What's Happening
Summer 2024 ACTS Retreats
Our Summer ACTS Retreats for both Women and Men are coming up! ACTS stands for Adoration, Community, Theology, and Service. Interested in learning more about ACTS and how to register?
Pilgrimage to Poland
CANCELED
Due to a lack of participants, the Poland Pilgrimage from June 2-14 has been canceled.
Called and Gifted Workshop
Join us for the upcoming workshop and discern your charisms, gifts that you received at Baptism!
Father's Focus
Introduction to Characteristics of an Ideal Parish
It never hurts to return to the basics. This is an introductory article to a fifteen-part series called “The Vision of an Ideal Parish” based on an article Dr. Peter Williamson published in 2016. Our buildings serve our mission—now let’s return to the basics of our identity as a parish and reignite ourselves in our mission to save souls!
Repent and Believe in the Gospel
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! The Christian confession of faith is unique in many ways; but one stands out among others: God came to earth searching for us. Think of that! God sought us. This is the Good News. We call it the kerygma.
Solemnity of Dedication of Our Altar: March 13
I remember as a child reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and coming to that fateful moment of the book when Azlan was slain on the Altar. I also remember my teacher telling us that that was a symbol of Jesus being slain on the altar in our church. That image never left me.
St. Francis of Assisi Transformed the Catholic Church
"Francis, go and rebuild my, house, which, as you can see, is totally in ruin." Many times we, here at St. Francis Parish, have heard this story of St. Francis when, kneeling in the Church of San Damiano he audibly heard a voice say these words.
Lent?
Do you remember that old Looney Tunes cartoon with Frisky the puppy and Claude the house cat? It is the one where Claude, a yellow cat with a red-tipped tail, would be walking through the house minding his own business. Then, out of nowhere, Frisky the puppy would come up behind Him and start barking, "Yipe, yipe, yipe, yipe, yipe!!"
This is The Gift
I just left Jam for the Lamb, which is a morning of Worship, Praise and Adoration that kicked off our Catholic Schools Week. It is intoxicating to hear the children sing so wonderfully! The Eucharist is exposed in the gym, center stage, and all morning young persons, faculty, staff, and parents flood the gym with prayer. It truly is proof that faith is living and effective on our campus and in our school!
Saint Clare of Assisi
It has been said that Ignatius of Loyola learned his rules of discernment by comparing worldly reading to reading the lives of the saints.
Time is Precious
I snapped a pic the other day of the clock I have in the confessional. I couldn’t help myself. It read 1:23 pm on 12/31/23... Do you notice the repetition? 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. How unique it that?
Finding Joy in Life
Now that we have come to the end of Christmas season: “Maintain the desire of God in our hearts, and allow the Lord to outline His Plan to us through the little things of life so that we can have an Epiphany Experience!”
Morality Matters
Be His Light
At Baptism we received a candle, lit from the Paschal Candle, with the words, “Receive the Light of Christ”. The rite continues: “This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He is to walk always as a child of the light. May he keep the flame of faith alive in his heart. When the Lord comes, may he go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.”
Fighting Against Lukewarm Faith
We have often heard this passage from revelation and the warning that comes from having a lukewarm faith; let us take this moment as we near the end of Lent to reflect on what that means and how we must apply it to our lives as Christians. To be lukewarm is to be neither cold nor hot, and we often experience this in many aspects of our lives; it is the mundane, the banal, the ordinary, the routine. In our Christian life, we can experience this as well.
Dying to Self
St. Paul's teachings and his life vividly exemplify a boundless truth: to the extent that Jesus' life within me mirrors the very essence of Christ Himself, I must willingly surrender and let those aspects "of me" that fall short of Christ's perfection fade away. In short, I must die to myself.
Return to the Father Through Confession
The Prodigal Son had lived a life safe, protected, loved. He had an inheritance to come, but the patient endurance to reach that inheritance was lacking. Because of pride and greed, he thought he could do better than the life his father had given him.
Almsgiving: An Important Pillar of Lent
I remember as a teenager walking the streets of Washington, D.C., for the March for Life. We were there to support a child's right to life. We were walking with Fr. Ben Shockey. It was my first encounter with him. I am pretty sure we were enjoying an ice cream cone while walking. On the sidewalk was a homeless man asking for money.
40 Days Closer to Christ
Lent is not just a period established for personal improvement, intended for one to temporarily give up a vice or lose a few pounds, nor is it necessarily about becoming a better individual Christian, although that should happen. Lent, instead, is a period of intense spiritual preparation. This is a Catholic's 40 days on Mount Sinai (see Ex 24:12, 34:28, and Dt 9:9).
God Calls Us All to Freedom of Chastity
Due to various historical factors, some attitudes have given rise to idea that "chastity" is a burden, a prohibition of freedoms, or a tether of suppression. This, however, is the furthest definition from God's true intentions for chastity. What is it and why is God's true intention not suppression, but rather FREEDOM?
The Virtues
In our fallen world, it is evident that our intellectual faculties often become subservient to our fleeting emotional states. This struggle manifests in various ways: anger leading to regrettable words, lustful desires culminating in sinful actions, or fear hindering our response to the Holy Spirit's guidance.
The Principle of Double Effect
Life doesn't always follow an easy script. In fact, quite often, there are decisions in life when it becomes both necessary and prudent to seek out knowledgeable advice from those who are familiar with the church's teaching on moral issues. One of the most interesting of these moral philosophies is the "principle of double effect".