Every Lent we priests read a passage from the ancient Catholic author Tertullian. The reading speaks about the power of prayer. This is a natural enough theme in Lent, to read such things about prayer. But I am ashamed to say I do not ever remember taking in the full comprehension about the central point …
Tag Archives: god
A Homily for the Second Scrutiny of the Elect
Let us recall the grand themes of these Sundays in Lent. Passages of John’s Gospel John 4 – the Samaritan woman meets Jesus at the well, and comes to believe his word that he is the Messiah. She then starts to speak openly about this incredible new thing that has happened in this meeting. John …
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A Homily for the First Scrutiny of the Elect
This third Sunday of Lent we read the Gospel of John Chapter 4. It is the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. It is the first of three accounts chosen from John’s Gospel which are selected in Lent for the themes of conversion, baptism, and new life. Let me give this …
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The Witness of St. Stephen
December 26, 2025. It is the feast of Saint Stephen the first of the martyrs. In Acts Chapter 6 and 7 we hear of Saint Stephen and the role he played in the Church. We also see how it came to be that he was killed as he witnessed to Christ, our Messiah and Lord. …
It’s me, the unrighteous steward (repeat post)
Here we are, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time on cycle C of the Lectionary. Luke 16:1-13 is the Gospel. You know, the one about the “dishonest steward” who was getting fired for squandering his master’s goods. Here is my old take on this marvelous parable. The dishonest steward – right before his was “canned” …
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An abbreviated tour of the Book of Psalms
I used this text as follows to do a very short introduction and tour of the 150 Psalms in a parish presentation. A more readable PDF version was posted HERE on the St. John Vianney Parish website. Psalms copied from World English Bible with Deuterocanon( https://ebible.org/eng-web/)All in the public domain.All symbols visible within the text indicate …
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Ubi Petrus VT 