“I did not know Him.”           John the Baptist’s statement today sounds eerily like St. Peter’s later denial of Christ: “surely, I do not know the man.” But while John’s repeated statement that he does not know Jesus is odd, since John and Jesus are cousins, there is something very different happening here. John knows […]

Read more "“That He Might Be Made Known” — Sermon for the II Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXVI"

          The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord today concludes the celebration begun one week ago with the Solemnity of the Epiphany. We use the word “epiphany” to mean a brilliant or sudden insight, but its original meaning is a “manifestation,” a manifestation of God. The Epiphany, then, is all about Christ being manifested […]

Read more "“The Beloved Son” — Sermon for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, A.D. MMXXVI"

Last fall, Bishop Rhoades announced that he would be convoking a diocesan synod in 2026. I’m sure that a lot of us were left wondering what a diocesan synod is. It’s been literally one hundred years since the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend held a diocesan synod! So this is not something we […]

Read more "“The Three Ages Adore the Lord” — Sermon for the Epiphany of the Lord, A.D. MMXXVI"

          It almost happened by accident, that the prophecy was fulfilled. “AND THOU, BETHLEHEM Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity” (Micah […]

Read more "“Making Room for Him” — Sermon for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. MMXXV"

“The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.”             In 733 B.C., the King Ahaz of Judah was stuck between the warring states of Damascus and Assyria. The northern Jewish kingdom, Israel, chose the losing side, Damascus, while Ahaz aligned the southern […]

Read more "“God With Us” — Sermon for the IV Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXV"

          During the season of Advent, we’ve been seeing how the introits, or entrance antiphons, set the theme of Sunday’s Mass. Today we’ve arrived at the most famous introit of the whole year: Gaudete! If we’ve heard of any entrance antiphon, it’s this one, the reason that we have the rose colored vestments (and our […]

Read more "“Hearts Courageously Patient” — Sermon for the III Sunday of Advent, Gaudete, A.D. MMXXV"

          You know what it’s like to want to start over – to know that things haven’t gone how they were supposed to go, that it should have been different. We hear today about such a bad start — Adam and Eve in the garden – how they ruined the goodness of God’s original plan […]

Read more "“A New Beginning” — Sermon for the Immaculate Conception of the BVM, A.D. MMXXV"

In the city of Milan, in the year 386 A.D., a young man named Augustine stood on the precipice of a decision that could change the course of Western history. Raised in the backwaters of the Roman empire, he had made it to the height of society as a speechwriter for the Roman emperor, becoming […]

Read more "“Tomorrow, or Today?” — Sermon for the II Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXV"

          [A friend of mine dreads the sermon for the First Sunday of Advent. It’s the most busy and hectic time of the year, and now they’re going to pile something “spiritual” on top of my never ending to-do list! They’ll give us the impossible task of fighting the secular and materialist spirit of Christmas, […]

Read more "Prayer and Child-like Love — Sermon for the I Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXV"