This Sunday’s readings speak to us about the call that comes from God. The prophet Isaiah seems anxious and uncertain as he encounters God who asks “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Eventually, angst turns to surrender as the prophet exclaims: “Here I am…send me.” In the Gospel, Jesus calls the first disciples. That experience has its own share of doubt, awe, wavering faith, and guilt; but the outcome is nothing short of vocation perfection: “they left everything and followed him.” Each one of us is called to a life of service to God and neighbor. What

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, It is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. We have heard these words of Saint Paul proclaimed at countless weddings, but beyond the wedding, do we truly embrace the meaning of love in our life with Jesus? Surely these noble qualities of

Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit illis”, published on 30 September 2019, establishes that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God”. The timing of the document is significant: September 30 is the Feast of Saint Jerome, the man who translated most of the Bible into Latin, and who famously said: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ”. The title of the document, “Aperuit illis”, is taken from St Luke’s Gospel, where the Evangelist describes how the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, and how “He opened their

Next Saturday marks yet another anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Year after year, the prolife movement has consistently challenged lawmakers to embrace the dignity and sanctity of human life from conception until natural death in the hope that one day the Roe v. Wade decision would be overturned. We are closer than ever to that possibility, but prayers are needed to make it a reality. Our St. Aloysius pro-life ministry has planned many opportunities for our parish family to pray (together or individually) for the world to embrace a culture of life. Please visit the

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord signals the end of the Christmas Season. But does it truly end there? Well, liturgically speaking, it does. However, if we keep the coming of Christ into the world as a starting point for the indwelling of Christ in our hearts, then Christmas never ends. God’s gift of His Son — his “beloved” in whom He is “well pleased” – is God living forever in us. When Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, he is commissioned to go out to the world and spread the Good News. Our own baptism is the

In this final reflection in our “Saints for Advent” series, we meet Elizabeth, the cousin of the Virgin Mary: Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to

As we continue on our Advent journey, I offer another Saint to walk with us: Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. Saint Juan Diego, the first Roman Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas, He was raised in the Aztec pagan religion, but had a tremendous respect for the Virgin Mary. In 1524 he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism. In December 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. He was stopped by the sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has

In this second in the series of walking with the saints in Advent, I offer Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus as inspiration for us. “Faithful Joseph” as he is often called is so obedient to the will of God. As an “older” man he is asked to take Mary as his wife and he is immediately caught up in the mystery of the Incarnation – God made flesh. Fearing scandal for Mary because he is not the natural father of the baby to be born, Joseph plans to “divorce her quietly.” But God, through an angel, encourages Joseph

We are reminded on this First Sunday of Advent that this grace-filled season is a time of preparation for Christmas and for Christ’s return on the Last Day. This year I would like to suggest some Saints that can walk with us in Advent. Their lives can inspire us to get ready for welcoming Christ on Christmas and assist us as we live out our discipleship every day. Each week I’ll feature a different Saint; some have feast days in December, and that provides an opportunity to enter into prayer with them in a special way. To get things started,

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week! This national holiday provides a wonderful opportunity, I believe, to reflect on the blessings God has given us and to connect those blessings to the Eucharist and our celebration of Christ the King, the solemnity of this Sunday. The word “Eucharist” has its roots in Greek and it means “thanksgiving.” It is the meal where we are drawn into the Paschal Mystery – the suffering, dying, and rising of Jesus. Around the table of the Eucharist, we are recalling – in fact re-living – Jesus’ great sacrifice, and that is cause

As we move toward the end of the Liturgical Year, our attention is turned to the “end times;” that moment when Jesus will come back and take us to Himself. The scene as it is described in this Sunday’s Gospel is surreal and terrifying: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” But the outcome is glorious: “And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with

In this Sunday’s Gospel, the widow gives from her poverty; and it would seem that her act of sacrificial generosity shames the wealthy “show-offs” who make a spectacle of their temple donations. However, I believe that the point of this passage speaks more to one’s motivation for giving rather than making a judgement on who gives and how. If we give because we believe wholeheartedly – after prayerful discernment – that the charity to which we might give truly needs our time or talent or treasure, then it is a gift that is welldirected. But giving to a “worthy” cause

In these unique times, we have before us some wonderful opportunities in our local Church and the Church Universal. As we emerge from unprecedented moments of challenge, I believe we have a future that is filled with hope because it is rooted in Christ who is the same – yesterday, today, and forever. The Holy Father has called the Universal Church to synod – a process of prayerful reflection, addressing essential questions, and moving forward to stay true to our mission work of spreading the Gospel and living the truth of the Gospel every day of our lives. Commencing in

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” What’s up with James and John in this passage? Did

More than 50 years ago, Pope St. Paul VI wrote an encyclical entitled Populorum Progressio (On the Progress of Peoples). The work speaks to the essential problem of this Sunday’s Gospel: you can’t have it both ways. The rich young man asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life, but he soon finds out that he would have to give up his wealth; and seemingly unable to do so, the young man walks away sad. Populorum Progressio warns people and the countries of the world about a selfserving accumulation of wealth: “Neither individuals nor nations should regard the possession of

The creation passages in the Book of Genesis tell us that humanity is made in the “image of God.” This is why we can dare to say that we are holy and can grow in holiness. This is why we can speak of the uncompromised beauty of all God’s “creatures great and small.” And this is why “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.” As God desires to be in relationship with all of us, so too are we given the gift of being drawn to