A Failure at Prayer Is it possible to be a failure at prayer? The answer is “yes,” and this Sunday we’ll talk about two failures at prayer, depicted for us in the Gospel reading, the parable of the Publican and Pharisee. Think about this for a moment: What are you telling God in prayer that  Read more …

We (Christians) build to see God. In 1 Chronicles 22:19 God says “Seek me, build me a temple”. Building a space for a community to encounter God is one of the most basic acts of drawing heaven into your world. It has been this way for centuries. The Shunamite woman built a room on her  Read more …

“The day will come.” Devastation. Ruin. Emptiness. Is this the fate of the earth? Jesus Himself, in today’s Gospel, saw terrible times ahead, a day coming when not one stone of our human temple will rest on another. He warned of the signs. There will be wars and insurrections. Nations will fight to the death  Read more …

The image of Mary as Queen Mother is directly related to the first official Marian dogma defined by the Church: Mary’s status as Mother of God.  The Greek word for the title is Theotokos, which literally means “God-bearer.”  That title is one of the oldest and most commonly used titles for Mary, with Christians using  Read more …

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary What is it exactly?  Where is it in the Bible?  And what the doctrine and tradition of this church say about this holy feast?  These are questions we will explore in our homily this Sunday. In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray  Read more …

Not everyone…will enter into the Kingdom Faith is not easy today for any of us. To have real faith, an actual belief in God, requires something more than simply continuing to roll with the flow of our own particular faith communities.  Being born into a Christian family and worshipping within a Christian church can give  Read more …

 “Rise and Come forward”.  Jesus spoke these words to a man He had singled out in a synagogue almost 2022 years ago.  For us, these words also express our mission and our faith.  Our passion is for people.  For many, life-changing treasures in the Church have remained “buried”.  The Scriptures, the sacraments, the lives of  Read more …

Tested but not tempted by God The Old Testament reading (Gen 22:1-18) appointed for today recounts Abraham’s faith test. God tested Abraham’s trust in Him in a totally unexpected way. God used Abraham to picture the greatest example of His love—long before Jesus gave His life for us. This conversation between God and Abraham was the  Read more …

There’s something strangely comforting about the messy stories of God’s saints in Scripture.  We might expect the heroes of the Bible to go from one episode of obedience to the next, successive faith victories on the path to eternal glory. But that’s not what we find in the Bible.  Take Abraham, for instance.  In Genesis  Read more …

Adoration, also known as “benediction of the blessed sacrament” or “Eucharistic adoration” or simply “holy hour” is adoring or honoring the Eucharistic Presence of Christ. In a deeper sense, it involves “the contemplation of the Mystery of Christ truly present before us”.  Jesus waits for us in this Sacrament of Love.  In the sacred Host, He  Read more …