Pope Francis has declared an “Extraordinary” Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will run through November 20, 2016. What is that? It is actually a perfect opportunity to make church matter by following God’s call to extend mercy to the lost and broken. Here are four areas we’ve been trying in our parish, and we hope […]
Where did you get your Christmas shopping done this year? For the first year, I didn’t set foot inside a single retail store or mall to find exactly what I wanted. You guessed it: online shopping. Not only that, but by shopping online I actually had access to more options, spent less time, and avoided […]
There’s one difference between God and the Church: God doesn’t need to change. But, the most effective and successful churches are constantly changing. The message and the mission never change- that’s a God thing- but the methods and techniques we use to communicate that mission/message are in constant need of re-shaping to reach the ever-changing […]
Just a quick update on Christmas plans here. Christmas Eve morning I will be appearing on Catholic TV offering the daily TV Mass (9:30 E.S.T. rebroadcast at 7:00pm). If you don’t get Catholic TV you can always watch their live stream at catholictv.com. Later, we will be at the Cow Palace on Christmas Eve for […]
Despite what you may have heard, Christmas still matters to most people, including the unchurched. The reasons many people come to church on Christmas Eve may be nothing more than to please a family member or sing carols. But it’s the church’s job to transform that experience and use it as an opportunity for evangelization. […]
We’re already moving into the third week of Advent, and I’d like to take a quick opportunity to reflect on some pretty amazing passage about John the Baptist taken from our Advent readings. They say: A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every […]
It never fails to amaze me. It just gets earlier and earlier every year. Christmas is officially on the mind of almost every American. If you haven’t started already, your church is probably already planning to buy your Advent candles, wreaths, and lights for Christmas. But have you and your staff sat down together to […]
The weekend before Thanksgiving is always a very special one around here. It’s when we ask for money. A few notes about that. First, we only ask for money once a year. Not counting the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, which we have no control over, we only ask for money once year when it comes to […]
If you were with us for Matter 15 there is nothing I need say, nothing I could say that would adequately express the experience. This post is for those of you who couldn’t join us. And to tell you the truth, I hesitated even making the post at the risk of sounding self-congratulatory. But, frankly, […]
Matter has mass and occupies volume. Our Catholic faith is grounded in matter: The Sacraments of the Church and the Incarnation of the Lord all rely on matter. Our parish churches are all about matter: people, buildings, a geographical location, and parish boundaries. Matter also refers to meaning and importance and is a value we […]
