16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AWisdom 12:13, 16-19Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (5a)Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43July 23, 2023 “Where have the weeds come from?” The man had sowed only good seed.  Why were weeds growing in the field? His enemy had come during the night when everyone was asleep and sowed the weeds. There is evil …

Continue reading ‘16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily’ »

Divine Mercy

We are all in need of God’s Divine Mercy. Following the revelation of the Divine Mercy devotion by Jesus to Sr. Faustina, Pope John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday (cf. my article “God’s Gift of Mercy”). Jesus is our Savior. Jesus reveals Divine Mercy to us as …

Continue reading ‘Divine Mercy’ »

Maybe You Heard (or Maybe Not)

You may have heard there are changes coming to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The changes will be mandatory as of Divine Mercy Sunday, which falls on April 16th this year (2023). (The changes were optional as of Ash Wednesday this year so some of you may have already experienced the changes). When one hears of …

Continue reading ‘Maybe You Heard (or Maybe Not)’ »

St. Francis De Sales on the Battle Against Temptation

This is the tenth and final article in my series based on my reading of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. Written 400 years ago, it is available in various translations. I am reading the 2015 version published by Ignatius Press (San Francisco) and the Augustine Institute (Greenwood Village, CO) The first …

Continue reading ‘St. Francis De Sales on the Battle Against Temptation’ »

Purification in the Devout Life

Last week I began a series of articles inspired by my present reading of St. Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life. The first article was “What Does It Mean to be Devout?”. I ended that article with a brief mention of “pruning and cutting” by St. Francis De Sales (8). Jesus says, “I …

Continue reading ‘Purification in the Devout Life’ »

Our Loving God

Many people tend to see the portrayal of God in the Old Testament as of a God is punishing, bestowing his wrath upon all who break his commandments. Our first reading today from Exodus begins with a God who is anger and punishing. He had been speaking with Moses on the mountain. What do the …

Continue reading ‘Our Loving God’ »

Living Simply as Instruments of God’s Mercy

This is my fifth article offering reflections based on my reading of Judith Valente’s book, How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing. 2018). You can see the four previous articles as follows: “Being Spiritual in the World Today”, “Striving to be Disciples of Christ.”, “Overcoming …

Continue reading ‘Living Simply as Instruments of God’s Mercy’ »

Divine Mercy Sunday, Year C – Homily

Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Second of Easter), Year CActs 5:12-16Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (1) Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19John 20:19-31April 24, 2022 It is not always easy to follow God.  We see this with the prophets in the Old Testament.  For example, in 1 Kings 19, Elijah flees and hides in a cave when Jezebel, the …

Continue reading ‘Divine Mercy Sunday, Year C – Homily’ »

Video – Finding Peace and Healing in a Troubled World Part III

I completed my series, Finding Peace and Healing in a Troubled World, with Part III last night. The slides and video are now available online at www.renewaloffaith.org/healing3. If you watch video in the next few days, you can complete an online evaluation at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbvrN3TSImjEc5270S0sYQ8LaU2VeUCxTuGcgKBeFE84X-Wg/viewform?usp=sf_link At this point in time I do not have any more …

Continue reading ‘Video – Finding Peace and Healing in a Troubled World Part III’ »