“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Lk. 1:41-45 ) Sometimes I hear people within and without the Catholic Church complaining about the Catholic Church's efforts to protect innocent human life. These people often characterize themselves as “pro-choice” and speak about a “right to choose,” and they treat the “abortion issue” as just one of a myriad issues facing the Church and the world. In concert with a sympathetic mass media who define abortion as a “woman's rights issue,” the … [Read more...]

“Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:4-5 ) This third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday” from the Latin St. Paul uses when he tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always”: gaudete in Domino semper! The spirit of the Liturgy in Advent is one of expectation and preparation for Christmas and the Second Coming of Christ, but our penitential attitude is suspended on Gaudete Sunday so that we might focus on the joy of our Redemption, which should never be far from our hearts. To highlight the importance of Gaudete Sunday, the priest wears rose vestments and lights a rose candle on the Advent wreath. Why do we mark this day by focusing particularly on joy? Because the Church … [Read more...]

“John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (1 Thes 3:12 ) In the ancient world, there were no interstates. Roads were little more than worn down paths that were constantly being affected by traffic or weather. One of the hallmarks of the Roman army is that they built roads wherever they went. But when there was a battle, roads and bridges would be destroyed in order to stop the advance of the enemy. But one thing was certain: when word came that someone important was coming, the people would do their best to fix the roads or build new ones so that the … [Read more...]

“Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you.” (1 Thes 3:12) During this week when our country celebrates “Thanksgiving Day,” I want to express my thanksgiving to so many of you for your goodness to me. This past weekend with the Archbishop made me realize how truly blessed I am to be living in such a wonderful parish. Without meaning to exclude anyone, I do want to mention in particular a few people. First, I'm grateful to our Archbishop for his pastoral leadership and pastoral presence that made last Sunday so important in terms of promoting unity in our parish. Second, I want to express my deep gratitude to the leadership of the former Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Henry parishes for their promoting … [Read more...]

“Jesus says, ”˜My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.' So Pilate said to him, ”˜Then you are a king?' Jesus answered, ”˜You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.'” (Jn. 18:36-38a) On the last Sunday in Ordinary Time we remember Christ as Universal King. And it's powerful to recall that His Kingdom was established on earth not as an exercise of power, but in an exercise of humility. Look at our church. Our forefathers who built this church had the Kingship of Christ in mind even before the feast of Christ the King was … [Read more...]

“Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God.” (Heb. 10:11-12) Over the next two weeks, there are three important events happening in our parish. And they are each centered on the “Paschal Mystery.” What is the Paschal Mystery? Simply put, the Paschal Mystery is the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. When the Jews were slaves in Egypt, God told them to slaughter a lamb in the evening twilight and to place its blood on the two posts and the lintels of their houses. Seeing the blood, the Lord would “pass over” their homes in striking down the first-born of the Egyptians. … [Read more...]

“Jesus sat down opposite the [Temple] treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mk 12:41-44) What a great Scriptural passage to make a pitch for “parish stewardship”! The description of the treasury here shows how the people supported the Temple at the time of Jesus as they had since the building of the temple 960 Before Christ (B.C.). As you might remember, the First Temple in … [Read more...]

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mk 5:1-9) Happy Anniversary of Our Time Together! It's hard for me to believe it, but this weekend marks the one-year anniversary of my coming to Good Shepherd Parish. And it has been a very blessed year for me. Of course it has been an adjustment going from working in an office in Rome to ministering in such a complex and diverse parish in a … [Read more...]

“Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” (Mk 10:43-45) Each of us has a deep longing for God. Despite our “worldliness,” we have a deep desire to encounter God. This is nothing new. It's been the story of human history since the Fall of Adam and Eve as man has tried to “transcend” (the word means to “climb across”) the difficulties of this earthly life and reach into a higher reality that is God's peace and tranquility. And that's why God sent us His Son. Jesus joined Himself to our humanity to give us the capability to “climb across” to our Heavenly Father. Jesus makes God the Father accessible to us. And so each of us wants to “see” … [Read more...]

“Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:43-45) Jesus presents us with a paradox in the Gospel today. If we want to be great, we need to be a servant. He turns earthly ideas of greatness on their head. It reminds me of a story told to me by one of my professors in seminary, a famous author who taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University named Fr. John Fullenbach. One summer, during a break in the university year, Father Fullenbach he decided to spend some with working in Calcutta with Mother Teresa and her sisters. On the first day he found himself walking with a sister through the worst … [Read more...]