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One of the most important yet most difficult lessons I have had to learn time and again in my life is that God always wants more for me than I want for myself. I try to convince myself that I’m much more complex than this, but often when I reflect on choices I have made or disappointments in my life, I am ultimately just a child who takes greater pleasure in the box a gift comes in rather than the gift itself. I remember reading a humorous pitch for a reality show a few years ago where you watch a toddler choose between a check for $10,000 and five dollars’ worth of plastic toys while the kid’s parents watch from a soundproof booth. I found it simultaneously hilarious and a profound reflection on how little we are willing to settle for.

Tomorrow at 6:30 PM – 11 PM St. James of the Valley Catholic Church 411 Springfield Pike, Wyoming, Ohio 45215 Tickets · $30 www.eventbrite.com Click title for more information.

While still in college I delved deeper into the beautiful but somewhat flaky Catholic tendency to run and hide behind patron saints. Don’t get me wrong, I am as big a supporter as anyone of asking the saints to intercede, especially in particular situations that are related to their lives or ministries on earth. I rarely lose something without sending up a quick prayer to St. Anthony, and I began many a baseball game by asking for St. Sebastian to watch out for me. Even more frequent in my life now, in addition to calling upon the Holy Spirit, is asking for the intercession of St. John Chrysostom and St. Luke before preaching. But one common type of devotion that always amused me was having certain saints to call upon when it was time to take a test. The last refuge of the struggling student, it seems, is prayer. Click title for full column.

One of the fascinating things about languages is how the meaning of words can change and shift radically over a relatively short span of time. There are even some words that bizarrely shift from one meaning to its literal opposite over the course of a century or so. For example, the word “peruse” can mean either to skim through something haphazardly, or to read it thoroughly. Frankly, these kind of shenanigans can be maddening, because language is meant to communicate truth, not obscure it further. Click title for full column.

My immensely competitive nature often proves to be both a blessing and a curse. Most of the impressive feats of my life can largely be attributed to a combination of my overwhelming desire to prove myself and comically poor time management. Writing sixty percent of my master’s thesis in a day and a half was most definitely a poor life choice, but I still brag about it out of a sense of misguided superiority. Click title for full column.

I have no idea if this is actually an ancient proverb, nor do I recall exactly where I heard it, but since it suits my purposes here, I will blindly trust that some wise man said it at some point. I once heard that the greatest curse you could wish upon someone is to say, “May you live in interesting times, and may you get exactly what you ask for.” Click title for full column.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Matthew 9:38-39 A recurring emphasis of Archbishop Schnurr has been creating a culture within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati which fosters vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated religious life. He often notes that an important factor in building such a culture is prayer and shares a story of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States in 2008. A bishop asked the Holy Father, “What can we do to increase vocations?” The pope replied, “Don’t overlook the obvious. Beg the harvest master.” Click title for full column.

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. I disappoint myself enough throughout the year, so no need to start off on the wrong foot so early on. But I am a fan of taking time early in the year to take stock of priorities, look back on the previous year, and spiritually prepare myself both for Lent and the year that is to come. That’s why I always schedule my retreat during January. That, and because it’s the closest thing to hibernation in the winter I can get away with. Click title for full column.

Mary, Mother of God Vigil, Tuesday, Dec 31 St. Matthias 4:30 pm  Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, January 1 Our Lady of the Rosary 9:00 am (Bilingual Mass) St. James of the Valley  11:00 am >Click title for more information.

 Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24 St. James of the Valley 3:00, 5:00 pm & Midnight Our Lady of the Rosary 4:00 pm & 6:00 pm (Spanish Mass) St. Matthias the Apostle 4:30 pm  Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25 St. Matthias 9:00 am  Our Lady of the Rosary 10:00 am  St. James of the Valley 11:00 am Click on title for more information.

For obvious logistical reasons, it’s not always possible to have separate bulletins for Sundays and Holy days that fall so close together, and therefore sometimes it is necessary to combine columns. Since this column serves as both the 4th Sunday of Advent as well as the Christmas column, I’ll take care of the last Sunday of Advent first. Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths, the Savior comes to us soon, open your hearts to meet Him. Now that that’s out of the way… Click title for full column.

Friday, December 20 7:00 am-7:00 pm Our Lady of the Rosary Confessions All Day Mass (8:30 am) & Adoration Click title for more information.

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The timeless and universal challenge of proclaiming the Gospel rests in handing on an immutable truth in a world that never stops changing. At the core of what we believe lies a series of simple truths: God created everything out of the desire to love and be loved. We rejected Him. He sent His only begotten Son to redeem us by His death and resurrection. He will come again at the end of all things to gather His followers to Himself. Click title for full column.

Celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a Mass entirely in Spanish. Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 pm at St. Matthias. Reception to follow in Lonsway Hall.

Those who tolerate my preaching on a regular basis know my fondness for stories about saints. The same glories and virtues that people seek in the movies and in tales of heroism can be found in spades in the lives of the saints. Dragon slaying? Boom, St. George. Foiled assassination plots? Boom, St. Benedict. Governmental subterfuge followed by gory execution for one’s principles? Boom, St. Edmund Campion. The list goes on. Click title for full column.

I put off getting a smartphone for years. I don’t think I was the last one in my class in the seminary to buckle to the inexorable advance of technology, but I know I was close. I have seen many changes in the way I operate now that I have fallen to the modern golden calf that is the iPhone, and not all of them have been bad. It’s terribly convenient to have a digital version of my breviary with me at all times, so if I forget my prayer book, I can still pray my office. Staying in touch with my friends has certainly been easier. But one major downside has been the complete and total destruction of my memory for my own calendar of events. Click title for full column.

The regional Thanksgiving Mass will be Thursday, November 28 at 9:00 am at St. Matthias. Click title for information.

It is a natural human tendency to avoid things that have burned us in the past. Stemming from deep-seated survival instincts, we know that when something has caused us pain, or hurt our chances for survival, we must avoid it whenever possible. This same instinct that caused prehistoric man to steer clear of snakes has also prevented me from eating Chinese food since Easter (with literally only one exception) after I got the worst case of food poisoning in my life. It’s a real shame, because I do enjoy sketchy Chinese food. Click title for full column.