Bill sat alone at an isolated corner of the bar. This is where he’s been spending a lot of his time lately. It was the only way, it seemed, to relieve the stress—-to numb the depression. Bill just didn’t have any answers. Julie, his wife, was definitely going through with the divorce—-she made that plainly…Continue reading The Season of Advent
Jim was still mourning the death of his wife. It has been three year, but the experience of her death still seems like it was yesterday. Just the other day he was telling his best friend, Frank, how he felt—-how he admired the great faith of his wife; how she never once complained during her…Continue reading Christ the King
Who was Zacchaeus? And why does his story still mean something to us today? There are probably many people that we know who are like Zacchaeus. Maybe, when we look at ourselves, we realize that we are Zacchaeus. He’s (1) the person who’s not happy with his life; (2) who made money the “be all”…Continue reading Do not despair
Charles felt abandoned. He was sitting in his boss’s office trying to answer questions being asked of him without getting upset. It all began the day before when his supervisor asked Charles to report to him first thing in the morning. What was going on? Charles had no idea. So he went to his co-worker…Continue reading Lord, Give Me Strength
Jim was having a hard time lately. He was unhappy with how he was handling his life. A few months ago he had been filled with such a sense of hope. He was disciplining himself in all the areas where he knew he was weak, and all seemed to be steady. But that’s not how…Continue reading God Will Never Abandon You
Joe looked at his brother Hank and said very directly, “What will it take for you to start to really believe in God?” The two men were in a hospital room. Hank, the older of the two, was the patient. He had had a pretty serious heart attack a few days before. Joe, younger by…Continue reading Journey of Faith
A young priest ordained about five years ago goes to see an older priest who happens to be his spiritual director. Here’s part of their conversation: The younger priest says, “I just got a call from the Clergy Office and I was told that they want to make me a pastor. I hesitated and then…Continue reading Turn to God
Michael Jordan, in an interview for a sports magazine, once said: “It my failures that taught me how to be a great success. Many times our team would be losing in the last seconds of the game and the coach would say, ‘Give the ball to Michael, and Michael, you win the game for us.’…Continue reading Face the Challenge
Mark was the kind of guy who had a hard time trusting in God. He also had a hard time understanding God’s mercy. He knew that it sounded strange when he tried to explain himself, but he couldn’t help it. This was how he felt. In short, he lived his life fearing God. When bad…Continue reading Unexpected Forgiveness
It’s hard to believe that I have been your pastor here at Saint John Neumann Parish for over two years. And what a wonderful experience and a blessing these two years have been for me! As I begin my third year, I thought this might be a good opportunity to look at our Parish as…Continue reading Renewal Weekend
Henry was a young and successful executive. No one really had to convince him of his importance. And the way that everyone treated him at work reassured him that this was so. One day Henry was traveling down a neighborhood street going a bit too fast in his brand new, rather expensive, car. He was…Continue reading Humility
Bill was tired of confessing the same sins each time he went to confession. It seemed to him that going to confession was a waste of time. Nothing seemed to change in his life as a result of receiving this Sacrament. And the last time he was there he said as much to the priest….Continue reading Ask for help