Ordinary 18 - We become slaves to fear, pleasure, and expectations. Obedience to God helps us walk away from our pleasures and expectations and through our fears into true life. Like the youth on Steubenville, or parents with a child with disabilities.

I don’t have a homily this weekend but you’re welcome to listen to one of my older homilies on these same readings:

With God we have more than Enough (29 July 2012)

One Boy’s Generosity (26 July 2009)

Thanks for listening and God bless you abundantly.

Ordinary 16 - Where can we go to find true peace? Jesus is with us always and He wants to give us peace. You can always take a moment to be present to the God who is present to you. Move towards the middle of the wheel. Let's start right now.

Ordinary 15 - No you can’t "be anything you want to be.” But that’s OK because your Creator has blessed, destined, and chosen you. You have your own special seat in the symphony. Learn to listen to the Conductor and play your roll well.

Ordinary 14 - God calls you to preach the Gospel in your own town and to your own family. Here are three suggestions for preaching the Gospel to your children: 1) Let yourself be challenged and changed 2) Pray with your children 3) Play with your children.

13th Sunday - Jesus touched José, Greg, and Kyle through Confessions, daily Mass, and CYE. Sometimes we have to seek Jesus and take hold of his garments. At other times we need to stay put and wait for Jesus. Are you confident in Jesus' love for you?

Birth of John the Baptist - Our family tells us where we come from but only God can reveal who we are. God calls you to be missionary disciple of the good news. To be fully yourself, you must live John's motto: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Ordinary 11 - What in your life needs pruning? God wants us to be prepared – not just for power outages and rainstorms – but for eternal life. If you want to give a good harvest at the end, you need to do some pruning now.

10th Sunday - No sooner have Adam and Eve decide sinned against God then they begin to turn against each other. We are a house divided when we reject God's will. Jesus teaches us that God's will is the path to a united heart and a united home.

Corpus Christ - I was given the gift of priesthood so I could give it away. The Eucharist teaches us that you are a gift. Don't use others and let them use you. Instead, the Eucharist teaches us how to give ourselves away.