Dcn. John Stanley’s Homily June 28, 2020 “Well today’s first reading is a beautiful story of this Shunammite woman’s kindness to the prophet Elisha and in our Gospel Jesus teaches us about the virtue of hospitality as well. The readings are a pleasant contrast to the Church’s readings in the last two days or so […]
Focus On God – Fr. Anthony Williams
Fr. Anthony Williams’ Homily June 27, 2020 “One word that for me stands out with respect to the three sacred readings proclaimed is obedience, obedience to God, something that we clergy, monastics, religious, so forth are giving an understanding of in our formation. You might ask the question today, ‘well what does that mean, obedience?’ […]
6 Feet Apart
Six Feet Apart Rewind your imagination to a pre-pandemic Sunday morning Mass at Ascension. You enter the sanctuary and see unmasked faces smiling, singing, or whispering hushed instructions to wiggling children. You feel the bustle of bodies squishing into already-full pews. You share the sign of peace with an open hand and heart. After Mass […]
If the Church is not Crying
If the Church is not Crying… Rewind your imagination to a pre-pandemic Sunday morning Mass at Ascension. Feel the bustle of bodies squishing into the already-full pews. See a mother straighten her daughter’s hair bow, a father remind his son to genuflect, or a grandmother remove her grandchild from an elbow-deep plunge into the baptismal […]
To Be Christian To One Another – Fr. Anthony Williams
Fr. Anthony Williams’ Homily June 29, 2020 “Today our country celebrates what is know as Father’s Day and we had Mother’s Day in May and I recall years ago that I was giving a blessing to Mothers at the end of Mass and I asked them to stand and several of the fathers stood and […]
How Much Does Jesus Love Us? – Fr. Tom Tank
Fr. Tom Tank’s Homily June 21, 2020 “Well children this is a wonderful day for you! It’s a day you’ve been looking forward to for a long time and it’s a day that’s going to impact your entire futures as you continue to experience that wonderful presence of Christ in Holy Communion and I have […]
To Acknowledge Jesus – Dcn. Kris Kuckelman
Dcn. Kris Kuckelman’s Homily June 21, 2020 “So in our Gospel reading today, Jesus tells the Apostles to ‘fear no one.’ What’s kind of curious about that is if you look at the verses immediately before our Gospel reading Jesus assures the Apostles that they will be persecuted and indeed they were. Tradition tells us […]
Fear No One – Dcn. Ken Billinger
Dcn. Ken Billinger’s Homily June 20, 2020 “‘Fear no one.’ That’s the words we hear from Christ in the Gospel tonight, so I’ll ask you a question, what is your fear? Is it death? Maybe terminal illness? Maybe it’s sharing your faith with others, or perhaps it’s your spouse’s driving? What is it that you […]
Feast
The Sensory Experience of a Feast As Catholics, we are often playfully criticized for the all of the “bells and smells” of our faith. While the customs of our faith may seem ordinary to many cradle Catholics, imagine bringing a friend (who is not familiar with the Catholic faith) to Mass for the first time. […]
Holy Water
In your pre-pandemic life, how frequently did you walk in or out of a church sanctuary, dip your fingers in Holy Water, and bless yourself with the sign of the cross? If you are like many others, you may have took this practice for granted, without full gratitude for the gift of having Holy Water […]