
Servant and Steward
233 FOLLOWERS
Servant and Steward is my personal web log. I am a priest of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and currently pursuing a licentiate in canon law (J.C.L.) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Here you will find my homilies, thoughts, and many other things of interest to me; I hope they will also be of interest to you.
Servant and Steward
3d ago
The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
The Reception of Alex Schattin into the Catechumenate
Dear brothers and sisters,
Every detail in the Sacred Scriptures is important and worthy of our pondering. Take, for example, the beginning of the Gospel passage just proclaimed. As a good historian, Saint Luke knew geography and topography are important to the understanding of human history.
Saint Luke tells us today Lord Jesus “came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground” (Luke 6:17). He had previously “departed to the mountain to pray” (Luke 6:12). Throughout the Scriptures, the ..read more
Servant and Steward
3w ago
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the Gospel passage(s) we have just heard, Mother Church presents to us two beginnings. Perhaps you missed them; it would have been easy to do so.
These verses from the quill of Saint Luke the Church come from two different parts of his account of the life of Jesus. The first four verses come the very beginning of his Gospel; the rest come from its fourth chapter, beginning with Jesus’ preaching in the synagogue following his temptations in the wilderness. Why has today’s Gospel been seemingly cobbled together so?
There is a wo ..read more
Servant and Steward
1M ago
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Dear brothers and sisters,
As we commemorate the Baptism of the Lord in the waters of the Jordan River, we are reminded that it is in the waters of Baptism that we are born into the family of God and are made members of his Church. Moreover, it is in that holy bath that we pledge our loyalty, our love, and our service to Christ. Baptism is the gift of God by which he gives us his very own life and makes us his sons and daughters by reason of which our lives are changed forever.
Detail, Scenes from the life of Christ and life of Blessed Gerard of Villa ..read more
Servant and Steward
1M ago
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Dear brothers and sisters,
Mother Church calls us to reflect on the reality of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph today because the example of their family life teaches us something about God. In fact, “God himself is a kind of family. He is not like a family, but a family is like him.”[1] Consequently, it is good for us to ask how closely – or if - our families are like God?
Simone Martini, Christ Discovered in the Temple
A few decades ago, we - as a society - recognized the family as the most important institution to t ..read more
Servant and Steward
3M ago
The Funeral Mass for John Robert Jones
Dear brothers and sisters,
The words we have heard from Saint Paul are as a mine into which we must delve, and in which we must work to discover great gems through which the light of the Christian life is refracted. Central to his words is the idea of adoption into the family of God. We have gathered here today, having brought John with us into this church he loved so much, because he is a child of God (cf. Romans 8:14). But we know who John’s parents are; how did he become a child of God?
Saint Augustine tells us that “by spiritual regeneration we there ..read more
Servant and Steward
3M ago
The Wedding of Kolby Vandenbergh and Brittany Twidwell
Dear brothers and sisters,
We have come together this afternoon, in this church dedicated to the honor of God and of Saint Augustine of Hippo, to witness the exchange of consent of Kolby and Brittany, and to celebrate with them as they “establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life.” By its very nature, this union “is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children” (canon 1055).
On behalf of the couple, I greet you, their family and friends, with affection and I welcome you in th ..read more
Servant and Steward
3M ago
The Solemnity of All Saints
Dear brothers and sisters,
What keeps each of us from becoming a saint, from hastening after them, from imitating their example of loving God and neighbor? The answer, I suspect, is a false understanding of who the saints are.
Those unfamiliar with them tend to think the Saints are those who lived perfect lives, who never grew angry or impatient, who always acted with wisdom and dignity, and who rarely sinned. Those who think of the Saints in this way see them either as impossible guides to follow or as personifications of boredom or obnoxiousness. If this is how we ..read more
Servant and Steward
4M ago
Dear brothers and sisters,
After Jesus looked at him in love, the rich young man in today’s Gospel “went away sad” (Mark 10:22). When Jesus looked at Peter, he “went out and began to weep bitterly” (Luke 22:62; cf. Luke 22:61). Those who look upon his Holy Face in the Veil of Manoppello also feel a certain sadness when they look into his eyes. Perhaps you, too, have felt sad in the presence of the Lord Jesus. Why is this?
Jesus looked upon the rich young man with love (cf. Mark 10:21), as he also surely looked upon Peter. He looks upon you and me with love, as well, but if this is so, what is ..read more
Servant and Steward
5M ago
Dear brothers and sisters,
Over the years I have been called many things, but never have I been called an athlete (and rightly so, for I much prefer reading books and playing (old) video games and board games to competing athletically. With this in mind, it may seem odd I have been given a few moments to speak to you this evening, but I hope I can say something of interest to you.
PHOTO: Denny Sinnock
When I was a young priest and assigned to a parish with a high school, I found myself – at the insistence of the students – as first the assistant coach to the boys’ soccer team, then to ..read more
Servant and Steward
5M ago
The Fourth Sunday of Advent (B)
Dear brothers and sisters,
As I waited in line the other day, a father asked his daughter, who appeared to be about ten, “You know Christmas isn’t about getting gifts?” She answered him, as might be expected, “I know.” I put it to you that they were both wrong.
Christmas is indeed about getting gifts. Christmas is about an interior disposition of the heart, a disposition of gratitude and of receptivity. At the very least, Christmas is about getting one gift. I can already feel parents cringing, but I ask you to hear me out.
Christmas is all about a very great gi ..read more