One Catholic Life Blog

Karate Kid - Wax on Wax Off

Wax on, Wax Off – Homily for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Once upon a time there was a preacher who was worried about his congregation. They were good people, people who loved Jesus, people who had embraced the Christian way of life. But there came a time when they became exhausted. They were tired— tired of serving the world, tired of worship, tired of being seen as peculiar and whispered about in society, tired of the spiritual struggle, tired of trying to keep their prayer life going. Attendance at church was down, the people were losing confidence, and many...

Wedding Cake

The Imperfect Rehearsal Dinner – Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings offer us a contrast between two people visited by the Lord. The Lord comes to their homes, and we see two different reactions; I’m not speaking here of Martha and Mary, but of Martha and Abraham. Now, there are definitely differences between the way Martha responds to her encounter with Jesus, and the way Mary responds. But if we focus only on Martha and Mary, we may get the mistaken idea that Mary’s contemplation is superior to Martha’s service. But by comparing and contrasting Martha and...

Ryan and Teresa Senger

Castles in the Air: A Wedding Homily for My Son and His Bride

Yesterday I had the great honor to officiate the wedding of my son, Ryan, and his wife Teresa. Here is the homily from that ceremony: Brenda and I have had the best time watching Ryan and Teresa get ready for this day, and we’ve enjoyed getting ready for it ourselves. One of the things I had to do for the wedding was pick up the dry cleaning a few days ago from a place out in the valley, off Pines near Broadway. After I picked it up, instead...

Bible

In Your Own Words – Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

One of the most dreaded phrases in classrooms everywhere is “in your own words.” “Explain the causes of the Civil War in your own words.” “Describe the process of photosynthesis in your own words.” Teachers love the phrase because it requires students to do deep thinking; and students dread the phrase, because it requires them to do deep thinking. It may seem cruel of me to be talking about school so soon after summer vacation has begun, but I only bring it up because of what happens in...

Andrei Rublev- The Trinity

An Icon of the Holy Trinity – Homily for Trinity Sunday Year C

Not long ago we celebrated the Ascension, and this was the first year we could celebrate that feast with the beautiful icon of the Ascension greeting us as we walked into the Church. On this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity I am reminded of another icon, perhaps the most famous icon of them all, the icon of the Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev. Rublev painted, or wrote, this icon in 1425 for the church of St. Sergius near Moscow, Russia, and it’s regarded as one of the highest...

Appearance Behind Locked Doors

Peace Be With You – Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter

Suppose we had a time machine and we traveled back in time to talk to Simon Peter before he met Jesus. And what if we asked him, “What would a peaceful life look like to you?” I wonder what he might say. Maybe he’d say, “Well, a peaceful life would be one where my fishing business would continue to thrive. I would catch lots of fish each day, sell them all, and support my family comfortably. My wife and I would live in harmony and raise our children...

#CatholicEdChat Founders

#CatholicEdChat TweetUp at #NCEA16

The founders of #CatholicEdChat @ncara @nsenger @BarbInNebraska began November 3rd 2012 #NCEA16 pic.twitter.com/ysYMYRdn7Q — Barb Gilman (@BarbInNebraska) April 2, 2016 It was great to see so many Catholic educators at NCEA 2016, but I especially enjoyed meeting those who are part of #CatholicEdChat on Twitter every Saturday morning. There were over one hundred members of #CatholicEdChat who came together to meet in person and socialize. I’ve not been able to attend to many chats in the last year, but I hope to be more active in the coming months....

Figurehead of HMS Surprise

Below Deck on the HMS Surprise

One of my favorite books is actually an entire series–the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. You may have seen the movie based on the books, Master and Commander, starring Russell Crowe. The series is about the exploits of Captain Jack Aubrey and his best friend Dr. Stephen Maturin. They sail on many ships in the series, but the ship that is dearest to them is the HMS Surprise. It was a real treat for me to discover that the HMS Surprise that was used in the movie is...