Posts by Fr. Rich (Page 14)

It’s the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas is at the end of the week. What do we celebrate? Do we forget these last few days of Advent and celebrate Christmas? Maybe we celebrate both: Advent and Christmas! Sometimes the preparations we put into our activities is more of a celebration than the actual event. All during Advent, we say Wait! Prepare! Anticipate! When we do this, we are reflecting on the birth of Jesus. How will we make Christ’s…

Advent is a time of waiting, anticipation and preparing for the Birth of Christ. In the midst of this season, we all lead different lives that take us in all directions. Some of these are family oriented activities; some are individual aspirations; and some may be sickness or unusual or unexpected problems. But we continue to prepare because the Birth of Christ is the peace that we seek that gets us through the most difficult times in our lives. We…

Scripture is filled with anxious moments when doubt, uncertainty, and fear preceded great events. The prophets Moses, Abraham, Mary, and the Apostles – all felt a little uncertain as they waited and prepared for God’s Plan to come to fruition. As one scholar observed, every time you hear “Do not fear” in Scripture, there’s something to worry about and work to be done! St. Paul’s words become all the more comforting: the one who has begun the good work in…

Be vigilant at all times. Today’s Gospel reading from the Gospel of Luke foretells the days when humankind will be witness to many inexplicable signs, both from the sky and here on earth. But even though the events of these days will be unlike any we have ever witnessed, we are to stand tall, ever prayerful, ever vigilant, in anticipation of the coming of the Son of Man. We know that prayer is both a gift of grace and a…

Our Liturgical Year began on the 1st Sunday in Advent and concludes today with the Feast of Christ the King. During this year have we re-lived the life of Christ and tried to immerse ourselves in His kingdom? So we can ask: “Is Christ more king of my life now than a year ago?” The influence of a leader is most prevalent. Teachers and students will follow their principal. Employees will emulate their managers. If government leaders have integrity, it…

So many of us like to plan our future, whether that be next week or a year from now. We like to know what is going to happen. Listening to the Gospel today, we see we cannot plan our eternal future. That time and moment is reserved to God alone. So maybe we can live our lives already preparing and being prepared for that eternal moment. We cannot buy our way into heaven by doing good deeds. But doing good…

As I read the Gospel this weekend about the poor widow who put into the collection simply two coins. These coins were nearly all she had to live on. She truly sacrificed. Today we pray for vocations, specifically, vocations to priesthood and religious life. What is a vocation to priesthood? To me, it’s giving your whole life over to Christ. It’s sacrificing personal wants and desires for the sake of bringing Christ to others. It means administering the sacraments; bringing…

The scribe in today’s Gospel asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Why did he ask this? Was is for knowledge or justification in his life? If you were with Jesus, what would you ask for? Would you ask for something for yourself? Or like Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people. Would you ask for the pain to be taken away? Or would you hear Jesus say help me to carry the cross of your sinfulness? Would you…

In today’s Gospel, Bartimaeus responds to Jesus question by saying “I want to see!” I’m reminded here of the cliche, “Be careful what you ask for.” What would we see? Many people’s lives focused on the negative and so they will only see things and events that are bad, hurtful, spiteful and just plain wrong. But maybe if we asked the Lord to see, we might start seeing all the good that is happening around us. We’ll start to notice…

Jesus said to the rich young man who wanted a guarantee to eternal life to sell what you have, give it to the poor, and then come and follow me. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Simply put it is to live a life based on the words and actions of Jesus. In the last few weeks we have asked for people to help volunteer at the Church. Examples: Ministering at Mass or taking communion to homebound, singing in…

The rich, young man in the Gospel wanted a guarantee to get into heaven. He followed the Commandments and lived a good life. Jesus said get rid of all your riches and then come follow me. The young man couldn’t do it. Do you think you can give up all your possessions and follow Jesus? Maybe yes? Maybe no? But maybe we can start slowly. How about giving up some of your time and talent. Volunteer to help others. Sacrifice…

Today is Respect Life Sunday. “Respect Life” is more than just a catchphrase. It needs to be a way of living. Respect life. Not just in the womb, but everywhere, at every time, in all circumstances — within our families, our communities, our schools, and the places we work and do business. It means treating every life with dignity, and honoring every life as a gift. By changing how we talk about life, how we treat life, how we teach…