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FAITH IN FOCUS
For some 20 years, I have been pleased to share reflections with you each week in our bulletin. I’ve become convinced recently that it would be good for you to receive some other perspectives on things as well. While I will continue to write from time to time, I will also present some other thoughts. Whether responses to frequently asked questions or brief meditations on our relationship with the Lord, I hope that you will be enriched by these more varied faith notes. ~ Bishop Christian
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God Works Within the Mess
A man recently told me he was losing patience with the Church. “It’s supposed to be God’s Kingdom on earth,” he said, “but it’s full of contradictions and hypocrisy. Why can’t the Church just be better?” That last word landed with a judgmental thud. It hurt. Because at times the Church can look painfully ordinary, even disappointing. But Jesus’ parables in today’s Gospel meet that frustration head-on. He says, “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed
13 hours ago
Let Your Word Take Root in Me Again
Sometimes I feel capable of absorbing almost anything except God’s Word. My mind soaks up song lyrics, sports trivia, and endless online content. But what was the reading at Mass this morning? I struggle to recall. That realization discourages me, and it leads to an uncomfortable question. What is my heart really for? Is it shaped for constant information and distraction, or is it truly designed for God? Am I capable of deeply receiving His Word? Jesus speaks directly to this
Jul 8
He Has Come to Unite
This weekend, our nation celebrates the 250 th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Unlike most nations, the United States was not founded primarily on a shared ethnicity, language, or culture. Instead, our founders built a political community out of diverse peoples united by a shared vision of liberty. That vision echoes something deep in the Christian mystery revealed in today’s Gospel. Jesus returns to his hometown. The people see only what is fam
Jul 1
Not to Lose, But to Find
I still remember the first homily I ever preached as a new deacon. It was at the seminary, and the Gospel was this one: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37-38) Standing before more than 200 classmates and professors, I stumbled awkwardly through my words and realized how strange - almost insane - this teaching sounded. If anyone else said it, we would call it narcissistic or cultish. And that is the point. I felt the weight of tho
Jun 25
Faith is Choosing Trust
Jean Améry, a Holocaust survivor tortured by the Nazis, later wrote about the abyss of human evil. He described his reaction as an “indignant despair.” Haven’t we all, to some degree, felt that abyss opened beneath us? A sudden loss, a violent headline, a moment of loneliness or panic, when the world feels fragile and meaning seems to collapse? It is to this fear that Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel: “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body.” (Matthew 10:28) He does no
Jun 18
The Harvest is Abundant
Mini reflection: We often find it hard to love the Church if we find it hard to love a particular priest, a particular bishop. That’s the thing about priests and bishops and all the laborers in the field: they are human. They are sinners. Just like you and me. Laborers: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” This excerpt from Matthew’s Gospel has become a catchphrase in the modern Church. We give ourselves vertigo with the amount of head-shaking we do over the m
Jun 10
The Real Presence: The Body & Blood of Christ
When I was a young altar server, I once overheard two very different comments about the Eucharist. One person asked, “Is Father distributing the bread or the wine?” Later, another asked, “Can you go get Jesus from the tabernacle?” Same parish, same Mass, but two very different ways of speaking. I pondered: So, is it bread that we pretend is Jesus? Or is Jesus a tiny white thing in a box? I was utterly confused. This Feast of Corpus Christi is an excellent time to think about
Jun 3
The Blazing Truth
I was 16 years old on a youth group retreat in the mountains. One night, I opened my heart to the message being proclaimed: that God so loved the world that He sent His Son for us. Later, I lay under the pine trees and looked up at the countless stars. They seemed different. No longer cold, distant balls of chemical reactions, they appeared as an expression of God’s love, as if He were giving those stars directly to me. The truth of God sending His Son changed how I saw the w
May 29
Pentecost - Receive the Holy Spirit
“He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” (John 20:22–23) For those of us who go to confession regularly, there is often a familiar frustration: “Why do I keep confessing the same sins?” It can feel like a loop, cleansed but unchanged. Pentecost reveals a hopeful perspective. When the Risen Jesus breathes on his ashamed and fearful disciples and gives them the Holy Spiri
May 20
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