Pastoral Message

Hey Y’all, You’ve likely noticed that we’ve been going through some changes recently. We bid “adieu” to Fr. Mike Rizzo last weekend – in a French way sending him “to God.” And this weekend we’re saying “howdy” and “welcome” to Fr. Philip Smith. (I’ll let Fr. Philip introduce himself over the next couple of weeks.) Such goings and comings can be either discombobulating or invigorating depending on your point of view. So let’s think about these points of view a little

It is with mixed emotions that I write to all of you as I prepare to leave SSJ for my new assignment at Corpus Christi parish in Aliso Viejo. I thank God for giving the opportunity to serve SSJ over the past three years. I could not feel more blessed by this experience. Every moment of my time here has been a rich and valuable reflection of God’s great love. In the words of the Yankee legend Lou Gehrig, as

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” We all receive many invitations to attend events or to join groups. Some invitations are truly appealing. Others, we hope that we can politely avoid. Today Jesus offers the invitation to follow Him. At first, it sounds like the chance of a lifetime. However, we quickly learn that accepting the invitation requires us to make great sacrifices. Jesus explains the overwhelming struggle of being a

Even non-believers would have a hard time criticizing Jesus for being uncaring, rigid, or callous. Throughout the Gospels, His words and actions are almost always loving, empathetic, and understanding. I say “almost always” because today we read about a rare (perhaps, the only) encounter between Jesus and a Canaanite woman who needs His help in which Jesus refuses her request (at least initially) and, to make matters worse, He insults the woman. Jesus explains that his mission is “only to the

Today, the Church celebrates the Transfiguration of our Lord. This is the moment when Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain to see Him with Moses and Elijah as Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Then they see Him in dazzling white. There are two key elements of this encounter with the transfigured Lord. First, the apostles hear God’s voice speaking to them. In the Opening Prayer this morning, we ask God that, “listening to

Hey Y’all, The other day, somebody I know well asked if I was enjoying my “down-time” during the summer. (This friend of mine is not churchy at all. He has no idea what I do as a priest. He has little understanding of finding value in work. He gave himself over to a lot of “down-time” since he made a boatload early on and retired at the age of 40.) As I’ve told him before, that priests don’t follow a scholastic

But, though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; One of the characteristics of a great leader is humility. With humility comes the ability to be patient, compassionate and merciful. Proud, powerful people are rarely able to accept others as they are. Instead, they judge harshly, criticize often, and shame those who they are supposed to lead. Although God is “the master of might,” He accepts us as we are, where we are.

Hey Y’all, Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair, Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he? Have you ever heard that one? When I was a kid in kindergarten, a speech therapist taught me this tongue twister. From my speech therapist’s point of view, this little play of words was supposed to “twist” my tongue so I could better produce sounds the English language required for comprehensibility. However, for my little kindergarten brain, I wanted to make sense of this nonsensical little poem.