Set Apart for the Worship of God | #1549
Pilgrim Priest
• The consecration or dedication of a church building sets it apart for the worship of God. Every Christian is consecrated to the Lord. We were Baptized and Confirmed and received Holy Communion. The church is holy so we can be holy. We should be no less holy than our local Catholic Church! Some of us are called to dedicate ourselves particularly to God. The men and women who join religious orders are "set apart" for the worship of God. They live here now as all will live in Heaven. When you come to the church, you should find Jesus. When you come to the priest, you should meet Jesus. When...
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Funerals Have Much in Common with Baptisms | #1548
Pilgrim Priest
• The dead are not so very far away. They have a message for you: "What you are, I once was. What I am, you will be." I want to start my homily by talking about funerals. Funerals and Baptisms have more in common than you might realize. We greet the body at the door, we sprinkle the casket with Holy Water, and we unfold a white pall over the casket. Jesus receives all of our concerns and burdens, and covers us in his own holiness. Finally, we are given a lit candle, the Light of Faith, to light our way to heaven. Our Baptism starts us on our journey to God's kingdom. We then spend the...
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Hastening to the Heavenly Jerusalem | #1547
Pilgrim Priest
• What are we celebrating today? The Preface for All Saints explains: For for today, by your gift, we celebrate the festival of your city, the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother, where the great array of our brothers and sisters already gives you eternal praise. Towards her we eagerly hasten, as pilgrims advancing by faith, rejoicing in the glory bestowed upon those exalted members of your Church to whom you give us, in our frailty, both strength and good example. And so we glorify you with the multitude of saints and angels, as with one voice of praise, we acclaim... The word Saint is the...
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Persistent Prayer Changes the World | #1546
Pilgrim Priest
Welcome to our Stewardship Commitment Sunday. When it comes to stewardship, I feel like the little old lady who is constantly badgering the judge. "Turn in your card!" When God doesn't answer our prayers, we need to step back and notice our underlying need. The Lord wants to grow deeper in a relationship with us. We are often not open to receive the gift of Jesus himself. The good times and the bad, the sickness and the health, can all be opportunities to grow closer to God. But we need to be persistent in prayer if we want to see growth happen. Our annual Stewardship Renewal is not...
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The Healing That Flows From Obedience | #1545
Pilgrim Priest
Naaman the Syrian is powerful, wealthy, and successful. But his strength and wealth are not enough to make him healthy. He encounters love and truth through his obedience to God's will, and experiences wholeness and communion. When we started our stewardship program, I thought everyone else needed to learn stewardship. The program is helping me learn to trust in God, be grateful, and be generous with God's gifts. Being obedient to God leads to healing. Even the sufferings, burdens, and challenges that we face are really gifts from God. (12 Oct 2025) Going Deeper: If you are a member at the...
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The Devil's Secret Plot to Take Over the World | #1544
Pilgrim Priest
"I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord." Was the prophet Habakkuk looking over my shoulder as I watched the evening news? We come to Sunday Mass to get a new vision, a vision that is different from the evening news or your social feed. God appears not to intervene because he is more concerned about the state of your soul than about the state of the world. Let's consider an attitude adjustment. First, how do we look at the global and...
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Winners and Losers | #1543
Pilgrim Priest
I saw a lot of amazing things on my pilgrimage to Italy: medieval towns, Pope Leo, three Eucharistic miracles, the four major basilicas... but the most amazing thing was our Italian bus driver, Pino. I used to think that Italian driving was highly competitive. But I watched Pino and the other drivers cooperating with one another. Do we see the world through a lens of competition or cooperation? Many of our political leaders today see the world as winners and losers. Jesus has a message for us: The winners of today will be the losers of tomorrow, and the losers of today will be the winners of...
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Snake! (Look at the Cross) | #1542
Pilgrim Priest
• Anti-venom comes from animals who were poisoned but survived. Jesus drank the poison of our sins and it killed him. But he rose from the dead and now his body is the antidote to sin and death. Grumbling is a kind of poison. If left unchecked, it will kill our spirits. When you suffer, look at the cross. Know that Jesus suffers with you and he suffers for you. You can unite your sufferings to Jesus. It is a good habit to have a cross in every room in your house. (14 Sep 2025) Going Deeper: Hang up a crucifix in a prominent place in your home. Spend 15 minutes gazing at a crucifix and...
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Discipleship Only Works When You Do This | #1541
Pilgrim Priest
We think we are free, but many of us are slaves. We are burdened by the needs and worries of the flesh. The book of Wisdom says, "For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns." In today's Gospel, Jesus seems to be adding more burdens: Hate your family, take up your cross, and renounce all your possessions. In reality, Jesus is not adding more burdens, but lifting burdens from us. He is setting captives free. Think of the times we worry about our family and friends. If Jesus is the most important person in our lives, all our...
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Why Would Anyone Choose Poverty? | #1540
Pilgrim Priest
Jesus goes to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the guests at the banquet are observing them carefully. Jesus is also watching them. He offers some sage advice, a radical suggestion: fight for the lower spot. Make yourself as humble as possible, and wait for the host to exult you. Two news stories shocked me this week. The first was the shooting at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis. The second was a priest of the Madison diocese who was arrested for pursuing an illegal relationship with a young girl. I don’t know a lot about these situations. And it’s...
info_outlineAscension of the Lord • We know that the earth is a giant sphere suspended in outer space. The ancient people thought of the world like a snow globe. Jesus is ascending to the highest point of the universe. From there he can see everything and lead his people to victory.
The cloud of God's glory leads the Israelites out of Egypt, meets Moses on the top of Mt. Sinai, and takes up residence in the newly-consecrated Temple of Solomon. The cloud appears at the Transfiguration. So when Jesus is hidden from their sight by a cloud, it means that he has moved into the presence of God.
How can Pope Leo the Great say, "Jesus had not left his Father when he came down to earth, nor had he abandoned his disciples when he ascended into heaven"? It's almost like Jesus and the Holy Spirit are two sides of an old-fashioned two-car elevator. When Jesus walked the Earth, the Holy Spirit kept him connected to his Father. Jesus ascends and the Holy Spirit descends. Now the Holy Spirit is here with us keeping us connected to Jesus and the Father.
Jesus is the head; we are the body. We could say that the Body of Christ has its feet on the ground and it's head in the clouds. We, the Body of Christ, is suffering, dying, rising, and ascending into heaven. Meanwhile, our head is safely home and leading us there. Let us pray for a greater communion with God through the Holy Spirit. Place your hands over your heart an repeat after me, "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the heart of your faithful, and kindle in me, the fire of your love."
(1 Jun 2025)
Going Deeper: Reflect on these words from Pope Leo the Great: "Even the blessed apostles, though they had been strengthened by so many miracles and instructed by so much teaching, took fright at the cruel suffering of the Lord's passion and could not accept his resurrection without hesitation. Yet they made such progress through his ascension that they now found joy in what had terrified them before. They were able to fix their minds on Christ's divinity as he sat at the right hand of his Father, since what was presented to their bodily eyes no longer hindered them from turning all their attention to the realization that he had not left his Father when he came down to earth, nor had he abandoned his disciples when he ascended into heaven."
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