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...
Sunday’s Gospel from John is the familiar and visceral story of Jesus and Lazarus. Here, John once again gives such great detail and depth that we know John wants this to be one of the highlights of his Gospel. Like all Gospels there are varied discussion, translation and interpretations of...
These are indeed interesting times. Who would have thought even a week ago that Masses and other parish events would be cancelled? Here we are, wondering how to respond when we are asked to stay at home and away from each other? I hear people wonder aloud, “Jesus didn’t exclude...