Fr Tom Gardner

Many times at Confirmation Masses, I have seen bishops ask the Confirmandi questions, so I want to start by asking all of you a question. Don’t worry, it’s not a difficult one! All of you have seen pictures of the saints. What does a saint look like? I think it is easy to distance ourselves […]

I recently rewatched the movie, Return to Me. It was released in the year 2000 and definitely has the elements of the romantic comedies of the late 90’s and early 2000’s–positive story line, lovable characters, and great comedy. I have watched it many times and it doesn’t get old! One of the aspects of Return

There is a stir-craziness that sets in on airplanes. If you’ve ever taken a long flight, you know what I’m talking about. After your first few hours, I think your mind really starts to wrap itself around the reality that you are in a metal tube hurtling through the skies, far from the comfort of

Imagine that you are in St. Peter’s Square waiting your turn to see the Pope. It is mid May and the year is 1981. You see the “Pope-mobile” moving toward you. In the back is Pope John Paul II, smiling and waving. Your heart surges with joy, but all of a sudden, out of the

I am so happy to be celebrating with all of you this Easter morning. There is no more glorious time in the Church. The church is filled with beautiful flowers bursting with life, and we are able to sing ‘Alleluia’ once again. It is a great day! As many of you know, my family is

It is so good to be with you all here on this beautiful night. It is my favorite night of the whole year, because tonight we get to once again reflect on that great love story, the story of the love of God for humanity that we see played out in the Scriptures, stretching all

I want to tell you a story about Joe Hall, a young man that I knew in college. Joe was an extremely busy and vibrant college student. He was taking a full load of college courses and looking to graduate in three years. He had a volunteer position as a Catholic youth minister, he worked

My heart is filled with joy to be with all of you on this holy night when we celebrate that supper that our Lord celebrated with His Apostles on the night before He died. What a great blessing it is for us to come together tonight and recall the blessings that continue to flow from

Well, here we are, most of the way through Lent and at the end of our homily series, Healing Our Wounded Hearts. I promised at the beginning it wouldn’t be boring, and I hope you agree that it has not been!  Over the last four weeks, we have been spinning the diamond of the great

This weekend we continue our Lenten homily series on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The title of this series is “Healing our Wounded Hearts.” Through these homilies, we are pondering the many ways Jesus heals our wounded hearts through the beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation. Last week, Deacon Doug spoke of how this Sacrament helps draw us