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The Memorial of Saint Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, on the First Day of the Vatican Synod on Clerical Sexual Abuse

The Memorial of Saint Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, on the  First Day of the Vatican Synod on Clerical Sexual Abuse Much of St. Peter Damian’s reform struggle seems strikingly relevant to the modern situation of the Church today, as 190 Catholic leaders are meeting in the Vatican today in an historic summit devoted to child sexual abuse. I don’t speak about this often, but it seemed appropriate on the beginning day of this synod, and on the feast of this particular saint, to say something to this matter. Every Catholic knows that the Pope is elected by, and from, the Cardinals of the Church gathered in the Sistine Chapel. Every Catholic knows that the Pope then goes to a large balcony perched high in the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet the faithful and receive their acceptance. This is simply the way things are done in the Church. But it’s not the way things were always done. A Catholic in the early Middle Ages would have described a papal election a
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Veterans Day, 2018

Veterans Day, 2018 Fort Carson Catholic Community This Sunday we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day. There was a sign posted in the Army recruiting office during World War II that famously said: “Marry a veteran, girls. He can cook, make beds, sew, and is already used to taking orders.” I tried that joke out on the Catholic Women of the Chapel, a ladies’ ministry we have here at Fort Carson, and they all howled, almost in unison “not my husband!” We have inspiring stories in the scriptures about brave soldiers who were faithful men as well.  You may remember the story of King David’s mighty men, warriors, we read about them in 2 Samuel 23 in the Old Testament. The Philistines had taken Bethlehem, David’s birthplace, and during the encampment in the desert, David said, the text says, “longingly”, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” Then three of his mighty men ran and broke through the battle lines of the Ph
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It's a Mystery: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 11, 2017

Today is Trinity Sunday : We preachers are called to say something thoughtful and doctrinally accurate about the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are reminded how Catholics sometimes need to use big words. These are just to help us understand more precisely the mystery of God, who is a three-personed God. When we say “consubstantial with the Father” in the Creed today, we are grasping at what it means to recognize Christ as fully God, and yet fully man. The church wrestled in prayer and study and debate for nearly 500 years to try to get this right. When we come to celebrate this Mass, this feast, what we are doing is reminding ourselves of the faith we profess together immediately after this homily in the Creed, we recall the content of our faith, in whom we believe in and why we believe. It is the love of God, the mercy of God, the might, the power of God that we celebrate. And we honor, recognize, worship, adore, and clearly affirm without any ambiguity our belief in
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To Whom Shall We Go? Discipleship in the Midst of Doubt

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Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 122 Reading 1 JOSHUA 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” But the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.” Respons
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Sheep Without A Shepherd: A World in Search of Direction

Sheep Without A Shepherd: A World in Search of Direction Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 107 Reading 1: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall
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