October 11, 2026
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time We’re well acquainted with the two parables in today’s Gospel: the parable of the wedding invitation and the parable of the wedding garment. They’re obviously directed toward the religious leaders. But as always, we need to direct the parables to ourselves. What is Jesus telling us through these parables? Each […]
October 10, 2026
Through faith you are all my children (Galatians 3:22-29) My wife and I have shared fifty-six years of marriage. In recent years, we have settled into the back of the church, where a few wooden pews remain while folding chairs support the congregation, who are saving (and raising funds) for a new house of God. […]
October 9, 2026
I remember a priest’s comment about attacks by the evil one: “A thief does not rob an empty house, only one with treasure! You have something powerful that he wants to destroy: your relationship with God.” But we do not need to fear. Today’s readings offer a home-security plan for the soul: let God be […]
October 8, 2026
Sometime in 2018, I asked my friend and golfing buddy, the late Father Roger Bourgeois SSS, to speak at an initial formation program I was leading for some prospective associates. He was already in his mid-80s, but sharp as a tack and seven decades steeped in religious life and the charism of the Congregation of […]
October 7, 2026
Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary Tradition informs us that Mary appeared to Dominic Guzman, founder of the Dominican Order, and gave him the rosary as a means of evangelization. Tradition also notes that the rosary gained popularity as it became for lay persons a vicarious way of praying the monastic 150 psalms. Today’s […]
October 6, 2026
Jesus is a gentle but determined teacher with a wonderful message when he speaks with the apostles. What to wear, where to go, what to eat, what to do: all of these are incidentals, sidelines that can steal attention away from the Anointed One, the Messiah who brings God’s salvation message for all of humankind. […]
October 5, 2026
In reflecting on the parable of the good Samaritan, I felt compelled to share a similar encounter of compassion and healing that I witnessed on a retreat. On the first evening, a retreatant shared that he was unhappy and filled with anger for most of his life. You could sense his bitterness when he spoke, […]
October 4, 2026
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Preparing for this liturgy, I was surprised that I could not get beyond the Opening Prayer, or Collect, as it is called. This Opening Prayer is a wonderful example of what is called in the ancient expression lex orandi, lex credendi, loosely translated as how we worship is also what […]
October 3, 2026
“No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him” (Luke 10:22). Notice the relationship language. To know God as Father is only revealed through the Son. To know God as our Father, we must first accept […]
October 2, 2026
Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels [Jesus said] “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” The gospel passage for this feast is really about greatness in the kingdom of heaven, and the […]