News RSS Feed

It’s a fairly well-known Bible tidbit that the shortest verse in all of scripture, which is taken from this week’s Gospel, is “And Jesus wept.” Because it’s an interesting verse and it comes from an important passage in John’s Gospel, there has been much commentary on it throughout the years. It is often read at funerals and used to describe the very real, very human pain that Jesus felt at the death of His friend. But to take it simply as a sign of Jesus’ sadness over a death that He knew was not permanent is to miss a much larger point. Click title for full column.

A constant battle fought by priests, teachers, parents, and many others is the question of whether or not what we’re doing is really taking root. Some professions are not afforded the blessing of being able to take a step back at the end of the day and seeing the fruits of one’s labor. Looking at a parking lot that I just finished sealing or a bed of mulch that I just laid is one of the lost loves of my earlier years. Now the satisfaction of a job well done is not often seen until much later, if at all. Click title for full column.

One of my closest friends is a non-Catholic who married a lovely Catholic girl from my last parish. Because he works in a lab and is scientifically minded, he once commented to his wife that the sign of peace was quite the exercise in herd-immunity. When she pointed out that hundreds of people also drink from the same few cups at every Mass, he was even more impressed/concerned. Along these same lines, I have found in the last few years that every practical challenge in the Church seems to get entangled with a thousand political and pragmatic concerns. I remember as an associate doing something as simple as upgrading the patens we used to distribute the host turning into the beginning of a debacle, and it took the deft touch of the pastor to restore peace to the parish. So as the region undertakes some precautionary measures to curb potential spread of the coronavirus, which has recently been confirmed in Ohio, I think it’s important to do everything possible to hear people’s concerns as well as address the spiritual side of Communion distribution as well. Click title for full column

The difficult decision was made this morning to cancel all of the fish fries in the region this weekend and to consider future fish fry events cancelled until further notice. This was decided in the best interest of the health of our communities.

One of the frequent questions I remember receiving in the months and years leading up to my priestly ordination was what I was most looking forward to about being a priest. At the very top of the list was offering Mass, but other highlights included giving blessings and hearing confessions. If I had made a top ten list, preaching might not have been included. I wasn’t particularly dreading it, but it certainly wasn’t something that I was chomping at the bit to do day in and day out. Click title for full column.

St. James of the Valley Dine-in or Carry-out: Friday, March 13; 5:00-7:30 pm To Volunteer to Work or to Bring Desserts, please visit: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0945ACAC2BA57-stjames3

My pilgrimage to the Holy Land was such a pre-Lenten retreat. It really was a very memorable moment for a deeper reflection and meditation on the Bible, particularly the Gospels texts on the life of Jesus in the New Testament. Visiting the Holy Land, Rome and the pilgrimage sites of Mary are my three favorite places to visit anytime I am able for one reason: The pilgrimage to the Holy Land draws you closer to Jesus, while visiting Rome makes you love the Church more. Also, my devotion and love to Mother Mary becomes stronger anytime I visit a Marian apparition site. Click title for full column.

There will be five weeks of Sunday Adoration at OLR during Lent.  March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 will have one hour of Adoration between the 9:00 am and 11:30 am Masses. 

WWPR 2020 Fish Fry season starts this Friday!!!!! Click title for full schedule.

Wednesday, February 26 8:30 am: Our Lady of the Rosary, Mass 12:10 pm: St. Matthias, Mass 3:30 pm: OLR, Ash Distribution Service 7:00 pm: St. James of the Valley, Mass 7:00 pm: St. Matthias, Spanish Mass

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. Click title for full column.

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.