Love one another: 5th Sunday of Easter

Listen the homily here.

Notes:

As I continue to be a priest at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Columban I love you all

·      The prayers, letters, gifts during my stroke was unreal

·      Bishop Paul Sirba has said, “As Pastors, you will fall in love with your parishioners as a family…especially after the first year.”

·      True.

Three words from Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John

·      “…love one another”…LOVE ONE ANOTHER

·      That’s three words you can memorize!

Here is a great question to think and pray: Who do you love?

·      Your spouse?  Your children?

·      For children…your parents?  Brothers or sisters?  Grandma and Grandpa? 

·      Everyone: Other families?  Uncles, aunts, cousins, the wisdom of grandparents, teachers, coaches, friends?

Take some time this week to think and pray for those you love

Here is another question: who do you like?  Or…who do you not like?!

·      Or, we may people we like

o   Acquaintance

o   Work buddies

o   Those at the grocery store or restaurant

o   Not best friends or not family, but you “like”

·      How about people we don’t like.  Even in our families, our workers, our classroom, teacher…or even a priest!

o   Some people we just can’t stand them!

o   I do too!

But there is a huge different between: “like (or don’t like!) or love”

As Catholics of Jesus Christ, we must love every person

·      You can “not like”

o   That is normal as humans

o   But you must love that person

Remember what Jesus taught his disciples:

·      “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

·      Love is a commandment from God

Pray, think and discern 1.) the people you love and 2.) those who you just like…or don’t like…follow the commandment

Love one another!

Salvation History: Thursday, April 21, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Salvation History

“The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt.”

·      Exodus

“…for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.”

·      Exodus, Numbers

“he gave them their land as an inheritance at the end of about four hundred and fifty years”

·      Joshua

“After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet.”

·      Judges, 1 Samuel

“Then they asked for a king.  God gave them Saul…”

·      40 years

·      God removed Saul

“I have found David…”

·      1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings

“From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.”

·      Acts 13:13-25

·      Small narratives or passages in our Bible to learn salvation history with a quick learning

Scare of darkness?: Wednesday, April 20th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

People who are scared in the darkness

·      I have heard of a story of a new couple of camping in the BWCA

·      Glorious day and they loved it

·      Then they heard in the middle of the night

·      “A loud ear-piercing scream”

·      They heard it over and over and they were terrified

·      The next morning they left to canoe out of the BWCA

·      They finally asked someone—we heard a terrible cry at the night…what was it?

·      A loon

“I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”

Think of children who are scared at night

·      Night light

·      They may cry on their own

·      Dad turns on the light and walks around for the “monster”

This is what Jesus does to us.  If you are afraid, scared…call to Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ will turn on the light during darkness…

The light of Jesus Christ runs away the shadows of darkness

Encouragement and evangelization: Tuesday, April 19th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

This is my 1,000 post on this blog.  Thank you for your reading!

Notes:

Barnabas as an apostle

·      Encouragement: “When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart…”

Encouragement is another gift we can give to others

·      For you, our daily Mass brothers and sisters

o   I continue to call you the “soul” of our parish

o   You do some awesome stuff

§  Some people have lived here for your whole life

§  Awesome families

§  Volunteering

§  Prayers—again, you prayed for me a ton!

o   You continued as a parish when you didn’t have your pastor

o   When you prayed when you didn’t have daily Mass (only 2 Mondays in 10 weeks)

·      Keep up your great prayer, relationships, sacraments and Jesus Christ!

A second part of Barnabas

·      “And a large number of people was added to the Lord.”

·      Is our church growing?  Yes, I believe.

·      Grow in evangelization and encouragement

o   We must learn from brothers and sisters in other Churches

o   Welcoming people at the door

o   Sitting next to new people

o   Helping to those who need it at Mass

o   Have relationships of new brothers and sisters

Keep up our daily Mass brothers and sisters and invite many more here each day!

Our Shepherd said, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly...": Monday, April 18th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

“A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;  I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Jesus was teaching the vision as a Shepherd

·      “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Who is our enemy?

·      Evil

·      Spiritual war—Angels vs. Demons

·      Some people hate God or hate Christianity

The closer we walk with Jesus…the more he gives us abundance

Our Shepherd: 4th Sunday of Easter

Listen to the homily here.

Fr. Albert Wugaa

·      Coming here on May 1^st for four weeks!

·      I have shared about him before

o   Shepherd as a child

o   Sheep and goats

o   For his family

·      Awesome story

o   Became as a Catholic as a junior-high old

o   Went to school

o   Became a priest!

Great Gospel this weekend

·      One of the shortest Gospel for Mass

·      Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

o   Do you hear Jesus voice?

§  Conscious

§  Praying

§  Thinking for our world…your family…those who have died…difficult parts of work…

·      “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.”

o   Always remember this!  “No one can take them out of my hand.”

§  Evil

§  People against our Church, our belief, our faith

§  Bullies

§  Our sins!

·      “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”

o   Boom

·      The only we can jump out of God’s hand: our sins…our leaving Jesus

Take this verses: John 10:27-30

·      Keep this in your back pocket and remember it!

Phillip as a Deacon: Thursday, April 14th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

At my ordination of a deacon—June 10^th, 2011—this was our reading:

·      Philip was one of the seven deacons

·      Several parts: evangelization, teaching, tell the Good News and Baptism

·      Teaching of Philip: “Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him.”

·      The man looking into Christianity: “Look, there is water.  What is to prevent my being baptized?”

·      Philip and Baptism: “Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

The more we learn, the more we walk with Jesus, the more we can do what Philip did: tell the Good News, share our faith and welcome people to our family

"Thank you!": Wednesday, April 13th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

St. Stephen: Courage and Humble: Tuesday, April 12th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

Masculine and feminine: Monday, April 11th, 2016

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Stephen

·      One of the 7 deacons

·      “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”  They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.”

·      “All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

As brothers and sisters in our faith we want the courage and strength of this junk

In a special way, we want to pray for our next generation

·      Big part: Diocese of Duluth Vocation Prayer

o   Priests

o   Deacons

o   Religious—brothers and sisters

o   Marriage

·      People we need

Another part: our brothers and sisters

·      Masculine and feminine

o   Our bodies and souls are different!

·      Diocese of Duluth: Conference of Men…Conference of Women

·      Good relationships to help each other!