September 8, 2025: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary is a great example as the first disciple because she opened herself to the will of God.

Through her, God brought salvation to the world.

As we open ourselves to God's plan for our lives, He will also do great works through us as He continues to make His presence known in our world.

September 7, 2025: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The first reading from Wisdom makes clear that we mortals are in a vulnerable state.  Only in receiving the wisdom and the Holy Spirit from God do we find meaning in life and keep to the straight path.

And so we can make sense of the difficult words of Jesus in the Gospel reading when He teaches to renounce possessions and to hate family members to be His disciples.  A commentary I read indicates that the structure of the original language uses hate to indicate order of preference.  We should put the focus on God above all and let that dictate how we relate to people and possessions.

And so even in the brevity of life, like Psalm 90 relates, we can find purpose in God Who grants us success and prosperity resulting from a relationship with Him.

This idea is also part of St. Paul's appeal to Philemon, who asks him to receive back the runaway Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother in Christ.  This suggestion was radical in that time, and shows the power of the Gospel message to transform our lives and relationships.

With great joy, Holy Mother Church rejoices in the canonization of Saint Carlo Acutis and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati.  In their short lives, they looked beyond this world to Heaven, and let the reality before Him drive them to evangelize with their lives. They are great examples for how encountering God, especially in the Eucharist, can inspire us from worship to action.  We also give thanks to God for our grandparents today and how He manifests His Love through what they have offered with their lives in devotion to God all the way through the generations to their grandchildren.

These principles of Love and Truth are timeless, and so we strive to keep devoted to them above all.

August 31, 2025: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

God works powerfully in our world through our humility.

When we are humble, we recognize who we are in our relationship with God and uphold His presence in our lives by letting Him raise us up in our identity in Him.

We furthermore show love to others by giving of ourselves not expecting anything in return, which poises us for a great reward in Heaven.

We experience Heaven now because Jesus Christ offers us an example of how to be humble by acknowledging ourselves less and focusing more on who we are in God.

May I say this? We can become august and lofty in the sight of God.

August 24, 2025: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus Christ proclaimed Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He provides access the Father for all who have a relationship with Him.

To reach the Father, we must follow the narrow way, and it takes effort on our part.  At times, we can even experience the discipline of God. Although it may be painful, it poises us to experience the fruit of righteousness, as is mentioned in the 2nd reading from Hebrews.  It's not enough to just do the bare minimum of religious gestures. God ultimately wants a relationship with us, so He can be ready to welcome us into His presence at the end of our lives and at the end of time.

While God has promised salvation for His Chosen People, He extends this offer to all people.  The first reading from Isaiah offers a wonderful statement that says even some of the Gentiles will serve as priests.  Truly, each of us strives to enter Heaven, and support others in following this path, because Heaven is a great gathering of people throughout the world who have a relationship with God and were faithful to it throughout their lives.

On this 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, I am grateful for how the community of St. Teresa's in Valparaiso did so much to support me to be faithful in my relationship to God through the ministry they offered to college students like me.  I'm also grateful to the ministry of Father Mark Beran at St. Augustine in Winnebago as the community celebrates his birthday at 50 years.  

Today is also the birthday of William Wilberforce.  He strove, by faith, in the narrow way, through many challenges, to end the slave trade and then slavery in the British Empire, because the end goal of creating a better world made the striving worthwhile.

Today, I reminded of the blessing of being part of a Church that represents God's presence in the world, which I saw exemplified 10 years ago when Archbishop Vigano presented Cardinal Cupich with his pallium, so that we would see in that wool ceremonial vestment a sign of how God invites us to the follow the narrow way as He shepherds us into Eternal Life.

August 17, 2025: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In a world marred by sin, when a prophet speaks, some accept the message, and some oppose it.

Jeremiah predicted ruin for the people of Israel if they opposed the invaders.  So he was put into a cistern.

Jesus Christ came to Earth to preach a message calling people out on their wrongful ways and urging them to repent.  This message has caused great division.

Ultimately, those who opposed His message demanded His crucifixion.

Christ was steadfast in fulfilling His message, enduring the Cross because of the joy that would come after it, as the Epistle in Hebrews writes, attaining great glory.

As we follow Christ in His mission as prophet, to proclaim a message unpopular in the world, yet grounded in Truth, we can endure our struggles and enter into the joy of what will result from advancing the Truth.

August 15, 2025: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Jesus Christ rose from the dead first.  Then Mary experienced the power of the Resurrection by entering body and soul into the Heavenly Presence of God, which underscores her special relationship with her Son.

The Resurrection gives us hope for having Eternal Life, and the Assumption emphasizes the effects of the Resurrection.  Mary, the first disciple, has experienced what we hope for:  All those who are His disciples, living by faith in Him, share in the promise that, by remaining faithful to the end, we will be with God in Heaven, body and soul, united with Him always.

August 10, 2025: 19th Sunday in Ordinary TIme

God calls us to be constantly in a state of readiness to meet Him, especially when it's time for our departure from this life.

To make the most of this life, we strive to live by faith, preparing to encounter God at any moment.  We acknowledge God's promises for us, just like the giants of faith in the past.  They didn't see the fullness of the promises, but still strove toward God, confident they were playing a part in a greater plan.

Indeed, we have been entrusted with faith as a great gift.  We make the most of our lives now by stewarding this gift nobly and using it to keep close to God and make His presence known by living love now.  The priest at the Mass I attended at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, IA, pulled a heart out of a knapsack to illustrate this idea and underscored it when he said that Heaven is when we're united with God.  Living love now is a way to be united with as we wait for complete union with Him after we depart this life.  Yet looking ahead to embrace this reality now by living it brings us purpose and joy indeed.  We, by God's graces, can make the sacrifices necessary to love as we keep ourselves constantly aware of how God is making Himself known to us.