Twenty years ago today, September 10, 2001, everything seemed normal. Except it wasn’t. We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. + 2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV-CE
Category: Pastor’s Pondering
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Preaching Notes – Assumption of Mary (Sun) August 15, 2021
Our permanent abode is in heaven Mary’s Assumption reminds us that our permanent abode is not on earth but in heaven. At the end of her life, Our Lady was assumed into heaven body and soul where she, with her divine Son, has proceeded us. Humanity is in heaven. The resurrection of the body...
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Sunday Gospel Primer – July 25, 2021
John 6:1-15 In the Gospel Reading, the large crowd following Jesus needs to be fed. Jesus’ miracle makes visible the superabundance of divine grace. At the end of the account we are reminded that nothing of God ever will be wasted.
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Sunday Gospel Primer – July 18, 2021
MARK 6:30-34 Baptism equips each of us with grace – power – which propels us into the world so that we live the faith confidently and compassionately. Our daily actions ought to make Jesus known to others. Like the apostles, we should not be surprised if our great missionary adventure makes us tired and exhausted....
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Preaching Notes – 15th Sunday Ordinary Time (7/11)
“He [Jesus] summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two…” (Mark 6:7). Jesus’ sending them as pairs helps their readiness and willingness to go. How much easier is it to set out together with a trusted friend than to go it alone. “He instructed them to take nothing for the...
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Books Help the Mind & Soul (7/8)
A University of California study says we are consuming information at the clip of more than 100,000 words per day through the deluge of texts, alerts, notifications, work and personal emails, news headlines, blog feeds and social media posts. Whew! How much better would it be if more of our daily words were meaningful, creative,...
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Moving Forward (7/7)
These days the popular chorus announces all-clear. Bishops, too, are heard clamoring about normal. Beware. Such superficial sentiment presupposes a pre-pandemic standard high in virtue and lively in practice. The current call ought to be a more somber and determined resolve to consider critically what has happened, how we have been affected and what our...
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Sunday Gospel Primer – July 11, 2021
Mark 6:7-13 The call of Christ signals deep personal conversion, not rousing worldly success driven verified by record metrics. Christ commissions intentional disciples to proclaim God’s Kingdom and we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out our divine mission.
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The Measure of Our Love (7/6)
The only measuring stick our blessed Lord ever will use when we stand before His throne is love. How much have we loved Him and how much have we loved our neighbor?
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Sunday Gospel Primer – June 27, 2021
Mark 5:21-43 The Gospel Reading presents two miracles both involving people who have urgent needs for healing. On his way to the Capernaum home of Jairus’ daughter who is seriously ill, Jesus encounters a woman who has spent every penny she had trying to find a cure for lengthy malady. Take special notice, however, that ...