By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S.  So here we go! Lent is here. The fish fries, the giving up of candy and pop. These are some common ideas about our Lenten time. But Lent is a time of deep discussion with Jesus. Much of this discussion is on our own with Christ and much...

An Ash Wednesday message from our provincial director, Fr. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, when as a Church we turn our minds both inward and outward. We go through Lent on at least two levels. We experience it as a private...

By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. For the past couple of weeks our Gospel passages has come from a section of Luke’s Gospel referred to as the Sermon on the Plains. Immediately after Luke’s account of the calling of the apostles, Jesus begins to form them and teach...

By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. I was walking down a street in Des Moines, Iowa, my home for 2 years in the 90’s. A gentlemen on the corner asked for a dollar. What’s a dollar? He needed it more than I do. I gave it to him. He said, “I will have this back to you next...

By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. Before their 30 years together on The Tonight Show, Ed McMahon became the announcer for Johnny Carson on a game show called Who Do You Trust? At first it was set up as a husband-wife game show, but then changed to men and women paired...

Fishers of Men (Ravenna)   “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8) By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. When I was ordained a deacon, then Bishop Allen Vigneron began his homily saying, “Steve, it is good that you picked as your first reading the...

By Sister Anita Fearday, ASC St. Maria De Mattias, whose feast day and birthday is February 4, is the foundress of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ. She was born in 1805 in Vallecorsa, a mountainous village about 56 miles southeast of Rome. Fr. Giovanni Merlini, a...

By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S.  One day a mom was driving her daughter to school when she began thinking, “I wonder what my daughter will be when she grows up?” Looking over at her daughter she noticed she was playing with her mom’s stethoscope. The mom thought to...

By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. When I was in initial formation with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, one of my volunteer activities during the first semester was visiting people at Maria Joseph Nursing Center in Dayton. My first visit on my first day was...

By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. Today we move quickly from the story of Christmas to Jesus as a boy of 12. We do not know much about the early years of Jesus’ life, so today’s Gospel gives us an unusual glimpse into his family life. Luke tells us that the Holy Family...

By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. Last week I went to the store to get supplies for our religious education program’s Christmas party. As I turned into the Christmas aisle, looking for candy canes and chocolate Santas, I was faced with an entire row of empty...

By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. As we read the newspaper, check the news on the internet or on TV, it is often discouraging. In Chicago (and other places), newspapers keep score of the shootings each weekend. For those of us who listen to the Scriptures this Sunday, it...

By Fr. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. During this time of year in the northern hemisphere we begin to see signs of the upcoming winter. Trees that were once beaming with red, orange and yellow are now dropping their leaves, revealing barren branches. The sun is setting...

By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Your actions, your efforts, and where and how you use your resources show who and what you are loyal to. These three readings remind me of that. In the first reading, a Phoenician widow and her son are preparing a last meal before...

By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. Years ago, I worked at a retail store in the automotive department. We had a car stereo display where people could mess around with different systems before buying the one for their car. Probably, far more people messed around with the...

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!     God works wonders throughout history. The prophet Jeremiah proclaims to a people in exile: Shout with joy for Jacob…...

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. (Mark 10:43-44) By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. As vocations director, I regularly ask inquirers some form of the question, “Why do you...

Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. They say that young children are easily influenced by what they see and hear. Some may say that are boys are more easily influenced than girls; whether that is true, I will leave up for debate. I would argue that adults at times are just as...

By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. As we read the newspaper, check the news on the internet or on TV, it is often discouraging. In Chicago (and other places), newspapers keep score of the shootings each weekend. For those of us who listen to the Scriptures this Sunday, it...

By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.   Who do you say that I am?   It’s a simple question, but sometimes it is a question even I can’t answer about myself. Sometimes, hearing what others have to say about me helps me to understand myself better.   That doesn’t seem to...

By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. The astonished crowd exclaimed after Jesus healed the deaf mute man, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” Indeed, no one is outside God’s grace and Jesus’ healing touch. When Jesus said, “Ephatha” (Be...