Faith Is… In these difficult times in the world and in the church, our faith, and the living out of our faith, is more important than ever. I share with you my favorite definitions of faith as well as my own definition. To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim…
July 29: Gilroy, California, 3 Dead; August 3: El Paso, Texas, 22 Dead; August 4: Dayton, Ohio, 9 dead… Just Another Week in the United States of America… When Will Enough Be Enough? Below is my Pastor’s Column written right after the carnage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012. It was…
Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis (a book by Bishop Robert Barron) Sisters and brothers, I am sure most of you are aware of the horrific sexual abuse crisis that has haunted our Church, especially in recent months. We all grieve the wicked ways that priests have abused…
Excuses The newly graduated police cadet, speaking on behalf of his fellow classmates at graduation ceremonies, began his speech: “Today, crime has come to an end!” I recognize the hubris in those words and the zeal from which they were born. At the time of my ordination, the attitude I conveyed was: “Today, sin has…
Geographic Solutions The secret of the world lies wherever we can discern the transparency of the universe. —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Letters from a Traveller Do you ever seek a geographic solution to your problems or difficulties? I know that I do! If there are some really intense frustrations or tensions in my ministry, in…
The article below was taken from The Southern Cross, our Diocesan Newspaper. The piece discusses SB 360, a bill introduced into the State Legislature which would have compelled some Catholic priests to reveal what they heard in sacramental confessions. Since this article was published, there was nationwide opposition to the bill. The proposal raised the…
Mission Sunday— Welcome Fr. Gary! Fr. Gary Wiesmann, the Director of Mission Awareness for the Diocese of Mandeville, Jamaica, W.I., is with us this weekend to provide us with the opportunity to exercise our ministry of mission, helping those who are less fortunate than us. Please take time to read the profile of the Diocese…
Summer – A Time of Recreation and Re-creation There were times when I could not afford to sacrifice the bloom of the present moment to any work, whether of head or hands. Sometimes, in a summer morning, having taken my accustomed bath, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in a…
For All That Has Been— Thank you! For All That Will Be— Yes! July 1 is my 16th anniversary as the Pastor of our Faith Community. I share with you, once again, my first Pastor’s Column dated July 6, 2003. It is my desire each year to give you my first Pastor’s Column in which…
The Vineyard The vineyard is a popular Christian symbol. It appears a number of times in the New Testament. Very simply, the earth is the vineyard. We are workers in that vineyard. There were workers before us. There will be workers after us. While we are in the vineyard, we are called to tend it…