17As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20The man said to Jesus, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own ..read more

Most of you know that I have been a Park Ridge Police Chaplain for the past five years.  It has been an honor to serve in this capacity.  During my tenure, I have been responsible for being an “on-call chaplain” when police officers seek to have spiritual support during a “call”.  I have also had the privilege to organize the 9/11 Remembrance services during the past several years at the request of the Park Ridge Police Chief, Frank Kaminski. I am part of the organizing committee for the first “Faith and Blue” Weekend in Park Ridge.   You might ask what “Faith and Blue” is ..read more

A significant portion of this week’s gospel talks about not doing anything that would make another stumble in faith. Throughout the week, I have had DC Talk’s What if I Stumble song running through my head (don’t know it? Click the link). Jesus is talking to the disciples about how their actions affect others. This is obviously something that makes sense in this portion of the gospel, but I’ve been wondering what this might mean on an individual level. How is it that we respond when we find ourselves beginning to stumble? Stumbles, like losing your balance or being off-center, are some things ..read more

“Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” Mark 9 The disciples have been discussing who is the most important among them.   They have heard Jesus teach about denying self and saving your life by losing it, but they are still focused on what’s in it for them.  They see following Je ..read more

Finding our True Identity Through Service to Others Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’…… Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ Mark 8:29 When our children were young and still living at home – I would often joke with folks who would compliment our children for their behavior and manners.  I would say that we actually have six children – the three that people see in public and the three that live in our house that we saw on a daily basis.   Of course – that is not limit ..read more

This week we hear from Mark’s Gospel that Jesus can change his mind. It proves his humanity and his ability to learn. He learns a lesson, and recognizes the lesson in the moment and responds in gratitude and grace. When have you needed to learn a lesson and how did you respond in that moment? When have you been treated as the “less than” and yet stood up for yourselves and others? Below is a link to a power poem inspired by this week’s gospel reading. Even the dogs — Unfolding Light   ..read more

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall… This last week as a part of our Faithful Families conversation, we were talking about mirroring. The idea that the greatest influence on a child is a parent, and in fact, they mirror the parent – for better or for worse. They mirror a prayer life, a giving heart, or being a good friend. They also mirror the anger messes, the overtired answers that lack patience and understanding, and the self-talk of frustration when you tell yourself out loud to stop being dumb.  It isn’t until you see a trait in a child that you don’t like, that you wonder, “whoever taught th ..read more

This week when we hear the second lesson, we hear Paul’s rousing war cry for the people of Ephesus to prepare for spiritual warfare. He tells them to put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of peace, the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith.  Can you imagine the weight of all those items in biblical times? Just the breastplate alone would be cumbersome to try and move in. One of the things that the people of Ephesus would have known but readers today may not know, is that each of those items would need to be put on by another ..read more

In our Gospel this Sunday we hear these words from the end of the sixth chapter of John…. Jesus said, 51“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”  52The Judeans then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son-of-Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I ..read more

Lois, Eunice & Timothy Who are your role models?  That is an important question to wrestle with periodically.  When I was a young boy it was Ron Santo – I always wanted to be a third baseman for the Cubs.  I would play baseball with my friends for hours, imitating all of the batting stances and fielding moves of Ron.   As I have gotten older – I have realized that I was never going to play for the Cubs.  So, I chose a different role model.  For me – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr became person.  I have been devoted to reading his books and following his lif ..read more