“Let us thank God for holding you and your family in the palm of His hand during the frightful night of the tornado and may He continue to hold you in His palm as you navigate the future.” I prayed this prayer over and over when I was blessed to sit with families of London, Kentucky who were living in trailers after their homes were damaged or destroyed by the recent tornado. Thanks to the very generous support of you, our parishioners, I travelled down to Kentucky on a very special mission of mercy to present a check in the

Walking in town recently, a friendly stranger stopped me and asked, “So Father, what is that building going to be?” I loved the question because it reminded me in some ways about our life with God: “With God, who am I meant to be?” But the question was about the building, so I pivoted away from the entirely spiritual and answered the question. I thought the answer would be helpful to all. In short, the building is going to provide the generous space and perfect environment to teach the young and those of us who are growing in age and

Last week, Pope Leo XIV met with the priests of Rome, and after a truly beautiful address that was filled with gratitude for their priesthood, a plea for them to create communion with one another and with those to whom they minister, the Holy Father concluded with this appeal of Saint Augustine: “Love this Church, remain in this Church, be this Church. Love the Good Shepherd, the beautiful Bridegroom, who deceives no one and does not want anyone to perish.” This weekend we celebrate significant ordination anniversaries for Monsignor Scheyd (60 years; eternal rest grant unto him), Father Bob Uzzilio

Jesus speaks of the relationship between Spirit and Truth in today’s Gospel on this feast of the Most Holy Trinity. If we believe in Jesus, we know what truth is because he teaches truth and is Truth itself. If we believe in Jesus, we believe in the Spirit and receive all those amazing and helpful gifts (knowledge, counsel, understanding, and more), and if we believe that we have received all of that, we see a challenging world through a helpful lens. Jesus says it plainly: But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.

The feast of Pentecost draws our attention to that moment when the Holy Spirit descended on those gathered in the upper room. When we think of Pentecost we think of the Sacrament of Confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which many of us memorized in case the bishop asked us about them on Confirmation day. In this column I want to focus on the fruits of the Holy Spirit because if we are truly caught up in the fire of Pentecost, we will know it. The fruits of the Spirit – as proclaimed in Saint Paul’s letter to

Monsignor William Scheyd passed from this life on Wednesday, May 28 with his family and Bishop Caggiano present. As pastor of Saint Aloysius for 15 years, Monsignor Scheyd was a joyful preacher of the Gospel, a generous servant, and a priest you could count on to walk with you through the most challenging of life’s moments. Father Scheyd (as he preferred to be called, and which was the greeting he used for years on his voicemail message), loved being a priest and a pastor and worked hard at both. From his nascent days in Bridgeport to his journey to the

It’s always a privilege to welcome one of our seminarians each summer. This year Herley Mendez will join the Saint Aloysius Parish Community until mid-July. Herley has been in the U.S. for five years and was born and raised in Colombia. He is finishing his theological studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, and he will be ordained a transitional deacon on December 6, 2025 at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. Herley has already gotten involved in parish life and is spending time with staff to learn more about pastoral leadership. He has a truly joyful and generous

An Augustian. An American. A White Sox Fan. A Linguist. A Villanova Wildcat Fan. A Tennis Player. All true, but most importantly: The Vicar of Christ, The Successor of Saint Peter. The Pontiff. The Servant of the Servants of God. The Pope. The selection of Pope Leo XIV is the work of the Holy Spirit who was present in the Sistine Chapel when the ballots were written and the white smoke rose from the chimney and wafted into Vatican Square. How blest is the Church to have a shepherd again. But Pope Leo needs our prayers because he bears the

The month of May gives rise to thoughts of many things. We are happy to see signs of springtime in our gardens, our college students are making their way home for summer break, our mothers get their day today – and how deserving they are! But it is also a month where we celebrate ordinations and religious vows. As far as the signs of springtime go, I’m delighted to see everything in bloom. Spring speaks volumes to the renewal that is Easter. Each time I see what God is doing in the splendor of springtime colors, I’m reminded that God

There are four stories in this Sunday’s post-Resurrection Gospel: the appearance of Jesus to the disciples, the large catch of fish, the meal, and the commission of Peter. The sight of the Risen Lord to the weary and defeated fishermen-disciples should have had all the emotion of a reunion with loved ones, but only John (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”) recognized Jesus. Far from disappointed, Jesus does what Jesus does – he gives abundantly, and the disciples haul in “a net filled with 153 large fish.” The nighttime of emptiness becomes the dawn of fulfillment because of Jesus. We encounter

The world recently witnessed the consecration of the splendidly renovated Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. It is a story of “rising-from-ashes” that spoke to the gift of hope in Christ. The earliest cathedrals were the worship spaces of monks who lived a life of seclusion and holy darkness. As the Holy Spirit moved in the hearts of those responsible for designing the new Gothic structures, darkness gave way to more and more light shining through grand stained-glass windows. The earliest example would be St. Denis and then Notre Dame where the recent renovation seems to welcome even more light.

In preparing for Holy Week I was drawn to some of the Church Fathers, that group of writers in the early Church. Many of their inspired musings have been collected, preserved, and made widely available. I was struck by St. Andrew of Crete’s words about Christ’s entry into Jerusalem which is the Gospel of Palm Sunday. St. Andrew provides a powerful meditation on the simplicity of Christ’s arrival as a challenge for us to approach Christ this Holy week with humility as we embrace Jesus who is meek and humble. I am sharing St. Andrew’s words with you in this

I’m turning this week’s column over to the Jesuit poet J. Janda because I believe that he speaks succinctly to the need for all of us who are sinners and who do a fair amount of judging of others to live a different way. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ~ John 8:7 The Light You cannot change others, no but you can see them with new eyes Christ eyes who sees all with respect and understanding J. Janda

Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found. The Parable of the Two Sons (aka “The Prodigal Son”) offers one of the most poignant stories about the mercy of God. Taking his inheritance early from his generous father, the young man leaves home, squanders his treasure, and compromises his virtue. Having run out of resources and fully shamefaced, he heads back home. What he experiences next is nothing short of surprising. Instead of criticizing his wayward boy, the father – who,

I don’t know too much about fig trees but the one in the Gospel this Sunday is troublesome because it’s not bearing fruit. Did you ever have an idea that doesn’t seem to come to fruition, or a dream that doesn’t quite come true, or a plan that keeps falling flat? Welcome to life. But in our life with Jesus who dies so that we may live forever, we can bloom right where we are planted. We often think that “if it isn’t happening, I have to move on!” But the mandate in the Gospel is to wait and give

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. ~Luke 9:28b-29 This Sunday’s Gospel brings us to the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. For centuries, saints, scholars, bishops and bloggers have considered the meaning of this moment that is a preamble to Jesus’s suffering, dying, and rising. I’ve assembled below the thoughts of two Church leaders who have pondered this mountaintop event: Pope Francis and Bishop Frank Caggiano. See what you think. Pope Francis, Angelus Address,

From this Sunday’s Gospel (according to Luke): Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. So, if Jesus is God how could he have been tempted? We don’t think of Jesus being tempted – after all, he’s Jesus! But Jesus was human, and humans are tempted. Consider that scene described in the Gospel passage: The Son of God, poised to begin his earthly ministry is driven

So many things to say this week, so little space in my bulletin column to say them, but here’s a try: Our young adult ministry had their first gala last Saturday. It was a spectacular event that featured more than 100 guests, a beautiful tribute to Chris Otis, great food, a DJ that had everyone on the dance floor, fantastic silent auction items from generous donors, and an overall feeling of celebration of God blessing our inspiring young adults. We have been asked to help our brothers and sisters who rely on the New Covenant Center for food by donating

This Sunday’s Gospel challenges us to love our enemies. It’s a perfect example of Jesus asking us to take it up a notch and step outside our comfort zone in order to model His extravagant love. Even if we consider ourselves to be the nicest person on the planet, we all have “enemies” – people who try our patience, cut across the grain, push our buttons, etc. The life-giving love that flows from the heart of Jesus should be our inspiration to begin the process of forgiving and forgetting, smiling through the difficult conversations, and loving those we don’t like.

Jeremiah the prophet speaks of a way of living with the Lord in trust and hope: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.” One of the reasons for our restlessness, anxiety, and just feeling “blah” is that we do not fully commit to living a blessed life in Jesus. Because we