What comes to mind when you hear the word penance? We often think of penance as the “punishment” we receive when we go to Confession. That would be true but that definition of penance needs to go a little deeper. The purpose of penance is not simply punishment. To understand this, let’s look at the …
How are your preparations for Christmas going? What comes to mind when you read the question? Do you think about the list of gifts you need to buy? Do you think about the food you need to prepare? Do you think about the decorating you need to do? Or do you think about Jesus coming …
As we begin our new liturgical year on this First Sunday of Advent, here is my homily about our understanding of time and the seasons. 1st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A St. Jan’s 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m.. Isaiah 2:1-5 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 November 28, 2010 We often talk in terms of “things” …
One year from now, we will begin using the new English translations of the Roman Missal. Some people are not aware of the coming changes and don’t really care. Others ask, “Why do we need to change? Isn’t it going to be confusing?” I just read an article in The Priest journal by Fr. Carrion …
I wrote the following for this weekend’s bulletin as we begin Advent. Christmas is Coming! Notice, the title says Christmas is coming. The Christmas shopping season began Friday but Christmas day is still almost a month away. We see Christmas decorations going up everywhere. Truly, Christmas, as the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, is …
I wrote the following for our parish bulletin yesterday (the Feast of Christ the King) as we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this week. Giving Thanks Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. Jesus is indeed a king but a king in a new way. One might think of kings as people who …
How do you decide when you are doing too much? That is the question that has been on my mind this week. I had six meetings and a preaching workshop this week. Of course, there was the regular Masses and homily work too. From Monday evening till Friday morning I was having a tough time …
The End . . . The end of the year that is. Our liturgical year is drawing to close. Our secular calendar always begins a new year on January 1st. Our church year ends around the end of November. Why does the end of our liturgical year vary and end in November rather than January 1st? …
While I am too young to have experienced the changes of the Second Vatican Council, from conversations with others, I am well aware of how the changes seemed to be rushed. People don’t like to hear about change. Beginning Advent of 2011 (a full year away!), we will begin using the new English translations of …
We don’t hear much about Purgatory today. Some people interpret that to mean that the Catholic Church doesn’t believe in Purgatory anymore. That is not true. The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses Purgatory in paragraphs 1030-1032. It speaks of the need for purification. Let me use the following story to explain the need for purification (I …
