read more]

Happy Easter! I get emotional whenever I watch Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Although a famed depiction of the gory Passion of Jesus, I believe it no way compares to the actual suffering Jesus endured. The scene that comes to mind as I write this reflection was when Jesus, battered, bruised and shaking, embraces the wood of the cross. He does so for love of you and me. Thank you Jesus, even though I am most unworthy of it, you did it all for me. [Click to read more]

We are in the home stretch of the Lenten season, which ends before our celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. The church commemorates during this week, which we call “Holy Week” the paradox whose fruit would be the salvation of the world. The God of life stands in trial and is condemned to death; the Creator is judged by his own creatures; and the author of love meets with the hatred of those he came to save. Thank God, human hatred could not stop love from pouring itself freely. Before our Lord goes to his passion, he would leave us the gift of himself in the Eucharist and institute the priesthood of the New Covenant for the perpetuation in time of this great mystery. He, the master, would stoop to serve his brothers by washing their feet, and thence after command them to do likewise. This is the week when the God who made the universe sleeps in death, and the whole earth is shrouded in darkness. This is the week when Heaven is wedded to earth, and humanity is rescued from the grips of the devil, the deceiver, who has held humanity captive since the “happy fault, and necessary sin” of Adam. [Click to read more]

My Lenten journey started when Father Julius said that Lent is not only a time to give something up. “Do Something.” Mother Teresa said “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” We don’t know what in life is going on with each other; every day: spouse, job, kids, house, car, and miscellaneous and then the next day, again. With this Lenten journey, I have put my focus on making sure everyone that I come across gets a greeting of kindness...

My heart overflows with joy writing this reflection. First, I am grateful for our recent parish mission. I was awed to see so many people attend and participate; we averaged about 80 - 90 people daily all four nights. Praise God! The speakers and witnesses were amazing; these were wounded people who made no fuss about their wounds, but acknowledged the healing power of Christ manifest in their lives. To my mind, the joy of life is not to have no wounds at all, because that is not possible in a world tainted by the woundedness inherited from our first parents. Rather, the joy of life is to know that although we go about with history of personal or collective wounds, we have been redeemed by Jesus. And he heals us daily if we let him. [Click to read more]

As someone who works for the Church, it is often difficult to set healthy boundaries between my work life and my personal life. As a parish staff member, it is easy to feel like I should always be doing more. After all, unlike office workers at huge companies, I know I wouldn’t be “doing more” for a faceless, multi-national, bazillion-dollar corporation. Instead, I would be “doing more” for Jesus, for my Beloved, for the God who made me. How could I say no to that? And yet, Jesus does not call us to wear ourselves ragged, as though we had to earn our place in His heart...

In lieu of a letter from me this week I wanted to share with you the letter that all the bishops received from Pope Francis regarding the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to Our Lady this past Friday, March 25th. [Click here to read more]