Interrupted by the Christchild

Christmas is the most unlikely of events. That is probably why it has captured our hearts and imaginations for centuries – that God would break into our world not as a warrior king but as a small, vulnerable baby born into the poverty of a stable, laid in a feeding trough surrounded by straw. You […]

Read more "Interrupted by the Christchild"

Considering our own Mortality

One hundred years ago today, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, the Germans and Allies signed the armistice that ended the fighting in World War I, which left 37 million dead in its wake. It was the deadliest conflict in this history of Christendom. In response, Pope Benedict XV […]

Read more "Considering our own Mortality"

The Temple in Your Pocket

“Jesus … has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.” Last week, towards the end of my sermon, I talked about how Jesus is a priest in the line of Melchizedek instead of […]

Read more "The Temple in Your Pocket"

Not Being Afraid to Ask Why

How do the Apostles miss it? Maybe you have had one of those moments where someone really important to you was with you in a really important moment, but they were not paying attention. My mother still gives my father a hard time about how he was distracted by an IU basketball game while their […]

Read more "Not Being Afraid to Ask Why"

A Purified Priesthood

“Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil.” Over the past few weeks, we have been reading at Mass from the Bread of Life discourse, this beautiful passage from St. John’s Gospel where our Lord explains to us the mystery […]

Read more "A Purified Priesthood"

So You May Eat It and not Die

“This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.” So often we can just gloss over our Lord’s words because we have become accustomed to hearing them. We lose sight of the incredibly surprising nature of our Lord’s promises. He tells us today that if we […]

Read more "So You May Eat It and not Die"

Giving Thanks for So Little

Today’s Gospel contains a familiar story: the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. It is a miracle story that reminds us of our Lord’s power over nature. We have probably also heard it used as a launching point for discussing the importance of sharing. I would like to take a closer look today at an […]

Read more "Giving Thanks for So Little"

Learning to Pray

“[Jesus] said to [the apostles], “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”  People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.  So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.” When our Lord takes the Apostles away to a […]

Read more "Learning to Pray"