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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholic Faith | Homily Video | Learn more about our faith | Scripture
As part of my ministry as chaplain to a pro-life club at the University of Portland, I interacted for many years with a wonderful group called the Equal Rights Institute, or ERI. One of their primary missions is to train pro-life advocates to have conversations with abortion supporters, especially on high school and college campuses. They take a very data-driven approach to this mission, testing out many pro-life arguments “in the field” and employing or modifying their arguments accordingly. Their over-arching desire is to try to identify those pro-life approaches that are not only accurate, but, more important, would move the hearts and minds of people who aren’t yet pro-life. They often remind the students they train that the goal is not to win an argument or a debate, but to win over people.
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Blessings | Learn more about our faith | Poverty
When I joined the Congregation of Holy Cross as a seminarian, our formation staff, composed of two Holy Cross expatriates, was deeply involved in the social teaching of the preferential option for the poor. They opted to place our formation house in one of Nairobi's largest slums. They emphasized the importance of living a simple life, identifying with the poor and the needy. We barely had any amenities for a student studying theology. One day, one of us, who was accustomed to stirring the waters with his provocative utterances, confronted the rector; we Africans come from poor villages, humble beginnings, lived all our lives in poverty, why do you force us to glorify poverty, or push us into even more unfortunate and miserable situations again? What is there to learn that we haven’t experienced? Don’t ask me what happened to him later. Blessed Are Those From the Gospel today, to many, it may sound strange that Jesus should declare the poor, the hungry, and those who weep as happy and blessed, and then a hopeless future for the rich. Probably many of us might find it disturbing, who does not need comfort, safety, and a good life!
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Learn more about our faith | Video homily | Weekday homily
In June 2025, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile released its first spectacular images of the universe. What fascinated me was not only the images themselves, but how long they had taken to arrive. The project had been dreamed about for decades. Scientists designed enormous mirrors, built a camera weighing several tons, hauled equipment high into the Andes, calibrated instruments, corrected tiny errors, and waited. For years, there was tremendous work and almost nothing for the public to see. Then one day, the images started appearing, filled with millions of stars and galaxies, and a look into the vastness of the universe. What looked like a sudden achievement was actually the visible result of years of invisible preparation. That is perhaps a beautiful way to understand the day of Mary's birth. When Mary was born, apparently nothing happened. No angelic choir was reported over her house. No star appeared. No emperor lost sleep. Somewhere in an ordinary Jewish family, a baby girl was born, cried, needed feeding, and probably kept somebody awake at two in the morning. Even the grandmother may have looked at her and said what grandmothers have been saying ever since: “She is beautiful. Of course, she looks like our side of the family.” Watch Video Here
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NASA has discovered something rather strange about astronauts: when they spend time in space, they actually become taller. Without gravity constantly compressing the spine, the vertebrae separate slightly, and the body can stretch by as much as three percent. A six-foot astronaut may temporarily gain nearly two inches. Apparently, if you want to become taller, there is still hope. The only small inconvenience is that you may have to leave the planet. But there is something beautiful in that image. When the environment changes, the body adjusts. It stretches. That is very close to what Jesus is getting at in today’s Gospel. New wine is still fermenting; it expands. A fresh wineskin can expand with it. An old, hardened one cannot. The problem is not that the wine is bad. The problem is that the container has lost its ability to stretch.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is something beautiful in today's Gospel. Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes into Simon Peter's home. And there he discovers that Peter's mother-in-law is sick. I love that detail. Jesus doesn't care only about Peter. He cares about Peter's family. He enters the home. He sees their concern. He comes close to her. And he heals her.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is something that happens in almost every family gathering. Somebody arrives late, sits quietly, hardly eats, and leaves early. Before the car has even disappeared from the driveway, the committee begins its investigation. “Something is wrong.” “He looked upset.” “She did not speak to me.” “They must be having problems.” Within ten minutes, people who have no actual information have produced a full documentary, complete with motive, and a conclusion with background music. Saint Paul says something today that should make all of us slightly less confident: “Who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within?”
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