Imago Trinitatis

The Nativity, as depicted at Conception Abbey Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122518-day.cfm A couple of weeks ago in St. Louis, I had lunch with two friends, who got married last year and now were preparing to give birth to their first child!   It’s been awesome for me to see their love for each other grow, and their strong faith in God continually inspires me.   So at this lunch, I asked them, “What are you most excited about parenthood?”   They thought for a couple of seconds and responded, “Just to meet this child!”   They left it a surprise to find out if it was a boy or girl, and they were just so excited to meet this child that they’ve had for nine months, to hold the child, adore it, all of the things that new parents get to do!   It was so beautiful for me to see their joy and expectation.   And I’m sure all of you parents can relate to this, the joy of welcoming a new child into the world.   It’s not an everyday ...

Thanks to Jack Flaxbeard for sharing this with me! Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121618.cfm Audio of homily at the bottom of the post. What should we do?   What should we do, as parishioners here at St. Anthony’s in Columbus, NE?   This is the question we hear in the Gospel today, on this third Sunday of Advent, when Father and I wear rose vestments.   This is Gaudete Sunday, Gaudete meaning “Rejoice!”   We hear this in the second reading from St. Paul – “Rejoice in the Lord always!   Again, I say, Rejoice!”   So that’s what we should do: rejoice!   But what does it mean to rejoice in the Lord?   What does this really look like day-to-day?   I was assisting with a youth conference in Kansas City a few years ago, and the overall theme of the conference was this very verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always!”   One memorable part of this conference was our Saturday afternoon activity: door-to-door evangeliz...

An Icon I Wrote (with tremendous help from Fr. Pachomius Meade!) in 2013 of St. John the Baptist Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120918.cfm You can listen to the homily at the bottom of the post. “In the second year of the presidency of Donald Trump, when Mike Parson was governor of Missouri, when Robert Carlson was Archbishop of St. Louis, during the high priesthood of Father Joe Post, the word of God came to the people of Immaculate Conception in Union.”   Does that seem a bit odd to you?   A bit surprising?   I think in our society, we so often split apart the political realm and the religious realm that it could be very unique to see the two together.   When we hear this, we realize that when Luke was writing his Gospel, he was very conscious that he was writing within specific period of history, which is why he includes the names of the government officials within this reading.   The original readers, because of their proximity to...

From quillette.com Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120218.cfm (Audio of homily at end of post)  “Stand up straight with your shoulders back.”   We often hear parents and grandparents tell their children to stand up straight, that they may be confident and ready to encounter the world.   It’s much more than appearance – it actually can make a difference in our lives.   In fact, for Dr. Jordan Peterson, who has become a well-known psychologist, professor, and author over the past couple of years, in his book 12 Rules for Life , this is the first rule that he gives: “Stand up straight with your shoulders back.”   In order to justify this rule, he actually looks at lobsters, demonstrating that research shows that the dominant lobsters in the sea extend their appendages more straight out than the lesser lobsters, showing their strength and ability to conquer in fights.   In the same way, we as human beings can show a lot through o...