Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Halloween – Secular or Sacred? – October 31st is Halloween. Many people, especially Christians, dismiss Halloween for what it has become. Fact is though; we are the ones who invented it, or rather, in ancient days ‘converted it’ as we did many other pagan festivals. …

Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8

…from your Pastor’s Desk – SO, WHY PRAY? – What were the words you used the last time you prayed? I mean, really prayed, not just grace before meals or ‘Now I lay Me Down To Sleep’; but a heartfelt prayer. Was it words like, please or I want? Words like I need or Why don’t you? Or was it words like; Thank you and praise you and I love you and ‘What can I do for you, my God?’ …

Sunday’s Readings: 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

…from your Pastor’s Desk – The Ungrateful Nine – This weekend we have the story of the ten lepers who asked Jesus for healing. Lots of times, when we hear this story, nine of the lepers are portrayed as ungrateful. A word or two on their behalf is in order. They all approached Jesus and called out to him “Jesus, Master, have pity on us.” They all obeyed his command to go show themselves to the priest. …

Sunday’s Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Learning from Him – “Lord, increase our faith,” said the apostles in today’s Gospel. Elsewhere they asked Him, “Lord teach us how to pray” (Lk 11:1). In essence the two requests were the same. To pray is to focus our heart on God, to have faith in God’s concern for us. Every prayer renews our trust in God, and whenever we turn to God in faith, we are praying. …

Sunday’s Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

…from your Pastor’s Desk – St. Francis and the Blessing of Animals – Saturday, October 4th at 11 am in our plaza. – As many of you already know, years ago, many Franciscan priests and brothers served in our Diocese. At one time they covered all of Lake County. And, as some of you also know, I, too, have a Franciscan background. There is still evidence of our Franciscan roots throughout the Diocese. St. Francis is perhaps the most popular and well-known saint. He is famous for his love of animals and is often depicted surrounded by them—preaching to all who will hear. …

Sunday’s Readings: Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13 OR 16:10-13

…from your Pastor’s Desk – “You cannot serve both God and mammon [money].” – Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel Reading—“You cannot serve both God and mammon”—are often erroneously interpreted. They’re taken to mean that you cannot have both God and money in your life. In other words, this incorrect interpretation claims that there’s a competition in your life between God and money. …

Sunday’s Readings: Numbers 21:4b-9; Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17

…from your Pastor’s Desk – THE CROSS THAT SAVES – Paradoxically, we Christians affirm our passion for life under the sign of the Cross, which in Roman times was a cruel, inhuman instrument of execution, the most frightful form of death. Echoing Our Lord Himself, the Church strongly opposes all forms of torture and above all the death penalty–and yet here we are on today’s feast, honoring the cross on which an innocent prophet and healer, who had spent His life helping others, was put to death. …

Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

…from your Pastor’s Desk – Don’t be a Hater! – The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might startle us. They were spoken by the Lord to convey without the shadow of a doubt a very important message to his followers. The words of Jesus are these: “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Yikes! Hate? …

Sunday’s Readings: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

…from your Pastor’s Desk – A Lesson in Humility – The Litany of Humility is a prayer worth pondering.
As it is a long litany the following are only excerpts: From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, O Jesus. …

Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalm 117:1, 2; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

…from your Pastor’s Desk – A couple of years ago, ESPN and Netflix put out a documentary series called “The Last Dance,” a documentary on the life and career of Michael Jordan. And it was very popular. People loved getting an inside look into the life of Jordan, and were in awe at the extreme dedication he had to basketball, to greatness, to the workouts and diets and schedules and routine. …