Jesus desires to have a relationship with each of us. He wants us to understand how much he loves us and how aware that she is of each of our needs. He wants to take care of our needs. But he will only do that if we come to him and ask him for help in all of our troubles and situations. The good news today is that Jesus deeply desires that we are in right relationship with each other and with God. What the world needs now more than anything it Is for his children to fully rely on him. Let us come to this altar today and a appeal to our Lord and ask him to help heal all of our differences in our relationships with each other and in the world. The greatest gift that we can give to the world is love. God is love. Let us love one another as Christ has loved us. Let us lay down our lives for each other. Let us forgive each other. Let us come to this table and receive our Lord and ask him to help us in all of our relationships. And most of all our relationship with him. What would you leave at this sacrificial alter when the offertory is brought up as a gift to Jesus before you receive him?

This is about The parable of the sower and the seed. Do we allow excessive worry to choke out God’s Word?  Do we cultivate our soil by spending time in prayer? Do we partake in the sacraments most especially in the Sacrament of reconciliation. And do we get rid of the rocks and debris that can so easily stunt the word of God to grow in our souls? Do we get so caught up in what is terrible in the world, that we allow worry to choke out the word? At the root of the word “inspiration” is the word “spirit.” And the word spirit is at the very center of the word inspiration. Our word “inspiration” comes to us from Latin sources, as the Latin word “spiritus” meant “breath.” Thus, when we say that the Bible, the Word of God, is inspired, what we are really saying is that God breathed inspiration into every word of the book through the writers who wrote these words.

On this first Sunday of lent, at the end of todays second reading it sums up the principle message of all three of the readings, “For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of one, the many will be made righteous.” We see the disobedience of that one man in todays first reading from Genesis in the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve in their fall form grace. We see in the gospel the obedience and fidelity of the New Adam in Jesus Christ by which we were justified. The entirety of our lives are going to be a battle for our minds and in our mind, for our hearts and in our hearts.  And particularly we will constantly face choices to make between our old Adam and the disobedience and choices of sin in our lives or the new Adam in the way of obedience and faithfulness.

Beatitudes, An Rx For a Happy Marriage

This is about Becoming An Intentional Disciple. Too many of us in the church live by the standard "don't ask, don't tell." We must begin to take ownership of our faith, and share that with the world. Not only do we need to be intentional about discipleship, but we must become intentional about the sacraments.  You can't give what you have not received.  As Monsignor Charles Pope often says, "Some people have more faith in Tylenol than they do the Eucharist.

This is about Packing For The Journey - Epiphany Homily The feast of the Epiphany is so rich in meaning.  One of the most emphasized meanings is that God revealed his Son not to the Jewish people who were the chosen people but to the Gentiles.  Meaning that God came to save every man.  But the meaning I would like to draw upon is how the star led the Magi to our Savior. Most people think the magi saw a bright star in the eastern sky and began to follow it.  The star guided them unfailingly first to Jerusalem, where it temporarily disappeared, and then to Bethlehem where they found the Child Jesus.  But if you read the gospel account closely you will see that this was not the case.  They saw the “Star as it rose.” It does not say at this point that the star guided them.  Rather, it was merely a sign that something unusual had happened, that someone special had been born.  The next time that the star is mentioned is when they were on the road to Bethlehem, that is as they neared the end of their journey. The text says, “There in front of them was the star they had seen rising.” The implication seems to be that in between they travelled in darkness.  They had to seek and enquire. They had to so to speak, feel their way along.  They travelled through the night.  And it took along time to get to their destination.  Most scholars say months. It was a hard journey with some tough terrain.There were times of complete darkness.  Clouds blocked the lit sky. Yet they pressed on in faith.

Mary goes before us as a model of faith. Though she was conceived without sin, and remained sinless, we can follow her in faithfulness and purity. The grace that purified and sustained Mary can purify and sustain us as well. Let us strive to cooperate with God’s will as Mary did throughout her whole life, even from the moment of her conception.

Focus on what we have the most influence on.  Ourselves.

This Sunday is the 26'th Sunday in ordinary time. My father shared many great examples for me growing up, one that I will always remember is Joe, you wont get anything out of your faith, unless you are willing to put something into it. Our readings are exhorting us to compete well for the faith now.  Don't wait until it is too late.  The rich Man went to hell not because he was rich but because of his indifference to the poor.  Make the choice now to follow Jesus. Don't wait util it's too late.

If you died today, where would you spend eternity?  Jesus ask us this very important question.  There are two paths we may choose to take.  One is easy and wide.  The other is narrow.  Which road are you on?