stceceliastgabriel

3rd Sunday of Easter

Please click the following link to view the parish Mass for the 3rd Sunday of Easter on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/zWQVkgv91jI posted 4/18/21

You hear sometimes people in politics and public relations talking about “controlling the narrative.” Usually, this means trying to get a jump on a story by being the first to explain what is going on. The hope is that a “narrative” friendly to one’s position will be established in the mind of the public so that adversaries will be at a disadvantage,Continue reading “Learning the Narrative”

Emmaus

We have come to the end of Easter Sunday. Yes, the Solemnity of Easter was a week ago, but we must remember that Easter is such a big deal that the Church gives us eight days to celebrate it properly. We call that eight-day period the “Easter Octave.” The second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday – is the final day inContinue reading “Emmaus”

Easter

Msgr. Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) was an Italian priest and professor of theology, who spent many years teaching in Milan but who is best known as the founder of the Communion and Liberation movement. When he died in 2005, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) preached his funeral Mass, saying: “[Msgr. Giussani] understood that Christianity is not an intellectualContinue reading “Easter”

Hosanna

It is part of the human experience that when we do something enough times it becomes second nature to us. When it’s a good pattern of behavior, we call it virtue. It’s it bad, we call it vice. Even things that seem complicated and difficult at first can become, over time, so much a part of us thatContinue reading “Hosanna”

Detox

The first reading for today’s Mass is from the Book of Numbers (21:4-9). Numbers is one of the first five books of the Bible, which together are called the Torah. Numbers tells the story of the Israelites after their liberation from slavery in Egypt, during their 40-year period of wandering in the desert before entering the Promised Land. In those days of wandering, theyContinue reading “Detox”

Veiled Images

There’s an old saying that “the early bird catches the worm.” In some cases, however, the early bird is just early. I thought of that last weekend when I realized too late that I had our volunteers veil the images in our churches too early. My apologizes for putting a damper on your Laetare Sunday! Traditionally, the properContinue reading “Veiled Images”

The Mysticism of St. Patrick

As saints go, St. Patrick is underrated. I think that’s especially true at this time of year when we see him everywhere, advertising green beer and corned beef sandwiches, waving the tri-color while holding his shamrock-covered crozier. The real St. Patrick, who was responsible for the fifth century spread of Christianity in Ireland, was one of the greatest missionariesContinue reading “The Mysticism of St. Patrick”

From the Ruins

Last weekend, perhaps overshadowed by the media coverage given to Oprah Winfrey’s interview of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Pope Francis made a historic pilgrimage to Iraq, becoming the first pope to visit that country. The images from the visit are remarkable, especially the Holy Father’s visit of the city of Mosul. Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq, and was theContinue reading “From the Ruins”

Fr. Emil Kapaun

Fr. Emil Kapaun was a Catholic priest from Kansas who served as a U.S. Army chaplain in both World War II and the Korean War. During his service in Korea he was taken prisoner and died in a Korean prison camp in 1951 at the age of 35. In 2013, he was awarded the MedalContinue reading “Fr. Emil Kapaun”