“Pope Francis’ blockbuster interview this week pointedly rejects a Church of “small-minded rules.” He said we cannot make the Universal Church a “nest for our own mediocrity.” He said a great many other things as well, including the comment that much of the Church’s civic discourse has become “obsessed” with homosexuality and gay marriage. And […]
Category: Scripture
“This weekend is kick off weekend, one of my favorite of the whole year. All our kids and student programs are back in full swing, lots of fun stuff on the front plaza, all new music and a brand new message series called Breathing Room. Breathing room is the gap between our current pace and […]
Let’s face it, Catholics are largely ignorant of the Bible. It’s a sad fact, but a true one. It’s not their fault though. It’s the fault of parish priests and church leaders reaching back generations. It’s the fault of the whole Counter-Reformation approach to Scripture that has characterized the Catholic Church for hundreds of years. […]
“How many of you have ever had a job that you hated? How many of you have ever had a dumb job? How many of you have ever been working at something and it just felt like a complete waste of time? Probably every single one of us, at some point or another would have […]
“For our regulars at Church of the Nativity or on-line, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t been speaking much this summer, and by “much” I mean, not at all. So maybe you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to. Well, I did take a couple of weekends off for vacation, of course. But mostly, I […]
” When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God… I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the […]
My associate Tom and I are in Las Vegas for a keynote speech to a National Association of Catholic Lay Ministers. Why the Association meets in Las Vegas is a very good question. I guess the ministers like to gamble…at least with their choice of keynote speakers. While I am here, I am working on […]
“This weekend we celebrate the Ascension; it used to be celebrated on a Thursday, but that was changed to make things easier. The Bible tells us that 40 days after Easter, after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he returned to his heavenly father. He does that for a simple, clear reason, which he explains to […]
“The explosions of the past week in Boston raise many questions. We cannot help but look at an act of violence that was not random but a very calculated and ask, “Why?” Why would someone or some people do such a thing? Who are they? When will they be caught? While hopefully the person or […]
“Our current message series is all about 180 degree turn-a-rounds in life. Sometimes a 180° turnaround can mean a change in our thinking. We are thinking one way: maybe about a problem or a person. We think about them in a certain way and then something happens, something changes and we do a 180. We change […]
