On this First Friday, we recall the New and Eternal Covenant which Jesus accomplished. When he is questioned by the scribes and pharisees why his own disciples do not fast and pray as theirs, Jesus claims the title of Bridegroom (covenant) and that the guests do not fast and pray Read more…
Feast days of members of the Holy Family are always accompanied by strong feelings of gratitude for my own family. Images of Our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, the Holy Family, Jesus adorned the homes of my family and grandparents. But, they were not just idle images of art, but rather Read more…
Our Holy Week has begun. God does not remain distant. In Jesus, God’s humility is manifest. Jesus takes on our human flesh. Jesus continues to be in our midst. Our minds continue to interpret our present moment through our ‘normal’ experience prior to COVID-19. It makes it difficult to ‘catch Read more…
Today is the feast of one of the greatest missionaries of all time, St. Francis Xavier.He is the patron saint of missionaries, and of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where my life and ordained ministry began. St. Francis is a great model for us today, in so many ways. He first Read more…
Our readings this weekend are about humility and gentleness in the manner in which we live our faith. Even though we do not hear from the Prophet Micah this weekend, his words echo in my heart: To act justly, to love tenderly, to walk humbly with your God. It is Read more…
As we listen again today to the Passion of Jesus, I’m reminded how much God’s ways are not our own. Even Jesus, who throughout his earthly ministry was in intimate communion with the Father, experienced a certain ‘darkness’ in fulfilling the Father’s will in his Passion and Death, and thus Read more…
CHRISTMAS HOMILY 2016 Merry Christmas! Our celebration tonight once again draws the world’s attention to the humility and love of God. In our American language, we call this celebration Christmas, (Christ Mass) while many other languages speak directly to the true focus; the birth of Jesus, such as Feliz Navidad, Read more…
Several years ago, a group of us were given permission to hunt on a rather large ranch, most of which was high mountain country, and served as summer grazing for cattle. The ranchers had rounded up their cattle and moved them to lower pasture for the winter, but came up Read more…
How easy it is for me to see the glory of God in creation, but with all humility, I admit, it is a bit more challenging to find God’s glory in the human person. And yet, during Mass at the cathedral yesterday, I was acutely aware of God’s glory in his people Read more…
To view pictures from this evening, click here. MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER, 2016 CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARY; CHEYENNE MOST REVEREND PAUL D. ETIENNE, DD, STL With this Mass, we begin our celebration of the Easter Triduum, which recalls the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. At Read more…