Sunday Reflections from the C.PP.S.
C.PP.S. Members share their reflections on Sunday readings
Turning Beer into Furniture
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. In a story from 19th century intellectual and theologian John Hutton, a man who had been a drunkard was captured by Christ. His workmates used to try to shake his newfound faith and said to him, “Surely a sensible man like you cannot...
Blessed are the Poor, the Meek
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. When I was in high school, I was sent to a Catholic Youth Conference that concluded with Sunday Mass. I remember that the priest got up to give his homily and asked that a 15-minute timer to be set so that he would know when to end his...
Constant, Lifelong Conversion
By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. In my travels on the interstate system, I frequently encounter what I call Billboards of Doom. Two that I pass regularly give a rather unambiguous message: the first one, REPENT! and the second one, HELL IS REAL! I assume that...
Each of Us is Called by Name
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. We have once again entered into Ordinary Time of the liturgical year. The decorations of Christmas are put away and we’re back to the ordinariness of the year. However, the readings for today offer us a challenge to be “extraordinary”...
Make Room for the Messiah
By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. We remember the three magi, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar. Our founder, St. Gaspar del Bufalo, was born on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6, and he was named after the three magi: Gaspar...
Blessings From Above
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. From Angels We Have Heard on High Gloria in excelsis Deo! God taught Moses how to call down a blessing upon God’s people, and for over three thousand years, rabbis and priests have been pronouncing this blessing. The Lord bless you...
God is not Dead, Nor Does He Sleep
By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. This Christmas season saw the release of a new movie that tells the story of how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow came to write the poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” which became a beloved Christmas carol. In the long cold winter in...
To Look Beyond What Is
Joseph’s Dream by Edward Jarmosiewicz By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. (Matthew 1:20) The fourth Sunday of Advent invites us to step into the Christmas story more directly. As we are...
Rose Means Rejoice!
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. Today is the Third Sunday of Advent, also referred to as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin word, calling for us to rejoice. Today we have reached the exact middle point of the season of Advent, two weeks in and two more weeks to go, Christ...
Maybe Do Something Different
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Distractions. We all have them in different ways to different intensities. Distractions can not only stop you and me from personal growth. They can also get in the way of hearing God’s call in our lives. Sometimes a distraction can be a...
The Coronation of Our True King
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF0m2KZUUB4] When Queen Elizabeth II died, videos of her coronation were played. It was a great celebration with great...
“Lo, the Day is Coming”
By Deacon Greg Evers, C.PP.S. At this point in the liturgical year, we are mere weeks away from marking the end of Ordinary time. A new liturgical year begins with Advent. Our readings at Mass make a turn toward discussing the end times, often using very vivid and...
How Do We Stay Faithful?
By Sr. Mary Garascia, CPPS When I was on staff at a parish in Denver, I knew a woman named Margaret who had seven children. Her husband died and she married another, but after a few years, he got cancer and also died. Then after that, two college-aged children were...
Too Small for Us to See, Too Big for Us to Grasp
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. The readings for today might be seen as a study in contrasts. From the Book of Wisdom, we read that “Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.” Pretty small stuff....
I Am as God Made Me
By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. Spoiler Alert! In today’s Gospel, Luke tips his hand. He points us toward the moral of the story in the very first sentence—before the parable even begins. We know that someone in the parable is going to be smug and judgmental. We...
Finding One’s Voice: Perseverance in Prayer
By Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S. The parable Jesus tells in this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 18, 1-8) about the widow and the unjust judge is unsettling because it gives the impression that if we just badger God long enough, God will give in to our prayer as the judge finally...
Let’s Be Like the Tenth Leper
By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. In prescientific times, people worried when they had to face diseases. They regarded sickness, leprosy and fever as caused by evil spirits. God had to intervene and show his mighty strength. Healing stood for expelling evil spirits. Jesus...
God Expects Us to Serve
By Fr. Tony Fortman C.P.P.S. In today’s Gospel, Jesus expects us to give our best. You and I are made mostly comfortable by many blessings. We have enough food, we have automobiles, we have homes. (Some of us may not have all of that, but most of us do.) When we are...
Lazarus’ Name Points to His Humanity
Lazarus and the Rich Man by Jacopo Bassano By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus (Luke 16:20). One of the things that I learned early on in Biblical studies was to pay attention to names as they appear in Biblical texts....
Do You Go in or Do You Not?
By Fr. Joe Uecker, C.PP.S. You just died. You come before the throne of God. God doesn’t say much of anything. God just looks at you with love. What gets you is when you look around and see who is there! You see Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Sadam Hussein, the shooter...
Check with God before Building
By Brother Tom Bohman, C.PP.S. It was the summer of 1958, and I was eight years old. My brother and I decided to build a fort of sticks and wood on the north part of our farm near Osgood, Ohio. It was one of those moments of freedom and we worked on the fort for about...
We Can’t Be All Things to All People
By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. Today we hear from Sirach. “My child, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God. What is too sublime for you, seek...
Lord, What About Us?
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. Just a few days ago, Peter asked Jesus in the Gospel, “Then who can be saved?” Today’s readings answer the question once again. To the people of Israel, who thought that they alone would be saved, the prophet Isaiah proclaims that people...
The Fire of God’s Love
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. The Gospel for this Sunday has always seemed out of context to me. Most of the sayings of Jesus are about coming together and loving others. Today, however, we hear Jesus say he has come to light the earth on fire and there will be...
Does Our Faith Calm Our Fears?
By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. Today’s scripture readings deal with the journey of life and preparedness. Life cannot be a journey without destiny. This outlook on life requires faith in God. It is like the faith in his father that truly makes a child feel safe when the...
The Richness of Relationships
By Fr. William Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. Life is short, death is sure. Only the hour remains obscure. I was a young high school student at Brunnerdale Seminary when I first heard this quote. At the time I found it quite amusing. Fifty-plus years later? Not so much. While...
Persistence is a Good Strategy
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Persistence is a well-known strategy when facing a challenge, and it works. Persistence is not about seizing the day, but merely enduring it. Athletes who employ a persistence strategy wait for their opponents to make mistakes and die a...
To Serve or to Listen?
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. Is it better to be a Martha or a Mary? Is it better to be the one who serves Jesus and the rest of the guests, or is it better to be the one who sits and listens at the feet of Jesus? Is it better to be the one who serves or the one who...
Can We See All People as Neighbors?
A Sunday Reflection from the C.PP.S. By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. In today’s first reading, Moses summarizes the whole law in very simple words. The law, he says, is not something mysterious, something up in the sky…, something across the sea…. No, it is something...
The Precious Blood Calls Us to Freedom
By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. As Missionaries of the Precious Blood, today’s Gospel is fitting for us. As missionaries there is a tension sometimes, not so much about what we do or who we are, but with how much stuff and how little stuff we should have. Years ago, when...