Is My Phylactery Showing?: 2021

Gaudete! Third Sunday of Advent (Cycle C)

Zephaniah 3:14–18a; Philippians 4:4–7; Luke 3:10–18

Today we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, which is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin translation of Philippians 4. "Rejoice in the Lord always." Always rejoice. We depart from the somber tone of this penitential season for a bit to celebrate the light that is dawning on us. This Sunday is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We had a procession led by our clergy with the statue of our Lady this morning after the 10:00 mass. While we don’t celebrate the feast day in our liturgy, we can still honor our Lady.

The readings today give us our marching orders for Advent and beyond. The Latin word adventus, the source of our English term, indicates an approach or onset. Advent is the onset of Christ's coming again.

Nov

Two Paths, Your Choice: Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Dan. 12:1–3; Hebrews10:11–14, 18; Mark 13:24–32

We do not know the day. We do not know the hour. But at some point, the Son of Man will come and usher in the end, what we refer to as the Apocalypse.

The last two years have certainly seemed apocalyptic. First, we have the pandemic, which started to show up in December, about the same time that Australia experienced horrific fires. The first spikes of the pandemic really began to hit in January 2020.

Oct

Why a Professional Musician Found True Freedom in Catholicism | Catholic...

A few weeks ago, Jeff Miller (the Curt Jester) posted a video of an interview he did on his conversion. What caught my attention was that the person doing the interview was a recent arrival at our parish, Eddie Trask. I followed up with Eddie and met over coffee to learn a bit more about his work and how he and his family wound up in Boise.

Anyway, after sharing a bit about our faith journeys, he asked me if he could interview me and get my story.

Oct

Wealth or Wisdom—Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Wisdom 7:7–11; Hebrews 4:12–13; Mark 10:17–30

I recently took a new position. This is actually the second job change for me in the course of this pandemic. While the first one went very smoothly and quickly, this one has not been as speedy or smooth. My background check was delayed, my start date delayed, the arrival of my laptop delayed. And because everything is done in the cloud these days, I couldn’t get my payroll and benefits set up on the first day.

Aug

Let It Be Done unto Me: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Cycle B )

1 Chronicles 15:3–4, 15–16, 16:1–2; 1 Corinthians 15:54b–57; Luke 11:27–28; Revelation 11:19a, 12:1–6a, 10ab; 1 Corinthians 15:20–27; Luke 1:39–56

Today we celebrate the bodily assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven, that is the transfer of her body into Heaven following her death. This isn’t business as usual. This is an extraordinary event that many of our Protestant brethren set aside and deny.

Jul

Repent and Believe—15th Tuesday in Ordinary Time (Cycle II)

Exodus 2:1–15a; Matthew 11:20–24

Our two readings today seem so very different from each other, and finding a common theme in them is challenging. So I will do my best to work to bridge the gaps between the two.

We all know the importance of Moses in salvation history, but we don’t always connect the dots in our thinking.

Jul

Be a Prophet—Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Amos 7:12–15; Eph. 1:3–14; Mark 6:7–13

You are a prophet. Notice that I didn’t say, “Imagine that you are a prophet,” or “You can one day be a prophet.” You are already a prophet. Your baptism and confirmation join you to Christ—who is priest, prophet, and king. And since you are joined to the Body of Christ through baptism, that makes you priest, prophet, and king. The Catechism affirms that we share in these offices with Him in sections 897-913.

Jun

Obstacles to the Life of Grace

This talk was written for a Cursillo weekend I assisted with this week. I was reluctant to accept the invitation, but it turned out to be a grace-filled weekend (for the time I was able to stay).

Christ does not offer us cheap grace. He gives us something that is worth sacrifice, but we live in a world that pulls at us and attempts to convince us otherwise.

Jun

Actual Grace

This talk was written for a Cursillo weekend I assisted with this week. I was reluctant to accept the invitation, but it turned out to be a grace-filled weekend (for the time I was able to stay).

We hear the word grace in our liturgy and readings all the time. St .Paul uses it so frequently as an introduction in his letters: “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace is an important word in Catholic and Christian doctrine, and it is vital to our salvation.

Apr

An Incarnational People—Third Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)

Acts 3:13–15, 17–19; 1 John 2:1–5a; Luke 24:35–48

Who is Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus? This is a question that everyone who encounters Christianity in whatever form must contend with. This was the question that the people of His time had to grapple with.

Is My Phylactery Showing?

Faithful Catholic or modern-day pharisee? Sometimes I might be a bit of both.