Sunday Reflections from the C.PP.S.

C.PP.S. Members share their reflections on Sunday readings

Victory for our God

Victory for our God

By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.   This is the feast of victory for our God! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!   Today, the Church throughout the world celebrates the great feast of Christ the King. We rejoice that the promise made by the prophet Ezekiel has been...

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Do We Bury Our Wounded?

Do We Bury Our Wounded?

By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. A while back, I went to my local barber for a haircut. He knew I was a Catholic priest, and so religious and theological topics came up all the time. He attended a non-denominational Protestant church, and so this was my small part in...

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Mother and Child Reunion

Mother and Child Reunion

By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. Praying with the scriptures today has missionary images dancing and intermingling in my heart and mind. The first image St Paul gives us: A missionary is a mother who gives life to another and nurtures that life. The mother nursing her...

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The Stars Tell the Story

The Stars Tell the Story

Christ speaks to us of the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” What motivates us to do that? We are in the time of year when seasons change and we witness the dynamic of creation....

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To See How Much God Loves Us

To See How Much God Loves Us

This image of St. Gaspar del Bufalo preaching to the people of Rome can be found in Precious Blood Church, Trotwood, Ohio. This weekend, the Precious Blood family celebrates the feast of St. Gaspar del Bufalo, the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. For...

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Becoming Messengers of the Good News

Becoming Messengers of the Good News

By Fr. Joe Uecker, C.PP.S. To better understand our readings for today, we ought to go back a few weeks. Three weeks ago, you recall Jesus telling the story of the workers hired at various hours, but all receiving the same pay. The leaders of Israel do not understand....

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Out of the Ashes, New Hope Rises

Out of the Ashes, New Hope Rises

By Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S. Growing up on a farm, CP Estes knew her family had burned the land from time to time because “the ash made tired ground more fertile again.” But after one such burning, she asked her uncle what he would plant in the field and was surprised...

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Remember Your Mercies, O Lord

Remember Your Mercies, O Lord

Brother Tom Bohman, C.PP.S. Life is not fair. Among my favorite Ohio professional sport teams, I note that there are many rocky roads. We wish that we would always be on the winning side but as in life, we find that we are tested in our loyalties. It seems that faith...

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From Grumbling to Gratitude

From Grumbling to Gratitude

By Fr. Ben Berinti, C.PP.S. Arriving at Brunnerdale High School Seminary at the tender age of 14, I entered a vast ocean of experiences, sometimes the waves throwing me onto the shore, and sometimes dragging me out into the deep. Trying to fight the onset of...

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Are We Forgiving Each Other?

Are We Forgiving Each Other?

By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. The three readings touch on forgiveness and compassion for one another. I want to focus on the interconnectedness of the human family and the implications of that. The Sirach reading gives practical guidance on forgiving others who have...

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Loving Others Like Jesus Does

Loving Others Like Jesus Does

By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. Paul in our scriptures today instructs us “to love one another” (Romans 13: 8). On the surface we like this instruction, this instruction gives us a warm fuzzy feeling inside, and many easily jump on board to follow this instruction without...

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Understanding the Will of God

Understanding the Will of God

The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet there are dragons and there are lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. And there are rough and uneven roads; there are precipices. But there is also God, also the angels, the life and the kingdom,...

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A New Way to Look at Keys

A New Way to Look at Keys

By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. Many times, we hear people having an identity crisis or perhaps we have experienced that in our lives. Today’s Gospel introduces us to ways in which people were discovering and growing in their understanding of Jesus. This can also speak...

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A Lesson in Showing Up

A Lesson in Showing Up

By Vicky Otto The older I get, the more I admire the women we read about in the Gospels. Each, in their way, has taught me essential life lessons. Mary taught me the importance of saying yes to God. The women who stood at the crucifix demonstrated the importance of...

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Get Out of the Boat

Get Out of the Boat

By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. Today, we see Jesus walking on the water, a miracle indeed. This is a violation of a natural occurrence. Peter also walks on the water until he takes his eyes off Jesus. I can remember my first swimming lesson at Spring Lake in Pandora,...

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So Dramatic, It’s Almost Unreal

So Dramatic, It’s Almost Unreal

By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. Today we remember what happened up on the mountain when Jesus revealed his glory to the disciples, but what I think is so easy to forget about the Transfiguration is the context. Just...

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Everyone is Good Enough

Everyone is Good Enough

By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. Our God is an awesome God, who reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God! Solomon could have asked for anything, anything at all. Yet he chose an understanding heart. He chose something not so much...

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Big or Small Moments, God is There

Big or Small Moments, God is There

The Spirit intercedes for us when we fall short, and maybe even intercedes for us because we fall short. Prayer is not just me on Earth talking to God in heaven. Prayer includes the thoughts, people, and needs we bring to the words we offer God. But more than that, prayer is also God working through us in the Spirit.

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We Are the Sowers

We Are the Sowers

By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. When we think of a farmer planting a field, we probably picture a big John Deere tractor moving through the field plowing and planting in calculated and cultivated rows. After hearing today’s Gospel, you might have thought to yourself,...

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Put Down Your Burden

Put Down Your Burden

By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. As I pray with and reflect on today’s Gospel passage, a persistent image keeps coming to mind. I keep imagining a crying toddler being swept up into the arms of her daddy. Maybe the child is crying because she got scared or because...

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All Love Flows from God

All Love Flows from God

By Fr. James “Santiago” Gaynor, C.PP.S. As we observe the night sky of stars and moon, it is impossible to not believe in something and someone beyond planet Earth. As we observe the sun rise of a new day and how wonderfully the planet turned on its axis in the last...

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A Feast of Love

A Feast of Love

By Fr. Joe Uecker, C.PP.S. A feast of love! That’s what we celebrate today as we thank Jesus for pouring out his life blood for us. A feast of love! In our Litany of the Precious Blood, we pray: “Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness.” This could be...

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What Are We Afraid Of?

What Are We Afraid Of?

By Deacon Greg Evers, C.PP.S. Our Gospel reading for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time calls on us to not be afraid. Jesus says, “Fear no one.” Hearing this small phrase reminded me of this past February when a group of Precious Blood members and Companions visited...

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Justified by His Blood

Justified by His Blood

By Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S. At our recent provincial assembly in Indianapolis, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood hung a banner with the quote from St. Gaspar, our founder, chosen to be a focal point of our gathering. It urged us, “Do ordinary things with great...

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Honoring Those Who Say Yes

Honoring Those Who Say Yes

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood at their assembly today honored those who have made a firm commitment to the Congregation. During Morning Prayer at the assembly in Indianapolis, Missionaries honored their jubilarians who are celebrating milestone ordination...

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God Does Not Go It Alone

God Does Not Go It Alone

By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Please recall Holy Trinity Sunday three years ago. That Sunday may have felt lonely. Chances are you attended Mass online. Chances are you would not have celebrated Easter as you did in previous years. Outside of the person(s) you lived...

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May We Be Set on Fire

May We Be Set on Fire

By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. There is a story of a little boy and his grandmother having a conversation and the little boy said “Grandma, I know what happened at Pentecost.” The grandmother said, “What happened at Pentecost?” He said, “It was when Jesus came to set...

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Mary as Our Defender

Mary as Our Defender

This image of Our Lady of the Stick can be found at the Abbey of San Felice in Giano, Italy, where the Missionaries were founded in 1815. By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. The celebration of Mary Help of Christians was instituted by Pope Pius VII in 1815, a year after...

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In the Realm of Miracles

In the Realm of Miracles

By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. Today we celebrate the ascension of the Lord. Jesus ascended into heaven body and soul in the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary and his apostles. This is not the first time Jesus was suspended in the air. If we go back to the...

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“Jesus Christus der Rechtes Eckstein”

“Jesus Christus der Rechtes Eckstein”

By Brother Matt Schaefer, C.PP.S. Years ago, before I entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, I worked in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Across the street from where I worked there was an old church I walked by every day. As I waited on the corner to cross the...

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Missionaries of the Precious Blood