The phrase “rock bottom” comes to mind when praying about this Gospel passage (and also reflecting on the Chicago Bears, but that’s another story).

We often use the word “consolation” in prayer. Someone in spiritual consolation feels close to God and sees evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their life.

Jesus says in the Gospel today, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” He can’t actually mean this, right?

I mentioned a couple weeks ago in my homily about how many Japanese soldiers in World War II admitted, after the war, that the guns and anti-aircraft weapons they were firing were blanks.

Our passage from the Letter to the Hebrews this weekend gives us an important principle to remember: God challenges those who are good. “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

Some people will love the readings this weekend. Some will hate them.

In my homily last Sunday I spoke about the five different ways to connect to God.

When Pope Leo decided to resume the tradition of the pope spending July and part of August in his summer villa in Castelgandolfo, in the hills outside of Rome, I think most people understood and respected it.

Dear Parishioners, Intercession is one of the themes of our reading this weekend. Abraham intercedes on behalf of Sodom to try and save...

Ah, the Gospel scene of Martha and Mary. Some love this, some hate this. We love it because we all want to be Mary. We hate it because we are all Martha.

After Jesus gives the parable of the Good Samaritan to the scholar of the law, Jesus asks the man, “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” The lawyer responds, “The one who treated him with mercy.”

A friend recently reminded me what St. John Vianney’s “pastoral plan” was when he became the pastor of his new parish in Ars in 1818.

Pentecost is a feast that I’ve come to appreciate more and more each year. While I like all the feast days, Pentecost is now one of my favorites; one that I look forward to the most. Interiorly, I feel more excited by Pentecost than I do by Christmas.

I’ve always been intrigued by the instruction Jesus gave to the apostles after the Resurrection and just before the Ascension to not leave Jerusalem.

Our Gospel this Sunday again takes place during the Last Supper; an excerpt from Jesus’ “Last Supper Discourse.” This discourse covers four chapters in the Gospel of John.

As of the time of me writing this letter, we still do not have a pope.

When Peter and his comrades were initially called to follow Jesus, back at the beginning of the Gospel, they were fishing and Jesus produced a miraculous catch of fish.

Would you consider yourself a boxer or a dancer?

When I was a child we had a pet hermit crab for a time. His name was Hermie. I’ll never forget Hermie.

Jesus was in the habit of sharing secrets with his closest friends.