Let's Talk About Confirmation | #1610
Pilgrim Priest
Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of our Lord's Baptism. This week, the readings speak to us of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation is the sacrament most closely connected to the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was Baptized by John in the River Jordan, me came out of the water and the Holy Spirit landed on him like a dove. The Holy Spirit remained with him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "His whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him 'without measure.' This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's,...
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I Never Thought I Would Preach a Homily on This Topic | #1609
Pilgrim Priest
We naturally love that which is good. Therefore, you should love yourself. Rightly-ordered self-love is the fruit of seeing your own goodness and loving that which is good. You should desire your own continued existence and your own flourishing. You are not the source of your own goodness. We love our Creator as the source of our goodness. And when we look around at others, we see that they are also good like us, and we love them. So love of others and love of God flow from love of self. Do you see how important it is to love yourself rightly? This is exactly why the Devil attacks your value!...
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Gifts for the True Star | #1608
Pilgrim Priest
• Marco Polo claims to have seen the incorrupt bodies of the three magi. God is directing a great drama and each of us has a special role. Everyone else is fighting to be the star of the show. But we recognize that the true star is Jesus, with Mary as Best Supporting Actress. Herod needs to be the star, and he will eliminate any competition. The Wise Men show us who is the true Star. They also teach us that we have a gift to give. Every Sunday at Mass, we present our gifts to the King and God, the healer of our ills. (4 Jan 2026) Going Deeper: What kind of gifts do you have to give at...
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A Mother's Authority | #1607
Pilgrim Priest
• God is three Divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is one person with two natures - human and divine. So can we call Mary the Mother of God? Yes, because she is the mother of a person, not a nature. God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. - Sirach 3:2 A mother has authority over her children. Mary is fully human but she has been given special graces and blessings. She has been given authority as the Mother of God's family. Her authority extends even over the demons. As our new year begins, let us...
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Joseph's Secret to Being a Great Father | #1606
Pilgrim Priest
We are each special, hand-made, and unique. When God creates children, he wants them to be welcomed into the world by a family. Right from the beginning, the family is under attack. Adam doesn't protect the garden. He and Eve disobey God. They begin living lives of isolation, self-protection, and self-reliance. How does Joseph manage to best Herod? Joseph is a good father to God's son because he is an obedient son of the Father. He does not rely on his own strength, wisdom, or abilities, but on God. Fathers and mothers are called to be visible signs of God's invisible love. We are all...
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The Only Gift That Will Save You | #1605
Pilgrim Priest
• I decorated my tree on Christmas Eve. It was a journey through my life history. As we listen to the genealogy of Jesus, we get a brief summary of the history of the entire Bible. Only one name is repeated. Each person is a unique link on the chain that leads to Jesus. You are precious and unique. God delights in you and rejoices in you. Not all of us are faithful. In fact, most of us are not faithful some of the time. God was faithful to his side of the covenant even when the ancestors of Jesus were not faithful to their side of the covenant. God sent his Son so that we could be born...
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A Sign That God Is With Us | #1604
Pilgrim Priest
A young King Ahaz faces a complicated and difficult political situation. He doesn't need a plan, a strategy, or powerful allies because God will be with him. God wants to give him a sign, but he doesn't want a sign. Does he feel ashamed? Is he trying to be the one in control? Is he afraid to trust? Or maybe me thinks he doesn't matter. Whatever difficult situation, challenge, or darkness you are facing, God is with you. The answer you are looking for is not a present under a tree. God himself is the answer to your prayers. Watch and wait for him. Jesus's life on earth was itself a sign. He...
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Waiting In Joyful Hope | #1603
Pilgrim Priest
For twenty years, Franciscan missionaries labored in Mexico with very little success. Finally, God acted through Mary, and in 10 years, over 8 million Aztecs and Chichimecas became Catholic. served as a missionary to teens through the Spiritus program. He often prayed at Champion Shrine and complained that God wasn't revealing his vocation to him. Finally, Mary spoke in his heart. All that waiting had put him in exactly the right place to answer the call. We can get discouraged when God doesn't act promptly. We might think that God isn't listening or doesn't care. We need to wait in...
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The Most Perfect Gift | #1602
Pilgrim Priest
• Which Catholic teaching is the most difficult to accept? It's not the Immaculate Conception, the Incarnation, or Transubstantiation. Most people seem to have a really hard time with the idea that every child is a gift from God. Thanks to original sin, every child is perfect and precious and also rather annoying. And we make things worse when we make our own sinful choices. So when God wanted to send the most perfect gift, he made Mary not only precious and beautiful and loved, but also without original sin. Mary could spend her whole life being the good and beautiful person she was...
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Be Ready With This One Simple Habit | #1601
Pilgrim Priest
Winter was coming, but were you prepared? Advent was coming, were you ready? Jesus is coming; are you prepared to meet him? Some of our Protestant brothers and sisters use today's Gospel to justify "the rapture." But in the days of Noah, the evil people were taken and the good people were left. The rapture is the opposite: the good people are taken and the evil ones are left. The Catholic church does not believe in the rapture. We believe that Jesus will walk with the good people through difficult times. "He who perseveres to the end will be saved." When Jesus says, "One will be taken...
info_outlineAdvent, 1st Sunday (A) Winter was coming, but were you prepared? Advent was coming, were you ready? Jesus is coming; are you prepared to meet him?
Some of our Protestant brothers and sisters use today's Gospel to justify "the rapture." But in the days of Noah, the evil people were taken and the good people were left. The rapture is the opposite: the good people are taken and the evil ones are left. The Catholic church does not believe in the rapture. We believe that Jesus will walk with the good people through difficult times. "He who perseveres to the end will be saved."
When Jesus says, "One will be taken and one will be left," I think he means the experience of loosing those who were close to us.
How can we be ready when it's our turn? I recommend the old Catholic practice of seeing every bedtime as a little death. We never know if today is our last day on earth. Before you go to bed, prepare yourself to meet Jesus. Spend some time in gratitude. Where was Jesus present in your day? How did you respond to his presence? Say an Act of Contrition. Then make a resolution for tomorrow.
Winter was coming. Were you prepared? Christmas is coming. Are you prepared? Jesus is coming. Are you ready to meet him?
(30 Nov 2025)
Going Deeper: Before bedtime, make three simple steps: Gratitude, Contrition, and Resolution.
Rest in Peace, Fr. Daren J Zehnle.
Introducing the New Album for 2026
Welcome to Season 16 of the Pilgrim Priest Podcast. This season is titled Breath Fire Light.
The new podcast year always starts with the first Sunday of Advent. I try to find a meaningful title for the podcast that reflects what is going on spiritually in my life and in the parishes. This year, the image that came to me was that of a fire that has almost burned itself out. There are just a few coals left flickering.
You breathe on the fire to breath life back into it. Then you add some kindling and keep breathing on it, coaxing it back into life. If you are successful, there is a moment when the kindling bursts into flame. Suddenly you have light!
Our parishes have grown cold and many Catholics are barely smouldering. We need the Holy Spirit to breathe on us and coax us into flame. When we catch fire, then we can start to be a Light to the nations again. Breath. Fire. Light.
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