Posts by Fr. Rich (Page 14)

We made our goal thanks to the 210  families that donated or pledged to this year’s Appeal. With your donation, you are helping our children learn about their faith. You are bringing the Mass into the home  of the homebound. You are helping to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. And  you’re helping education seminarians studying for the priesthood.

In a very old comic strip, every time things would get to be too much for the main characters you could bet on seeing the “Gone fishin” sign posted on a near by tree. It was a literary device used to bring a break to the previous acting and change the story line. In a way, St. Luke does the same thing in Sunday’s Gospel. After the press of the crowds, Jesus convinces Simon to let him teach from the…

Can you imagine how mad the people were at Jesus in today’s Gospel? They wanted to throw him, who they knew growing up, right off the cliff. How did Jesus go from hometown hero to mobs seeking to kill him? As we follow Jesus, it is easy to like him for his miracles, for his humbling the Pharisees and his beautiful and inspiring words. We all like to see those pictures of beautiful babies or some cute cats or puppies.…

After reading today’s second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, I ask all of us: What do we have to offer? We should never think that what we have to offer is insignificant. We should never think our part is too little. We should never reduce ourselves to a simple number. The Body of Christ needs every part, every person, to fulfill his or her role in life so that God’s plan can be victorious over the powers…

We have begun Ordinary Time in the Church’s liturgical year. It starts now until the start of Lent and again after Easter until Advent. During this time, the prayers and readings have us accompany Jesus in his public ministry. We hear of His healings, His signs and miracles, and His all important teachings so that we can be reminded, reaffirmed and challenged to live the Christian life. We are told by the Lord to forgive, accept others generously, be healed…

It’s been an unusual Christmas this past year. Covid and its variants, disrupted our routines, masking and other things have put a scare into our celebrations and lives. Despite all this, our Christmas collection amounted to $16,827.00. Thank You for your generous support and all you give and do for your parish. God Bless You!

With Jesus’ Baptism, we hear God speak this is my beloved, listen to him. It began the public ministry of Jesus, his teachings, miracles, parables and all that he was about. Our baptism is more than a ritual or a time for a party or family gathering. It is our being called to be a disciple of Jesus. Maybe only a baby, but the seed of faith is planted. Then it is up to the parents and godparents, working together…

A New Year has begun: 2022. Here’s where we look back at the old year and make resolutions for the new. But what do we see when we review last year? Usually we see the difficult times, the hurtful experiences and the bad situations. Then we try to fix them or change them or avoid them. Most often to no avail and our resolutions fail. This year look back and see the good things that have happened in your life,…

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! This is the greeting I share with anyone I meet at this time of year. It’s not meant to be an affront to anyone else’s beliefs. But it is my way of sharing with someone that special gift, feeling, and enjoyable presence of Jesus in my life. Sharing happy holidays is a secular term expressing something different. Not the birth of Jesus, but a day closing work and schools and some stores. But for me, Merry…

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…