Dear Friends,

One of the less sentimental Christmas songs is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The song is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1863. His wife had died in a fire two years earlier and his son was a young Lieutenant serving in the Union Army and was badly injured in a battle. Added to this the nation was being torn asunder by civil war so you can understand the pensive and heavy feeling that this song brings with it:

Dear Friends,

A while back I went with the Preschoolers on a field trip to a farm. We went into the barn where Betsy the cow stared at us and we at her. Then she decided it was time to take her morning constitutional. Out it came like an open fire hydrant. As we all got sprayed with what remained of Betsy’s breakfast, the girls screamed, “eeeeeewe” and the boys all smiled and said, “cooooool”. At that moment, I was more in agreement with the girls. So, when you think of the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was birthed, remember it was, well a barn for animals.

Dear Friends,

The joy of giving comes into focus this time of year. We all get to be Santa if we want. We do that because we have been blessed and in turn seek to bless others. The essence of our Stewardship is to “return to the Lord with increase”. So, here are some ways this Christmas you can leverage your resources for the sake of the Kingdom.

Dear Friends,

It’s been ten years since we have been using the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal for the celebration of Mass. It was the first Sunday of Advent 2011 that we were introduced to “consubstantial”, “And with Your Spirit” and lots of other linguistic changes. Most of us have probably forgotten the discomfort of adapting to changes in the Liturgy but every now and then, I admit I unconsciously revert back to a phrase here or there.

Dear Friends,

Pope Paul III, not Paul VI of Humanae Vitae fame, now St. Pope Paul VI, but Pope Paul III of Sublimus Deus fame, is who we should thank on this Thanksgiving Day holiday. Sublimus Deus (The Sublime God), an encyclical letter issued in 1537, some 45 years after Columbus came to America, stated that, “Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved… It also called for the evangelization of the native Americans who wished to receive the Christian faith.

Dear Friends,

I’ve spent more than a few frustrating hours at Public School Board Meetings. The issue at hand was usually Sex Ed inserted into the curriculum. And almost always it had been inserted by the strong advocacy of Planned Parenthood. One thing PP does well, other than abortions, is to support campaigns for local School Board positions. Their success has been pretty fantastic. Once of course they fund a campaign and get their candidate elected then they pressure them to use the PP Sex Ed materials in our Public Schools.

Dear Friends,

During November we call to mind both the Saints and the holy Souls. It is also a time to focus ourselves on how well we are prepared for our own deaths. And while end of life issues and health care decisions need to be carefully considered before our demise, I want to focus on what happens after death, in other words the funeral and burial practices that are appropriate for Christians.

Dear Friends,

Since I moved into this zip code, I noticed the amount of spam calls I receive has increased exponentially. I wonder why? Could be because those 65yrs old and older are targeted by scammers 90% of the time. And our zip code has lots of those! But why would they target that demographic? It seems that those who are 65 and older are more trusting and honest. It makes sense, you don't want to owe anyone anything, you spent your life paying your bills and not cheating anyone. So, when someone calls and tells you that you owe $5000 it tends to get your attention.

Dear Friends,

The Church recently celebrated the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II. Often God works in subtle ways to steer the events of history towards His plan for the human family. But the election of John Paul II was anything but subtle. If you remember back to 1978, after the death of Pope Paul VI the Cardinals gathered for the first Conclave in 18 years and many of them had never participated in a Conclave. So, they elected John Paul I, Albino Luciano from Venice.

Dear Friends,

Last year mask mandates were inserted into our normal routines. No matter which side of the issue you took, you were sure to know others who took the opposite position. That sadly led to tension, hostility and much worse between individuals, in families and communities at large. And now we have a mandate redux with the COVID-19 vaccine. And many of you have asked, “what does Catholic moral teaching have to say about vaccines and mandates?” As a pastor it is not my role to argue pro or con for the medical efficacy of the vaccine but to offer moral and pastoral guidance in light of the teachings of our Faith.

Dear Friends,

I write this on the Feast day of St. John Leonardi (Oct. 9). And why is that important? Well the saint, quite unexpectedly showed up in my life about 8 years ago. Saints are like that, they have a way of insinuating themselves into our spiritual journey, connecting ours to theirs.

Dear Friends,

The great Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you odd.” Indeed! Being a Catholic Christian in today’s world can make you feel like someone who is driving a model T Ford on the freeway. But our faith is timeless. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the reality of the Church:

"Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany I looked for the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers, whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom. But they, like the universities were silenced in a few short weeks. Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I had never any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom." Albert Einstein

Dear Friends,

ὄμνυμι Ἀπόλλωνα ἰητρὸν καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ὑγείαν καὶ Πανάκειαν καὶ θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶπάσας, ἵστορας ποιεύμενος, ἐπιτελέα ποιήσειν κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ κρίσιν ἐμὴν ὅρκον τόνδε καὶσυγγραφὴν τήνδε: