Ash Wednesday 2026 - Listening, Fasting, Community

Last Week, Holy Father Pope Leo issued a message to the Church for this Lent 2026. 

He said, “Lent is a time in which the Church…invites us to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life.”

Many of us know well how easy it is to lose sight of God. Work, social standing, anxiety over health, money, or relationships, pastimes like sports and video games, can obscure the place that God is meant to have in our lives. And Lent, as the Holy Father says, invites us to place God back at the center.

To do so, the Pope goes on to explain that we do three things: Firstly, listening. Lent is about listening to God, to God’s voice, to the word of God. God is speaking to us in 2026, are we listening? 

We are deluding ourselves if we think it is good to go through the day without listening to God. To quote Jesus himself when he was 40 days in the desert, “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” We need to listen to God’s word for guidance, for the wisdom we need to make hard choices, and to hear those personal messages of love that God has for each of us.

Every day during Lent, we need to spend some time to listen to God’s Word, reading a little passage from the Bible, and considering what God is saying to us in our present circumstances, in the concrete details of our life.

[Teachers: try to incorporate the daily mass readings in your lessons. Parents, do the same in the life of the home. Have you read and thought about your scripture passage today?] 

Secondly, in his Lenten message, Pope Leo tells us to fast. Our Lord himself fasted in the desert and taught his disciples to fast. Abstaining from food, helps us to keep our hunger and thirst for righteousness alive. Physical hunger can be a powerful reminder of our need to pray and to seek God. It reminds us, too, of the hunger of the poor, towards whom we should have a special care during the Lenten season.

Lastly, the Pope reminds us that we are in this together, that the members of the Church, the members of the Body of Christ, observe Lent, together. Lent is a season for the whole church, to pray, fast, give alms, to listen to God together. 

During Lent we come to church more often to engage in communal prayer, like for daily mass, for stations of the cross, for holy hours and confessions, because Lent is a shared journey—the shared journey of the Church toward Easter.

During Lent, the whole church, together, prays in a special way for will soon be joining our company—the catechumens preparing for the easter sacraments—who will enter into full communion with the Church at easter. We pray and fast for them, mindful of the good example we are to set for them and the encouragement we are to offer them in pursuing holiness.

This weekend we will offer a Holy Hour for peace in our trouble world from 2pm to 3pm here in Church, a wonderful opportunity to pray together, to seek peace together, to implore God’s healing and justice together. We will also pray the stations of the cross each Friday at 7:30pm—a beloved and time-honored tradition of walking with Jesus as he carried his cross and suffered and died out of love for us. Stations of the cross are a powerful devotion which helps us listen to the voice of God’s love.

In just a few moments we will have ashes imposed on our foreheads. These ashes are a reminder of our mortality and sin, for from dust we were made and because of sin to dust we will return. By reminding us of mortality and sin, they more importantly remind us of our need for salvation, our need for God, our need for Jesus. For each of us facing our mortality sooner or later, recognize that Eternal Life is found in Jesus Christ alone, and we are called to believe in Him, love Him, and follow Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

May these ashes, together with our Lenten penances, help us to seek that fullness of life that only comes through intimate union with Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

The Most Holy Trinity 2025 - The Central Mystery that shapes our lives

 In seminary, we spent an entire semester considering the theological writings on the Holy Trinity. We studied the scriptural foundations of the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the writings of the early church fathers from the east and the west, the medieval theologians, especially the summa theologica of st. Thomas Aquinas, modern theologians like Karl Rahner, papal documents and saintly reflections.

About three quarters into the semester, I remember one of the permanent deacons taking the class raising his hand and asking, “when is any of this going to be applicable to parish life and preaching?” In other words, “how are the Trinitarian reflections of the Cappadocian Fathers like St. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzan, or the intricate arguments of Thomas Aquinas, or the run-on sentences of Karl Rahner going to actually help us in parish ministry or even the Christian life?”

I can’t remember how the professor answered, but the deacon’s question has stuck with me all these years. Why is seeking to understand the Trinity important? How is this supposed to affect my life? And I think that’s the point. As God’s faithful ones we ought to see understanding of the subject of our Love—God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and to allow that understanding to shape our life. 

Who. Is. God. The answer to that question will shape your life.

It even shapes the lives of Atheists. Atheists treat God as a man-made myth, a lie that believers tell themselves in order to give explanation to the unexplainable. And so they develop an ambivalence toward religion and often a hatred us. 

The question, “who is God” shapes the lives of those who believe in God, but don’t want anything to do with Him. They go from one unsatisfying pursuit of pleasure to the next, because they do not acknowledge that God can be found.

But Christians believe that God not only exists, not only can He be found, not only has He communicated with us and revealed himself to us, but we possess an understanding that God wants us to know him and love him and have our life shaped by our relationship with Him and the truths he has revealed.

Who God is and what God has done is meant to shape our lives. 

Today, on Trinity Sunday, we consider that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a communion of love. In creating the human family, God looked at his own inner life to find the design for humanity. God’s inner life is a loving, life-giving community: the Father and Son love one another, and from their love proceeds the Holy Spirit. If God is communion of love, than humans are made for love and communion and harmony and relationship and peace.

This truth is right there on the first page of the Bible, in chapter 1 of the Book of Genesis: God says, “Let us make man in our image”. A plurality of persons, a community of persons, sharing a nature, says let us make man to be like us. 

God is the source of life, God is love, God is a unity of holiness, and so that means we are made to seek life and love and unity through holiness. 

“Let us make man in our image” also points to the gift of will. God chose to make us—to give us life. And so too, we are able to make choices—to exercise free will, to pursue our highest good, or not. We can choose life or death—goodness or sin—love or selfishness—our highest good or depravity.

Now, the abuse of that free will has gotten us into trouble. Adam and Eve’s choice to separate themselves from the communion of love and obedience has caused ripple effects in every human life and mind and soul.

But even when we abuse our free will, in original sin or every other subsequent sin, God reaches out to reconcile because God desires communion with us. God so loved the world, that he sent the Son, to reconcile us to himself and to each other, and so that means we are to be people who like him, seek to heal wounds, and invite, and reconcile. 

So that students’ question: When will any of this matter?—the answer is: “always” in everything we do. Every sacrament we celebrate flows from who God is, what God desires for us, because he desires life and holiness and communion for us. Every teaching of the Church, every commandment is Scripture, every moment that we are given in this earthly life—all of it is shaped by who God is. 

When we know who God is, we come to know who we are, and how we are meant to live. As the Catechism puts it, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the 'hierarchy of the truths of faith'.  The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men 'and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin'.

God is Trinity, and we are meant to live Trinitarianly—always. We are to live Trinitarianly on earth, so that we may come to share in the Trinitarian life of God in heaven, in eternal glory. 

This is why we begin each prayer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and end every prayer in the same way because it acknowledges that everything we are doing flows from Him, is to be guided by Him, is to be done in union with Him, and directed back toward Him. 

This is why the task of the Church is Evangelization because we recognize that all people are called to share in the divine life. God made us for life and sends us into the world to invite others to communion with Him.

And so, brothers and sisters, we don’t study the Trinity merely to pass a theology exam or fill a homily with lofty ideas. We contemplate the Trinity so we can live in communion with God in this life more fully, and become what we behold—a people of unity, holiness, and self-giving love.

May our homes mirror the unity of the Trinity. May our parish reflect the life of the Trinity. May our lives be filled with the love of the Holy Trinity To Him be glory and praise, now and forever, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Easter Octave Wednesday 2024 - Communal Witness, Shared Mission

The end of the Emmaus story, as recounted in the Gospel of Luke, captures a moment of profound revelation and communal joy among the disciples. After recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread and realizing He had been with them all along, the two disciples from Emmaus couldn't contain their excitement. Their hearts burning within them was both a metaphor for spiritual awakening but also a visceral, emotional response to encountering the Risen Lord.

Imagine their hurried journey back to Jerusalem, fueled by an urgency to share their experience. The roads that seemed so long and desolate before were now pathways of purpose and hope. Upon arriving, they find the Eleven and others gathered—sharing how the Lord appeared to Simon. Hearing this confirmation, coming from such a trusted source within their community, would only amplify their joy and astonishment.

Imagine how they were encouraged to share their own account—words tumbling over each other, hands gesturing vividly, their faces alight with awe—their excitement would be infectious. They recount every detail: their initial failure to recognize Jesus, His explanation of the Scriptures, and the moment of revelation at the dinner table. Each word would add to the growing sense of amazement and joy among the listeners.

The shared experiences of encountering the Risen Christ would forge a deep, communal bond among the disciples, uniting them in a shared mission and a renewed sense of purpose.

This Gospel is not simply about individual encounters with the Risen Christ but also about the formation of a community of believers, transformed by their experiences of the Resurrection. 

This narrative illustrates how individual faith journeys are enriched and given meaning within the context of communal belief and shared mission.

Each of us have our own faith journeys, but they are inextricably linked to each other’s. Easter is not just about my faith, but our faith—not just about my mission to witness, but our mission to witness. The Church is stronger when we are encouraging one another, praying with one another, sharing our faith with one another, and helping each other identify and strengthen our spiritual gifts.

As members of the Church, Easter invites us to reflect on our role within our communal mission. How do we contribute to the sense of community in our parish? In what ways can we support one another in our journey of faith? 

The Emmaus story reminds us that our faith is not a solitary endeavor but a communal journey towards encountering the living God. It calls us to recognize Jesus in each other, to share our stories of faith--our encounters with the Risen Lord--and to walk together in the mission entrusted to us by the Risen Lord, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

19th Week of OT 2020 - Wednesday - If a brother sins against you

One of the effects of baptism, in addition to washing us clean of original sin, is to give us rebirth as children of God, making us brothers and sisters to Christ and to one another.  

Throughout his Sermon on the Mount and his public ministry, Jesus lays down some rules for we need to treat each other—rules of the household, if you will.  As he should! Better than any of us, the Lord realizes the reality and destructiveness of sin.  Sin is like a corrosive acid that eats away at the individual soul, and certainly through the bonds of family, community, and Church. And, of course, sin keeps us from witnessing to the Gospel as we should.

So he issues, in this morning’s Gospel, a three step-procedure for rooting out sin in the community—what to do when a brother or sister in Christ, including priests, bishops, or religious, should commit some wrong--what is known as "fraternal correction".

First they should be approached one-on-one—tell him his fault between you and him alone. Without falling into gossip or fruitless complaining, we need to have the courage to approach the fellow Christian, to confront them with the facts with compassion, patience, and understanding. That’s not always easy. But if I were doing something wrong, say as your pastor, I would hope you love me enough to bring your concerns to me. If there is something which I am doing which is contrary to the Gospel or Canon Law or the liturgical law of the Church or the good of the parish, I would want to be corrected. It is an act of mercy, an act of love, to engage in fraternal correction, when it is done with pure motives—not acting out of self-interest or with bias or jealousy. God forbid we bring trumped up charges against a brother, like the Sanhedrin did to the Lord.

If that one-on-one confrontation doesn’t work, the Lord says, go back to that individual and take along one or two invested fellow Christians, as an objective party. Oftentimes an individual needs to know that it’s not just one person who has a problem with them, but their behavior is having an effect on the community as a whole.

And then, if that doesn’t work, the Lord says, “tell the Church”. What does that mean? Well, the sin should be dealt by the Church—following the principal of subsidiarity. You don’t need to write the Pope when you have a problem with a member of the parish staff. 

And only if the scandal continues should there be a public denunciation, in order to make it clear to everyone that the sinful, scandalous behavior is contrary to God's loving plan of salvation.

This is why you will see from time to time a public sinner, like a Catholic politician or a priest who persists in some action which is gravely contrary to the Gospel, they will be publicly excommunicated. In fact, it’s likely a failure of bishops, when they do not publicly correct the public sinner.

All of this can be pretty hard and pretty uncomfortable. The truth can be hard to tell and hard to receive.  It is hard to confront someone peacefully, especially since we may be persecuted for it.  It is hard to take criticism without becoming defensive and trying to justify our actions.  It is hard to change because we become set in our ways—even in the way we treat others.

Tongues of gossip, backbiting, negativity, and discouragement destroy the Church. Allowing evil to fester is not good for anyone. Rather, tongues of truth, and compassion and encouragement, prophecy, and discernment, and the humility to change when we are wrong, these things build up the Church. So we must choose, will we play right into the hands of the devil, by shredding one another with razor-blade tongues.  Or will we allow the Spirit of God to lead us in the way of humility and truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That Pope Francis and all bishops and clergy may lead the Church by example in witnessing to the truth of the Gospel with courage and living the Gospel with charity and perseverance. 

That politicians and government officials may protect religious freedom, promote virtue, and look to the law of Christ to guide their work for the good of nations and the human race, especially for the protection of the unborn.

That our young people on summer vacation may remain close to Jesus through prayer, attendance at Holy Mass with their families, repentance through Sacramental Confession, and faithfulness to all the teachings of Christ. We pray to the Lord.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

2nd Week of Easter 2019 - Tuesday - Unity of Believers

Early in the Easter season, our attention is drawn by our readings from the acts of the apostles to that early group of Christians, living in Jerusalem, just weeks and months after the resurrection of Jesus. We hear today about the profound unity of this group of Christians, unity which is to serve as a model for Christians of all ages.

Their unity could be seen in their concern for one another, their administration of their material goods, their evangelization efforts, their deference to the apostles, and their unity of belief. “They were of one heart and mind.”

Could we say the same here at St. Ignatius of Antioch? In the diocese of Cleveland?
In some ways, yes, I think. The communal charity of the early Church was seen in their willingness to sacrifice for each other, to use their own goods for the good of the other. This parish has a long history of profound charity. And our diocese, year after year, runs the largest Catholic Charities, not just in the country, but in the world.

And such charity does not come from being compelled. The Church is not Communist in the sense that her functions are compelled by a Communist Dictator. Rather, our Christian Charity here is born from love and freedom.

Unity in the community of Christians, is hard work, just like unity in a marriage. And we are always being challenged, aren’t we, to grow in unity. Are we of one heart, always, with the universal Church, with the Bishop, with the Pope, with the Magisterium? If not, why not? What needs to change in us?
The Lord Jesus in the Gospel today describes the Holy Spirit like a wind, that blows in particular directions, and those “born of the Spirit” through baptism, are to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Are we of one heart in discerning and following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit within our parish and community? If not, what needs to change?

A community of believers of one mind and heart, certainly requires individuals who make every personal effort to work for that unity.  One of the things the Lord Jesus came to overcome through his death and resurrection are the divisions which hinder God’s people from following the Divine Will. May the power of the Lord’s Resurrection heal our wounds of sin and division, and lead us in the ways of the Spirit, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.
For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ, especially for all victims of religious violence.
For our parish, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.
For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.
That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.
O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.