Sunday Reflections from the C.PP.S.
C.PP.S. Members share their reflections on Sunday readings
Heirs of the Magi
By Fr Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. The Gospel for this feast is a vivid story from Matthew. In some ways it seems out of place given Matthew’s Jewish audience. He seems to reflect a theme in the Old Testament and then challenges his audience to a broader vision of the...
Bless, Shine, Be Gracious . . .
“Holy Mother, through whom we were found worthy to receive the author of life.” -Paul VI, Marialis Cultus By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. New Year’s Day. A day that we kick off striving for new goals, getting over the previous evening, spending time with family and...
Imperfectly Perfectly Holy
By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. Several years ago, I had a conversation with someone who was struggling with his faith. He said, “With the Holy Family, you have a Virgin Mother conceived without sin, a child being literally the Son of God, and a foster father who accepts...
Remembering What Is
By Fr. James Smith, C.PP.S. The sights and the smells. Holidays for me usually call to mind memories of certain smells, tastes, or sights from years earlier in life around those times. 2020 stands out quite differently from years past, but for some reason I keep going...
Mary’s Yes was a Litany
Annunciation by Vasily Surikov Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. May it be done to me according to your word. Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. With these words, the great mystery of the Incarnation began. Mary trusting in God, and in Gabriel’s message, gave...
Reflecting the Light
By Fr. Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. On this Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday, we hear from John the Baptist, a very important figure in our Advent journey. The Gospel begins, “There was a man sent by God to give testimony to the Light” (John 1:6). John the Baptist is an important...
A Radical Baptism
By Brother Matt Schaefer, C.PP.S. When I was born, both my mother and I were sick. I was sick enough that I was rushed to Children’s Hospital in Columbus by two nuns in a taxi. Fearing that I would die, one of the nuns baptized me on the way. Despite my parents’...
Watch for God in New Ways
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. We have many ways of marking time. There is the calendar year, the fiscal year and the academic year. If this isn’t enough, this Sunday, we begin a new Church liturgical year. Like the other “new years” we observe, this new liturgical...
A Kingdom of Holiness and Grace
By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. In Ezekiel the Lord God personally looks after the sheep and lovingly cares for them. Whereas in St. Matthew’s Gospel, we sheep are the ones called to care for those in need. Instead of God caring for us, we are told that when we truly tend...
Do More than Bury the Gift
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. At a vastly different time and in a very different culture, the teacher who wrote the proverbs describes the perfect wife to young men who are not yet married. He tells them what they ought to value as they seek wives, in that time and...
Let’s Have Oil in Our Lamps
By Fr. Tony Fortman C.PP.S. As followers of Christ we are called disciples of Christ. The word disciples comes from the word discipline. The discipline of prayer is something that I find hard to deal with. Sure, I know that I have Mass each day. That is not hard...
This Will Be Our Feast Day
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. One day, November 1st will be my feast day, and I expect that it will be your feast day, too. I suspect that there will never be a church named after any one of us. I doubt that there will be any stained glass windows, statues or...
Grateful for Gaspar’s Vision
Solemnity of Saint Gaspar By the V. Rev. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Gaspar del Bufalo, who founded of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in the small town of Giano, Italy, in 1815. At that time, Europe was in turmoil. The...
Staying Out of the Trap
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. I use to work for this hospital for 10 years. I had a supervisor who frequently crossed boundaries of different varieties with me. There were frequent times that he asked me questions about the C.PP.S. which was too sensitive for me to...
We’re All Invited
By Fr. Tim Knepper, C.PP.S. I miss green bean casseroles. I miss ham and cheese pinwheels. I miss taco salads. I’m not writing about the episode of Food Network on in the background. I miss the tables full of food at potlucks and luncheons at church that have been put...
God Hears the Cry of the Poor
Fr. James Smith, C.PP.S. As I moved out to California this summer, one of the ways I encouraged friends to visit me was to inform them that I would be living within a short drive of wine country. Come visit me and we can do wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa, I...
Called to Self-Emptying Love
Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2: 5) By Fr. Steve Dos Santos, C.PP.S. “I’ll have the wings, they are my favorite piece,” my mother would say as we were cutting up the chicken for dinner. As a child I never thought much of...
The Life of the Day Laborer
By Angelo Anthony, C.PP.S. Our initial reaction to today’s parable about the laborers in the vineyard might be to say, “That’s not fair.” If those who worked only one hour received the usual daily wage it stands to reason that those who worked all day in the hot sun...
Comfortably on the “Good” Side
By Brother Matthew Schaefer, C.PP.S. How many times have we heard people who quit going to church talk about the hypocrisy of Christians? It has become almost a cliché. Yet it is an accusation that is hard to dispute. At Mass we faithfully admit our sinfulness; then...
There’s a Time for Confrontation
By Fr. Matt Keller, C.PP.S. First off, I must admit I am a human being and part of my humanity is that I am subject to making mistakes. I also have problems from time-to-time. Not only am I subject to making mistakes and having problems, but sometimes I am blind to...
Discipline is Required of Disciples
By Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. What happens is, quite literally, scandalous. Jesus follows his granting of primacy to the freshly named Peter with the first prediction of his passion (and resurrection). In response Peter rebukes Jesus and says, “God forbid. Lord! No...
“Who Do You Say that I Am?”
By Fr. Harry Brown, C.PP.S. Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God. And we all are linked to God as children of God. Yes, linked to Jesus. Probably the most important question in life is “Who do you say Jesus is?” (Mt 16:15) Do we live for Jesus or for...
Refusing to Give Up on Us
By Fr. James Smith, C.PP.S. I have had a number of jobs in my life, even at 35 (a hazard of the “gig econom,” I suppose). 2010 Census enumerator. Lifeguard. Swim instructor. Day camp counselor. Bartender. Summer events coordinator. The worst, by far, was the first job...
Mary Will Help Us to Heaven
By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S. Today we believe the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken up into heaven body and soul. We to want to be in heaven with our Mother Mary. Like a good mother, Mary brought life into the world and she nurtured the life of her Son, Jesus. Jesus often...
Anything but Ordinary
By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S. The liturgical calendar tells us that this is Ordinary Time, but this year, nothing is ordinary. We live in times unlike any other, with the corona virus and everything that comes with it. We have not gathered in any ordinary ways in a...
No Transaction is Necessary
By Fr. Bill Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. Our scripture readings today seek to focus our hearts and minds on the relationship of God with humanity and what it means for us to live faithfully in the covenant that God has given to us. In Isaiah we hear of the first covenant...
What is the Real Treasure?
By Fr. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. It is abundantly clear that Jesus did not work for Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica. If you want straight-forward information, or as Sgt. Joe Friday would say, “Just the facts, ma’am,” you would not want to ask Jesus. Jesus is more...
Living with the Weeds
By Brother Brian Boyle, C.PP.S. Have you ever started a project like planting a garden or even a whole crop? Or you might have installed a roof on your house? Or even something academic? A paper, a thesis or a dissertation? “Boy,” you think, “I’m doing a real bang-up...
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...
