Is This the Worst Kind of Suffering? | #1620
Pilgrim Priest
• We experience many different forms of suffering: illness, tragedy, the death of loved ones. But the worst kind of suffering is to have no sense of our purpose. Each one of us is a gift, hand-made by God and given to the world. But the world often does not receive us as a gift. On Good Friday, Jesus is completely and totally rejected. Even though the world rejects him, he knows that his gift is safe in the Father's hands. No one can take away his gift; he gives it freely and generously. You are worth it. Jesus died for you. No matter where you have been or what you have done, Jesus still...
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We Love Because He First Loved Us | #1619
Pilgrim Priest
• The Paschal Lamb was a sacrifice and a sacred meal. It's blood saved the Israelites from the Angel of Death. It died for them, so that they could live. Then the people then consumed the sacrifice with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. We give people we love mementos of our love. Jesus reminds us of his love by giving us his very self. Before you consume this meal, ask yourself: "Am I willing to give in the same measure?" We must love others as we have been loved. We wash feet, and then we invite those whose feet were washed to wash the feet of their loved ones. We love because he first...
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Donkeys are Marked with the Sign of the Cross | #1618
Pilgrim Priest
Today, Jesus looks like a king. He fulfills the prophecy of Zachariah 9:9. Following Jesus, and accepting his kingdom, gives us freedom from all the kingdoms of this world. Even donkeys are marked with a cross! It's easy to follow Jesus when everyone is cheering for him. But will you keep following Jesus when things get hard? If we follow Jesus and accept his kingship, then our lives will also be marked with the cross. After the reading of the Passion How can God be a good Father if he lets us suffer? How could God be a good Father when he lets Jesus die on the cross? Jesus believes that his...
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Have You Prepared for Your Funeral? For Your Resurrection? | #1617
Pilgrim Priest
It is never too early to plan your funeral! At least write a few things down: what church, what cemetery, what funeral home, what do you want to wear at your funeral? Jesus totally disappoints his friends. They tell him that their brother, his friend, is sick. He totally ghosts them. Jesus doesn't show up until after the funeral is over. When he finally turns up, his friends say what we've all thought a time or two: "Lord, if you had been here my brother, sister, parent, child... would not have died!" Jesus cries with them. Then he offers them new life. Whoever has Christ, has life. Jesus...
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Jesus Teaches a Master Class on Evangelization | #1616
Pilgrim Priest
Our annual parish Lenten retreat talked about discipleship, stewardship, and evangelization. Let's watch Jesus as he shows us how to evangelize. Jews and Samaritans don't get along, so Jesus starts with something they have in common. Jesus knows that she is thirsty. All this time as she has been searching and thirsting, Jesus has been the one she has been looking for. The Samaritan woman has been blocking the flow of God's life by her selfish lifestyle choices. She tries to change the subject to an argument about religion. Jesus points out her deep desire to be a worshiper of the...
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A Mountain Top Experience As We Journey Into the Desert | #1615
Pilgrim Priest
Lent does not exist for itself. It exists to prepare us for Easter and new life in Christ. On the way into the desert, the nation of Israel stops for a mountain-top experience. The Israelites have been brought out of Egypt but they still have Egypt in their hearts. Are we the sort of people that have to wander in the desert because we don't trust God, or are we the new generation that trusts in God? Jesus gives his three closest disciples a mountain-top experience. I had a mountain-top experience in adoration this past week. When did Jesus become real for you? Save your mountain-top moments....
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Guarding the Garden | #1614
Pilgrim Priest
Adam is given the job to "keep" the garden (the Hebrew word is shamar). Adam fails to guard both the garden and his wife. Jesus feels abandoned by God. He falls back on the lessons God taught the Israelites in their 40 years in the desert. Jesus is guarding and protecting his true identity, and God's true identity as his loving Father. We do not conquer sin and death by figuring out the techniques that Jesus used. Instead, we conquer sin and death by joining Jesus in HIS victory over sin and death. We need to guard and protect our true identity this Lenten season. Guard your mind: "Take every...
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Half-Hearted Lovers | #1613
Pilgrim Priest
• Would you want a boyfriend or girlfriend who loved you half-heartedly? How many of you would want to play on a team with half-hearted teammates? Do you want to live in a family who loves each other half-heartedly? Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were half-hearted Catholics. Then an angel appeared to them to prepare them for Mary's visit. That following spring, on May 13, 1917, Mary appeared to them. She told them they needed to pray and do penance for the conversion of sinners. They began to pray many rosaries and make many sacrifices, including giving away their lunch to other poor...
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Let Your Yes Mean YES and Your No Mean NO | #1612
Pilgrim Priest
Ordinary Time, 6th Sunday (A) Campus ministry is thriving at UW-Oshkosh thanks to your donations to the Bishop's Appeal and the Raising Vocations collection. Missionaries are reaching college students with the love of Jesus, and those students are themselves becoming missionaries on college campuses around the U.S.. You might have heard this sermon: "You're not holy enough; try harder!" That's not really the Gospel message. Our intellect was designed to know the truth and our will was designed to choose that which is good. Sin darkens our intellect and weakens our will. It's easy to believe...
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Illuminating Holy Matrimony | #1611
Pilgrim Priest
Jesus is the light. By the light of his love, we can see our own lives more clearly. We know that we were made by love and for love. Love moves us into communion and community. From the very beginning of creation, Adam and Eve were able to receive one another as a gift. But after sin happens, they fall into the trap of using and being used. This leads to rivalries, jealousies, and divisions. How can we give ourselves completely to one another? We need to start by giving ourselves completely and totally to God. God will teach us that we are a gift an will help us make a gift of ourselves to...
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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