Sermons

“The child’s father and mother marveled at what was being said” (Lk. 2:33). There is an old story of a little prince and a rose. The prince lived on an asteroid far off in space. On that asteroid was a single rose, the sole affection of his heart. But the climate on the asteroid was not well suited for a rose. The winds blew. The sun beat down on it. Worst of all, stubborn weeds were a constant threat to the rose. The prince made it his whole life’s purpose to guard and nurtu

Thick, creamy soup, tender, marbled steak, crusty loaves of bread, and pudding finished in chocolate. This is a sample of the sumptuous meal shared in Babette’s Feast, a Danish film about one night when a poor village gathers for a banquet. They had only known a life of austerity. Though once devout and friendly, this fishing community lost its salt; they had grown old and hard. Babette, a mysterious and foreign woman, exhausts her entire inheritance that night, to bring them

O heavenly king, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph forsook their homes on the road to Bethlehem. Teach us to forsake the vanity of this world and retreat to the quiet of the soul. O sweet savior, the shepherds waited in the stillness of the pastures where they listened to angelic chant. Allow us to enter blessed stillness, that we may tune our hearts to thy transforming grace. O blessed Lord, the magi lay gold, frankincense, and myrrh at your feet. I pledge to thee the gold o

O heavenly king, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph forsook their homes on the road to Bethlehem. Teach us to forsake the vanity of this world and retreat to the quiet of the soul. O sweet savior, the shepherds waited in the stillness of the pastures where they listened to angelic chant. Allow us to enter blessed stillness, that we may tune our hearts to thy transforming grace. O blessed Lord, the magi lay gold, frankincense, and myrrh at thy feet. I pledge to thee the gold of

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Christmas is just around the corner, but we are distracted. A gift is prepared in Bethlehem, but we are too busy to notice. Christ is coming, but we are hardly ready. In her wisdom and compassion, the Church reminds us today of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, “repent.” Of what do we need to repent? It is the biggest problem in our life. It is the sole reason Advent exists, to heal us from it. It is summed u

O heavenly king, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph forsook their homes on the road to Bethlehem. Teach us to forsake the vanity of this world and retreat to the quiet of the soul. O sweet savior, the shepherds waited in the stillness of the pastures where they listened to angelic chant. Allow us to enter blessed stillness, that we may tune our hearts to thy transforming grace. O blessed Lord, the magi lay gold, frankincense, and myrrh at your feet. I pledge to thee the gold o

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hb. 12:13-15). We need to be reconciled with everyone. This is a high calling, but it is everything. It is one of our most fundamental jobs as Christians to be reconciled, to be at peace, with everyone. Yet, this is the part of our faith that we are

“Flee, be silent, pray always.” God gave the Church a compass when he spoke these words to his prophet. In the fourth century, a roman aristocrat became disenchanted with the world. Known today as St. Arsenius, famous as a pioneer in early Christian monasticism, the man started out in a life much like yours and mine. Everything changed one day when he looked point-blank at society, listened to the popular opinions, observed the consumerism driving everyone, and had enough. He

+ Retreat into Advent: Lamps in the Quiet + O heavenly king, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph forsook their homes on the road to Bethlehem. Teach us to forsake the vanity of this world and retreat to the quiet of the soul. O sweet savior, the shepherds waited in the stillness of the pastures where they listened to angelic chant. Allow us to enter blessed stillness, that we may tune our hearts to thy transforming grace. O blessed Lord, the magi lay gold, frankincense, and my

+ Retreat into Advent: Lamps in the Quiet + O heavenly king, the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph forsook their homes on the road to Bethlehem. Teach us to forsake the vanity of this world and retreat to the quiet of the soul. O sweet savior, the shepherds waited in the stillness of the pastures where they listened to angelic chant. Allow us to enter blessed stillness, that we may tune our hearts to your transforming grace. O blessed Lord, the magi lay gold, frankincense, and m