Homily from Christmas Day.
"I could present this morning an argument for God's existence, an argument for Jesus being God, an argument that Jesus established His Catholic Church, all of those arguments. And all of those arguments could change your mind, I believe that 100%. But the thing is this: arguments change minds. But you need something else to change a heart. It's a Person that changes hearts, it's Love that changes hearts. ... God is your soul mate. He is the One your heart is made for. It's actually not your spouse, it's not your kids, it's not your future spouse, it's not the person I want to meet someday and marry someday. They are not your soul mate. Jesus Christ is the One your hearts were made for. And what we celebrate today, and what we pray for today, is that we not just hear another argument about Jesus or another argument about God, but that we actually get to meet the One our hearts were made for, and to let that change us. Because arguments won't do it. We need something deeper to change our hearts."
Mass Readings from December 25, 2014:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18
Thursday, December 25, 2014
12/25/14 Dressing Up
Thursday, December 18, 2014
12/14/14 Waiting Well: Celebrate While You Wait
Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.
"This is what life is like. 'I've got all these papers due, I've got all these projects due, I've got this test to do, I've got all this stuff to do, I've got all this pressure on me!' And this is so beautiful that, in the middle of all of this, the Church says, 'Yes, in the middle of this kind of life, rejoice!' You don't have to wait for life to be perfect to be able to take joy in it. You don't have to wait for stress to be done to say actually, right now, today, I can rejoice. Because you have to realize this: it is a choice to rejoice. "
Mass Readings from December 14, 2014:
Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Waiting-Well-Three.pdf
Monday, December 8, 2014
12/07/14 Waiting Well: What Are You Waiting For?
Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.
"We don't have to pretend that we are living before Jesus. We are not waiting for Jesus to come into the world, what we are waiting for is we are longing for Jesus to come into certain areas of my life, and my world, and my heart. That's what we're waiting for. So the question I would ask you is where do you want Jesus to enter into your life? That's what this Advent can be all about: where are you hoping for Him to come into your life?"
Mass Readings from December 07, 2014:
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Waiting-Well-Two.pdf
TO DOWNLOAD THE ADVENT HANDOUT, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Adventreadings2014.pdf
Monday, December 1, 2014
11/30/14 Waiting Well: Confident Desperation
Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.
"I know this about myself and I know this about my heart, I imagine that you know this about yourself and your heart, too. On my own, I can't possibly love God as much as He can possibly be loved by me. But if He makes my heart new, if He makes me new, if I say, 'God, I give You permission this Advent to come into parts of my heart that You haven't come into yet, to come into parts of my life that You haven't come into yet. I give You permission to make my heart bigger so that I can love you as much as you can possibly be loved.' I just have to ask the question: do you want that? Do you desire that?"
Mass Readings from November 30, 2014:
Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:33-37
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Waiting-Well-One.pdf
TO DOWNLOAD THE ADVENT HANDOUT, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Adventreadings2014.pdf
Monday, November 24, 2014
11/23/14 Kingdom Come: Epic
Homily from the Solemnity of Christ the King.
"Think about the lengths to which God has gone to definitively state how much you are worth, and the lengths to which God has gone to definitively state that your decisions made in your life matter, that you're part of the Kingdom, and that you're part of this story. ... You're in an epic story, and your decisions actually matter. The worst is when you are in the middle of an epic story and you don't even realize it."
Mass Readings from November 23, 2014:
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Matthew 25:31-46
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kingdom-Come-4.pdf
Monday, November 17, 2014
11/16/14 Kingdom Come: First Love
Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"The image for the Kingdom is that Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. And what happens, at the Last Supper what does Jesus give to His Bride? He says, 'Take this, this is My Body.' Just like a husband does to his wife on their wedding night, what does he say? He says, 'Take this, this is my body given for you.' And on the Last Supper night, Jesus Himself says to His Bride, the Church, 'Take this, this is My Body, given for you.' ... Remember that Jesus' mission was not just to save us, but to establish a Kingdom. And so when the Bride asks the Bridegroom, 'Jesus, are you going to establish a Kingdom now?' The Bridegroom says, 'No, no, no, I am entrusting My mission to you.' The Husband, finding in her someone worthy entrusts His Heart to her, that thing that is most important, most precious to Him. The last thing Jesus said on this earth was 'I am giving you my heart. I am entrusting my mission, that is now your mission.' ... You have to realize, you guys, when Jesus brought you into the Church, when He brought you into the Kingdom, He didn't just want to make you a part of the Kingdom. He wanted to make you a part of His mission in the Kingdom. Just like when a husband or a wife give themselves to each other, they don't just kind of want to share each other's life with each other, they want to share the mission of the other person."
Mass Readings from November 16, 2014:
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25:14-30
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kingdom-Come-3.pdf
Monday, November 10, 2014
11/09/14 Kingdom Come: The Temple
Homily from the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.
"'If the Temple was so important to the Jews, if it was so important for the Jews to be Jewish that they needed a temple, how come Christians didn't rebuild the Temple? When Christians came back into the Holy Land, when Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, how come they built St. John Lateran and didn't go back and rebuild the Temple?' Because of today's Gospel. What did Jesus say about the Temple? It's going to be destroyed. What's going to happen? I'm going to raise it up in three days. What Temple was He talking about? His own Body. And this is so crazy, when every Christian saw the destruction of the Temple, the Temple was gone but they already knew that just like Baptism had fulfilled and replaced circumcision, where does every Christian find Christ's Body [the Temple] everywhere in the world? In the Eucharist."
Mass Readings from November 09, 2014:
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kingdom-Come-2.pdf
Monday, November 3, 2014
11/02/14 Kingdom Come: Truth and Consequences
Homily from the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls).
"So I am on the phone, 'Yes, Subaru people, thy will be done.' Because that's the key: 'You're the expert, and I don't know, so whatever you need to do, just go ahead and do it.' And that's what we say to the Father, that should be our core prayer: 'God, what do You want me to do? Let me do that.' If that's your prayer, you are on the right track. If that's not your prayer yet, it's a really, really good place to start. The reality is, we have to start. Because if we want God's Kingdom to come, if we want His Will to be done, that means it has to be done here first in us first."
Mass Readings from November 3, 2014:
Wisdom 3:1-9
Romans 5:5-11
John 6:37-45
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THE FOLLOWING LINK IN YOUR INTERNET BROWSER (Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kingdom-Come-1.pdf
Monday, October 27, 2014
10/26/14 One Thing
Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"Every one of us is standing in front of a block of marble known as "The Rest of Your Life". I don't care how old you are. Everyone of us is standing in front of a block of marble that is the rest of your life. And the question is this: do you have a vision for what you want that block of marble to look like when you're done? Michaelangelo carved David in 3 to 5 years, he took away everything that wasn't supposed to be there. If I lived the next 3 to 5 years the same way I lived these last 7 days, will my life look like the vision I have for my life?"
Mass Readings from October 26, 2014:
Exodus 22:20-26
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
Matthew 22:34-40
Monday, October 20, 2014
10/19/14 Apostrophe S
Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"Give to Caesar what's Caesars. But then give to God what is God's. Jesus, talking to these people who are so pre-occupied with image, He busts through and He says, "Actually, the TRUE image of you, your TRUE image, is that you are made in God's image. That means that you belong to Him. So how are you doing with that? How are you doing with giving your whole self to the One tho whom you belong?"
Mass Readings from October 19, 2014:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
Matthew 22:15-21
Monday, October 13, 2014
10/12/14 The Secret: In Christ
Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"Here is the deal. Changing circumstances? They don't change God. And if that's true, than changing circumstances don't have to change me. They don't have to change my faith or my trust in God."
Mass Readings from October 12, 2014:
Isaiah 25:6-10
Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
Matthew 22:1-14
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) ADDRESS BAR:
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Secret-Study-4-2014.pdf
Monday, October 6, 2014
10/05/14 The Secret: Praise and Thanksgiving
Homily from the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
"The Gospel story for tonight is the story of Gabriel coming to Mary, and we know what happens right after this. ... Mary doesn't know what is going to happen. She didn't choose that circumstance. She simply said yes to God's plan. She didn't choose that battle. But you know what's going to happen, not only is she going to give birth as a single Mom, she is going to give birth to GOD, which is, I don't know, relatively overwhelming to any fourteen-year-old I imagine. ... Mary knows, 'I am going to go into battle. I am going into a circumstance that I did not choose, that I do not have control over, that is bigger than me.' What is the first thing that Mary does, the first thing Our Lady of Victory does when she goes into battle? She gives up praise. What is praise? ... It is the bold and courageous assertion that even though my circumstances change, God doesn't change. Even though my battle changes, God doesn't change. And even though my problems change, God, You do not change."
Mass Readings from October 5, 2014:
Acts 1:12-14
Romans 8:28-30
Luke 1:26-38
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) ADDRESS BAR:
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Secret-Study-3-2014.pdf
Monday, September 29, 2014
09/28/14 The Secret: Admiration and Worship
Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"I love that St. Paul's secret to joy in competition is 'I am not playing the game.' St. Paul is saying, 'Listen, everyone out there is trying to be better, trying to be smarter, trying to be holier, whatever the thing is. I am not going to play the game.' ... People are saying, 'Paul, you've got to stop these guys, they are preaching Jesus out of envy and rivalry! They're getting more popular than you, they're blasting you!' St. Paul says this, 'What difference does it make? As long as, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Jesus Christ is being proclaimed? ... As long as Jesus wins, we win.' I don't need to compete. Because why? Because Paul is saying, 'I am not defined by my wins or my losses.'"
Mass Readings from September 28, 2014:
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 21:28-32
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) ADDRESS BAR:
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Secret-Two-2014.pdf
Monday, September 22, 2014
09/21/14 The Secret: Acceptance
Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"If I am unable or unwilling to find God in this moment I will be unable and incapable of finding God in any moment. Why? Because this is the only moment I have. You realize the future isn't real. You don't have a future. You only have a present. You don't even have a past, I mean, that's gone. The only thing you have is right now. That's why in the First Reading, from the prophet [Isaiah], he says, 'Seek the Lord while He may be found.' When could He be found? Right now. Not back then. Not up ahead. But right now."
Mass Readings from September 21, 2014:
Isaiah 55:6-9
Philippians 1:20-24, 27
Matthew 20:1-16
TO DOWNLOAD THE BIBLE STUDY, COPY THIS LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) ADDRESS BAR:
http://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/The-Secret-Study-2104-One.pdf
Monday, September 15, 2014
09/14/14 The Difference the Cross Makes
Homily from the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
"Today is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. If I look at this image on this back wall, this is the Crucifix. This is an image of Jesus dying, but we have to understand this, this is an image of Jesus being executed. We say, 'No, it's a sacrifice.' No, it's an execution! This is what the Romans would do to execute them. Jesus wasn't the only person who was executed, there were thousands of people who were executed at the time of Jesus. They all just had their lives ripped away from them. We know this, mere execution has the power to change nothing. Without Jesus on the Cross, if our lives just ended, we would just end, it would be a tragedy. But because of the Cross, everything changes, but not because it's an execution. But because it's a sacrifice. How do you know it's a sacrifice? ... There's one thing, there's one thing that transforms the Crucifixion from an execution into a sacrifice. And that thing is the Eucharist.'"
Mass Readings from September 14, 2014:
Numbers 21:4-9
Philippians 2:6-11
John 3:13-17
Monday, September 8, 2014
09/07/14 "When Your Brother Sins Against You..."
Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"What's the point of this conflict? What's the point of this conversation? Is it to win the argument or is it to win your brother? That changes everything! Is it just simply an information transfer or is it, 'I want to learn where you are coming from.' Jesus is saying this, your goal at the end of the conversation whether that's with your roommates, or with your parents, with someone you're going to get married to, someone you are married to, to an actual brother or to a fellow believer, the goal is never going to be to win the argument. It always, always has to be, how do I win my brother back? How do I win my sister back? That's going to be the goal.'"
Mass Readings from September 07, 2014:
Ezekiel 33:7-9
Romans 13:8-10
Matthew 18:15-20
Monday, September 1, 2014
08/31/14 One Suitcase
Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
'When it comes to making a decision, whether it's packing or whatever you want in your life, if I don't decide, ultimately a decision will be made, but if I don't decide it will be made for me. ... Either say, 'I am taking Jesus out of my suitcase," or "No, He is actually the suitcase. He is the essential thing that I cannot be here without."
Mass Readings from August 31, 2014:
Jeremiah 20:7-9
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
08/24/14 The Voice of Christ
Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
NOTE: There may be some "static" that you may hear throughout the recording. There was a bit of trouble with our recording device, and while we tried to clean it up as best we could, we apologize if it disrupts your listening!
"'But Jesus, when you are gone, who is really in charge? Who has all of the authority as You when You're gone?' There is no question right now. Because Jesus said, 'Peter, you have the keys. When I am gone, what you say, it goes. It is a real authority, you are a real father, what you bind on earth is bound in Heaven, what you loose on earth is loosed in Heaven. And when I'm gone, continuing to fight for you, someone's in charge.'"
Mass Readings from August 24, 2014:
Isaiah 22:19-23
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20
Monday, June 16, 2014
06/15/14 To Be A Gift
Homily from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.
"What makes a man a father is when he takes responsibility for someone other than himself. ... But here is the question: who do we normally live for? If we had our choice, if we could get away with it, who would we normally live for? We would live for ourselves, right? And yet who you are, who we all are, we are actually made to live for another. ... In the Gospel today, John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world that He gave"..., that's it, to be a gift. 'God so loved the world that He gave His Son.' And what did His Son do? He 'so loved the world' that He gave His whole life. And the Father and the Son loved the world so much that what did they do? They gave the Holy Spirit. God, because He is Love, is all about gift! He takes responsibility for those whom He loves and He gives Himself for them. So the question is this today: who in your life are you taking responsibility for? Who in your life are you a gift for right now?"
Mass Readings from June 15, 2014:
Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18
Sunday, June 1, 2014
06/01/14 Make A Disciple
Homily from the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.
"Here is the thing: a disciple is practical. I believe in Jesus. Which means that I have a relationship with Jesus. How healthy would a marriage be if a person were to say whenever they were asked, 'Are you married?' and they say 'Absolutely I am married,' but they haven't talked to their spouse in a year? Would that be a healthy marriage? How healthy would a marriage be if a person were to say whenever they were asked 'Are you married?' and they say, 'Absolutely I am married, I've been married for years,' but they can't remember the last time that being married made a difference in one of their decisions? How they spent their time, how they spent their money, how they chose to do this instead of that. That's not a healthy relationship, that's not a real relationship! Here's the thing: how healthy would a disciple be if they were asked, 'Are you Catholic?' 'Oh yeah man, I was born Catholic! I was raised Catholic, I went to Catholic schools for cryin' out loud. That's how Catholic I am!' 'When was the last time you prayed?' 'Last Sunday.' And you've heard me ask this question or say this thing before, but I'll ask it again or say it again: if this is the first time that you are praying since last Sunday, you're not a disciple. If this is the first time that I am praying since last Sunday's Mass, I am not a disciple of Jesus. If I haven't made space for Christ on my calendar, if being a Christian hasn't changed my schedule at all in the last week, then I am not living like a disciple."
Mass Readings from June 1, 2014:
Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23
Matthew 28:16-20
Sunday, May 25, 2014
05/25/14 Resident or Citizen?
Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter.
"That's our ratio, that's our statistic right now, 6% of Catholics are doing over 80% of the work, 80% of the giving, 80% of the service, 80% of what the Church is. And that's the crazy thing, think about this: the Catholic Church is the single largest charitable organization in the world. The Catholic Church does more service for the entire world than virtually every other service organization combined. That's a pretty good statistic, imagine, we are running off of 6%! Think about this! We are doing more for the world than any other organization and we are only running off of 6% power! Can you imagine if you're in your car, driving down the road, and you're only using 6% of the power your car has the potential for? Would you say, 'This is pretty good,' or would you say, 'No, no, no, this is not good enough'? If we are doing more for people around the world than every other service organization using only 6%, what would happen if only 1% [more] of Catholics stepped up? What kind of difference would that make? We don't even have to go to 20%! What if today, in this church, rather than saying 'I am here to consume, I am here to show up,' you were to say, 'You know what? I am here to serve. ...Rather than be residents, let's be citizens.'"
Mass Readings from May 25, 2014:
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21
Monday, May 12, 2014
05/11/14 Follow Through: Schedule to Love
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
"When you get into bed at night, it's a wonderful time to have dreams. But when you get out of bed in the morning, that is when you need a goal. ... Until your dream becomes a goal, and until your goal gets on your calendar, it's still just a dream. ... This is the truth, the reality is this: if I don't put the Lord on my calendar, if this is not important enough for me to schedule time with Jesus, then basically I am deciding that I am okay with leaving my spiritual life up to chance."
Mass Readings from May 11, 2014:
Acts 2:14, 36-41
1 Peter 2:20-25
John 10:1-10
Monday, May 5, 2014
05/04/14 Follow Through: Pressure and Time
Homily from the 3rd Sunday of Easter.
"I know some of us here tonight, you might find that there is something enslaving you. Maybe it's some kind of sin and you're just like, 'Man, I just can't get out of this, I just can't get free from this!' You might feel like a prisoner. But if you're moving forward, if you're rowing, if you're taking those steps forward, if you're engaging, if you're following through, you are not a prisoner. You are escaping. Some of you might find yourself in this terrible place where it's like, 'I don't even know what to do. I'm that guy that skipped all those classes, the rest of the semester looks terrible for me, I don't know what to do.' But if you are doing what you need to do, you are not a prisoner, you are escaping. When it comes to your spiritual life you can just say, 'Man, I'm dead in the water, there's no life in Christ, you talk about joy and Jesus, I don't have that! I feel like a prisoner.' But if you're praying, you're picking that one thing and then actually doing it in a cumulative way, a little bit every day, you are not a prisoner. You are escaping. You're on your way from Shawshank to Zihuatanejo. And all it takes, all it takes, is pressure and time."
Mass Readings from May 04, 2014:
Acts 2:14, 22-33
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35
Monday, April 28, 2014
04/27/14 Follow Through: Pick A Target
Homily from the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday.
"A lot of times, when it comes to Lent, we just do something that's hard. We don't do the thing that actually helps. Maybe you got to the end of Lent and you were able to check that off the list. "I said I was going to do this [give up chocolate], check! I did it." And that was the whole point, just to do something hard? Or was the point to do something that would actually help you? Giving things up is not bad and doing things that are hard is not bad. Giving up something just to check it off the list because it is hard is not very helpful. But to give up something and to say, 'I'm going to unite the pain that it causes me, even if it is something small, even if it is something great...,' that has power! That's not just hard, it actually helps."
Mass Readings from April 27, 2014:
Acts 2:42-47
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Sunday, April 20, 2014
04/20/14 What If It's True?
Homily from Easter Sunday.
"This story is true for all of us. How has that story, how has that truth changed my life, how has it changed your life? Because I can hear it and it doesn't do anything. I can even find myself in prison. But here is the crazy thing: if this story is true, you can find yourself imprisoned, and that is not the end. This is amazing! On this day, right now with the bishop there are a number, a bunch of men who were caught in the act, and they are now in prison. And because of Jesus Christ, this story is true: that is not the end, prison is not the end. That's the crazy thing: if this story is true, there is NO prison that can hold you. If this story is true, there is no sickness that can defeat you. And if this story is true, there is no sin that can keep you from God's love. If this story is true, it can change everything about your life. As long as we don't let it get wasted on us."
Mass Readings from April 20, 2014:
Acts 10:34, 37-43
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9
Friday, April 18, 2014
04/18/14 No One Can Be Holy Without Suffering
Homily from Good Friday.
"[Referring to the "COEXIST bumper sticker, see link below] You have to understand this, that when it comes to all of these ideas, every thing represents a certain idea. But when it comes to the Cross, when it comes to Christianity, it's not an idea! It's reality. There's this crazy difference, yes, we do want to get along, absolutely we want to get along and be peaceful. But at the same time, we realize the crazy difference between the idea of a God, or the idea of a life, or the idea of redemption, or even the idea of forgiveness. Christianity, the Cross at the end of that word, which is beyond an idea, it is reality. The reality of redemption, the reality of forgiveness is the Cross. ... If I want to belong to God and actually be like Him, that means I have to go where He goes. So we actually can't be holy without what? Without the Cross."
Mass Readings from April 18, 2014:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1-19:42
To view the bumper sticker, visit this link: http://www.umdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/coexist2.jpg
04/17/14 "Before I Go"
Homily from Holy Thursday.
"We are called to remember Jesus. He is the One that, on this night, at the Last Supper before He left, His whole plan was this: 'I am taking off. But I need my people to know My Love.' That's the gift of the Eucharist. 'I'm taking off. But I need My people to know My healing.' That's the gift of Confession. 'I'm taking off. But I need people to have access to Me and to My Grace. And so I need you men to be priests.' ... It's His work, it's His action. If you get called to be a priest, if you ever get to know one, you realize that that's not his job, that that's not his work, but it's worth an entire life."
Mass Readings from April 17, 2014:
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15
To read the writing of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI that was referred to in the homily, click here!
Monday, April 14, 2014
04/13/14 The Condition
Homily from Palm Sunday.
"If I have a condition when it comes to following Jesus, I am not really following Jesus, am I? If my condition is, 'If You give me what I want, then I will follow You,' I am not really following Him, I am just doing what I want to do. Do you have a condition? When it comes to taking the next step, you're already at Sunday Mass, so well done, maybe that's not your issue. But then do you have a condition when it comes to giving Him more? When it comes to actually really following Him, is there a condition?"
Mass Readings from April 13, 2014:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14-27:66
To watch the video of the priest singing at the wedding, copy this address into your address bar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYKwqj5QViQ
To watch the video of Sr. Cristina singing on the Italian version of The Voice, make sure you are watching with subtitles turned on, and copy this address in your address bar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpaQYSd75Ak
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings (now a ONE-page handout!), click here!
Monday, April 7, 2014
04/06/14 The God of the Broken Heart
Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent.
"And again, someone could say, 'Honestly? Why [go to Confession]? I'm not telling God anything He doesn't know.' You're right. You won't be telling God anything He doesn't know. And you won't be showing God something that He doesn't already see. What you'll be doing is you'll be giving God something He doesn't already have. Again, when we go to Confession, we are not telling God something He doesn't already know and we're not showing Him something He doesn't already see. We're giving Him something He doesn't already have. What He doesn't have, is He doesn't have your broken heart yet. What He doesn't have is He doesn't have what's dead in my life and what's dead in your life. But in Confession, we actually get to hand that over, what's broken in our heart, to the God of the broken heart."
Mass Readings from April 6, 2014:
Ezekiel 37:12-14
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings (now a ONE-page handout!), click here!
Monday, March 31, 2014
03/30/14 The Mark of Adulthood
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
"If I don't take responsibility for my actions, somebody has to take responsibility for me. And here is God Himself, in Jesus Christ, who does what? He says, "You carry a shame that you can't bear. I will bear your shame. You carry a weight that you can't endure, I'll carry this weight. You have sins that you can't pay for, therefore, I will carry your sins Myself. Here is Jesus, the Anointed One, who is actually saying, 'I am willing to shoulder the blame.' It is Someone who is saying, 'It's not my responsibility. But I make it My responsibility.'"
Mass Readings from March 30, 2014:
1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings (now a ONE-page handout!), click here!
Monday, March 10, 2014
03/09/14 Really?
Homily from the First Sunday of Lent.
"All of us, every one of us at this Mass, we have experienced maybe some light, but we will all experience the darkness of just not being able to see God, being obscured from God's sight, maybe feeling differently. And that's when we have to realize this truth: that we cannot, that we do not have to doubt in the darkness what we knew was true in the light. Because in darkness, the facts haven't changed. How I feel about the facts, that's the only thing that's changed."
Mass Readings from March 9, 2014:
Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings (now a ONE-page handout!), paste this address, http://www.umdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LentReadings2014.pdf, into the address bar of your internet browser (ie Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
Thursday, March 6, 2014
03/05/14 Branded
Homily from Ash Wednesday.
"The depth of what the Cross means is actually 'I am such a mess that in order to make me not a mess, this Cross had to happen.' But here is the amazing thing: this Cross is a sign of your worth. That brand is not just a sign of how great God is, that's a sign of how much you are worth. Sometimes you own the brand, and sometimes the brand owns us."
Mass Readings from March 05, 2014:
Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings (now a ONE-page handout!), paste this address, http://www.umdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/LentReadings2014.pdf, into the address bar of your internet browser (ie Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
Monday, March 3, 2014
03/02/14 This is Good. God is Good.
Homily from the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"Worry is useless and it is debilitating. But we know this, this is the great news, this is the really good news: worry is not determined by external circumstances. What I mean is that you can have two people going through the exact same stuff. The same sunny day or the same rainy day. The same employment or the same unemployment. The same crises and the same joys. And one person can say, 'This is terrible, I hate this!' I am worried about it and I am filled with excessive anxiety. The other person can say, 'No. This is good. God is good.'"
Mass Readings from March 02, 2014:
Isaiah 49:14-15
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34
To download the 40 Days of Lenten Mass Readings, copy the following address into the address bar in your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.): http://www.umdcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014LentReadings.pdf
Monday, February 24, 2014
02/23/14 Living Wisely
Homily from the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"So Jesus comes along and He says, 'Be téleios [Greek-adj-perfect or full-grown], like God is téleios. Be perfect as God is perfect. What that means in the context, how is God perfect? "He makes the sun shine on the good and the bad, God makes the rain fall on the just and on the unjust. Here is the deal: God's perfection is He is benevolent to everyone; God is gracious to people. God blesses people. Jesus says, 'Therefore, you be the same.' To be téleios is simply to be the kind of person that you're oriented toward, the person that your télos [Greek-n-end goal] is. And the reality is, all of you, just because you've been made in God's image and likeness, you're meant to be a saint."
Mass Readings from February 23, 2014:
Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:38-48
Monday, February 17, 2014
02/16/14 "I Do What I Want"
Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"If my morality is just, 'Well I want to be able to do what I want, whatever I want, as long as nobody gets hurt,' my world has become the size of me."
Mass Readings from February 16, 2014:
Sirach 15:15-20
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37
Monday, February 10, 2014
02/09/14 Like Everyone Else
Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"Imagine Paul walking up to one of these women (prostitutes) who had been used to being used, that's all they ever knew in their whole life, and Paul walking up to them and saying, 'Listen, there is this intellectual argument for the existence of God and that Jesus Christ is Him.' What would that do to them? Nothing. But when Paul walks up to one of these women who has just--all of her life, all she's ever known, is just, 'Men want to use you. And actually, your goddess Aphrodite? She doesn't care. She wants men to use you.' Imagine being one of those women and Paul walks up to you and says, 'Actually, the True God doesn't want anyone to use you, the True God was willing to die for you. And He did die for you. Imagine that kind of power of that kind of preaching: it's not like anyone else! And that is the preaching and that is the Word and that is the decision that changed EVERYTHING."
Mass Readings from February 9, 2014:
Isaiah 58:7-10
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16
Monday, February 3, 2014
02/02/14 Consumer or Disciple?
Homily from the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
"What flows out of relationship? Obligation. And if you're going to have an incredible relationship, that no one could've ever hoped for in the past, through Baptism with the true and living God, that means there might be some obligations that are placed on you and some obligations that are placed on me. So the question is: how do we live like this? How do we break out of the mentality that we are mere consumers when it comes to the Catholic Church?"
Mass Readings from February 2, 2014:
Malachi 3:1-4
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
Monday, January 27, 2014
01/26/14 All is...Lost?
Homily from the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
"He established a Kingdom based on these 12 men and their successors, the bishops of the Catholic Church, the successors of Peter, the pope, and the Catholic Church. And there's not one place on this planet that has not been touched and has not been blessed by God's promise. Why? Because when everything seems like all hope is gone and all is lost, God steps in and He does something that we never could have imagined. It doesn't mean necessarily that He gives us back our innocence, but He can give us redemption. It doesn't necessarily mean that He gives us back our youth, but He can give us wisdom. It doesn't necessarily mean that He gives me back that relationship, or give me back that loved one who has died...but it does mean that He gives us hope. Hope even in the midst of absolute tragedy."
Mass Readings from January 26, 2014:
Isaiah 8:23-9:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23
To listen to the song Father Mike refers to in his "Last Thing", click here.
Weekly Schedule
Newman House
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5:00pm
Friday 12:05pm
May 19th & 20th
May 26th, 27th, 28th
June 11th
July 1st-3rd
July 7th-10th
July 14th-16th
July 21st-24th
August 18th-21st
August 25th-28th
September 1st-4th
BACK THIS SUMMER!!!
"The Voyage"
Starts with Mass at 5pm every Wednesday in July, followed by discussion and fellowship!
Check back later for more details!
AREA PARISHES
(Click on blue marker to get directions)
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary
Daily: 7am
Saturday: 4:30pm
Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11am
Confession: Saturday, 10:30-11:30
St. Benedict's
Daily: 8am
Saturday: 5:00
Sunday: 8am, 10:30 am
Confession: Saturday 4:00 p.m. or by appointment
St. Mary Star of the Sea
Daily: 8am and 12:10pm
Saturday: 4:30
Sunday: 9am and Noon
Confession: Monday-Friday 11:30-12:05pm
Saturday: 3:15-4:15