Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “It’s worth everything, Sam.” I will never forget hearing these words from a priest friend on his ordination day. When a man is ordained to the priesthood, it is customary to ask him for his first priestly blessing. In fact, there is a special indulgence attached to receiving a blessing from a priest in the first year after his ordination! So after an ordination, you will see people lined up waiting for their chance to receive these special blessings. As I knelt before my friend, I was still in seminary, a few years away…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As the summer months progress, we might notice that though many things slow down, they seem to slow down in a whirlwind of activity and growth. In the last 2 months, we saw more than 80 young men and women from our parish receive the sacrament of Confirmation, welcomed a seminarian, sent our high school students to their annual mission trip, said goodbye to a priest, launched our adoration chapel, helped our new parochial vicar get his start in full time ministry at our parish, and hosted a missionary speaker from Nigeria. This weekend,…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Gospel parable we hear today is a familiar one. Naturally, we all want our hearts to correspond to that good soil our Lord references, but we are also alert to the ways in which we receive the word with rocky soil, or of the thorns that spring up and get in the way. The best way for us to keep good soil available for God in our hearts is through a regular life of prayer and sacramental grace. This means praying daily, Mass each week, and some regularity with the sacrament of Confession.…read more

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”  With these words, Jesus lays out a teaching that is among his most consoling and his most challenging. We are invited to rest, and to lay down our burdens - how consoling! Yet we are also told that the yoke of Christ is easy. That…read more