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O Little Town of Bethlehem | Christmas 2025

Release Date: 12/29/2025

Anchored In The Lord

Feast of the Holy Family – Holy and Ordinary (December 28, 2025) On the Feast of the Holy Family, we reflect on a powerful truth: holiness is found not in extraordinary places, but in ordinary family life. Jesus chose to grow within a real human family—one marked by love, sacrifice, misunderstanding, and daily tension—showing us that God’s primary path to holiness is lived through relationships. This reflection explores how everyday moments of friction, sacrifice, and care within families become opportunities for growth in love, patience, and mercy. Drawing from Scripture, it reminds...

O Little Town of Bethlehem | Christmas 2025

Anchored In The Lord

This reflection weaves the beloved hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” into a quiet, hope-filled meditation on how God chooses small, hidden places to do His greatest work. From the stillness of Bethlehem to the silence of our own hearts, it invites listeners to notice how Christ meets the hopes and fears of every age—not from a distance, but by stepping directly into our lives. The episode explores how Christmas can be easily missed amid busyness and distraction, even as heaven remains wide awake with wonder and love. It reminds us that God comes gently, waiting to be welcomed,...

Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran | Nov 11, 2025

Anchored In The Lord

Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran — The Last Rites (Summary) This weekend in our series Arise: On Death and Dying, we reflect on one of the most consoling and misunderstood gifts of the Church at the end of life: the Last Rites. And right away—what I say at the end I’ll say at the beginning: Call early, and when the priest comes, ask for everything. Priests love offering the Last Rites. This is what we’re ordained to do—don’t worry about “bothering” us! Today’s feast gives a fitting backdrop: the readings show us God’s life flowing like living water, Jesus as the...

Daily Consistent Prayer. | 29th Sunday in OT | Oct 19, 2025

Anchored In The Lord

Father David's Homily this week focuses on daily consistent prayer without getting weird! Our readings for October 19, 2025 (the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time) focus on perseverance in prayer and faith. Key themes include: God will grant justice to his chosen ones who call out to him day and night, so believers should not grow weary in prayer, as exemplified by the persistent widow in the Gospel of Luke. The readings emphasize remaining steadfast in faith, with the Old Testament passage from Exodus illustrating how Moses' prayer, supported by Aaron and Hur, secured...

Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Put On Your Nikes – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct. 12, 2025) This week’s homily invites us to look at two powerful moments of healing — Naaman the leper in the Old Testament and the ten lepers who call out to Jesus in the Gospel. Both stories reveal the same truth: God’s power often moves through simple obedience, not spectacle. Naaman expected a dramatic miracle — a show of divine power — but instead was told to do something small and ordinary: wash seven times in the Jordan River. Insulted at first, he finally “just did it” — and was healed. The ten lepers who met Jesus...

What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About?

Anchored In The Lord

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 21, 2025) — What Do I Spend My Time Thinking About? This weekend, we’re asked to pause and pay attention to our own thoughts: What do I actually spend the most time focusing on each day? Is it worries about the world, struggles at home or work, or concerns for our children and families? Or is it God’s kingdom, my role as His disciple, and how I live that out? St. Paul reminds us in today’s readings that our thoughts and concerns don’t have to spiral into worry or discouragement. Instead, they can be transformed into prayer, into trust in God, and...

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: How Should Christians Respond?

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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — How Should Christians Respond? 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 14, 2025) This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross, once a sign of suffering and death, has become for us the ultimate sign of hope: the place where God’s love conquered sin and death. In light of recent tragedies, including the heartbreaking shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, how are we as Christians called to respond? With prayer — not as a last resort, but as a powerful act that lifts the suffering...

Catholic Services Appeal | 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time | 08/17/25

Anchored In The Lord

Catholic Services Appeal Weekend This weekend we begin our Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) — the annual appeal that sustains our Diocese in Northern Wisconsin. St. Joseph Parish Goal: $65,127 St. Ann Parish Goal: $15,973 (We met our goals last year, and with your help, we can do it again!) But this isn’t just about meeting a financial goal. The true call is to grow in Prayerful Generosity: Prayerful — Jesus prayed for us and intercedes for us. Generous — Jesus gave his life for us. Why Support the CSA? Funds the education and formation of seminarians (7 this year, most in...

Retirement: for Me or For God?

Anchored In The Lord

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08/03/25 Retirement: For Me or For God? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who stored up riches for himself, only to be called a fool by God—not for working hard, but for forgetting eternity. He lived as though his future belonged to him, not to God. This challenges us in a culture that views retirement as finally doing what we want. The Christian question is different: Is retirement about me, or is it about God and others? Ecclesiastes reminds us that work without God is vanity. St. Paul urges us to “seek what is above” and put on...

Wanting to Want "All"

Anchored In The Lord

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (07/13/25) Wanting to Want “All” In this episode, we reflect on Jesus’ call to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind—a total, undivided love. We ask the honest question: Do I really love God with all, or just a lot, a majority, or maybe only some? This homily challenges us to move from partial devotion to wholehearted surrender, inviting us to desire a deeper, fuller love for God that shapes every part of our lives.

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This reflection weaves the beloved hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” into a quiet, hope-filled meditation on how God chooses small, hidden places to do His greatest work. From the stillness of Bethlehem to the silence of our own hearts, it invites listeners to notice how Christ meets the hopes and fears of every age—not from a distance, but by stepping directly into our lives.

The episode explores how Christmas can be easily missed amid busyness and distraction, even as heaven remains wide awake with wonder and love. It reminds us that God comes gently, waiting to be welcomed, asking only for openness rather than perfection.

As the hymn becomes a prayer, listeners are invited to let Christ be “born in us today”—in our thoughts, choices, relationships, and even our broken places. This meditation closes with an invitation to receive Emmanuel with a receptive heart, making room for Christ to enter quietly and transform the world through us.

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