Homilies

Back in the 1980’s and early 90’s I was an active and avid runner, participating in everything from 10 Ks to marathons.  I belonged to the local running club, and we would meet on a regular basis to go on long runs and train together.  In 1991 I trained to run in the Columbus Marathon […]

There is this discussion that I’ve had with quite a number of people over the years, and it always seems to start the same way.  It usually begins when we’re talking about why we can or can’t do something relating to the liturgy, or in preparation for certain sacraments like Confirmation or Marriage.  And the

I invite you to turn back the clock and remember the early 90’s. It was a simpler time–no smartphones, no social media, even the internet wasn’t really a thing. These were the days of my early childhood. I was just getting ready to start Kindergarten. One of my most enduring memories from that time is

I want to tell you the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe. He grew up in Poland and eventually ended up becoming a Franciscan priest. When the Nazis invaded Poland, he was unafraid to help the Jewish people of his area and so, like many priests at the hands of the Nazis, he was arrested and

The parable about the wedding feast in the Gospel today took my mind back to a magical time in high school: prom night. Specifically, I was remembering my first prom experience as a junior in high school. At that point, I hadn’t dated extensively and definitely had never taken a girl out for a nice

Today I want to tell you the tale of two nights. The first night was spent in the rectory at one of my summer assignments as a seminarian. Leading up to that night, I had been watching the show “The Walking Dead” through Netflix. At that time, the main way to watch Netflix was by

A few years ago, my Mom and I had the great privilege of seeing my sister Laura take her students to State Orchestra Contest. I will never forget the pride I felt watching Laura up there so poised as she directed her students. They did a phenomenal job and we cheered loudly along with many

Let me tell you a story about Alessandro Serenelli. Alessandro grew up in a poor family in Italy. By the time he was a young man, his mother and one of his brothers had already died in mental asylums. His father, an alcoholic, was hard-pressed to provide for his family working as a sharecropper. Alessandro’s

Those of you who know me pretty well know that I’m not a fan of personal conflict.  I try to avoid it as much as possible.  I tend to let certain issues run their course, and many times, they work themselves out.  But every so often, there’s no choice but to intervene and offer some

I want to tell you the stories of two different actors, one you’ve probably heard of and one you probably haven’t heard of. If you were alive and watching movies in the 80’s and 90’s, you’ve probably heard of Rick Moranis. He starred in such popular movies as “Ghostbusters,” “Spaceballs,” and “Honey, I Shrunk the