3rd Sunday of Easter

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks up alongside two of his disciples, though He's not recognized for who He is but thought to be a stranger.  This Stranger begins to unpack for them the Scriptures and how they foretell and prefigure the Christ.  The hearts of these two disciples are set on fire as Jesus teaches them, though they don't fully realize it in the moment.  It's only at the end of the day, in the breaking of the bread, that they recognize Who was with them, and then Jesus vanishes from their sight.  Take a walk on the road to Emmaus, let Jesus draw close, even if you don't recognize Him at first, let Him teach you about the Scriptures and Himself, let Him set your heart on fire!

2nd Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Deacon Brian reflects on the immensity of God's mercy.  He lays out two common traps (both springing from pride) that we as Christians can fall into and which limit our reception of God's mercy.  Like children at Christmas or Easter who freely and joyfully receive gifts, he encourages us to remember the mercy of God as an undeserved gift, but a gift that God desires to give to us.  Let us open our arms, hearts and minds to accept (with the joy and enthusiasm of a child) the incredible gift of mercy that our Savior desires to share with each of us!

Happy Easter!

During this time of COVID-19 I've heard people say both how unfortunate and difficult of a time this is, and how many blessings are hidden in this time.  While I agree with both (and I most certainly see God's hand at work in my life, in our Church, and in our world in the midst of the difficulties) there is an easy mistake to fall into while trying to make sense of it all.  The mistake is to look at the blessings and the good coming out of it and say, "God did this so that...(list your blessing or good thing)."  The problem is that if we say that God did this in order to bring about good things, then we also have to say that it's His fault that bad things and struggles are happening in so many lives - we inadvertently, but very quickly, turn God into a monster.  The appalling message of Easter, of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is that God can bring good out of ANY situation.  Not that He wants bad things to happen, not that He wanted His son to be rejected, tortured, and murdered, but out of anything - whether good, neutral, bad, or downright horrific - God is able to bring good.  God's goodness is unstoppable!  Not even death can stop Him!  Christ is Risen!  Alleluia, alleluia!

Palm Sunday

“Holy” literally means “different.”  As we enter into this year’s Holy Week we are certainly experiencing a very “different” time in our country and world.  I would propose, however, that this time of COVID-19 can actually assist us in entering more deeply into this Holy Week, more deeply into the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, than we ever have before!

Note: I will be live streaming Easter morning Mass from St. Joseph at 9:00am on Sunday, April 12!  Please visit the parish website www.stjoseph-hayward.org to view live or watch the recording.

5th Sunday of Lent

This weekend one of my deacons, Deacon Brian McCaffrey, preaches the homily.  During this unique time of COVID-19, I have decided to record and upload my deacons' homilies onto my website and podcast as well.  While nobody is able to see us preach in person, I pray that being able to at least hear the homily will help us feel connected in these very unique times of "Safer at Home" which Wisconsin has instituted.

This weekend Deacon Brian considers the sin of anger, how it often goes unnoticed as sinful, how it takes root in our lives, how we give into and feed it, and how it prevents us from being the person God is calling us to be.  Like Lazarus in the Gospel who, after coming out of the tomb, Jesus orders to be unbound from his burial cloths, God desires to untie us from the sin of anger in the ways that it still binds us.  When we give unrepented anger over to the Lord, the power of the Son can transform us into something spiritually new and incredible!

4th Sunday of Lent

We are certainly in a unique and unprecedented time in our country (and world) with this response to COVID-19.  In the Gospel today Jesus opens the eyes of a man born blind.  He smears a muddy mixture of saliva and dirt on the man's eyes - not a clean or comfortable experience - then asks the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.  The man does...and is healed!  This time of COVID-19 and our nation's response is an experience of a muddy mixture being smeared in our eyes and into our lives - it's neither pleasant nor comfortable.  But Jesus invites us in this time, like He did the blind man, to go wash in the Pool of Siloam - trying new and different ways of prayer and service and learning to unite to God in this unique time.  If we don't, this will all just be a muddy experience.  But if we do, this mud might also become an opportunity for incredible spiritual power in our lives!

2nd Sunday of Lent

Temptations come from 3 main sources: the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Movements of God within us start with a thought, and temptations also start with a thought.  As these various thoughts and reasonings fill our mind, we eventually come to a fork in the road - we have to decide which thoughts to hold onto, and which thoughts to set aside...it's not as easy as it sounds.  Those thoughts of temptation are so subtle, and so mischievous, they'll do whatever they can to draw us away from the one thing God is calling us to in that moment.  They'll even tempt us with good things, actions and thoughts that are noble and virtuous, so long as those actions and thoughts are NOT what God is asking of us in that moment.  God calls us, His children, to an incredible glory, prefigured in Jesus' transfiguration that we hear of in today's Gospel.  This week: how will we resist the temptations that come our way, and resolutely follow the impulses of  God within our hearts?  One path leads to glory, the other to fleeting pleasure followed by lasting emptiness. Which thoughts will we decide to hold onto this week, and which ones will we decide to throw away? 

1st Sunday of Lent

Our readings today present us the with tale of 2 men:  The 1st man - Adam - and the New Adam - Jesus Christ.  Both are tempted by the serpent.  The Old Adam falls and turns away from the Father; the New Adam stands strong in faithfulness to His Father.  This Lent is a journey into the desert with Jesus.  It will be a time of testing and temptation for us just as it was for Him.  In the face of the temptations to come, will we be like the Old Adam, or the New Adam? 

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God our Father is the Divine Physician, the greatest doctor of both body and spirit in this entire universe.  In Jesus Christ the Divine Surgeon has expertly removed the cancer of our sin, through the Scriptures the Divine Physical Therapist gives us our necessary exercises, and in the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Eucharist the Divine Nutritionist gives us the sustenance necessary to be strengthened for the task.  God's love and mercy is that He provides all of this to us for free (who by no means deserve it and have no means of paying Him back).  But God's love and mercy can't do it for us - we have to work with these gifts to reap the healing benefits that are freely offered.  And in this treatment plan, we all, when we're totally honest with ourselves, know what our next step is.  This week, let' start with our own personal next step of that treatment plan. 

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Our first reading today foretells the coming of the Lord to the Temple, fulfilled in our Gospel when Mary and Joseph bring the baby Jesus to the Temple, according to Jewish custom, to present him to the Lord.  But this Lord, says our first reading, comes to purify, like a refiner's insanely hot fire or a fuller's chemically harsh lye...and in both examples we are the thing that is being purified.  God, like a good parent, wants to raise His children to be strong, mature, able, loving adults.  The process is not magic, nor is it easy, nor can our Parent do it for us - it involves our own growth and maturation through the process of accepting the challenges and purification our Father offers.  This week, instead of running from that purification or making excuses like, "It's just the way I am," how will we lean into God's purification and mature into the adult He knows we can be?

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Do you remember as a kid walking around outside in the dark, seeing something move in the shadows and then freezing in horror - you tried hard to focus on it, sometimes you were convinced it was moving, sometimes you were convinced it couldn't be - your imagination running wild...then other shadows and objects seem to start moving...only to come back the next morning, in the full light of day, to find that it was something as harmless as a pine tree or as simple as a fencepost?   

In the darkness many things become confusing and uncertain - we think we see or understand something, we draw conclusions that seem to make sense in the darkness, only to realize in the light of day that the truth is quite different.  In the readings today Jesus fulfills an age-old prophecy from Isaiah and enters the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, historically dark and gloomy (from the perspective of faith in God), in order to bring the light.  As Christians, we are called to follow Christ and bring the light to places of darkness and confusion in our culture.  Those in the darkness become pretty convinced that they are correct in their deductions, but it is our call as Christians to bring the bright the light of day, the truth, to seemingly difficult and controversial contemporary issues.  Christ came to bring the light, and we are Christ-ians - let's live up to our name at least one more time than usual this week!

Epiphany

Today three wise men/three kings/three magi arrive at the place where Jesus was born after following the sign of a star.  The presence of these three non-Jewish kings shows that God is calling not only the Jewish people but ALL people of the world to believe in and follow His Son Jesus.  God’s sign was a star; everyone can see the stars.  So why is it only these three wise men who followed that star?  Was everyone else just too busy?  Were they so caught up in life that they didn’t even notice the sign?  We encounter three different kinds of people in the Gospel today: those who don’t notice the sign, those who notice the sign but don’t follow it, and those who notice the sign AND follow it.  This week: What are the signs God is placing in your life (what are the stars)? And when you see a sign, do you follow it?

Feast of the Holy Family

Jesus not only came as a baby at Christmas, He also entered into a human family - with all the joys and frustrations that go with it.  We are challenged in all relationships, but especially in the family, to put the wants and needs of others before our own, to stretch our hearts, to learn how to love more, to sacrifice for each other.  Our readings today all challenge us to put others first, "Children, obey your parents in everything...Wives, be subordinate to your husbands...Husbands, love your wives."  Jesus loved us, and so He subordinated Himself to our needs, even to the point of death.  We can practice this kind of love every day, especially in the family!

Merry Christmas!

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

3rd Sunday of Advent

This weekend we encounter a powerful New Testament figure, John the Baptist, in a difficult and dark time - literally and figuratively.  John has been imprisoned, he probably knows he is not getting out anytime soon, and he (who proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God and prepared for Jesus' coming by his preaching and teaching) is now questioning whether or not Jesus is the promised one of God.  We can all take two important lessons away from John's experience, lessons useful for our everyday life of prayer, but especially in our own times of darkness: 1) John is honest with his doubts 2) John lays his doubts at the feet of Jesus.  When we are raw with our thoughts and emotions, when we lay them at the feet of our Lord without any filter, then we finally give God permission to enter into the most important areas of our life.  Try it (I dare you) and God will bring great things out of it!

2nd Sunday of Advent

I had the privilege of spending this weekend with 50 inspiring high-school-aged young men and women from throughout our diocese!  This fulfilled no Confirmation requirements for them, neither were any of them forced to come to this retreat - they generously set aside this time to step away from their busy lives and focus on growing closer to Jesus Christ through prayer, learning, sacraments, and community.  They are making God a priority in their lives, and they inspire me to want to make God more of a priority in mine as well.  Please continue to pray for the incredible youth of our diocese and the good work that God is doing in their lives!

1st Sunday of Advent

We invest in the things that are important to us - we invest time, energy, emotions, intellect, mental space, money, resources.  The more we invest in something, the more important it is to us, and the more returns it will yield; the less we invest in something, the less important it is to us and the less returns it will yield.  As we begin this Advent season, we are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas, and the more we invest in that preparation the more of a return this experience will yield for us.  While we prepare in a general sense for Christ's coming, I'd like us to focus this Advent specifically on the Mass: how invested are we in the Mass?  How much more could we bring to the table?  What are the ways that others invest themselves in the experience of the Mass?  What can I learn from them and how can I come back next week ready to invest a little more in the weekend Mass experience?  God comes to us at every Mass, He has a word to speak to each one of us that pertains to this exact moment in our life, and the the more I'm investing, the more I'll experience God at work in my life at every weekend Mass!

Solemnity of Christ the King

As Americans we are naturally weary of anything having to do with a "king", we also don't like the word "authority" all that much - it was the abuse of power by some oppressive authority, even some kings, that brought many of our ancestors to America in the first place.  Scripture, however, has no problem with the idea of a king or authority; in fact, Scripture makes it very clear that all authority has been given to Jesus Christ, that Jesus came to this earth to bring a kingdom, and that He is the King of that kingdom!  As Christians we proclaim that we are followers first and foremost of Christ, our true King, and that we are committed to bringing His kingdom more fully onto this earth.  His kingdom started in us at our baptism and is meant to grow in us throughout our lives.  Can you invite Jesus to reign in your heart for a little bit longer each day this week?  Think, if we each did that for a few more minutes every day, how much more of a reality the words we pray in the Our Father would become - thy kingdom come!  

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hellfire, brimstone, damnation - words we don't hear very often anymore, but words that our first reading calls to mind (and themes that arise out of our Scriptures).  And lest we think that Jesus ushered in an age full of only mercy, pardon and mushy-gushy "love", Jesus Himself, multiple times in the Gospels, speaks strongly about judgment, hellfire, the separation of the righteous and the wicked, warning us of the wide and easy road that leads to destruction and encouraging us to follow the narrow and difficult road that leads to life.  This week I challenge you: have conversations about some of these difficult topics with friends and other believers, Catholic or otherwise.  These ideas aren't culturally acceptable, many discount them these days, but if we call ourselves Christian, if we believe what Jesus (the Son of God, the Author of all truth) says, then we have to start taking these ideas seriously!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Why is it that we as Catholics are the only Christians that pray for our beloved dead?  Why is it that we are the only Christians who believe in Purgatory?  In this homily I will explore how other Christians believe Jesus saves us versus how we as Catholics believe Jesus saves us, and what that difference means in praying for the dead, purgatory, and how we live our lives here and now!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes God works incredible miracles that are visually and experientially miraculous.   In our first reading and Gospel today we have 11 lepers who are all miraculously cured by God...but they're healed in very non-incredible ways: taking a bath and out for a walk.  More often than not, God's ways are subtle, quiet and seemingly indirect. God's hand is moving and blessing and answering prayers, but often in unexpected ways, which means that it's easy to miss God's blessings in our lives and the lives of others.  Of the 11 lepers cleansed, only 2 come back to thank God for answered prayers.  As we approach God in prayer, as we attend Mass, let's join with the 2 lepers who came back, and let's give thanks to God for His many blessings and answered prayers in our lives!

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today Jesus tells us one of His most confusing parables: "Look at this shady, crooked, underhanded businessman... You should learn a lesson from him!"  Many people are clever in the ways of this world - they are smart and resourceful in using the people and situations around them to further their own gain (even if it is selfish and underhanded, as the steward/manager/businessman is today).  Jesus challenges the "children of light" to be as smart and resourceful in obtaining benefits for heavenly life, as clever in living out our faith in the midst of this busy world and culture, as this shady businessman was in obtaining benefits for his earthly life.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The most encouraging, effective and result producing words kids can hear from their parents are: "I love you; I'm proud of you."  In our Gospel today Jesus shares three parables, all portraying the illogical, unreasonable, over-the-top love that the Father has for each one of us.  No matter what we've done, no matter how far we've wandered away, the Father never stops seeking us out.  And when we finally let ourselves be found, He says to us, "I love you; I'm proud of you!"  Jesus heard His Father say those words to Him; can we hear our Father say those words to us?

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It's proven that generosity makes for a happier person; generosity springs from gratitude - to the degree that we're thankful for the gifts we've been given in life, we have a desire to share these gifts with others.  Thankfulness and generosity, though, are two virtues that you will not be challenged to grow in by popular culture, but they are two virtues at the heart of what it means to be Christian - the more thankful and generous we are, the more we become like our Maker! 

This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).  The CSA provides so many incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand!  I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in thankfulness and generosity (in all senses of those words) and I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In order to live in this world, we have to trust all kinds of things we see, hear and experience.  On a daily basis we extend trust thousands of times - to people, situations, information...everything.  A generic definition of "faith" is: "confidence or trust in a person, thing or concept."  By this definition, every single person lives their lives by faith each and every day.  Faith in God, then, means having confidence and trust in God - that He will do what He says, that what He promises to us humans He will do.  In our readings today we see how God comes through on His promises, that God IS trustworthy, that we CAN trust God!  The faith held up for us today is that whatever life may bring, no matter how bumpy the road, we know that God has us in the palm of His hand!