One of the things I have repeatedly had to learn in my life at every stage is that people always respond better if they know they are cared for. As a catcher on numerous baseball teams, the pitchers had to know that they could trust me and I wanted them to succeed before I could yell at them, since, as we all know, pitchers are prima donnas. If they didn’t believe that I cared about them, it became harder to get on the same page and succeed together. The same is true of engaged couples I work with, people in the confessional, staff, volunteers, the whole gang. If, as a pastor, people don’t think I care about them, then I am a resounding gong, a clashing cymbal. The whole thing falls apart without love and respect. Click on title for full column.

Like most people, I sometimes find myself completely overwhelmed because I catch myself thinking too many steps ahead. When I start down the road of thinking about Beacons of Light and what the next five years might look like, I quickly branch off into the thirty-one categories that the Archdiocese has given us and the ten-thousand things that I am worrying about at any given moment. I would be better off, as would pretty much everyone, if I remembered Our Lord’s wisdom in saying, “Sufficient for a day are its own troubles.” Do what you can to grow in holiness and help others grow in holiness today, and maybe tomorrow we will see things differently.  Click on title for full column.

TOTUS TUUS (Totally Yours) TOTUS TUUS (Totally Yours),  a parish mission for youth, is coming to Our Lady of the Rosary the week of July 17-22, 2022.  Click on title for full column.

As we inch closer to the implementation of Beacons of Light and our new Family of Parishes, Pentecost is a providential time to surrender our fears and concerns about the future and invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts and the heart of our parishes so that we can trust that we are guided by His presence and gifts rather than trying to do everything ourselves. This weekend is obviously the last weekend before major changes to the Mass schedule, and so we commend all of this to the Spirit and ask Him to be with us as we move forward. Come Holy Ghost! Click on title for full column.