20081019  Are you one of those people whose financial problems keep you up at night? Is money what keeps you from enjoying life? Is it what poisons your mind so that you know only stress and hopelessness? St. Paul has an answer for you: give cheerfully.

20081012  God is Light: the purest perfection. The purest joy. The purest love. The purest beauty. The purest peace. He desires that we join Him in that light. That we become pure joy, pure love, pure beauty, and pure peace. That we transcend the sin and darkness of this broken world to live now and eternally in abundant and rational bliss.

20081005  In these financial times, when people have taken our economy to the brink of destruction with bad loans and risky investments, it might be tempting to sympathize with the servant who buried his talent. But this is not a story about going into debt (which scripture routinely criticizes as unhealthy and dangerous), or about about taking on risk in an attempt to satisfy hedonistic desires for riches or property; or even about mortgaging the future to satisfy illicit desires now. This is a story about taking stock of what we have, rolling up our sleeves, and getting to work.

20080928  This is a difficult world. There are so many of us who are sick. There are so many of us that are hurting. Not just sick and hurting from physical ailments and pain, but also mentally and spiritually. We are a wounded people. And among almost all of us, there is the mistaken belief that we should bear our pain in secret. While there is a time and a place for stoicism, this is not it. Despite what the world teaches us.

20080921  In the birth of Mary, you have a juxtaposition of weakness and strength; the weakness of the elderly and heretofore barren Joachim and Anna, [and] the weakness of their newborn babe; with the strength of God and the inexorable tide of history leading through their small efforts to the grand climax of the world’s remaking.

20080914  In this Gospel lesson, the Lord is trying to open up the eyes of His audience, to help them understand that He is the Son of God, and that the natural way to receive Him is with repentance and gratitude. He does this through a parable and scriptural interpretation.

20080907  What a wonderful day to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, could there be anything better than gathering together here in this beautiful temple and offering the first few hours of this new week in communal praise of God? No, brothers and sisters, this love that you feel – for one another and for Our Lord – is what we are made for and the thing that perfects us.

20080831  Do you want to be healed of your spiritual infirmity?  If you want to be freed from your sins, then you must forgive others. If you refuse to forgive, then you cut yourself off from your brother and, in your lack of love and compassion, you cut yourself off from God and everything good.

20080824  Whom do you trust to guide your decisions? St. Paul or Madison Avenue?  I can certainly tell you which one is most influencing the hearts and minds of this community, our neighbors, our families, and our friends! If you want to see where someone’s heart is, look to how they spend their time and how they spend their money.

20080817  The main lesson from today’s Gospel [at least for today] is NOT that Christ walked on water – although through this, He demonstrated once again His power over nature – but rather His interaction with Peter and the disciples. For it is not surprising that God can do amazing things – anyone with eyes to see must be struck by His Power and Glory – but that God cares for us as His own children.