Here is the homily I delivered for the Baptism of the Lord Baptism of the Lord, Year A St. Theresa’s 11:00 a.m. Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17 January 9, 2011 John the Baptist has been busy calling people to repent. He has been baptizing those who have come to him in repentance. The …
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 …
I have finally finished the articles on baptism and original sin. The web addresses are Baptism- http://www.renewaloffaith.org/ls/baptism.htm Original Sin – http://www.renewaloffaith.org/basics/originalsin.htm Peace, Fr. Jeff
It’s time to think about RCIA but first what is RCIA? RCIA stands for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. RCIA is the process by which a person joins the Catholic Church. There are two general groups of people here. First, those who have never been baptized in any Christian Church and, secondly, those …
This week I was talking to a couple and they said they had read that an annulment is a “Catholic divorce.” This is not true. A divorce is a civil (government) process that ends a legal relationship. It views marriage as a contract formed when the couple make their vows to each other. The divorce …
I attended the ordination in Rochester of nine men to the diaconate today; eight as permanent deacons and one as a transitional diaconate. It is always a moving event. This year I knew three of the men. One from the parish where I served on my pastoral year, one from the parish where I am …
When did you receive your sacraments? Most of us in the United States were baptized as babies. We then receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and our First Eucharist around the age of reason (7). Then, the next sacrament we receive would be Confirmation. In the United States Confirmation is typically done sometime between the ages of seven …
We celebrated Easter Sunday last week but our celebration of Easter has not ended. We celebrate the Easter Season for 50 days until Pentecost. Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection. It is the celebration of new life but before we receive new life we must first die to this life. We must die with …
The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is not a well-understood sacrament. Many people who grew up prior to the Second Vatican Council still understand it as “Last Rights.” Understood as “Last Rights” one would only call for the priest to come when the person was thought to be near death. Occasionally, when I …
