Posts by Fr. Rich

This is Memorial Day weekend. Many are off work on Memorial Day. Summer plans start in motion. We remember those veterans that sacrificed their lives for our freedom. It’s a big deal and everyone celebrates it. But what is a bigger deal is to remember who sacrificed His life for us that went beyond our freedom. That is Jesus Christ! He sacrificed His life on the cross to keep us free from eternal damnation. He brought us forgiveness of our…

Did you ever notice how many times we make excuses for things we don’t want to do? I don’t mean valid reasons why we shouldn’t do something, but excuses why we don’t want to do some things. Today’s Gospel tell us to love one another. Jesus then gives us an example of what that means: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” This is where the excuses come in. I can’t love … Do you…

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also called Good Shepherd Sunday, as the Gospel is about Jesus the Good Shepherd. It is also Mother’s Day. These are different celebrations and yet they seem to me to be the same. It’s an Easter celebration of new life as Christ resurrected from the dead and showed us this new life of faith in God. It is through our mothers, that our lives began in this world. A life they nourished, helped…

When reading today’s Gospel, the words that caught my eye were Jesus saying “Come have breakfast.” You guessed it – – about food. But it wasn’t really about food, what or how much to eat. It was a way that Jesus is saying to His Apostles that all is forgiven. They left Him when He needed them most. They abandoned him to the cross. But inviting them to sit and eat was His way of saying I forgive you. We…

It was in sadness last Monday when I heard the news that Pope Francis died. This past month was a difficult time for him as he was extremely sick and hurting. But despite all that he was going through, he continued to fulfill his call as the Holy Father. He made appearances when possible and even delivered a simple message when he was able. To me, he was a Pope for the people. He seemed to be so inclined to…

Today we celebrate that beautiful Feast of Easter: Resurrection! Alleluia! Our forty day journey of Lent is over. We have seen Jesus hit with ridicule, false accusation, torture and death on a cross. But today we celebrate His victory over all that. He comes back to life. He shows us His power over sin and death and He opens the gates of Heaven for us all. This is our faith. But in our everyday, individual lives it has even deeper…

Today is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, a week reminding us of the great sacrifice of Jesus for us. But what does this week mean to you? Today, Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with the waving of palms. What have we done to welcome Jesus into our lives? Hopefully not simply palms but more like prayer. On Holy Thursday, we relive the Last Supper when Jesus gave us the Eucharist: “This is my Body …” Is the…

There was a magazine article that spoke of a woman who began experiencing stomach trouble in her mid-20s. Her nausea and vomiting were most severe in the morning. Despite undergoing various tests, doctors could not find any physical cause for her symptoms. They always attributed her condition to stress, offering antacids and advice on diet. By the time she was 30, her health had significantly deteriorated. She became weak, thin, and began suffering from bouts of hiccups, mental fog, and…

Some time ago a woman wrote a letter to Ann Landers describing the terrible relationship that once existed between her and her brother. It took the death of their father to get her to forgive him and to treat him as a brother again. Sometime after their reconciliation, her brother had a heart attack and died in her arms. She ends her letter with this moving paragraph. “I am grateful for the years we had together, but I could scream…

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the importance of repentance. He points out that none of us is perfect and we are all sinners. Do we recognize that we are sinners? Or have we turned our sins into making excuses for our actions, or finding ways to blame others for the bad things we do? We may all have used the phrase: ‘the devil made me do it!’ During our Lenten journey as we pray, fast and give of ourselves,…

There was a fifth grade class that just learned about the Transfiguration. Afterwards they were all asked to draw a picture of God. What they thought God looks like in their lives and why. There were a variety of pictures. One drew an elderly man in an alley begging for food. That’s God asking me to feed the poor. One drew a teenager playing basketball on his school team. That’s God saying use the talents I gave you. One drew…

One way Jesus prepared for his public ministry was to go into the desert, filled with the Holy Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. We may have to confront a similar experience during Lent. While striving to follow the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, we encounter temptation to abandon our good resolutions. Jesus’ example of faith and trust in God, His Father, shows us the disposition we must have if we are to triumph over the enemy. And that…