Yet again this weekend, we hear in Scripture about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a King who gave a wedding feast for his son. If a wedding feast speaks of anything, it speaks of love. The Kingdom of Heaven is Read more…
There are very few saints from our tradition that knew and loved the Lord, Jesus as St. Catherine. I am so grateful to have discovered her as she has helped me to love the same Lord, and to know and love and serve his Church. St. Catherine found so much Read more…
As this new day dawns on the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, I share with you the news that I am in Seattle for the announcement that Pope Francis has named me Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle. The press conference will be 11:00 PT. While I am excited and surprised Read more…
Our reflection today resumes from where we left off yesterday – Jesus is the Priest and the Sacrifice, revealing the truth that “our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29) Yesterday we reflected upon Jesus as the Priest and Sacrifice in the Eucharist and in the Priest. Today we go Read more…
As this readership already knows, this bishop has a great devotion to St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast we celebrate today. She wrote many people during her short but very active life, and each of her letters were replete with rich doctrine. Very often her letters were means of encouraging Read more…
In these first days of Easter, the Gospel stories remind us of the women who kept vigil at the tomb. These women were the first to discover the tomb empty, and the first ones to whom the Risen Jesus appeared. Before the Church moves on in this Easter season to Read more…
On this 5th Sunday of Lent, we hear another familiar Gospel story of the adulterous woman brought before Jesus. In usual fashion, Jesus is drawing crowds to hear him teach. It is in this setting of Jesus teaching the crowds that the scribes and Pharisees drag a woman caught in Read more…
With the Parish Mission at Holy Family parish in St. Petersburg now complete, I would like to share some of the insights I gained. First, I’m reminded once again of Jesus’ teaching that every time we take the opportunity to give of ourselves, whether in ministry or in relationships, we always receive Read more…
Almost everyday, we encounter some form of road block or difficulty related to our work, or state in life and or vocation. Our Christian tradition tells us such will be the case for one who follows Jesus. Our ‘language’ for this is typically: “Take up your cross” or “Offer it Read more…
I field a fairly regular question these days, and it goes something like this: “Bishop, what are the bishops going to do about…the HHS Mandate, or the recent Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act, or religious liberty, or about the growing support for same sex marriage?” Obviously, Read more…