A few years after I was ordained, I had the opportunity to serve as a spiritual chaplain on a pilgrimage to Medjugorie, a town in southern Yugoslavia, where the Blessed Mother had been appearing to several young adults on a daily basis. She often encouraged the visionaries, as they were called, to pray for peace. Little did anyone realize that she didn’t mean peace between worldly superpowers, but peace in their community.

A few years later, Yugoslavia was splintered into new countries including Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, the outcome of a devastating civil war between the different ethnic groups. This past April, the people of Sarajevo, Bosnia, marked the 20th anniversary of the horrific siege on their beautiful city during that war. The anniversary was marked by many events, exhibitions and concerts—but by far the most moving part of their observance was the chairs. 11,541 red chairs.

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11th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

On Easter Sunday we celebrated an event that defied the laws of nature. Jesus of Nazareth who had been crucified days before had risen from the dead. This was no ghost as the disciples later recounted. Without warning, Jesus appeared behind locked doors and dined with them. They recognized him yet they knew that physically what they were touching and seeing was not the human Jesus whom they had known. His risen body possessed qualities they had never seen before.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated the ascension, another event that defied the laws of nature, for this time, Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving the apostles spell bound. No person before or since has done what Jesus did during that first Easter season.

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Corpus ChristiRead More »

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Scripture:
1st Reading: Deut 4:32-34, 39-40
2nd Reading: Romans 8:14-17
Gospel; Matthew 28:16-20

I recently read a story about Mary Weaver, a protestant lady, who lived some 74 years ago. She had been a Baptist, a Methodist, a Christian Scientist, and a Holy Roller, professing that she believed in “Jesus only”.

One day she noticed a Catholic Catechism in the home of a friend. Here was her chance to find out what Catholics believe and do, and then hold all of it up in ridicule of the Church. She began to read. Slowly her hatred turned to curiosity, then to surprise, then to a desire to learn. She blurted out, “If this is what the Catholic Church teaches, then I want to be a Catholic”.

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Trinity SundayRead More »

Marriage, as many of you know, is a roller coaster of joys and sorrows, of triumphs and tragedies. Job losses, illnesses, and the myriad of raising children are all part of the adventure. Just about every spouse faces some kind of complication sooner or later that confounds them with their own inadequacies and doubts. I can’t do this. I can’t be the husband or wife or parent I need to be. And yet, they manage to find within themselves the compassion, the forgiveness, the love to be the spouse and parent their family needs them to be in such moments.

On that first Easter evening, before Jesus appeared to the apostles in the upper room, imagine how inadequate they felt, yet when Jesus breathed on them, empowering them with the Holy Spirit, whatever fears they had then disappeared. That moment, the Church was born. As any student of history can tell you, the Church is a product of human struggle, disagreements, and crisis. Yet with the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit, the Church has weathered the test of time and continues to do so.

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PentecostRead More »

More than once as a pastor, I have heard of someone leaving the parish because he or she didn’t feel welcomed. I find such decisions disappointing, but I have observed that sometimes those who feel unwelcomed do little to allow themselves to be welcomed as this short tale relates.

A certain farmer was interrupted in his work by a man driving down the road who asked him, “Sir, I have traveled a long way and I am thinking of settling down in the next town. Tell me, what kind of people live there?” The farmer asked him, “What kind of people were in the town you left?”

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6th Sunday of EasterRead More »