People are living longer. At the same time, many people face great suffering from illness (physical and mental) and aging. Seeing other people dying or facing death themselves has led many people to argue for the right to die at the time of their choosing. Often death is caused by the use of lethal drugs …
I just returned from a five day retreat at Bethany Retreat Center. While not everyone can take five days, I encourage everyone to think about taking an annual retreat. For those who work, many retreat centers offer weekend retreats. What is a retreat? In military terms, a retreat is withdrawing from the front lines, generally …
I recently finished reading Render Unto Caesar by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput (Doubleday: New York, 2008.) The subtitle “Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life” really speaks to his point, ‘we must stand up for what we believe in.’ Render unto Caesar is, of course, a biblical reference to Matthew 22:16-22 where …
Who do you trust? Why do you trust them? I place my trust in God, or, at least that is always my goal. I willingly put my trust in God because I know he won’t deceive me. I know God won’t do anything to hurt me. I believe God knows what is best for us. …
Last night, our parish school in Penn Yan (St. Michael’s School) held its spring concert. The first third of the concert was the band playing instrucmental pieces. The rest of the concert was all the children singing as one large group and by class. Everything went well. It showed that the children had practiced and …
Tonight I am wondering what to write about. Sometimes, I might write two to four times a week with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I start writing tonight not because I know what I want to say. I’m writing because I haven’t writing in a few days. Normally, I write based on some ministry …
Yesterday was the 7th Annual Stewardship Day in the Diocese of Rochester. Representatives from parishes throughout the diocese gathered to listen to speakers about stewardship. The main speaker was Susan Erschen of the diocese of St. Louis where she is the Director of Stewardship Education. She defined stewardship as recognizing that everything we have is a …
Each year the priests and administrators of our Rochester Diocese gather for a convocation with a featured speaker. Below follows an article I just wrote about the convocation for an upcoming parish bulletin. Continuing Education There is a saying, “We learn something new everyday.” We learn at school but we also look at work and …
On Good Friday, Jesus died for us. On Easter, he rose to new life and he promises a share in the new life in his Father’s kingdom to all who believe in him. We enter into that new life in baptism. For most of us as Catholics, we are baptized as little children but in …
This is the holiest time of the year. Last night (Thursday), we celebrated the Institution of the Eucharist and the Washing of the Feet. Today is Good Friday, the day which we celebrate the Crucifixion of Jesus. Yes, we celebrate the Crucifixion. Crucifixion is a terrible way to die used for terrible criminals. Jesus was …
