Posts by Fr. Rich (Page 18)

This Sunday is not only Good Shepherd Sunday, because of today’s Gospel, but it is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Next week, I will be celebrating forty-four years of priesthood. On my anniversary I always think of the priests who influenced my call to the priesthood. They were the young assistant pastors when I grew up. They were in the schools with us, on the playgrounds, always a part of our everyday lives. But there was also this…

Imagine being one of the disciples in today’s Gospel. You just heard the story of the empty tomb and about Jesus appearing to other disciples on the road to Emmaus. You have feelings of hope because Jesus has risen as He said. Then you remember the pain of His crucifixion, the sense of loss and fear on your part, and you’re right back to where you started. We need Jesus again to appear before us, and maybe He does —…

Back in college at a leadership camp, I had to do a trust walk. It was to go blindfolded into the woods only following the voice of your partner. It was the most difficult task I had to do that summer, especially since the person guiding me was a person I just met three days before. In today’s Gospel, Thomas doesn’t seem to trust his fellow apostles. “I won’t believe unless I see Him myself.” Jesus responds, “Blessed are those…

Today we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. In this Feast we see Jesus show his power, not only over sin, but over death as well. He gives us forgiveness of our sins and promises us a share in eternal life with him in heaven. But how does this Feast influence your every day lives? That faith Jesus had in his heavenly Father to overcome death is the same faith we have that helps us overcome our difficulties in life. If…

Good Friday is a day of Fast & Abstinence.  We abstain from meat on this day.  And we fast, two lesser meals and one regular meal with no food between. This is a discipline of Lent so that we can see what is most important in our lives – Jesus, the Word of God.

Today is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week.  It’s that special week that we remember and commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus.  But today, think of the palm you receive.  That palm is a symbol of victory as they laid these before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem.  Take this symbol of victory home with you and place it in a special place.  It will be a continuous reminder of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.  It will…

In today’s Gospel, some Greeks came up to Philip and said, “We would like to see Jesus.” I often said the same thing in my life and my ministry. I would ponder what it would be like to meet Jesus face to face. I would think about what I would say to him. Ask a thousand questions. And then I would rethink it. And now I wonder if I would even be able to talk if Jesus approached me or…

John 3:16 is something you see in many different ways: a sign pops up in a crowd, a tattoo on someone’s arm or even someone just saying to you John 3:16. But what is John 3:16? To me, its’ a vivid reminder that God loves me. He sent His Son to sacrifice for our sins and give us a promise of eternal life. Sometimes in life we get into a depressed mood. Maybe its unexpected worries bothering us; maybe unusual…

We like to describe Church as the people of God or the community of faith. But it is also a building, a temple, that holds within, like no other church, the Blessed Sacrament.- the very presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic Bread. Many people pay a visit to Churches throughout the day and ours is no different. They describe their visit as a unique feeling as if in the very Presence of Jesus Himself. And they are right. For the…

Sacrifice: what does this mean to you? In today’s first reading Abraham was asked to sacrifice his very son, Isaac. And his faith showed forth as he was willing to do so, no matter how difficult it was. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice as He gave His life on the cross for you and me. So now, how difficult are those sacrifices we take on during our Lenten journey? Is giving up that extra meal, or a particular food as…

Lent is our desert experience. What is your desert experience? For Margaret Tobin Brown, (known as the unsinkable Molly Brown), her desert might have been the Titanic. A Catholic born to poor Irish immigrants, she was already known for her charity. She began soup kitchens, built a prototype of today’s juvenile justice system and was active in woman’s suffrage. But on that dark night in 1912 the “heroine of the Titanic” was born. Despite her protests to let others go…

Many people swear by a particular diet they follow to help them lose weight. But there are so many diet programs out there, which one is best. If you look closely at them, they all advocate the basics: cut back on certain foods and exercise regularly. Lent begins this Wednesday. Maybe this Lent can be everyone’s diet of sorts. Not to lose weight, but to improve or better our lives of faith. So we need to get down to the…