For My Father
Since Father’s Day is this weekend, I wanted to remember my father by posting here an Everyday Stewardship reflection I wrote for All Souls Day this past year. He was larger than life when he was with us, but I am thinking he is still quite a character in the after-life as well. Click here […]
Fortnight for Freedom
For Sunday, June 21, 2015, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time What is a fortnight? It is simply another term for “two weeks.” It is a word more frequently used in England than in the United States, perhaps because of our shorter attention spans. In 2012, the bishops of the United States established the Fortnight for […]
Mass: “The Heart of the Matter”
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee released a powerful video that follows the story of two friends, one an Atheist, who are drawn into the joy and beauty of the Catholic Mass and the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. Their story stands as a great testimony to the need for evangelization in our everyday lives and how […]
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Some decisions we make are “gut decisions” using blind intuition informed neither by logic or emotion. Other decisions are based on facts, emotions, or conscience. What kind of decisions should we make? Click here to read the full post
The Risk of Eating Well
Giving one’s self the chance to discover something new and wonderful sometimes requires us to step outside our comfort zone. We can choose to continue ordering chicken nuggets and mac & cheese just like a child all our lives, or we can risk it and try something from a place outside of our everyday environment. […]
God is God Wherever We Are
Cities and countries may differ, but God is God wherever you are in the world. Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi – and I need to be conscious that the Body of Christ comes in all shapes and sizes, across all nations and ‘encounter’ is close if I but dare to see […]
Seeds of the Kingdom
For Sunday, June 14, 2015, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time If you read any of the accounts about American Pharoah last weekend, and the way he secured a place in sports history by winning the Triple Crown, you might have thought his triumph was inevitable. But the man who helped raise him wasn’t so sure. Tom VanMeter, […]
Building a Vibrant Parish in North Dakota
Each year, LPi conducts dozens of Building a Vibrant Parish seminars across the country to help local parishes engage their members and strengthen the Church. Today our team is at Spirit of Life Catholic Church in Mandan, ND sharing our experiences, tools, and strategies to help build a more vibrant parish. Click here to see when we’ll […]
The Clutter Covering Up the Main Thing
Clutter can be a sign of our squandered gifts of treasure, a result of poor stewardship of those possessions we have received, and an over attachment to material things. Our hearts and minds cannot rest in God when they are constantly busy thinking about and interacting with all the stuff we have in our lives. […]
Everyday Stewardship / Feast of Body and Blood of Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi)
“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which […]
A Fresh Look at Parish Communication
The church bulletin is certainly the oldest and most common channel of communication used by parishes. How it is used and what is included as content varies greatly from place to place. But too often, it is seen as little less than a handout containing dates, times, and advertisements for programs. The potential of many […]
In the Company of Witnesses
I became a Christian at age 17. I didn’t go to church growing up and really knew very little about Jesus. That is, until I met a girl whom I liked quite a bit. When I finally mustered the courage to call and ask her on a date, she told me that she would […]