Anchored In The Lord

Pentecost Sunday God is doing great things here in our family of parishes!  More people are coming to Church; more young couples are attending Mass; more kids are being baptized; more families are joining the Church; more people are becoming Catholic — great things are happening here because of you and your witness! God's Spirit is being poured out in other places as well.   God is doing great things in vocations in our diocese.  God is doing great things at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee (where we send our graduate seminarians in final preparation for priesthood).

Ascension Sunday We are called to follow where Christ our Savior went first.  We, like Jesus, are called to be light enough to ascend to the Father: some things weigh us down, and some things raise us up.   Do you ever feel heavy?  Do you ever feel weighed down?  Jesus wants to lighten your load.   Ask Jesus for the grace today, ask the Holy Spirit for the power today: “Lord, give me the grace and the power to let go of one more thing I'm holding onto that's weighing me down.  And Lord, help me with your grace and power to take one more step in an area that will raise me up!”

6th Sunday of Easter On this Memorial Day Weekend, we give thanks to God for the lives we are able to live in our country as we remember those who have died while serving in our Armed Forces, protecting us and upholding the rights and liberties which we enjoy here and now; we remember them and we pray for eternal rest and peace for their souls.  If I'm being totally honest, though, in my day-to-day life, I usually take these freedoms for granted.  I also take many of the blessings of life for granted...and the people God has placed in my life for granted...and the incredible gift of forgiveness of sins in Jesus and eternal life for granted...and our incredible Catholic faith for granted... So if you're anything like me, let's pause this week, and intentionally give thanks to God this day for all of His many gifts!

4th Sunday of Easter Just a few days ago, on Thursday, May 8th, something happened that I never thought I would see in my lifetime: Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! …And he's American! Robert Francis Prevost is a native of Chicago; an Augustinian priest (a religious order priest) who spent much of his priestly life as a missionary in South America, and eventually serving as a Bishop in Peru.  More recently, he was called to Rome, where he worked in the Dicastery for Bishops. On this Good Shepherd Sunday let's pray for our new shepherd, Pope Leo XIV.  I also ask for your prayers for me, your local shepherd.  And finally, prayers for those that you have been called by God to shepherd.  Jesus doesn't say “follow me” to only popes or priests; he says it to every disciple.  Every one of us who has heard Jesus' invitation and chosen to follow Him has also been tasked with the responsibility to shepherd specific people the Lord has placed in our care.  May we all model our shepherding after that of Christ, the Good Shepherd!

Easter Sunday "Roll away the stone.  See the glory of God.  Roll away the stone." What stones are still blocking the tomb of your heart?  This Easter, God wants to roll those stones away.   Christ doesn't roll it away to shame us—He rolls it away so that He can enter in.  Just as He stepped out of the tomb into the garden of new life, bringing into our world something entirely new — so Jesus wants to step into the tombs we've been trapped in and say, “Peace be with you, ” bringing His light and His healing, to clear out the old, musty, life-draining, stale air, and bring in a breath of new, fresh, moving, life-giving air! Happy Easter!

5th Sunday of Lent “Then Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on do not sin any more.'” “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” “forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead,”  

2nd Sunday of Lent In our Gospel today, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a mountain, and He is transfigured before them, they get a glimpse of the dazzling bright white glory of Jesus' divinity, a foretaste of heaven and of who we are called to be!  But our Gospel today says, “Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory!”  Jesus was already in conversation with Moses and Elijah and showing forth his tremendous glory…before Peter, James and John woke up and realized what had already been happening even as they were sleeping, “missing out on it,” as it were.  What if Peter, James and John had slept through all of it?  Would we even know about this event?  What will it take for us to become “fully awake”?  Fully awake to the presence of God already alive, active and at work around us, within us, and through us?!

1st Sunday of Lent On this Safe Haven Sunday, we are asked to to, first and foremost, make the home a safe haven for our kids by taking practical steps to help our kids engage technology in holy and virtuous ways and, inasmuch as possible, protect them from exposure to explicit content.  This is also an opportunity for individuals of all ages, young and old, to not only ask whether our media use is healthy in regards to explicit content, but also in regards to where it encourages our focus, energy and attention.  Satan doesn't care how good our motivations are so long as we are concerned about things we can't change (politics, national happenings, world happenings) and don't see the real, down-to-earth, practical things that we can!

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus calls us to be transformed, to be renewed in mind and action, to look and act differently than others normally do: this theme runs through all of our readings.  Yes, we are called to be disciples of Jesus, but our mission is more than just following Jesus as a disciple.  Jesus' last words on this earth before He ascended into heaven give us our mission: “Go and make disciples”.  So we are called to not only be disciples, but missionary disciples, reaching out genuinely and in faith to others that the Lord puts in our path so that we can fulfill the mission Jesus entrusted to us: to make disciples!  The movement from a disciple to a missionary disciple is slight, but it's also powerful...and it makes all the difference!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time What does our world need?  Whom does God seek?  Not the "perfect" or the "sinless", but the willing.   No matter how unworthy we are, He calls us, and when we willingly say "yes," He cleanses us, and He strengthens us to go on whatever mission He has planned for us. This week, let's be the ones whom God seeks and whom our world needs: the willing ones.  "Here I am, Lord. Send me."

Baptism of the Lord When we are baptized in the waters, we are adopted into God's family and actually become, in Jesus, children of the Father.  Baptism happens once and is the doorway to the other sacraments.  Receiving the Eucharist (which we do again and again and again) is becoming who we are: the Body of Christ.  So ask yourselves a few questions: "How do I come to Mass?  What do I see as my role at Mass?  How am I engaged at Mass?" “Priest of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass, Your last Mass and your only Mass.”   “People of God, Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass, Your last Mass and your only Mass.”  

Epiphany How do I come to Mass?  

Merry Christmas! Come, they told me — pa rum pum pum pum A newborn King to see — pa rum pum pum pum Our finest gifts we bring — pa rum pum pum pum To lay before the King — pa rum pum pum pum     Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum. So to honor Him — pa rum pum pum pum When we come.

3rd Sunday of Advent We were created by God for the kingdom of eternal life with him; by our own free choices to turn away from God and ‘go at it on our own' we've been captured by the kingdom of sin, death, darkness and Satan.  Jesus becoming a baby at Christmas is the invasion of one kingdom (the kingdom of darkness, hell, death, sin and Satan) by a stronger kingdom (the kingdom of God).   Jesus came as a warrior, a predator.  He became one of us, waited 33 years, lived and taught the kingdom of God by example, both showing us the way and luring in his quarry — Satan, the devil — and then finally on the cross Satan fell prey to the trap set for him in a manger decades earlier! Jesus on the cross is not poor or helpless. He's not the hunted. Jesus on the cross is the aggressor and the hunter.  And so when death unknowingly took in its jaws, chewed up and swallowed the Author of Life, something extraordinary happened: death itself was slain from within!  That's the good news that we have to share, that's why we can be full of joy this Advent -- Christ has conquered, and we can now live in His kingdom, if we so choose.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 3 Levels of the Heart God wants to give us peace at the deepest level, a peace which endures all things.

1st Sunday of Advent During this Advent season we will be doing a 4-part homily series as we Journey to the Manger together to welcome the Christ-child at Christmas.  Our story starts with God's incredible creation - of the universe, and of each of us - and the hope that it promises. As Fr. Riccardo says: “God created and runs this immense universe, and nothing is more important to him than you and me…He thinks you're worth the trouble.”  That's what it means to be created! So on this Journey, when you are feeling “drowsy” from “the anxieties of daily life”, I encourage you to take a moment and look at the world with fresh eyes.  Allow God to reinvigorate you with hope.  Pause and be filled with wonder each day. “O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder,  Consider all, the worlds thy hands have made.”

Solemnity of Christ the King Together, during this Advent season, all 5 of our parishes (along with Christians throughout the world) prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes in new and deeper ways, and as we are practicing hospitality in opening our hearts and homes to God, let us also practice hospitality by inviting others in our lives to join us.  On this Feast of Christ the King, Christ is a King Who doesn't force His way into hearts, He doesn't strong-arm His way into our lives, Christ is a King who came first as a baby, silently, quietly, yet in the full power of God to destroy the darkness of sin and to bring the joy and peace that only God can.  The Journey to the Manger is both the triumph of Christ the King and the Triumph of Christ the Babe, Who wants a warm place of welcome in the manger of your heart, and who wants us to invite others to join us as we Journey to the Manger, so that He can have a warm welcome in their hearts as well!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time I want to talk about 2 things today: How do we as Catholics respond to an election?   What will actually change our country for the better? This weekend I preached in my hometown of Hudson, Wisconsin, at the parish of St. Patrick where I grew up.  It was a blessing to be home!  (One disclaimer is that the answer to the homiletic answer to first question above I begged, borrowed, and stole from an excellent homily of my own Deacon Dave DiSera of Hayward which he gave the weekend before the election. I thought that his words were so pertinent they bore repeating. So thank you, Deacon Dave!)

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus asks Bartimaeus today, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Bartimaeus's request is granted, he receives his sight, and he follows Jesus on the way.  Being a disciple of Jesus is being in a relationship with Jesus, and a relationship is a two-way street.  When Jesus asks us that question, we are called to respond from the depths of our heart with what we really, really want Jesus to do for us.  But as now-country artist Jelly Roll sings: do we only talk to God when we need a favor?  Are we sometimes one sided or overly self-focused in our interactions with God?  As disciples of Jesus, in a relationship with Him that is a two-way street, do we also ask the question often and frequently, "God, what do You want me to do for You?"

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Life in a fallen world brings us all plenty of suffering, and our readings today take up that theme of suffering.  Our sufferings - wether mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, or some combination thereof - have varying levels, but the key to all of it is that I have a choice in the midst of my suffering, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: one way is the common response to suffering, the other way was modeled by Jesus in His suffering. Which one will we choose to confront our sufferings today?

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time The famous architect Antoni Gaudi designed the incredible basilica of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, which has been under construction for 128 years.  A genius of architecture, he built a model of the church with strings...UPSIDE DOWN...to find and test balance and proportion, because each change in balance would immediately change all of the arches and balance throughout the entire upside down structure.  He turned it UPSIDE DOWN to learn how to do it in the best possible way RIGHT SIDE UP.  Jesus turns so many of our human perceptions, assumptions, and ways of thought UPSIDE DOWN in order to teach us how to live RIGHT SIDE UP...which is especially helpful (and a challenge to us all, I believe) in this time of the election cycle.  Are you willing to see and live things seemingly UPSIDE DOWN from what the world and the media tells you in order to actually live RIGHT SIDE UP?!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time The people in our first reading today, the Israelites, are at a decision point — they need to decide whom they will follow.  This ancient Biblical situation is wildly applicable for us today.  November 5th is the upcoming presidential election.  Everyone is getting so worked up over politics, and we are all guilty of becoming more and more demonizing to anybody who disagrees with what we think.  I'd invite you to ask yourself: “Whose side am I on?  Whom do I support?”  I think you'll be surprised by what ought to be the real answer to that question, O Christian!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).  The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand!  I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits.   I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.  Jesus Christ is our model of prayer and generosity; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time God works so powerfully in and around us at different times in our lives...but like the Israelites in our first reading, it's so easy to forget the good things God has done in our lives.  When we remember what God has done for us and consciously give Him thanks for those blessings, we begin to enter more fully into the celebration of the Eucharist, where we "give thanks" to God for what He has done for us, especially in giving us the greatest gift of all: the gift of His own Body and Blood, "the food that endures to eternal life!"  

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time We mistakenly think that comfort will lead to happiness…but the human experience proves that those who do NOT regularly push themselves outside their comfort zones experience a slow but sure atrophy of their spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational health, and thus a slow but sure atrophy of happiness and fulfillment.  Those who consistently push themselves outside their comfort zones are healthier, happier, more fulfilled people: spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, etc.  (Book: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter) In today's readings we see Amos and the Twelve pushed way outside their comfort zones to proclaim God's message - they weren't "religious professionals", they were never schooled in this, most of them had blue collar jobs...and yet God chose and sent these individuals to witness to Him.  God has chosen and sent you, too, O Christian, as Paul tells us in our second reading.  You have been chosen, you have been sent, by the creator of the universe!  Will you begin to step outside your comfort zones, push your perceived boundaries, and start experiencing, to a degree you didn't even know was possible, the life God actually has in store for you?!

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time A question to ask ourselves today: "Am I living for myself, or am I living for God?"  And the answer for most of us is probably, "A little bit of both...depending on when you catch me during the day."  In our Bishop's Pastoral Letter on Evangelization he gives the image of three circles of what our life can look like and explains them: first, second or third circle.  I want third circle Catholicism, and I hope you do, too!  (Listen to find out what that means!)

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time I head a lot of complaining and blaming in this day and age.  Jesus had a lot that he could have complained about in his time...a lot...but we don't hear Him complain once in the Gospels about any of the things that we often complain about.  Why?  Because His mission wasn't first and foremost to fix the world.  Rather, Jesus came to save individual people from their sins; Jesus' mission was to save souls, to proclaim that God's day was a t hand...and that's the mission He gave us!  So stop complainin' and start proclaimin'!

Holy Trinity Each time we make the sign of the cross we are proclaiming that our God is a Trinity - God IS a relationship, so united that the Three are actually One, and yet the One remains Three.  And we, caught up in this relationship of God through baptism, are called by Jesus today to, “Go and make disciples.” Luckily, it's not as complicated or scary as it might sound - it's all about relationship!  God is a relationship.  We are connected to God through our relationship with Him.  We are connected with others through our relationships with them, and the goal is that through us they would also come to experience God and a life of faith and hope and fulfillment and that they would be inspired to enter into relationship with God themselves! So making disciples is like MAKING TRIANGLES!

Pentecost The Holy Spirit comes on this Pentecost day to strengthen us in 3 ways: In our relationship with Jesus Christ In defending the faith In spreading the faith Every day this week, pray, "Come, Holy Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit.  Come, Holy Spirit."  When you feel your relationship with the Lord is not what it could be, when the Church is being looked down on, when someone needs to hear the encouragement of a life lived in faith, it is the Holy Spirit who will give you His strength and His words to speak into that situation!  Come, Holy Spirit!

6th Sunday of Easter “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you.” “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us.” “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.  Remain in my love.”

4th Sunday of Easter Two thoughts for you this Sunday...

Happy Easter!

4th Sunday of Lent We were created in love by God (white), then we fell into and were captured by sin (black), but "even when we were dead in our transgressions" "God, who is rich in mercy...brought us to life with Christ...raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus" (white).   And now, all throughout each day, in so many ways, we are making choices — about what we say, what we do, what we think about, what we listen to, what we watch, what we read.  We are either choosing black or choosing white; choosing to let a little more darkness into our life and world, or choosing to let a little more light into our life and world. Black and white.  Black and white.  There will be a final day, when we stand before the Lord, and for the final verdict “gray” is not an option, it will be black or white.

2nd Sunday of Lent The Birkie is an incredible yearly event!  So many people, come from all over the country (and the world) to make this experience possible — whether it's the skiers, the many volunteers, the family members, the friends, the staff, all our business owners — everyone comes together, preps, and plays their part to make this week happen.  Could the Birkie be a lens, a window, an analogy, into how God wants us to live the entirety of our lives?!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time In our Gospel today we see Jesus healing those who are sick or possessed by demons, restoring some people physically and some people spiritually.  Jesus' wholeness heals others.  While His apostles aren't yet healing others at this point in their lives, we know that one day they will.  While the saints aren't yet healing others when this Gospel passage happened, we know that one day they will.  And all of it comes from closeness with the Father, often exemplified through prayer-Jesus in our Gospel goes off early in the morning to pray to His Father.  Their wholeness/holiness came from deep union with God, often in prayer, and it spilled over into those around them, bringing restoration and healing...and God will do the same through us when we spend time growing in deep union with the Father, too! 

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time The spiritual life, I believe, is actually very simple; it's not easy, but it's simple.  It's following the impulses that come from deep within, the calls that arise from the depths of our soul and heart, from the place within us where God already dwells.  God is so much closer to us than we realize.  God molded our inmost being, He created us, He placed a spark of eternity in each of us, He gave each of us the breath of His Spirit to give us life; God already dwells deep, deep within each of us.  “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Merry Christmas! Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”

4th Sunday of Advent Mary is hailed today as full of grace, full of God's blessings.  Our lives, too, are filled with God's blessings...but it's so easy to forget and miss those blessings (and our sins lead us to forget God's blessings as well).  As we enter into this Christmas season, let us, like Mary, recognize our blessings and remind ourselves and others of the good things God has done!

2nd Sunday of Advent Christ comes to bring a peace that every heart and soul longs for but which nothing in the world is able to provide.What we need is more of God, more holiness, more of God's light shining in and through us.  And as we experience God's light shining out through us, both we and others experience the peace that this world cannot give!

34th Sunday in Ordinary Time At the end of this liturgical year our readings focus on the end of time, the final judgment, and the coming of God's kingdom in its fullness, the completion of God's great plan for all of creation. Jesus speaks of all people being assembled before the Son of Man, and that "he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." And those on his left "will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  Is God fair?  Is this treatment fair?  Listen and find out why this is actually incredibly GOOD news for us!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time No matter how many talents we believe the Master has given us, no matter if we have used them wisely up until this point or not, we all still have at least one talent (and an important one) - faith!  And our Master expects us to use whatever we have right now, engage with it, "trade" with it, and intentionally multiply that talent. Our Master hasn't yet come back to settle accounts with us, so we still have time to engage others and the world with that talent and make a good return on what He has given to us!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time This weekend I am thankful to preach back at my home parish of St. Patrick in Hudson.  Thank you to all of you who inspired me in the faith and grew me into who I am today.  I am a priest because of you.  As Paul said in our second reading, "We were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well."  Thank you for sharing with me and others not only the Gospel of God but your very selves as well...and keep doing that!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time I've been hearing a lot of discouragement at the state of our world, our country: the divisions, the politics, the games, the manipulation from all sides.  I hear people sad that many of their own kids have fallen away from the active practice of the Catholic faith, that their own grandkids or great-grandkids aren't baptized.  I hear people lamenting that our younger generations are spending so much time on their phones and on social media. All legitimate feelings.  But there is a very evil temptation/conclusion that can come about as a result of these feelings.  It's a temptation that must be rejected, with a positive call to action from God that must be accepted and lived out by His followers here on earth if we wish to see souls saved and lives changed for the glory of God!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time As we realize the state of the world around us (perhaps recently we have been awakened to the ever-present realities of atrocities and evils throughout our world by the media coverage of the war in Israel), but as we realize the state of the world around us, we can respond to what's happening in three ways: by being discouraged from our task, by being distracted from our task, or by being encouraged in our task.   What is our task?  It's the same it's always been!  (And perhaps now we are waking up anew to the reality of just how needed it is!) 

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Last Advent we preached about the 4 Marks of a Disciple: Quick to Pray, Joyfully Sacramental, Intentional in Relationships, and Committed to Growth.  Since then, I hope that you're finding yourself on certain weeks striving to grow in one or another of those Marks as we have continued to bring them up in preaching.  This weekend we return to the first -- Quick to Pray -- and after some examples of how we as a staff here at our Central Office have been changing our habits and actions to grow in being Quick to Pray, I'd invite you to consider for yourself: How have you been more Quick to Pray in your daily life?  What are some ways you've thought of being more Quick to Pray but maybe just haven't acted on yet?  (That's likely the Holy Spirit inviting you to take the next step.)  The call in these days ahead: start challenging yourself, as we the staff are challenging ourselves, to grow in being more Quick to Pray!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” “Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven… Remember your last days, set enmity aside;” “So will my heavenly Father do yo you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Last week we heard about how the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against the Church, how Jesus actually sees His Church as being on the offensive, and how the gates of darkness will not be able to hold back His kingdom.  This week's readings continue and clarify that them, showing us what it will actually cost to overcome gates of darkness in our world and bring the light of Christ.  It won't be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time In our Gospel today Jesus says an often misinterpreted and misunderstood line: "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." In the face of such seemingly steep opposition, pushback and darkness in our modern world, I believe this line of Jesus, correctly understood, provides us the key to understanding how and with what attitude we as Christians are called to engage the world today!  

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time This weekend is the kickoff for our annual diocesan Catholic Services Appeal (CSA).  The CSA provides incredible opportunities to spread the faith of Jesus Christ in northwestern Wisconsin - for our seminarians, for our youth, for our schools, for our parishes - opportunities that I witness and see the fruits of firsthand!  I'm challenging you this year to stretch yourself in prayerful generosity to all of your favorite organizations and non-profits.   I challenge you particularly this week to think what you might be able to sacrifice monetarily to support the CSA for your parish this coming year.  Jesus Christ is our model of prayer and generosity; let's act more like Christ in this life, so as to become more of who we are called to be in the next!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time In our first reading, there's a strong heavy wind crushing rocks, there's an earthquake, there's a raging fire. In our Gospel there's a stormy sea. But where is God in the midst of it all?  In the noise of our lives (which will always be there), I want you to look for God in the small moments, the daily moments, the unnoticed moments, in the small whispers.  When we notice Jesus in small ways, even in the midst of our storms, and invite him into our boat, we find a true peace and calm that only He can bring.  And those storms just aren't as stormy any more. Look for God in the small moments this week.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time This week, no matter where you're at, I am challenging you to take one real step in prayer.  I don't care where you think you're at now - whether you only come to church when you're visiting Grandma and Grandpa, or whether you have a daily hours long prayer regimen that you have followed for years - no matter where you are I want all of us to intentionally take one step in prayer this week.  Disciples are Quick to Pray.  Disciples are Committed to Growth.  Let's get a two for one this week and take one step toward growth in prayer!