Rich Thoughts

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Comments at the beginning of Mass about 1 Corinthians, setting up Bishop Richard Stika's pre-recorded homily for the annual Bishop's Appeal, based on 1 Corinthians 13 and entitled "Love Never Fails."

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. A different take on the parable of the sower and the seed (Mark 4:1-20). How do we cultivate the soil in the hardened, rocky, and weed-infested parts of our hearts?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…. and of the U. S. Congress… and of all of our discourses! Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17 and Mark 3:1-6.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. A brief mention of Hebrew 5:1-10 and Mark 2:18-22 before turning to our saint of the day, Agnes of Rome. She may have been martyred 1700 years ago, but she still speaks to us in shockingly relevant ways today!

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. An ordinary crisis for ordinary people in an ordinary town, retold at the beginning of Ordinary Time. Why is the miracle of John 2:1-11 important to us?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. "Let us go on… that I may preach…. For this purpose have I come." What's your purpose? What can we learn from all the things that have happened in the first 39 verses of the gospel of Mark?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. A reflection on what it means to be in so-called "Ordinary" Time again.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. We celebrated the Rite of Acceptance with 1 woman hoping to be baptized at this year's Easter Vigil and the Rite of Welcome with 8 people seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. Gospel was Luke 3:15-22.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Reflecting on 1 John 3:22 - 4:6. It's easy to say that "God is love." But does it influence the way we talk about God?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. The story about how someone else (OK, me) found his vocation through signs in the sky. How is God calling you?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. How can any human family compare itself to the Holy family? Well, the story of Luke 2:41-52 and a baptism at Mass provide a great starting point for a reflection!

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. The true meaning of Christmas: nobody's perfect, thank God!

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. The encounter of two pregnant women (Luke 1:39-45) and the celebration of my first baptism as a priest leads to a homily about the Holy Spirit and sacramental theology. (We'll still tie it back to Advent!)

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. The nature of angelophanies (Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a; Luke 1:5-25), and a reflection on how we are each a bit like Zechariah and Mary.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. What's in a name? Looking at some of the people listed as Jesus' ancestors in Matthew 1:1-17, and at some of the sons not mentioned by Jacob in Genesis 49:2, 8-10.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Rejoice always (Philippians 4:4-7)? Even in the light of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Why La Guadalupana (as seen through the eyes of Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-47) is an important celebration for non-Hispanic Catholics in the United States!

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. What is easier: to forgive someone's sins, or to make a lame person walk again?

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. Making a difference in the U. S. government stalemate as Catholic Tennesseans, inspired by messages of hope in Baruch 5:1-9, Philippians 1:4-11, and Luke 3:1-6.

At Blessed John XXIII Parish, Knoxville. A homily 104 years in the making! How a concept so seemingly foreign to our daily lives has profound implications for each of us.