I heard an interesting ad on KYW earlier this week.  It was for one of those new vacation packages.  Rather than going on a cruise to some exotic destiny, the ad invites you to a health spa on a ranch in the Midwest where you will be offered the latest health care treatments and learn about how changes in your diet and exercise will help you extend your life.  After all, the ad asserts, the most important destiny is a long and healthy life.

Today, as we celebrate the First Sunday […]

“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”  We just heard Jesus make this very important, defining declaration in today’s gospel.  And, in just a little more than four weeks, we will celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  But today, as we come to the end of our liturgical year, we hear Jesus testify why he was born: to testify to the truth.  And, although we didn’t hear it in today’s gospel passage, we’re […]

“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”  Most of us are so busy with our everyday lives that we don’t give ourselves much – if any – time to reflect on the end of our lives and the end of time.  And yet, we all know that we will die.  As […]

We all know that sacrifice is an important element of our faith.  After all, we are gathered here to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass.  When we think about sacrificing, we usually think immediately about giving up something. At Mass, we gratefully acknowledge that Jesus gave up his life for us.  During Lent, we give up candy or chocolate or coffee in imitation of Jesus who gave up his life for us.  So, it makes sense for us to think of giving up something when we think of sacrifice.  But, […]

“You’ve been on my heart.”  “I have my heart set on it.”
“It breaks my heart.”  “I’ve put my heart into it.”  We’re all familiar with these sayings and others like it and we’ve probably used them ourselves at one time or other in our lives.  Using the heart as a symbol, we speak of our involvement in someone or something at the deepest levels, where our most honest thoughts and feelings are to be found.  We’re not talking about an impulsive response but one where there has been serious thought […]

We all know how important our eyes are to us.  They help us to navigate our everyday world, avoid the obstacles that we find ahead of us and enjoy all the delights that surround us.  Especially at this time of the year, when the fall foliage is on full display, our eyes help us to see the beauty of God’s creation.  Those with impaired vision and those who are blind are limited in their ability to move about safely and to enjoy the fullness of God’s wondrous world.  Of course, […]

We all have ambitions.  Most of us are not satisfied with just being good enough.  We want to excel and maybe even be the best, at least at something.  Whether it’s having the best recipe for our family’s favorite dish or being the smartest student in the classroom or the fastest basketball player on the court or the most successful one on the team at work, it’s a natural desire to be the best.  And, these ambitions are often very good.  They lead us to strive to use our talents […]

For the ancient Jew, wealth and possessions were seen as signs of God’s favor. So you can imagine why we hear about the disciples being so shocked in today’s Gospel when Jesus says: “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  How could the people God favors have a hard time entering his kingdom? If that is true, the disciples wonder, “who can be saved?”

Jesus’ reply holds the key: with God all things are possible. Wealth, power, and merit tend to give us […]

As I’m sure you realize, we usually have a missionary assigned to our parish to promote the missions for Mission Sunday.  The archdiocesan Mission Office had assigned us a priest several months ago.  Earlier this week, however, we learned from his religious community that he would not be available.  I called the Mission Office immediately to see if another missionary could come.  Michelle, the office’s assistant director, explained that, unfortunately, there was an increasing shortage of missionaries and none was available this weekend.  “Of course, Msgr. Brouwers,” she continued, “we […]

“Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”  In our first reading today, we heard Joshua, Moses’ aide who would eventually succeed him, protest to Moses that Eldad and Medad were not present when the Spirit of God came and rested upon the rest of the elders, so they should not be prophesying.  Pay attention to Moses’ response: “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!  Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”

And, in our Gospel, we heard John, the beloved […]