Discipleship Necessitates Evangelization

I recently read The Old Evangelization: How to Spread the Faith Like Jesus Did by Eric Sammons (El Cajon, CA: Catholic Answers Press. 2017). When I saw the title, I ordered it based on my continuing desire to evangelize. As I read it, I found it as much about discipleship, if not more, than evangelization. …

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Honoring Mary and Honoring Those Who Died in Service

A few years ago Pope Francis decreed that the Monday after Pentecost would be celebrated as the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. That’s today (5/29/23). Our first reading today comes from Genesis right after Adam and Eve commit the first sin, the original sin. It was the first sin but …

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Pentecost – Homily

PentecostActs 2:1-11Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 (30)1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13John 20:19-23May 28, 2023 Our passage from Acts today begins, “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled…”  We need to realize there are two meanings to this.  First, it was time for the Jewish Pentecost.  The Jewish feast of Pentecost had been a harvest festival …

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Is Nothing Sacred?

Last Friday I read a news article, “Shooting at funeral home in Ecuador leaves four dead,” (by Diego Lopez Marina, Catholic News Agency, 5/19/23. Available online at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254364/shooting-at-funeral-home-in-ecuador-leaves-four-dead). It is not the first time I have heard of a shooting at a funeral. Reading the news, I asked myself, “Is nothing sacred?” Even among the …

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The Time Between

“After Jesus had been taken up to heaven the apostles returned to Jerusalem.” There, “they went to the upper room” (first reading for this 7th Sunday of Easter) The upper room is where they had gathered with Jesus after his Resurrection. It is a familiar place. Just before He ascended Jesus had told his disciples …

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Knowing What the Truth Is

Throughout the Easter season the first reading for both daily and Sunday Mass (albeit on separate cycles) comes from the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early church. The Acts of the Apostles tells how the early church lived in community. In Acts 4:32-35 we read, “The …

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A Reason For Your Hope

There is suffering in the world. We wish there wasn’t. We pray for an end to all suffering. We need to seek to do our part to alleviate suffering. Yet, we know the reality is that there is suffering. It might be from illness. It may be job-related. It may be as a consequence of …

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5th Sunday of Easter, Year A – Homily

5th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 6:1-7Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22)1 Peter 2:4-9John 14:1-12May 7, 2023 The first half of today’s gospel reading is probably the gospel reading most selected at funerals.  It makes sense. Jesus tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  The death of a loved one is a difficult time …

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