Sunday Reflections from the C.PP.S.
C.PP.S. Members share their reflections on Sunday readings
Keep an Open Mind
By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. My mom had a repeated piece of advice to me, especially after I got ordained: keep an open mind. During the fourth summer after I was ordained, I was asked to go with a group from our parish visiting La Labor, Guatemala. The parish had...
Labor and Burden
By Fr. Jim Smith, C.PP.S. This weekend would have been one of parties and celebrations. In St. Henry, Ohio, where I have been in ministry the past four years, the village picnic is the weekend with or closest to the Fourth of July. Due to public health concerns with...
He Died for You and Me
Your Church, imbued with the Holy Spirit, basks in the glory of this mystery of love. (Preface, Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood) By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. The starting point of the spiritual life, particularly for Precious Blood people...
Precious to All
By the V. Rev. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. Today with the Church around the world, our Precious Blood family marks the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. I have been reflecting on the word “precious,” which to me has two meanings. It can mean rare and valuable, like a gem....
An Open and Generous Heart
By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. We have been reading from Chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel, which focuses on the mission of the disciples. Jesus directs them to announce, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Trusting in divine providence, they were not to take anything...
A Not So Humble Sparrow
By V. Rev. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. Today’s Gospel, as we return to Ordinary Time, includes the passage from Matthew where Jesus tells his disciples about their true value. A sparrow cannot fall from the sky without the Father knowing it, Jesus says. And as for us,...
A Demanding Gift
By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. I remember speaking to someone in one of my first RCIA classes who expressed discomfort at hearing chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. Apparently, this was never read in the scripture-heavy church that she was raised in. For her the...
Focus on the Relationship, Not the Mystery
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Our God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, yet one God. Holy Trinity is the name of one of the parishes in our pastoral region and they celebrate today’s solemnity...
Happy Birthday to the Church
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. Today is traditionally regarded as the birthday of the Church, when the Holy Spirit descended upon those gathered in the upper room. Today is also when some churches once again open doors for the public celebrations of the liturgy (albeit...
We Rise with Christ
By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. In the Diocese of Toledo we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord today. We see Jesus ascending up into heaven in the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary and his apostles. Jesus was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight. In today’s...
Get Busy!
By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. We pray in the Creed: “He ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of the Father.” Today we are truly happy because Jesus went home—bodily—to his Father’s heavenly home. The scene in Acts is more or less his final apparition to...
The Risen Lord is With Us
By Fr. Al Spilly, C.PP.S. “I will not leave you orphans,” Jesus reassures his disciples at the Last Supper on the evening before his death. He says he will send them the Holy Spirit to guide their journey as they continue his mission and ministry in the world. During...
Filled with the Spirit and Wisdom
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. In the Acts of the Apostles today, the apostles chose seven men filled with the Spirit and wisdom. See how far the apostles have come. In the Gospel today, the same apostles wonder, We do not know where you are going; how can we...
Listening for the Good Shepherd’s Voice
By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. The image of the Good Shepherd is popular and comforting. All of us can readily envision the picture of a kindly shepherd who is carrying the cute and cuddly lamb on his shoulders. Remembering and believing in a God who constantly...
Good Reaching Out to Good
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Over the last month we have been facing an uncertain future. There is a fear of our health system collapsing, our economy not just going into recession, but melting down. Millions of Americans filed for unemployment this past month. The...
Why Not Appear to Everyone?
By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. “God granted that [Jesus] be visible, not to all the people but to us” (Acts 10: 40-41). In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that Jesus appeared to his apostles and friends after his resurrection. He ate and drank as before, yet his body...
The Holding of Brokenness
By Fr. Jim Smith, C.PP.S. “So, what did you see on vacation?” I have a tendency to veer towards live theater, especially with deep discounts. Recapping what I saw on vacation months ago, I mentioned that two of the shows really were technically one show, spread over...
Jesus is Right There With Us
And Jesus wept (John 11:35). By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. These words, often noted as the shortest verse of the Bible, remind us of something very important Jesus’ emotions. He has already told his disciples and Martha that Lazarus would rise. He clearly...
Anchored by the Cross
By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. One of my favorite parables of faith and hope is that of a young father who took his five-year-old daughter out for a ride in a sailboat on a beautiful sunny afternoon. As they skipped across the water the young girl squealed with...
The Invitation to Go Deeper
By Brother Matt Schaefer, C.PP.S. An unfortunate result of having regular and familiar Gospel readings at Mass is the tendency to take the obvious or surface meaning of the reading and go no further in our thoughts. Sometimes the meaning of a reading is quite clear...
Not a Problem-Free Life
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. What is a disciple? One definition of a disciple is a person who follows Jesus. And you know I will not disagree with this definition. A disciple is someone who follows Jesus. While I do not disagree with the definition, sometimes I think...
Stop, Reflect and Take Action
By Fr. Leon Flaherty, C.PP.S. “Repent and believe in the Good News.” This is the theme for the season of Lent. Repent: to realize that you are traveling in the wrong direction; stop; reflect; and move in a new direction to reach your goal. As we do that on this first...
Loving Our Enemies, for Real
Fr. Al Spilly, C.PP.S. In a fast-changing, confusing, chaotic world, it is easy for us to get lost in the dark forest without finding a path that leads to light, stability and peace. Pope Paul VI wrote: “If you want peace, work for justice.” As disciples of the risen...
Life or Death, Good or Evil
By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. We hear today from Sirach, “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are...
Who, Me?
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. You are salt of the earth. You are light of the world. I don’t know about you, but I can understand how Jesus could be salt of the earth and light of the world, but the disciples? but me? He must mean someone else! How could those who...
Knowing Who We Are with God
February 4 is the feast of St. Maria de Mattias, Founder of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. The readings for the feast of Maria de Mattias not only are appropriate inspiration for our reflections on this great saint, but are very...
To Wait with Purpose
By V. Rev. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. No one likes to wait. Whether we are at a long stop light, in the check-out line, or waiting for the new episode of our favorite show to be released, we do not like waiting. I think it is part of the human condition. Children,...
It’s Darkest Before the Dawn
These three readings talk about destruction, conflict and danger, and what God does with that if we let God work in our lives. In the first reading, the two regions of Zabulon and Nephtali bordered the Assyrian Kingdom. They were vassal states to the Assyrians. People...
No Power Ring, But God’s Grace
In the Green Lantern comic books, the superhero utilizes a power ring that can make light manifest into anything the hero's willpower desires; for example, if the hero thinks of a giant boxing glove to hit his opponent, it happens. When the hero dies, the ring is...
The Waters that Drown Us, Save Us
A few years ago, in my continued quest to fill book shelves (and my Kindle) with books I want to read but won’t get to, I stumbled across another great bargain of a book for 99 cents that came with a twist)--a music album to download to accompany the book, which...
