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...

Today’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at “Jacob’s Well.” It is interesting how detailed John’s account of this story is. “Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there.” You can go to...

The Coronavirus is on everyone’s mind as the country and in fact the world continues to try to cope and understand this illness. Concerns over spreading the virus have caused a reexamination of some of our habits and the way we interact with each other. Granted the current numbers of...