Today, in John’s Gospel Jesus reminds his anxious disciples that he will be physically leaving them, but he will not abandon them like orphans. It is important to remember an orphan in first century Palestine is one of the lowest rungs of social standing. An orphan has no real legal standing and has no...
For up to date information concerning our parish and when we will be reopening, click here for our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/StElizabethCarlisleIowa/ We are formulating the procedures for Mass attendance and implementation of the Diocesan guidelines for celebrating Mass in our parish. Please be patient and understand the need to be...
The disciples, with Jesus in their midst, are nervous and anxious again. Jesus is telling them he must leave them and return to his Heavenly Father. You can imagine the uncomfortable feeling that descended on the group. Now what? Is one of the questions they began to ask themselves. Why...
Join St. Elizabeth Seton Social Concerns Committee and our parish “Team Lizzy” for the Ruth Harbor Walk for LIFE on Saturday, May 9th! Ruth Harbor provides two Christ-centered homes, one in Carlisle and the other in Des Moines, as well as programs and comprehensive services that result in positive life...
“I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved”- Jn 10: 1-10 In our Matthew class online (see: https://www.facebook.com/StElizabethCarlisleIowa/) we were talking about the infancy narrative of Jesus. We...
I remember when Cardinal Bernardin died in 1996. It was a very sad day as Cardinal Bernardin had ordained me as a deacon in the previous December. He had often come to the seminary to speak frankly to us about all sorts of things. He always felt a need to...
To meet the increased need for food, the Food Bank of Iowa is in need of bags to support the mobile pantries and school distributions. Bags are being made from heavy, cotton t-shirts. Since we have had all of this extra time, I’m sure we have been cleaning out our...
Imagine being in that room, the first day of the week (Easter), the doors were locked out of fear. Here, the disciples gathered, petrified. They had to be thinking, if they could do what they did to someone like Jesus, who knows what they could do to his followers! The...
A recent documentary I watched on the anthropology of the human species made me ponder about at what point did humans separate from prehistoric humans and develop a human consciousness that could conceive of the existence of God? Did it happen all at once? Was it over a period of...
This Sunday we try to celebrate Palm Sunday during this health crisis. It certainly will be odd, as we “shelter in place” or perhaps this week we can “Pray in place.” We can celebrate Holy Week no matter where we are. Regardless of our situation, I prefer to call this...