Our Unimaginable Christian Identity
A Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, July 31, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 10:00 Mass Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 Audio Recording I believe an important lesson from today’s Gospel reading is that Jesus is always telling us, not just HOW we should behave, but WHO we are. He is communicating our true IDENTITY in...
Illogical? Possibly. Pointless? Think Again!
Homily for Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, September 1, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 1 Corinthians 3:18-23; Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6; Luke 5:1-11 Audio Recording Have any of you watched The Chosen? This is a video series about the lives of the apostles, the Pharisees and others living at this time that imagines how their daily lives might have been...
The Rescue Project
A year ago I read an amazing book at the recommendation of my beloved wife Christine. I was on my way to Franciscan University for a week-long retreat with 125 priests, deacons and seminarians. I listened to the audio book, Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel, narrated by its author Fr. John Riccardo, founder of the Acts XXIX apostolate. The book was life-changing for me...
Detachment and Generosity
A Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, July 31, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21 Audio Recording Over 20 years ago my wife, Christine, and I left the corporate world to start our own business. This business was one that required a great deal of travel. So...
Reserving Judgement: We Are All a Work in Progress
Homily for Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Thursday, July 28, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Jeremiah 18:1-6; Psalm 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB; Matthew 13:47-53 In today’s gospel reading Jesus speaks of the final judgement in a parable. As fishermen, many who first heard these words of Jesus were very familiar with the scenario he described. In their daily work, the...
Building a Post-Roe America
The following was shared with me by my Spiritual Director, a holy priest in the Diocese of Knoxville. An excellent overview with links to resources to help faithful Christians understand and articulate the importance of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization case. Wednesday, 22 June, 2022, was the feast day of Saint Thomas More (+1535), the patron...
The Healing Power of the Eucharist
Fifth Sunday of Easter Sunday, June 19, 2022 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17 Audio Recording Happy Father’s Day! Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is the feast day in which...
Christian Love and Unity
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Lent Thursday, June 2, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11; John 17:20-26 Audio Recording In today’s Gospel we hear the very last words of Jesus recorded by John before his passion begins in the Garden of Gethsemane. This high priestly prayer is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus found in the Gospel...
Stubborn Attitudes as a Stumbling Block
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent Thursday, May 19, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Acts 15:7-21; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10; John 15:9-11 Audio Recording Christ’s love for Christians is a reflection of the love the Three Divine Persons have for one another and for all men: “We love, because He first loved us”. The certainty that God loves us is the source of Christian joy, but it...
A New Heaven and a New Earth
Fifth Sunday of Easter Sunday, May 15, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Acts 14:21-27; Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35 Audio Recording Today I’m going to speak to you about my two most favorite topics: GOD’S LOVE and HEAVEN. In our gospel, Jesus tells the disciples during the Last Supper that he will be leaving them in a little while. He has some...
The Christian Family: Tips for Growing in Holiness
My talk at the KDCCW convention on Thursday April 28, 2022: Download a PDF of my talk here Here's an excellent resource on praying as a family from the Dominican Sisters in Nashville. I discovered this book after giving my talk.
Which One Are You?
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion Sunday, April 10, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 & 10:00 Masses Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14—23:56 Video Recording Audio Recording Dear friends in Christ, after hearing today’s readings, think about where you see YOURSELF in them. Who do you identify with? Are you a member of the crowd who cheered...
Jesus is God
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent Thursday, April 7, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Genesis 17:3-9; Psalm 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; John 8:51-59 As we reflect on today’s gospel, we may wish to consider this question…who is Jesus and what does this mean for us? The last straw for the Jews in this encounter with Jesus is that he not only claimed to know Abraham personally, but that he took for...
The Prodigal Son: Repentance and Forgiveness
Fourth Sunday in Lent Sunday, March 27, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Audio Recording In this season of Lent the Church emphasizes our need for repentance and forgiveness in its selection of readings. Today, Jesus shocks those gathered around him listening to this parable. They were tax collectors,...
“Share Our Joy!” Campaign
Over the past several years I've come to know Cardinal Justin Rigali as an advisor of sort for the use of his iPhone and iPad. I've also had the privilege of assisting him in the conversion of the audio recordings of hundreds of his homilies over the years, migrating them from cassette tape to mp3 files. We've published some of them on his podcast channel and on his Facebook page. I...
A.S.K. and It Will Be Given to You
Thursday of the First Week in Lent Thursday, March 10, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8; Matthew 7:7-12 Audio recording How often have we heard today’s Gospel passage and said to ourselves, “God didn’t give me what I asked for. He did not answer my prayer for (fill in the blank).” When we are discouraged in this way, remember that...
We are Forgiven AS we Forgive Others
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday, February 20, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 & 10:00 Masses 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38 Audio / Video Love Your Enemies We know that God is just, and that final judgment is coming for each person. As St. Paul put it: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,...
Father / Daughter Dance 2022
Every year Knights of Columbus Council 5207 at the Cathedral puts on a father/daughter dance on or around Valentine's Day. My wife Christine (Volunteer Balloons) prepares a nice photo backdrop and I shoot the photos of Dad and his lovely daughter(s). Here's the link to this year's photo shoot, hosted on Google Photos. You are free to download and use any or all of these images for non-commercial...
Christ’s Healing Touch
Thursday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time Thursday, January 20, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7; Psalm 56:2-3, 9-10a, 10b-11, 12-13; Mark 3:7-12 Audio recording The Gospel today gives us a glimpse into the life of Christ, into his fame, which was spreading everywhere. The people of all these small towns had to come to know of Christ little by little, and had only a...
To Jesus Through Mary
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday, January 16, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 5:00 Mass Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11 Audio Recording The Wedding at Cana In today’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah tells us how much God the Father delights in us, members of his Church, members of the body of his only begotten Son. He compares us to a...
We Are Called to Love
Wednesday after Epiphany Wednesday, January 5, 2022 Holy Ghost Church – 8:00 Mass 1 John 4:11-18; Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13; Mark 6:45-52 Audio recording Today’s first reading speaks to us of the most important characteristic of a Christian person, the characteristic of love. There is so much to unpack here, much more than we have time for now. I’d like to encourage you to spend some time...