WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matthew 10:7) When was the last time you or I made this proclamation? Honest? I was a youth minister and a faith formation director, and I can't remember ever saying these exact words to another soul. And yet, we should, right? Maybe we don't exactly think of it that way. Back in chapter 3 of the Gospel of Matthew, we heard John the Baptist say, "Repent, f

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Yesterday as I finished up my blog post for the day, my phone rang. My phone never rings in the early morning. It was Cris, a man that had come into fire camp had a family member test positive for COVID. Cris had potentially been exposed to the virus. Logically, I knew that Cris had limited opportunity for exposure. But it wasn't until this morning as I was hiking down Snow King when I got the news, the man tested negative, tear

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Independence Day weekend. All weekend we have been celebrating our freedom. Many of the usual festivities around Jackson were canceled due to the pandemic. While I didn't miss the pancake breakfast, I did miss the parade with so many local faces and the simple floats. After all those years of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a simple local parade is my favorite. Freedom in our country is a blessing. The right to free speech, the right to practice

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME There were these two savage demoniacs . . . this is not the beginning of my bad joke for the day; it is the beginning of today's Gospel reading. Jesus comes upon two demons. We are told they are so savage that people will no longer use the road for fear of them. The demons cried out to Jesus, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29) Did you notice it?

TUESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26) Ah yes, the storm comes, the boat rocks, and we cry out to the Lord. If 2020 was a boat . . . There is plenty of reason to cry out to the Lord these days. A pandemic that not only threatens our health but our financial security as well. Riots and unrest threaten cities. Peace protesters attacked while praying. In my life, I can't remember a more distressing time in o

MONDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Cris and I have been married a year and a half today. This morning he got called out on a wildland fire near Las Vegas. Once he got the call, we quickly set about getting him packed for a two-week stay at fire camp. I was single for so much of my adult life that I look forward to a little alone time. Then the first evening without Cris comes, after about 20-minutes, I'm over it and ready for him to come back home. Like with any m

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME It is pouring rain here today. That is unusual for Jackson; we are more likely to have a quick passing shower than all-day rain. Cris, Papa, and I were planning a fishing trip for today to catch another trout on our CuttSlam challenge. Instead, we've all turned to our favorite hobbies: Papa is tying flies, Cris is putting the finishing touches on the chef's knife, he forged for me, and I am in the kitchen baking. Ten days ago, one of the oth

THURSDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME "I never knew you." Climbing up and up and up, Snow King Mountain this morning. I could not stop thinking about those words. "I never knew you." How can that be Lord? I love you. Then my mind wandered as it always does during my talks with God. I thought about my kids at St. Theodore, my kids at St. George, my kids at OLQH, literally running through long lists of their names and faces in my mind. I was thinking about how each one

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST It has been another morning where more things went wrong than right: a different one of our four dogs left me a present this morning. The replacement of the replacement fridge arrives today, let's hope it fits through the small doors of our old log home. The resistance on my exercise bike wasn't working this morning, no idea why. And my favorite pair of earrings broke. You get the picture. Life is messy and frustrating. So often w

TUESDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME The Gospel of St. Matthew is filled with beauty. As we continue in chapter seven, today's reading is another passage that calls us to focus on how we are living as Christians. Are we traveling on the broad road with the wide gate to destruction? Do we toss aside the holy things only to hold onto the things that are passing? So much of our lives seem to be about merely getting through the day, the week, the month. Doing laundry, cle

MONDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Whew. Today is that Gospel. You know the one, remove the wooden beam in your eye first. Why do we judge others by such a different standard than we judge our selves? Well, I can tell you why. We don't know their story. I know, it's revolutionary to think about, but it is true. We know what lies in the depths of our hearts. We do not know what lies in the heart of another. We might think we know; we might decide that we know. We migh

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Speak in the Light. Proclaim on the Housetops. In our world today, it seems to me that fear and anxiety rule our society. Many people have begun rejecting any need for God in their lives. As a result, the world tempts Christians more than ever to deny Christ. Most of us will not fear martyrdom like the disciples. Instead, we fear rejection and suffering. Whether we mean to or not, we may find ourselves hesitant to proclaim our love for the Lord

THURSDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME In today's Gospel passage, Jesus teaches us to pray the Our Father. As one of the basic prayers of our Catholic faith, we often say the words of the Our Father without thinking through the meaning of the words we are reciting. I can't recall how many rosaries I've lost focus on while my mind continued to chant through the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. We teach children these basic prayers to provide them with a foundat

WEDNESDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME On Sunday, Cris, Papa and I made our first fishing trip of the season. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has a program called the Cutt Slam. The program encourages anglers to learn more about Wyoming's cutthroat trout species and the work of the Game and Fish Department's management program. To complete the challenge and receive your certificate, you must catch Wyoming's four cutthroat trout in their native range. We all thre

TUESDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Love your enemies. Today's Gospel message is so straightforward that we cannot deny what the Lord is calling us to as His followers. To be a child of our heavenly Father, we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So simple yet so difficult in practice. In the first reading, Ahab repents from his sins. He fasts, he wears sackcloth, and he humbles himself before God. The two readings come together when we, as sin

MONDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME I read this quote by Desmond Tutu this morning, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." Then I read today's readings. In the first reading, Naboth would rather suffer injustice than commit any act of sin. In the Gospel, Christ tells us to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile, to offer not just our tunic but our cloak as well. "I say to you, offer no resistance to one who i

SATURDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Today's readings at first read might not seem connected. Although, if you have a morning like I had today, you might instantly see how they work together. In the first reading, Elisha is called to follow Elijah. He slaughters his oxen and burns his plow equipment for the fuel to cook them. In other words, he gives away his livelihood, all that he has to follow the Lord. In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples, "Let your 'Ye

MEMORIAL OF ST. BARNABAS, APOSTLE It was January 2014, our long bus ride from Baton Rouge to Washington, DC, for the March For Life had barely begun. It was a gas station stop where the bus fueled with gas, the kids fueled up with junk food, and the adults stretched our creaky joints. When we got back on the bus, Fr. Brent and Chelsey had added a new member to our bus count. I wasn't there for the divine moment when they both looked at one another at a roadside truck stop and

WEDNESDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME In today's Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples, not the smallest letter will pass from the law. If you break the least of the commandments, you will be called least in the Kingdom. But if you obey and teach the commandments, you will be called greatest. (Matthew 5:17-19) So often, we allow little sins to creep into our lives, knowing that we can turn to our merciful God for forgiveness in the confessional. These small sins seem harml

TUESDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME The Lord always provides. In today's first reading, Elijah goes to Zarephath because God has instructed him to do so. If you are like me, you wish life were so simple as the Lord telling us where to go next. So Elijah goes to Zarephath and finds the widow the Lord has designated to help him. Nearly out of flour and oil, she is going home to prepare the last meal for herself and her son when Elijah beckons her for a small cake and som