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 […]

Do you consider yourself a competitive person?  Or maybe I should ask, in what area are you most competitive?  We’re all competitive, aren’t we?  Maybe you’re competitive in getting the best grades in your class or the biggest paycheck at work.  Maybe you compete to make the best pancakes in your family or tell the funniest joke.  We humans are naturally competitive.  After all, that’s what helps us survive in this very competitive world.

In our culture, we often base our identity and self-worth on whether or not we are the […]

“Who do you say that I am?”  This is an important question that we hear Jesus ask his disciples in today’s gospel.  It’s an important question that he asks each of us so let’s see how the encounter continues.  Peter answers correctly, “You are the Christ.”  Since this is the correct answer, we might wonder why Jesus immediately instructs the disciples not to tell anyone about him.  Why would he do that?  We all know that it’s because they had the wrong notion of who the Christ – the Messiah […]

Do you know what the word “Alleluia” means?  We just sang it with great joy as we prepared to hear the gospel proclaimed.  In fact, we sing it every Sunday except during the Season of Lent.  It’s a Hebrew word and it means “Praise God!”  It is joyous cry of praise of God that dates back to Old Testament times.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the man in today’s gospel passage went around singing “Alleluia!”  Can you imagine how the man in today’s Gospel account must have felt?  All his […]

We’ve all learned about the importance of washing our hands over these past few years, haven’t we?  But, it’s not a matter of religious belief but one of several important measures we all practice to combat the common flu, the coronavirus, RSV and whatever new illness is popping up.   I’m sure Jesus would encourage us to wash our hands regularly, but it won’t necessarily get us closer to God; religion does that.

So, what is religion? As I’m sure you all know, the word “religion” simply speaks of our relationship with […]

“You have the words of eternal life.”  That’s quite a powerful admission that we hear St. Peter make in today’s gospel.  In the midst of his bumblings and failures, he also sometimes got it right.  The same man who was left almost speechless on Mount Tabor when he and two other disciples were privileged to get a glimpse of Jesus in all his heavenly glory, the same man who denied knowing Jesus when Jesus was in a trial for his life – not once but three times – that same […]

Once again, our church’s beautiful stained glass windows feature an image that we hear in today’s readings, this time our first reading from the Book of Proverbs.  This reading begins with: “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns.”  You’ll find that on the top of the fifth panel on your left in the nave of our church.  The reading goes on to invite us to “come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed.”  And, you will notice that under the […]