Tag Archives: Mass

The Most Holy Trinity

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Study:  Reflect on the strongest relationships in our lives.  What qualities and characteristics are present?

Pray:  Ask the Lord for the guidance to see where we can build and renew our relationships.

Serve:  Are there people around us that we need to forgive or assist?  What steps can we take right now to start this process?

Holy Trinity Readings

One God…Three Persons.

That’s the Trinity, and when you get right down to it, this central mystery of the Christian faith is just that – mystery.  I have heard and used many images as illustrations to aid in understanding the Trinity:

  • Shamrock – one leaf, three petals
  • Water – one substance, three states (solid, liquid, gas)
  • Numbers – one meaning, many languages (five, cinque, etc…)

These examples (and many like them) try to get at the notion of how something can be the same and different at the same time.  How unity and diversity can be present at the same time; how the individual and the communal are manifested simultaneously.

It’s a mystery.

And at the heart of the mystery we have a communion of Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – a revelation that God comes to us in communion and invites us to be communion with others.   We are not alone!  God (in communion) invites us into this communion to create communion with one another.

Where do we find communion in our lives?  Some obvious places:

  • Home & Family
  • Work
  • School
  • Neighborhood

You get the idea.  Wherever two or more are present, the opportunity for communion is possible.  The point: How strong is the communion we have have with God and one another?  How united are we in faith, hope, and love?

May we reflect on the current state of our relationships today and renew them, allowing the grace of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – to bless the communion we have with those around us.

Note: this was post was originally delivered on May 26, 2015.

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Trinity, Andrei Rublev; 1411-1427 (est.), Tempera, 142 cm x 114 cm, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.


The Feast of the Ascension – Catholic Inspiration

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Fr. Andrew’s Ascension Homily Podcast

Feast of the Ascension Readings

This time of year marks a major transition for many students: graduating from formal schooling and beginning a new experience.  This practical cycle of human life finds a parallel with the Ascension – where the disciples are now empowered by the Lord to continue his ministry.

Three Great Things


Daily Mass: Work & Prayer

Three Great Things

Fr. Andrew’s Daily Mass Homily – Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter

Daily Mass Readings

Note: In many parts of the world the Feast of the Ascension (one of my favorites) is moved to the 7th Sunday of Easter.  That’s true for my diocese, so today I am reflecting on the daily reading – where Paul is preaching the Gospel in Corinth while “earning his keep” at a trade – and reminds us that we find the Lord in both our work and our prayer.

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Study:  Think about a major transition in your life.  Who helped you?

Pray:  Where do you see opportunities for growth in your life?  Ask the Lord for guidance and strength.

Serve:  Is there someone you are mentoring right now, or someone who would benefit from your help?  How might you help them grow?

Feast of the Ascension Readings

Over the years of my own priesthood, I have come to cherish the Feast of the Ascension.  Consider these “steps” in the mission of the Lord:

  1. Birth – the Incarnation, in which Jesus becomes the bridge between Heaven & Earth
  2. Teaching – the Lord’s ministry of teaching & healing with the disciples
  3. Passion & Death – the saving sacrifice where Jesus offers his life for us
  4. Resurrection – Christ’s triumph over sin and death, once for all
  5. Ascension – Christ now leaves his disciples so that they can continue his work
  6. Pentecost – where Christ asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to empower the Church

The Ascension – in which the disciples saw the Lord ascend into Heaven – is thus a crucial aspect of Christ’s mission.  Everything before the Ascension was part of God’s plan of salvation, and now the early Church must begin to continue this mission in a new way.

Think about it.  This feast is a moment when the Church has to start growing up!  It’s about walking on your own, putting into practice what you’ve been taught, and learning to do for yourself what others formerly did for you.

We see this in life.  Parents teach and care for their children so that they can one day be independent and live on their own.  Teachers work with their students and rejoice when their academic work takes them to new opportunities far beyond the classroom.  Coaches and mentors spend countless hours with youth to help them mature into adulthood.  This process is good, blessed, and wholesome.

And it’s hard.  Let’s be clear: empowering people to grow up also means that they often take flight and leave us.  They move on, and we must face the challenges of letting them go so they can grow: parents watch their kids move away; teachers watch their students pass on to the next grade; coaches say farewell at the end of a season.

Yet this process – with all it’s blessings and burdens – is the way we develop as persons.  It’s the journey that strengthens us so that we can mature into the full stature of our life in Jesus Christ.  The Lord’s grace is meant to transform us, and while this is seldom easy, it is always done with heavenly help.

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Ascension, John Singleton Copely, 1775, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.


6th Sunday of Easter – Peace I give you – Catholic Inspiration

Three Great Things

Fr. Andrew’s 6th Sunday of Easter Homily Podcast

6th Sunday of Easter Readings

We long for peace, and with God’s help we can be instruments of peace.  May Christ fill our hearts with his grace and strength…and peace!

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6th Sunday of Easter – Peace I give to you

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Study: Recall a time when you experienced a profound sense of peace.  What made this possible?

Pray: Ask for God’s peace to touch your life and the those you love.

Serve: Consider ways you can share the peace of Christ with others.  Be an instrument of peace today.

6th Sunday of Easter Readings

I find the words of the Lord in the Gospel tremendously comforting:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”  (John 14:27)

How often do we need to hear these words!  How often do we find ourselves disturbed and upset by the frustrations and fears of life?!  And yet, Jesus – who knows us better than we know ourselves – consoles and comforts us with a peace that flows on the wings of the Holy Spirit from the heart of Heaven.

We crave peace: in our hearts, our homes, our work, our community.  There is a tranquility that comes when we are united with one another, free from discord, doubt and misunderstanding.  God’s peace empowers us to walk through the challenges of life with a quiet conviction that we will face whatever comes before us with the guidance of Christ.

Two key thoughts thus emerge:

  1. Where do I need to foster peace in my life?
  2. How can I share God’s peace with others?

Are there parts of my life that hunger for peace?  Bring them to prayer.  Are there ways that I can be an instrument of peace, in my own life and in the lives of others?  Act now.  God’s peace is for the asking and the Holy Spirit is present to renew us with this blessed gift.

May we leave behind our fears and anxieties, turning to Christ for the strength and guidance we need to embrace our lives with joy.

Peace be with you!


5th Sunday of Easter: The Command to Love. Catholic Inspiration

Three Great Things

Fr. Andrew’s 5th Sunday of Easter Homily Podcast

5th Sunday of Easter Mass Readings

The readings reveal two aspects of the Church: growing & glorified.  Through the times of both blessing and burden the command of Christ to Love shapes our lives as disciples, and directs us to love each and every day.

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5th Sunday of Easter – The Church on Earth and in Heaven

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Study:  Consider a moment when you felt unconditional love.  How did you react?

Pray:  Are there people in your life who are hard to love?  Ask the Lord to soften your heart, and place in you the desire to want to love them.

Serve: Love is expressed in many ways.  How can you share the Love of Christ with others today?

5th Sunday of Easter Readings

Let’s start with a quick overview of this week’s readings:

  • 1st Reading – Paul & Barnabas are fostering the Church among the Gentiles
  • Psalm – “I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.”
  • 2nd Reading – John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth
  • Gospel – Jesus commands his disciples to love one another

The Easter season proclaims the Lord’s triumph over sin and death, and inspires us to fix our eyes on Heaven as our destination and goal.  United together with the Lord, we understand that we are pilgrims passing through this world – and our words and actions have power and consequence.

Think about it.  The Lord commands us to love.  This is not some pleasant suggestion or good-idea-if-you-have-time-to-fit-it-in…this command is our call to action: Love flows from the heart of Heaven, and in our Love on earth we practice for the day when we will stand before the Author of Love itself.

And lest we get caught up in some sort of warm fuzzy feeling about Love, we know that this command is hard to carry out!  Love demands our forgiveness, patience, mercy, gentleness, peace, and understanding.  Simply put, we are called to Love as Christ loves us – by laying down our lives for one another.

Love, then, is not only a principal condition for Heaven, but for the Church on earth as well.  Nothing reveals our sincerity and authenticity as Christians more fully than when Love shines through our words and actions.

Our goal is Heaven, and while here on earth the Church follows the example of Christ – loving God and one another.  May others see the Lord’s Love in our lives today!


4th Sunday of Easter – Shine! Catholic Inspiration

Three Great Things

Fr. Andrew’s 4th Sunday of Easter Homily Podcast

4th Sunday of Easter Readings

The readings this weekend help the heart and strengthen the soul, inviting us to unite as God’s family with the Good News of Christ available to all.

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First Holy Communion. Catholic Inspiration

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Fr. Andrew’s First Holy Communion Homily

Every year in the Easter season children often make their First Holy Communion.  This homily was given on the 4th Sunday of Easter at the Cathedral of Christ the King on April 16, 2016.  Please continue to pray for all our children who receive the Lord in this great Sacrament; and may all of us draw near to Jesus!

First Holy Communion