January 31, 2019
It is Catholic Schools Week and I was asked to re-post a parent letter from the past, in which I reflect on the value of a Catholic education:
Allow me to share some thoughts on the value of a Catholic education. With free public education nearby, there may be some who are taking a hard look at the cost of educating their child(ren) at Bishop Chatard High School. My hope is that consideration is given to value rather than cost alone. Continue reading
December 19, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard parent community:
I post this gentle ‘reason for the season’ reminder each year. May you and your family enjoy your time together this holiday season, and may you feel the loving presence of Christ in your homes now and always.
Let me start by saying my kids love Christmas presents as much as any other kids — always have. But now that the four of them are older (ages 27 and up) and have families of their own, we take more opportunities to sit around during the holidays to reminisce. And when it comes to their Christmas memories, it is not about what presents they received. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember talk of presents ever coming up at all.
We talk about going to 6:00 p.m. Mass and then home to change into pajamas and enjoy our Christmas Eve nachos served with a glass bottle of Coke. We talk about our family sitting in a circle and each of us reading a Christmas book. We laugh about how our oldest son always chose a pop-up book and read the book with different voices for each of the characters. Continue reading
November 29, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard parent community:
While preparing to preach this weekend, I came across this article by Bishop Robert Barron, Three Advent Practices. I offer it here for your consideration:
What practically can we do during the season of waiting and vigil keeping? What are some practices that might incarnate for us the spirituality described here?
How about the classically Catholic discipline of eucharistic adoration? To spend a half-hour or an hour in the presence of the Lord is not to accomplish or achieve very much—it is not really “getting” anywhere—but it is a particularly rich form of spiritual waiting.
As you keep vigil before the Blessed Sacrament, bring to Christ some problem or dilemma that you have been fretting over, and then pray Lola’s prayer: “Ich warte, ich warte.” Say, “Lord, I’m waiting for you to solve this, to show me the way out, the way forward. I’ve been running, planning, worrying, but now I’m going to let you work.” Then, throughout Advent, watch attentively for signs.
Also, when you pray before the Eucharist, allow your desire for the things of God to intensify; allow your heart and soul to expand. Pray, “Lord, make me ready to receive the gifts you want to give,” or even, “Lord Jesus, surprise me.” Continue reading
November 8, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard parent community:
I’ve had the privilege of being a part of a Christian Awakening Retreat for some of our senior students this week. I led an evening meditation on Tuesday, reflected on the beauty of the Mass prior to celebrating Mass, will give a talk on Sacramental Moments this afternoon, and will preach at tomorrow’s closing Mass. Throughout the course of the week, I offered a consistent message:
*God loves you.
This is a simple message, but an important one for teenagers. They get caught up in their lives and things get messy. They need to feel loved, because sometimes they don’t love themselves very much, and consider themselves unlovable to others. Continue reading
October 18, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard parent community:
I was inspired by the canonization of several individuals last Sunday. It was a sign of hope and encouragement in an age when both are lacking. These men and women, now saints, were ordinary people that accomplished extraordinary things. These ordinary people were sinners like us that stumbled and fell while on their journey, eventually finding solid footing and continuing their pursuit of goodness, truth, beauty, justice, and love. Continue reading
October 11, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard parent community, but also an open letter to any adult attending high school athletic events:
This may not be the most popular letter I’ve ever written, but I feel a need to write it.
This is an open letter to all adult fans of high school athletic contests. It begins with a simple question: “Is it really necessary to have alcohol at pre-game tailgate parties at high school football games (or any other athletic event)?”
You may be able to guess my answer based on the biased wording of the question. Continue reading
October 4, 2018
The following is my weekly letter to the Bishop Chatard HS parent community:
On September 19, Bishop Chatard held its Annual Fund Dinner. Thank you to all who attended! The highlight for me were our two senior speakers, who spoke so eloquently about their school and their faith.
The following was the reflection offered by BCHS senior Claire Williams:
“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts.” Colossians 3:15
A simple phrase with a depth of meaning so profound and enlightening, we can never fully understand it.
But we can try.
The human heart in a figurative sense, meaning our emotions and passions, is not something that is traditionally “controlled”. Modern culture has promoted, and even praised, the idea of “following your heart” in a spontaneous and carefree way. And there’s some truth to that. Our hearts are not supposed to be refined or constricted. Our feelings should be free to flow naturally, and guided in a way that reveals our true identity as humans. Continue reading
