Parish News

May 3, 2026

As this column illustrated last week, we live in a world of power-mongering. Jesus lived in such a world as well. Has our human world ever been other than that? It’s one of the major ways God’s kingdom is different from the human kingdoms we build. Jesus reminded his disciples that those who are recognized as rulers tend to lord it over their subjects (Mark 10:42). The so-called “empire great ones” like to make their authority over others felt. But Jesus cautioned his disciples that such was not going to be the case among them. Instead, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant …” (Mark 10:42-44) .

Jesus had no trouble identifying those things of the secular world as opposed to those things of God’s world. So he advised those who questioned him in Mark 12:17 to “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Of course, Jesus knew absolutely everything in the world belonged to God. But we humans like to give ourselves credit. Jesus’ words in Luke 12:15 to “Take care to guard against all greed …” constitute good advice for all generations. Jesus was not greedy and we shouldn’t be either.

April 26, 2026

The story of the multiplication of the loaves of bread and the fish that fed a huge crowd appears in all four gospel accounts. This story obviously revealed a very important lesson that the gospel writers wanted people to grasp about God. In Mark’s account (6:34+), the disciples wanted Jesus to dismiss the crowd so they could go and find their own food. But Jesus’ response to the disciples was “Give them some food yourselves.” (Mark 6:37) The disciples must have been mortified! That was unimaginable, given the size of the crowd. So Jesus showed them there was enough.

The food that Jesus blessed and then gave to his disciples to give to the people ended up being enough for all. According to Mark 6:42, “They all ate and were satisfied.” In fact, there were leftovers. Jesus believed in God’s great generosity, which he illustrated for his disciples so they could make that known to others. God created our earthly home to produce enough food to meet the basic needs of all of us. God has provided. Then why do so many go hungry? Because we humans create obstacles: we are competitive; we take more than we need; we want to control the supply; we use basic necessities as leverage. And that means many go without, even though there is enough. Our job as disciples is to share what God has provided for everyone. Perhaps that’s why Jesus said “Give to everyone who asks of you …” (Luke 6:30).

April 19, 2026

Let’s take a look at some additional words and actions from Jesus that can help form us as Christian disciples. The gospels are filled with the encouraging words of Jesus that follow the theme of harboring no fear. This comes in a variety of forms: “take courage” (Mark 6:50); “do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:10); “do not worry about your life” (Luke 12:22); “do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). In fact, there are hundreds of references throughout scripture that essentially tell people to not be afraid. Why is this so prevalent in scripture? Why does Jesus reprise this advice? There are many legitimate things to be afraid of. But we humans fear a lot of things we don’t need to, because they never actually materialize or they are out of our control and not worth worrying about.

Jesus wanted people to focus on the bigger picture, as he did. So he told them “do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul …” (Matthew 10:28). This is part of what we are still celebrating in this current Easter season. Jesus wanted people to remember that their lives were of great value, no matter what their society told them or how they were treated. That’s why Jesus called his disciples “friends” (John 15:15). Their lives mattered to God, who would keep them in his name (John 17:11). Can we convince ourselves to remember that ultimately God is in control of everything?

April 12, 2026

Jesus traveled throughout Israel, teaching people about illness and healing, about what was acceptable conduct on the Sabbath, about judgment and about forgiveness and mercy. He offered his own interpretation of the Mosaic law and of the role of the religious leaders. He offered his own take on the most important of the commandments and on how to pray. Jesus often used the phrase “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” (Mark 4:9) Many likely found Jesus difficult to understand: he challenged their given point of view and spoke at levels above their basic understanding.

Luke’s gospel offers this take on Jesus’ words: “ … blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11:28) For Jesus, to truly hear required obedience to what was heard. So Jesus reminded his listeners that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) Jesus certainly did all that. And every disciple of his — including us — would have to learn over time that everything that came out of Jesus’ mouth was the “Word of God” and everything Jesus did was intended to manifest his all-encompassing love for God. We are called to follow his lead.

April 5, 2026

As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee (Mark 1:16-17), he noticed some fishermen and he called them to “Come after me … .” Sometimes scripture uses the language of “Follow me.” (Mark 2:14) What was he asking of these fishermen and later, of Levi the tax collector? He was asking them to look beyond their former way of life and truly embrace the godly. They probably already thought they were following the godly. They were faithful Jews who likely prayed daily, attended their local synagogue every Sabbath and made pilgrimages to the Temple on the required annual feasts. What else did they need to do?

Jesus wanted them to share in his work and that meant to elevate God to be the first priority in their lives. That’s how Jesus lived. Everywhere he went, he taught people about God. He invited them to learn God’s ways and to enter more deeply into a trusting and loving relationship with God. Jesus made a call on the lives of these men who would become his closest disciples. He invited them to learn from him and then teach and model that to others – like us. Jesus was fulfilling the call on his life to preach and teach about his — and our — Heavenly Father. That call included his sacrificial death and resurrection to new life. That is what we are celebrating today. Happy Easter!

March 29, 2026

Scripture scholars believe that Mark’s gospel was the first one to make it into written form, so we’ll begin there. Among the first words Jesus uttered to anyone within earshot were “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). What does it mean to repent? The word “repent” means to turn around and follow a different path. It means your heart is in the wrong place and you need to think and behave differently. Jesus wanted people to hear what he was preaching – the “good news” – the gospel of God, that the kingdom of God was nearer than they thought. Jesus often said the kingdom of God was in their midst or was at hand (Mark 1:15). Our hands are never very far from the rest of our bodies. So Jesus must have been saying that the way things are in God’s world is possible in the here and now, in spite of all the undesirable external circumstances of life.

Life for most people in Jesus’s time was difficult. They lived under the oppressive regime of the Roman Empire. They had to pay taxes to help fund the Roman government. Every aspect of daily life was a struggle through the pain of physical labor and emotional distress. They could not have imagined that their lives were a reflection of the way things are in God’s world. But Jesus said “. . . the kingdom of God has come upon you …” (Matthew 12:28) and he intended to show them how that could be a reality even in the midst of their suffering.

March 22, 2026

If we attach the label of “Christian” to ourselves, it means that we should always be in the process of transforming our old self into a new self by more closely imitating Jesus Christ in our interior life and outward actions; what St. Thomas a Kempis called “imitatio Christi.” Our goal is to become a Christ mini-me if you will. And that comes with tremendous responsibility. The early Christians were originally called people of “the way” given that Jesus had said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) When the label “Christian” was used to refer to those who were followers of Jesus, it was intended to be a very derogatory term. It referred to those people whose leader was shamefully executed as a common criminal. And who in their right mind would want to be associated with, much less a follower of, such a person?

By calling ourselves “Christian,” it means we are disciples of Christ. And a disciple is a follower, an apprentice, a student learner. And that learning process takes a lifetime. We are always works in progress. Fortunately God is very patient – and forgiving. To grow in discipleship requires taking on the mind, the speech and the actions of Jesus Christ. So this column is going to explore what Jesus said and did, and what he told us to do, in order to help us conform our lives to the greater imitation of Christ. Meet us back here next week and we’ll get started.

March 15, 2026

For several weeks, this column has been citing Scripture references to the work of the angels. In a nutshell, angels are God’s representatives and servants, obeying His commands and carrying out God’s will (see Psalm 103:20). In Matthew 25:31-32, Jesus told his audience that “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne and all the nations will be assembled before him.” He of course was referring to himself. Basically, we believe in the presence of and work of angels because Jesus did.

The Letter to the Hebrews makes very direct comparisons between the angels and Jesus as God’s begotten and beloved Son, who is higher than the angels. The angels are to worship the son (1:6) and it is only the son to whom God said “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (1:13) Hebrews 13:2 reminds us of the importance of hospitality and mutual love: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.” Angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” (1:14). That’s us. And what a gift that truly is!

March 8, 2026

The Catholic Church, through Scripture and Tradition, teaches that angels are real. They were created by God, through and for Christ. They are spiritual creatures, who have no bodies. They do not get sick or feel pain or need to eat or sleep. As spiritual beings, they are immortal and cannot die. That makes them superior to humans since they are greater in power and of a higher order than humans. Those angels in heaven cannot sin or be tempted to sin. Angels were created as angels and remain angels for eternity.

But like us humans, angels have intelligence and free will. They can become human in appearance as this column has noted from Scripture, which often depicts them as masculine in name and character to promote their authority. Angels are not all-knowing like God. They are also not omnipresent like God; they go from place to place as God sends them. We are to allow ourselves to be guided by angels, but we are not to worship them. Angels are manifestations of God’s presence and part of the great “cloud of witnesses” God has provided to help nurture our Christian life.

March 1, 2026

Let’s shift gears in our coverage of angels as helpers to humans and move to the dark side. Not all angels do the bidding of God, in spite of the fact that they were created to love and serve God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 391-395, explains that some freely chose to rebel against God, refused to submit to God’s dominion and were thereby cast out of heaven. Jesus said such creatures would go to the eternal fire prepared for them (Matthew 25:41). The Gospels describe the devil or Satan as the tempter (Matthew 4:3), a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44) and the prince of demons (Mark 3:22). In the face of temptation, we would be wise to invoke Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:10: “Get away, Satan!”

Scripture goes on to tell us it was Satan who incited Judas to betray Jesus, according to the gospel of Luke 22:3. It was Satan who induced Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit, which essentially led to his death (Acts 5:3,5). St. Paul blamed an angel of Satan for the “thorn” in his flesh that plagued him for some time, according to 2 Corinthians 12:7. St. Peter, speaking of the devil as one who prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), advises us that the devil, or any fallen angel, is not someone we want to be associated with. We are cautioned to remain vigilant and steadfast in faith in order to resist evil influences.

February 22, 2026

Since angels are supernatural beings, they can be involved in supernatural events. Scripture offers us several examples. Moses encountered the angel of the LORD in the fire flaming out of a burning bush, which was completely engulfed in flame, yet not consumed (Exodus 3:2). Exodus 13:21 manifests the presence of an angel of God in a pillar of cloud and fire, serving as a beacon to lead Israel away from slavery and Egypt. It was an angel who blocked the road so that Balaam’s donkey would not move. God then allowed the donkey to speak to Balaam and explain the angel presence (Numbers 22:22+).

When three friends of the prophet Daniel were thrown into the fiery furnace for not bowing down to the golden statue as required by a pagan king, it was an angel of the LORD who kept them safe (Daniel 3:46-51), according to God’s plan to deliver them and spare their lives. And it was an angel who had the strength to roll away the large stone that blocked the mouth of the tomb where Jesus had been laid after his death by crucifixion (Matthew 28:2).

February 15, 2026

The Book of Tobit is a bit of a one-stop shopping when it comes to the breadth and depth of the work of angels. This biblical short story unfolds the journey of Tobiah, the son of Tobit, a righteous man, who suffers blindness and sends his son on a long journey to retrieve money deposited years earlier with his kinsman. Tobiah finds a traveling companion, who just happens to be the archangel Raphael, known as a guide for travelers, a divine healer and a patron of the sick. But Tobiah is unaware of his companion’s true identity. Throughout the course of the story, Raphael leads Tobiah to the kinsman he has never met. He protects him along the way, given that travel alone was very dangerous.

Raphael also instructs Tobiah in prayer and acts as a mediator of prayer, carrying human prayers to God and God’s messages to humans. He facilitates the healing of both Tobiah’s bride, Sarah, and Tobiah’s father, Tobit. The angel Raphael also reveals God’s plans for Tobiah, Sarah and Tobit. All of the instructions Raphael gives Tobiah help move the story toward a happy ending. It is only at the end of the story that Raphael reveals his name to this family. But throughout the entire story, they all did their part to fulfill God’s plan for their lives — with a little help from a friend.

February 8, 2026

Angels have served God in a multitude of capacities. In the Old Testament, it was angels who guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24) after God expelled Adam and Eve. It was also angels who stood guard over the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:17+). It was usually an angel who was sent to destroy an enemy of Israel, for example, in the final plague on the people of Egypt prior to the Exodus (Exodus 12:29). Isaiah 6:7 tells us it was an angel who purged his sin using a burning ember, rendering him able to be God’s prophetic mouthpiece.

Matthew 13:39-43 tells us it is angels who will be sent to collect the evil-doers out of the world and to throw them into the fiery furnace, while the righteous will dwell in the kingdom of God. It is also angels who surround Jesus Christ when he sits upon his glorious throne (Matthew 25:31). Jesus said the angels would rejoice with God when sinners repent (Luke 15:10). And Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are ministering spirits, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. We hope that includes us.

February 1, 2026

Angels can also teach us about the proper stance to bring to God in worship. The Book of Nehemiah 9:6 recalls a prayer by the Levitical priests. The prayer speaks of the heavenly hosts of angels bowing down before God. Bowing, then, is an appropriate posture to take in the presence of the Almighty. The Psalms speak of the appropriateness of all the angels blessing God (103:20) and praising God (148:2). If they bless and praise God, certainly we should as well.

In chapter 6 of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah wrote of his call to prophecy. That call included angels crying out in verse 3 “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” These are words we continue to use in prayer during the Mass. Moving to the New Testament and the Book of Revelation (5:11-12, 14), many angels surround the throne of God and announce that it is the Lamb who is worthy of honor, glory and blessing. Our Church takes the worship of the angels in heaven to be the prototype of our own worship here on earth. We do not worship angels, as our worship is reserved for God alone. But we can certainly learn how to honor God with song and praise by following their lead.

January 25, 2026

Scripture also captures instances of angels offering us protection. It was angels who forced Lot and his family to leave just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:15,17) so they would be spared. In Genesis 22, Abraham was attempting to follow-through in obedience to offer his beloved son back to God as a sacrificial offering. Just as Abraham poised the knife over Isaac, “the angel of the LORD” called to him to stop him from slaying his son (22:11-12). The angel’s protection of Isaac allowed for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that he would have many descendants who would be a blessing to the nations of the earth.

In Exodus 13:21, the angel of the LORD preceded the Israelites as they began to march out of Egypt toward freedom. When Pharaoh sent his army after Israel, the angel of God moved (Exodus 14:20-21) and went behind them so the Egyptian army could not come any closer to Israel, thus offering them protection and allowing them to escape from the pursuing army of Pharaoh. If we flip over to the New Testament, it was an angel who assured Paul, and all who were sailing with him, that they would wind up safely on land after getting caught in a hurricane force wind off the Isle of Crete. Ultimately they reached the shore of Malta safely and no one was lost (Acts 27:21-26 and 28:1).

January 18, 2026

Scripture also offers us stories of people who were led and guided by angels. An angel directed the apostle Philip (Acts 8:26) to catch up with an Ethiopian official and teach him what the Scriptures said about Jesus. After evangelizing, Philip then baptized the man who went happily on his way. Also in the Book of Acts (10:3), an angel told the Roman centurion Cornelius to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter came to him, preached about Jesus and then baptized Cornelius and his household.

Acts also gives us two accounts of angels opening the doors and leading Peter out of prison, once by himself and another time accompanied by other companions (12:7+ and 5:19). Psalm 91:11 tells us God “commands his angels with regard to you, to guard you wherever you go.” Jesus spoke of “little ones” having angels in heaven (Matthew 18:10) who represent them before God. We were all taught that we have a guardian angel looking over us. For many of us, that was possibly one of the first prayers we learned – the prayer requesting the aid of our Guardian angel: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

January 11, 2026

In the past, angels did more than make proclamations and announcements of good news. They also acted as encouragers, strengthening and ministering to those to whom they were sent by God. In Genesis 21:14-18, Hagar and Ishmael were banished from Abraham’’s household. As they wandered in the wilderness, they were visited by an angel, who encouraged them to persevere and let go of their fear of being outcasts. In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah was on the run from Queen Jezebel, fearing for his life. He even prayed for death. But an angel provided food and water and got him to eat so that he would have the strength to endure the remainder of his long journey to Mt. Horeb to encounter God.

It was angels who ministered to Jesus after his 40 day fast in the desert (Matthew 4:11), which included a few sizable temptations by the devil. And in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), on the eve of his crucifixion when Jesus was in such agony, it was an angel who strengthened him to persevere. If Jesus needed help getting through some tough times, surely we mere mortals could benefit from a supernatural helping hand as well.

January 4, 2026

Scripture gives us many other instances of angels announcing good news to humans. It was an angel who told Abraham and Sarah that in spite of their long history of infertility, they would have a child (Genesis 18:10). An angel told the priest Zechariah that his previously barren wife Elizabeth would bear a son, which they were to name John, later known as John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-17). This encounter took place while Zechariah was serving in the sanctuary and the people were outside praying. The prophet Daniel was also engaged in prayer when he was visited by an angel who said he had come to Daniel to announce the answer to his prayer petition (Daniel 9:20-23).

It was also angels who told Mary Magdalene and some other female disciples that Jesus had been raised from the dead (Luke 24:4-12). They in turn told the apostles, which motivated Peter in disbelief to head to Jesus’ tomb. Peter indeed confirmed that news, but remained utterly amazed. And it was angels who told the apostles that Jesus had ascended into heaven and that he would someday return (Acts 1:10-11). Angels played a significant role in sharing divine revelations with both our Jewish and early Christian ancestors in faith.

December 28, 2025

One of the gospel passages typically read during a Christmas Eve Mass recalls the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. After that marvelous event, an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds in the nearby fields to proclaim “good news of great joy” for all people — that a savior had been born (Luke 2:10-11). Here again, we have an instance of an angel serving as a messenger of good news, in this case to shepherds. Shepherds sat very close to the bottom rung of their society, where good news was probably hard to come by. How blessed they were to be chosen as the first recipients of such life altering news.

Today, in our liturgical calendar, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family — Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Our gospel reading from Matthew 2:13-15 and 19-23 mentions two incidents of an angel of the Lord appearing in a dream to Joseph. In the first appearance, the angel commands Joseph to take Jesus and Mary and flee to Egypt in order to keep them safe from the intention of King Herod to destroy Jesus. And Joseph obeyed. It’s always a good idea to follow God’s plan. In this particular case, it was an act of significant importance. After Herod’s death, Joseph was commanded to return to Israel, which he again obeyed. The holy family returned to Israel and settled into the town of Nazareth in the region of Galilee. 

December 21. 2025

The English word “angel” comes from a word meaning “messenger.” We tend to think of angels as deliverers of good messages. But non-angels have delivered good messages as well. This column has recently completed a long series on evangelization in which we explored the witness of shepherds, disciples, apostles and evangelists as bearers of good news, defined as an “evangel.” That series also encouraged us to be conveyors of good news — evangelists — with regard to Jesus Christ.

An early reference to angels in the New Testament comes to us from Chapter 1 in Luke’s Gospel. An angel, identified as Gabriel, which means “man of God” or “God is my strength,” appeared to Mary of Nazareth and announced she had been chosen to bear the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38). As messengers, one of the primary roles of angels is to bring news from God and to make divine announcements to humans. This week we celebrate the fulfillment of that message of glad tidings to Mary as we enter into the great season of Christmas. So we wish all of you a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

December 14, 2025

We’ve come to the middle point of the liturgical season of Advent. And Advent will give way to one of the major events on our yearly liturgical calendar — the feast of Christmas. Both the seasons of Advent and Christmas feature the presence of angels in our Scripture readings. Many cultures in the ancient world believed in angels. Both our sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition attest to the presence of angels. Our Scriptures make almost 300 references to angels. Angels were staple figures in Judaism and the Old Testament writings and that carried over to Christianity and the New Testament writings.

So — who are the angels? Do we tend to think of angels as benign and helpful friends? Is there such a thing as a “bad” angel? What do we know about them? What do they do? Are they like us? What do we believe about them? Why are they important? Let’s go exploring. Stay with us as we dive into the world of supernatural beings which we call angels.

December 7, 2025

This column has been focusing on the topic of evangelization since January. We defined evangelization as the willingness to witness to the reality of God’s presence in the world. So we’re now circling back to where we started, having looked at many of our ancestors in faith who did just that. We started with Mother Mary birthing Christ into the world. Each Advent season reminds us that it’s now our job to continue birthing Christ into the world. We mentioned the shepherds who described the birth of Jesus as “good news of great joy” which they then shared with everyone they could. We looked at the role of the first disciples Jesus called and their efforts to spread the Gospel worldwide. If it hadn’t been for all of these, we would not be able to call ourselves Christians.

Our job as modern-day Christians is to keep the story moving forward, trusting that in due time, God’s grace will touch people’s hearts to accept it. We are the best candidates for sharing the gospel, the “good news” of the Risen Christ where and with whom we live, work, learn, recreate and socialize. We are members of the Body of Christ, Jesus’ Church — the public manifestation of His presence in today’s world. Will we keep the Great Story and legacy of Jesus Christ alive and well for future generations? Will we do our part to continue the mission of the Church? Relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are all capable of doing so.

November 30, 2025

We tend to think of the early Church as being very male dominated. And indeed it was. But there were many women involved as well. Women who were not treated well in secular society were very drawn to Christian beliefs and practices that included them and afforded them human dignity. Though it’s rare, some of the names of those women actually appear in Scripture. Given that some are named, it’s likely they acted in leadership roles in their communities. We can thank St. Paul for his letter to the Romans in which he acknowledges many female assistants.

Romans 16:1 cites Phoebe as a minister of a church in Greek territory. Paul goes on to recognize both Priscilla and her husband Aquila as saving his life. Interestingly, this husband and wife duo is cited six times in the New Testament and typically Priscilla is mentioned first. Perhaps she was the primary leader of her community. But in Romans 16, Paul goes on to cite Mary, Junia, and Olympas by name. He was obviously very grateful to all — including women — who assisted him in keeping the church communities that he founded alive and flourishing. We can all — male and female, young and old — play a part in keeping our local church community alive and thriving as well.

November 23, 2025

While Paul was traveling through Corinth, he met a Jew by the name of Aquila. He and his wife Priscilla had been in Rome in the year 49 when the Emperor Claudius had expelled all the Jews from the imperial city of Rome. Apparently they had landed in Corinth. They were tent makers by trade, as was Paul. So they likely had considerable interaction with Paul. In Acts 18:26, Priscilla and Aquila are given credit for teaching the faith more accurately to Apollos, an eloquent speaker and an authority on scripture. He eventually established from scripture that Jesus was the Messiah.

Apollos preached to large audiences. Paul traveled extensively to build up the Church. But Aquila and Priscilla had a different calling. 1 Corinthians 16:19 tells us they had a church at their house. Early Christians gathered in people’s homes to learn the faith and celebrate the Eucharist. So Aquila and Priscilla must have served as house church leaders, building up the wider community of believers. Like Lydia, it seems they incorporated their Christian faith and lifestyle into their everyday life and work. The Church continued to expand and flourish because disciples like Aquila and Priscilla were willing to step up into leadership roles. The Church can continue to grow if we do the same.

November 16, 2025

As part of their travels, Paul and Timothy arrived in Philippi which was a Roman colony in the Greek territory of Macedonia. As they moved from city to city, they would seek out places to pray, which might take them outside of the city gates. In Philippi, they encountered a group of women, including Lydia (Acts 16:14). Lydia is described as “a dealer in purple cloth” which meant she was a business woman and likely rather well-to-do. But more importantly, she is described as “a worshiper of God,” so she was already a spiritual seeker.

She paid rather close attention to Paul’s preaching. His message must have resonated with her deeply, as she and her household were then baptized. She then extended an invitation of hospitality to Paul and his companions to stay at her home. They must have taken her up on it. Lydia is someone who many of us might be able to resonate with. She did not change her occupation or her geographical location once she became a Christian. Rather, she incorporated her growing faith into the daily routines of her life. And it’s okay for us to do the same.

November 9, 2025

Saul, who after his dramatic conversion became known as Paul, can certainly be counted among the great evangelists in our Christian history. As soon as he was prayed over and baptized (Acts 9:20), he “began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” That was a 180 from where he started, which included threatening and persecuting Christian disciples. Paul’s speaking and debating skills made him many enemies, who conspired to kill him.

Ultimately, Paul undertook three lengthy mission trips over which he spread the good news of the Risen Christ, started many church communities and welcomed many new Christian disciples into the fold of the Church. His traveling companions included Timothy, who had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. In their travels (see Acts 16:4), “they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.” And so the Church continued to grow. Not all of us are called to be traveling missionaries. But as members of the Catholic Church, we are called to share in the Church’s mission to evangelize and spread the Good New of Jesus Christ, even if that’s only in our little corner of the world.

November 2, 2025

Acts 10 tells us Cornelius was a centurion and therefore a Gentile. But he is also described as a God-fearer and someone who was generous with the Jewish people and prayed to their God. So his actions certainly stood as witness to Divine Presence. Cornelius invited Peter into his home and in preparation for that visit, invited many of his own relatives and friends to meet Peter as well. As a Jew, Peter knew it was against the Mosaic law for him to enter the household of a Gentile. They would not have been able to eat together due to the dietary rules of the Jews.

But Peter did indeed visit Cornelius in his home and came to believe that “God shows no partiality” to Jews over Gentiles or anyone else (vs. 34). Following Peter’s proclamation of the life of Jesus to the Gentile audience, the Holy Spirit came upon all who were listening. They then were baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (10:48). Ultimately Peter had to explain what he had done to his fellow apostles and disciples. They affirmed his actions and glorified God (Acts 11:18) for granting “life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” We are called to remember that no one is outside the reach of the Risen Christ.

October 26, 2025

We know that throughout our Catholic history, persecution has been a consequence of faith in Jesus. Yet, in spite of pushback, we are still expected to keep the Good News of Christ alive. Acts 8 recalls the persecution that broke out targeting the Christians in the city of Jerusalem, which scattered disciples. Philip ended up traveling to Samaria and “proclaimed the Messiah” to the people there (8:5). Apparently they received his message with great joy. Philip then headed south toward Gaza and on the road encountered an Ethiopian court official returning home. He had come to Jerusalem to worship — presumably at the temple. In his chariot he was reading the words of the prophet Isaiah with regard to the suffering servant. But he didn’t understand to whom the words applied.

Philip joined him in the chariot (8:35) and “proclaimed Jesus to him.” The Ethiopian then allowed Philip to baptize him, after which he continued on his journey home rejoicing. Scripture does not tell us what happened once the official got home, but we can certainly imagine him sharing his newfound joy with everyone he knew and spreading the “good news” of Jesus throughout his home turf in Africa. And isn’t that pretty much how evangelization works?

October 19, 2025

In the days that followed the death of Jesus, the 11 remaining apostles recognized their responsibility to keep the stories of Jesus circulating. And they needed additional helpers to do that. So they looked to appoint a successor to Judas, as it fell to them to find another to “take his office.” (Acts 1:20). They met, and with the help of God, chose Matthias. He joined the other 11 and they continued to spread the Good News about Jesus. As the number of Christian disciples began to grow, the number of ministers and leaders also needed to expand. The 12 focused on preaching the word of God (Acts 6:2). But they needed others to assist in providing for the needs of the members of their growing community. So they selected 7 “reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom” to assist. One of those men was Stephen.

The apostles prayed over these men and “laid hands on them,” in essence ordaining them with divine blessings and help to carry out their ministries. All this was done in the presence of the larger Christian community. Then Stephen, who seemed to be especially “filled with grace and power,” went out and was “working great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) Stephen got into trouble for doing that. He entered into great debates with the Jewish religious authorities regarding who Jesus was — and they stoned him for it. Unfortunately, our evangelization efforts don’t always fall on receptive ears. But we must continue those efforts anyway.

October 12, 2025

We can be pretty sure that the 11 remaining apostles of Jesus were not running around talking about him after he had been brutally killed via crucifixion. Scripture gives us many episodes of them hiding behind locked doors and keeping to themselves. Surely they must have been afraid of meeting the same fate as Jesus. Plus, confusion and distress would have left them pondering the future. But that all changed when they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Acts 2 gives us the account of those 11 apostles coming out from behind locked doors and engaging the crowd in discussion about Jesus.

It was Peter who stood up and began to proclaim to the crowd the explanation for all that had happened in Jerusalem regarding Jesus over the course of the prior seven weeks. Specifically for the Jewish audience, Peter linked the events to the words of the prophets and to King David. Peter’s speech must have been very powerful since many took it to heart, accepted his message and were baptized that day. This is all the more astonishing considering this is the same Peter who bolted when Jesus was being interrogated and tortured by the Roman authorities, leading to his death. No matter how committed we are to Jesus, we all need additional opportunities to strengthen and demonstrate our commitment.

October 5, 2025

Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John recounts the first appearance of the Risen Christ to his disciples. But Thomas just happened to be absent that evening. When he returned, the other disciples told Thomas (in verse 25) “We have seen the Lord.” But he didn’t believe them! Hadn’t Thomas been traveling with this whole group for about three years, learning from Jesus? Did he seriously not trust his spiritual companions to tell him the truth? If they had been messing with him, that would have been a terribly cruel joke.

But we can’t fault Thomas for wanting to personally experience an encounter with Jesus, especially after Thomas knew Jesus had died. Thomas wanted concrete evidence that the Lord was indeed alive. After all, Jesus’ appearance did seem pretty far-fetched. But Jesus returned a week later and Thomas was present. He received the assurance he so desired. And after that, he was able to publicly and personally declare Jesus to be “My Lord and my God!” (vs. 28). Are you willing to publicly share your personal declarations regarding the Risen Christ?

September 28, 2025

Not everyone Jesus encountered was opposed to him. He did have devoted followers and friends who believed he was God’s revelation to the world. But even those friends needed help in strengthening their own discipleship. Two such friends were the sisters, Martha and Mary. Chapter 11 of John’s gospel gives us a lengthy interaction between Jesus and the two sisters. When their brother Lazarus was sick, Martha and Mary sent for Jesus. But Jesus did not arrive until after Lazarus had died. Martha went out to meet Jesus as he was coming into their town of Bethany. She ultimately expressed her complete trust in Jesus by declaring him to be “the Messiah, the Son of God” (vs. 27).

Mary eventually also went out to meet Jesus with a crowd of mourners accompanying her. Both women expressed to Jesus their belief that he could have saved their brother from death. And when Jesus did raise up their dead brother, they recognized that they were witnessing the glory of God. But they were not the only ones. All of those friends and neighbors who had come with them to the tomb of Lazarus were also witnesses to the glory of God. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

September 21, 2025

In Chapter 9 of John’s gospel, Jesus restored sight to a blind man. Jesus was taking an opportunity to educate his disciples so they would know that works of healing in Jesus’ name were actually works of God. Once this man, who had been blind from birth, regained his sight, he recalled his healing story to his neighbors. They weren’t sure what to make of that, so they took the matter to the religious leaders. The man repeated his story to the Pharisees, then declared Jesus to be a prophet. But the Pharisees threw him out of the synagogue, which meant he would be separated from his Jewish community. And that was avoided at all costs by faithful Jews.

Yet, this man courageously clung to his story and his healing. He stood up to his neighbors who offered all sorts of interpretations for his cure from blindness. He stood firm during the interrogation of his parents. And he refused to waiver from the truth while his situation was investigated by the Pharisees. The formerly blind man came to both believe in and worship Jesus. And he stood boldly behind his story. We should be willing to do the same with regard to our stories.

September 14, 2025

Sometimes the greatest evangelists are those you would least expect to fulfill that role. The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 would fall into that category. Due to her reputation, she stayed away from other members of her community, coming to the well to draw water at the least desirable time of the day. It is there that she had an encounter with Jesus. A prolonged interaction with Jesus opened her eyes and her heart to more important matters. Simply through dialogue and perhaps her own receptivity, she evolved in her understanding of who Jesus was.

As a result, she went through her town to the very people she had been actively avoiding and proclaimed Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. As a female in her time and place, she was not considered to be a reliable witness to anything. As a Samaritan, she was looked upon as an enemy of the Jews. And yet, she boldly pointed people to Jesus. The townspeople took the bait and spent two days listening to Jesus. Then they proclaimed him “the savior of the world” (John 3:42). She only needed to do her part by sharing her story. Jesus took it from there. He will do the same when we share our stories with others.

September 7, 2025

In Chapter 3 of John’s gospel, a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus paid a visit to Jesus in the dead of night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, most of whom were opposed to Jesus and his interpretation of Jewish laws. But Nicodemus had recognized that God must have been working through Jesus, due to all the remarkable teachings and signs he had performed. Jesus rebuked Nicodemus for his lack of understanding of the ways of God, especially since he was charged with teaching those ways to his fellow Jews.

Nicodemus shows up again in John 7:50 when he questions the other Pharisees for seemingly condemning Jesus before they even knew his full story. And Nicodemus took the rebuke for speaking up. Nicodemus would later redeem himself after Jesus’ death by assisting Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus’ body for burial and placing him in a new tomb (see John 19:38+). Nicodemus’ journey of faith seems to have been a gradual one. It started with receptivity, was followed by a simple inquiry, which in turn led to a very tangible act of love. We don’t know the rest of his story, but we suspect he was changed forever by his encounters with Jesus.

August 31, 2025

Chapter 24 of Luke’s gospel gives us a post-resurrection account of Jesus. Two of Jesus’ disciples leaving Jerusalem after the crucifixion were walking and talking about all the latest events. Jesus happened to draw near to them, but they did not recognize him. And isn’t that often the case for us as well! After journeying together, the two arrived at the village of Emmaus, and sat down to eat since it was evening. When Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it in front of their eyes and gave them some of it, they finally recognized him. So they immediately headed back to Jerusalem. Why?

They went to find the 11 disciples and all those others who were with them lamenting the death of Jesus. And they were rewarded with the testimony of Jesus having been raised from the dead and appearing to Peter. So the two in turn recounted their own story, attesting that the Lord had indeed risen and had made himself known “in the breaking of the bread.” This is still one of the primary ways that the Risen Lord makes himself known to us today. But even committed Christian disciples need to tell their stories of encounters with Christ to others. Evangelization must be ongoing.

August 24, 2025

Luke 19 offers us the story of Zacchaeus, a rather wealthy chief tax collector. Because of his status, it was likely that he was especially despised by his fellow Jews. It was common for tax collectors to garner their wealth by extorting their fellow Jews, collecting more money than the tax amount imposed by the Roman authorities. The likes of Zacchaeus would have pocketed the excess, thus causing even more suffering for their fellow countrymen, while becoming personally all the more rich. But when Zacchaeus encountered Jesus, he had a change of heart. And that’s why encounters with Jesus Christ are so important.

Jesus spoke to him personally and rather boldly invited himself to be a guest at Zacchaeus’ house. Luke tells us Zacchaeus received Jesus with joy. That’s not the first response we would imagine on the part of Zacchaeus, given the depth and duration of his sin of greed. Yet, joy points to the kind and depth of response that is possible as a result of an encounter with Jesus Christ. Zacchaeus promised restitution for the error of his ways. And although many who witnessed this exchange between Jesus and Zacchaeus would have found the idea of Jesus eating with a sinner rather repulsive, they ended up being witnesses to the formerly “lost” tax collector being saved and redeemed by the Son of Man. And that would have resulted in considerable conversation among the townspeople as to who was within the reach and the mercy of God.

August 17, 2025

In chapter 10 of Luke’s gospel, Jesus sent 72 out to become missionaries. They were to travel to a variety of towns and places, cure the sick and proclaim “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Although Jesus was a stellar evangelist, in the limitations of his humanity, even he needed others to help spread the message of God’s presence, divine power and healing love. But Jesus warned the 72 that he was sending them “like lambs among wolves.” And doesn’t it feel that way today? Those who believe in God and who are vocal or demonstrative about it often encounter opposition and persecution. In spite of that, Jesus told the missionaries to just keep moving forward to the next location.

Jesus continued to invite the people he encountered to follow him and to “go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” He continues to invite people today to do the same — including us. But perhaps we come up with excuses as to why we’re not ready to do that — just like some of the people of his day. Jesus recognized that if people rejected his missionaries, they were really rejecting Jesus and God. All disciples have the responsibility to be missionaries in their time and place. If we Christians are not willing to be proclaimers of the kingdom of God, then who will be?

August 10, 2025

Luke 7 gives us the story of a seemingly unqualified candidate to be evangelizing others about God. A Roman soldier had heard about Jesus and he must have taken that to heart. When one of his servants got sick, he turned to Jesus for help. The centurion believed in Jesus’ authority to heal and simply asked that Jesus speak words of healing for his servant. And that’s what Jesus did; he helped without even seeing or touching the servant, who regained his good health. Jesus was quite impressed with this show of faith from a pagan soldier.

Luke 8 offers us another unlikely candidate for proclaiming the good works of Jesus. A man who lived in pagan territory was possessed by demonic spirits. You can imagine that he would have drawn a crowd wherever he went, though people would have kept some distance out of fear. He declared Jesus to be the “son of the Most High God” (Luke 8:28). Even demons can recognize and name Jesus. Witnesses to this incident shared the story of how this possessed man had been saved. Jesus instructed the healed man to return home and recount what God had done for him — which is evangelization. He went off and proclaimed it throughout the whole town. Would you be inclined to believe such an astounding story without personally seeing the evidence of the before and after?

August 3, 2025

Let’s continue to revisit familiar stories of New Testament characters whose words and actions evangelized others around them. Luke 5:17-26 gives us the story of an anonymous sick man. We are not told the name of this man — just his condition. He was paralyzed and immobile, to the point where he had to be transported by others. Another thing we learn about him is that he had some awesome friends. The large crowd prevented them from entering through the doorway where Jesus was. So they lowered their friend down through the roof in order to bring him into the presence of Jesus. Did they want their friend to hear the life-giving words of Jesus? Did they hope that Jesus could and would heal him? Ultimately, Jesus did just that.

After his healing, the formerly paralyzed man picked up his mat and started to walk away. Luke tells us he went home, glorifying God. And all who had witnessed this miraculous healing were seized with astonishment and declared “We have seen incredible things today.” So they also glorified God publicly. Have you ever witnessed “incredible things” that moved you to a state of wonder and awe, after which you openly attributed them to the work of God?

July 27, 2025

John’s gospel gives us a different twist on the call of Jesus’ first disciples. According to John, Peter’s brother Andrew and an unidentified friend heard John the Baptist refer to Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (John 1:35+). So they followed Jesus and engaged in conversation with him. After spending some time with Jesus, Andrew went to find his brother Simon Peter and declared that he had “found the Messiah.” Andrew then introduced his brother to Jesus, who personally invited Peter to join him in his mission.

Similarly, Jesus invited Philip to follow him. In turn Philip found his friend Nathaniel and told him he had found “the one about whom Moses wrote in the law” and about whom the prophets had written (John 1:45). And isn’t this how evangelization works? One person has a memorable encounter with Jesus Christ and feels compelled to share that with another person. That’s exactly what we are called to do as modern-day Christian disciples — to share our life-changing divine encounters with others.

July 20, 2025

We know very little about Jesus’ childhood, so let’s fast forward to his adulthood and the beginning of his public ministry. All four gospels include an account of Jesus calling 12 disciples to assist him in his work as news of his healings and teachings began to spread. Let’s take a look at Luke’s account. Luke 5:1 notes that a crowd of people were pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God. What a great place to be! Jesus ended up getting into Peter’s boat, as the water would have helped to amplify his voice so it could be heard by all. But then Jesus told Peter to head out into deep water for a catch. Peter, and his fellow fishermen, complied and they caught a massive number of fish. Peter was awestruck at this and fell to his knees before Jesus, who then gave him a new commission to go out and catch people. And Peter, along with his business partners, left everything and followed Jesus.

Each of the men Jesus pursued had their own story of being called to discipleship. They then detached themselves from their former life in order to travel with and learn from Jesus. What must it have been like to get up close and personal with Jesus? Did they even recognize at the time that they were being fed the word of God every time he spoke? They of course had no clue as to what their lives would become by accepting Jesus’ invitation to discipleship. But accept they did. And they all stand in our history as courageous souls whose faith helped to change the world. This of course begs the question: Is my faith impacting the lives of others in my corner of the world?

July 13, 2025

We turn now to Simeon and Anna. Simeon’s story takes place in the temple in Jerusalem, about 40 days after Jesus’ birth. Mary and Joseph took their newborn baby to Jerusalem to be consecrated to the Lord as a first-born son. Simeon was at the temple that day. He is described in Luke 2:25+ as righteous and devout and filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that had revealed to Simeon that he would have the privilege of seeing the Messiah before he died. When Mary and Joseph arrived at the temple with Jesus, Simeon knew the salvation of the people of Israel would happen through Jesus.

In response to this privilege, Simeon blessed and praised God out loud. He wasn’t the only one. The elderly prophetess Anna was also there and she too recognized this special child and his role in the redemption of Israel. Like Simeon, Anna’s response was to publicly thank God and speak about this child to all who were within earshot at the temple that day. We are fortunate to have within our faith ancestry such spirit-filled and bold witnesses to the awesome works of God. Are we likely to be remembered as bold witnesses to the works of God?

July 6, 2025

We’re continuing to explore stories in the New Testament of those who witnessed to God’s Presence through their words, their actions and their lives. Today we’ll take a look at Joseph. Joseph’s story gives us a premier example of the strong, silent type. Scripture does not include a single word uttered from his mouth. But we can tell he was a really good listener and a man of action. Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as a “righteous man.” Mary was his betrothed, yet she ended up pregnant and he knew the child was not his. Apparently, he was also a compassionate man, because he was “unwilling to expose her to shame.” So, he decided to sever the relationship quietly. But God had other plans.

Through divine intervention, Joseph was instructed to wed Mary, to raise the child and to name him Jesus. And Joseph obeyed. When God asked him to protect the family from Herod and flee to Egypt, he obeyed (Matthew 2:14). And when God willed him to return to Israel and settle in Nazareth in the region of Galilee, he obeyed (Matthew 2:19-23). Joseph recognized God’s revelations to him and rather than talking about them, he chose to act on them. Joseph’s cooperative actions allowed God’s will to become reality. How and when has your cooperation with God helped to bring about God’s plans?

June 29, 2025

We’re all familiar with the brunt of Mary’s story. God intervened in her life in a big way, as described in Luke 1. And she believed the divine message that she was to bear a child whom God would claim as his own beloved Son, sent into the world to save his people. Mary followed through with her pregnancy, even though she was a young, unmarried girl who by law could be stoned to death for becoming pregnant outside of marriage. As we might expect, Mary is a major player in the infancy narratives, given to us in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. She herself had to ponder and wrestle with all these events in order to come to some wisdom and understanding of what they meant for her and for others.

We don’t hear much more about Mary during Jesus’ public ministry. She primarily factors in at his birth and at his death. John’s gospel (John 19:25) places her at the foot of the cross during Jesus’ crucifixion. Even though she likely would not have understood why that happened, she resolutely stayed with her beloved son during his time of greatest anguish. Acts 1:14 tells us that she could be found among the disciples in Jerusalem, praying with other members of what would become the first Christian community. Prayer is a sign of active belief, witnessing to Divine Presence. Even after Jesus’ death, Mary must have known that his life was of great importance and she would always be a part of his story.

June 22, 2025

Today we’ll address the stories of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Luke 1 introduces us to Elizabeth as the barren wife of the priest Zechariah, who had his own dramatic experience of God. A divine encounter while serving in the temple rendered Zechariah mute. And when Zechariah left the temple, all the people who had been outside praying realized he had had a supernatural encounter. Zechariah completed his priestly service and went home to Elizabeth, who then conceived her first child in her old age.

We catch up with Elizabeth six months later when she is paid a visit by her young relative, Mary, as we mentioned in last week’s column. Three months after that, John the Baptist was born. And when Zechariah affirmed in writing that the baby’s name would be John, he regained his speech and immediately evangelized, using his voice to bless God. Luke 1:65-66 tells us fear then came upon all their neighbors as a result. No doubt they stood in wonder and awe of this marvelous event! And that raised their expectations as to what God had called the child to become, because “surely the hand of the Lord was with him.” And indeed it was!

June 15, 2025

Let’s take a look at John’s story. According to Luke’s gospel, John the Baptist was already revealing the identity of Jesus while in utero. When a pregnant Mary went to visit her pregnant relative Elizabeth, John leapt for joy in the womb of his mother. These two expectant women shared the “good news” with each other. Elizabeth recognized and publicly declared that Mary was the mother of her Lord (Luke 1:42-44). How could she have known that? Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth testified to the Messiah and declared Mary blessed among women. Some 2,000 years later, we can testify that Jesus’ mother Mary continues to be honored and remembered as blessed.

All four gospels offer us an account of John the Baptist preaching in the desert, calling people to be baptized in the running water of the Jordan River as a show of repentance for their sins. As a faithful Jew from a priestly family, John was awaiting the coming of the Messiah. He was trying to prepare people for that event. And when Jesus arrived at the river bank, willing to undergo baptism, John somehow knew that Jesus was the one who ranked ahead of him — the one he would come to call the Lamb of God (John 1:29-30). So John baptized Jesus and spent the rest of his life pointing people to Jesus.

June 8, 2025

Fr. Jim Sichko, our Mission speaker, reminded us that we each have our own personal experiences of Divine encounter. And in keeping with the St. Thomas goal to enhance our evangelization efforts, we’re going to be offered opportunities to share our own stories. This column will revisit that at a later date. In the meantime, our sacred scriptures are filled with stories of our ancestors in faith and their personal encounters with the Living God.

Our faith ancestry includes the Jewish figures of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, as well as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Ruth. But we’re going to start with the stories of the people of Jesus’ time, including the 12 men called into discipleship, Mary Magdalene, Paul and Lydia. In the weeks to come, this column is going to highlight some of those stories in order to plant seeds for us to think about the simple or dramatic ways that God has worked in our own lives. While their experiences with Jesus Christ are their own, their stories are also an invitation for us to consider our own stories. Meet us back here next week as we begin exploring Divine intervention in the New Testament era.

June 1, 2025

According to our upcoming Mission speaker Fr. Jim Sichko, compassion rarely makes the news. And yet, ordinary people are constantly doing extraordinary things. But do we even notice when people are being bearers of Good News through their words or through simple acts of love and kindness on behalf of others? Pope Francis commissioned Fr. Jim to be 1 of 100 people to serve as a Papal Missionary of Mercy during the Jubilee year of 2015. And Fr. Jim has spent his time and energy bringing the mercy of Christ to people ever since.

So you are invited! Come to St. Thomas starting the evening of June 2 at 7:00 pm. That’s tomorrow night, folks! We’ll be meeting in the sanctuary to engage in “60 Minutes 4 Jesus.” Fr. Jim will use personal stories to help us recognize the good in ourselves and others. He will teach us how to discern God’s movement in our own life. He will challenge us to do our part to make the world a better place — because each of us can. So come to learn — to laugh — and to be inspired. Hope to see you there.

May 25, 2025

This column has just wrapped up a series on evangelization. And according to a recent insert in our Parish Bulletin, one of our St. Thomas goals for a vibrant future is a greater focus and emphasis on evangelization. With that goal in mind, its begs this question: “Where in the world is Fr. Jim?” We’re not sure where he is right now, but he will be here in Naperville at St. Thomas June 2, 3 and 4. Perhaps the first question then on your mind is “Who the heck is Fr. Jim?”

Fr. Jim Sichko is a priest of the Diocese of Lexington, KY. He stays busy traveling 300 days each year evangelizing through preaching, storytelling, engaging in random acts of kindness and generally spreading joy. This ministry has taken him to all 50 states as well as to 6 continents. For us, the timing will be perfect. We’re working our way toward Pentecost, which is the official end of the Easter season. And that gives way to a long period of Ordinary time during which we are called to mature in our Christian discipleship. Nothing like a Mission to give us a good kick-start.

May 18, 2025

Our faith calls us to be engaged in the world we live in — to be the change we want to see. We all have our own personal experiences with the Divine. For those of us who are Christian, Jesus Christ is how we best experience and understand God. Are you willing to share some of the stories of what God has done in your life? Or will they never again be heard or have any impact beyond your death? If we consider ourselves to be believers, if faith is a foundational part of our life’s journey, if God factors into our worldview, are we bold enough to make sure others know that about us and see that in the way we conduct our lives? If so, we are doing our part to keep the stories alive. And that is evangelization.

It’s on us now to keep the all-important message of Christ alive and moving forward. Might you be willing to share the good news of God’s love and truth in order to invite others into God’s world and extend the reign of God on earth? After all, introducing someone to Jesus Christ could monumentally change their life for the better. Pope John Paul II believed the Good News of Jesus Christ was capable of renewing the human race. It has in the past. It can again. No time like the present to be a bearer of Good News!

May 11, 2025

Do you have in your jewelry collection a cross necklace? Do you wear it as a fashion statement or as a purposeful faith declaration, especially outside of the church building? Do you have a tendency to support charitable organizations that support Christian principles or that represent the long-standing charitable efforts of the Catholic Church? Might you be willing to discuss with others why those are important to you and why you support the good work those charities do?

Do you intentionally schedule social activities around a priority of church activities? If someone invited you to join them for breakfast, would you be bold enough to declare your availability only after you attended morning Mass or an hour of adoration? Might you be willing to get involved with ministries that allow you to take “church” to the wider community and share your faith with those living in nursing homes, or those who are hospitalized or those who could use a home visit that includes prayer and communion? All of these are acts of evangelization.

May 4, 2025

We often segment our lives, keeping our faith separate from our other views, beliefs and actions. How might we bridge those divides? Our actions and the way we live can be forms of preaching. If the Risen Christ has impacted your life, then your life can be a testimony to God. To be a disciple is to live in conformity to Christ. If you are a parent or a grandparent, talking about God or teaching your family about God is evangelizing. Another thing you can do is attribute things of beauty to God. When you see a beautiful sunrise, sunset or landscape, do you recognize and credit God’s role as Creator in those? If you are willing to express that out loud, you are evangelizing.

Might you be willing to read a spiritual book or magazine, such as a pocket New Testament or a prayer book in a public place, like on an airplane or waiting for an appointment in your doctor’s office? If so, you are publicly declaring that you are a person of faith, without saying a word. Our St. Thomas library makes numerous books, magazines and resources available for our use. Do you display holy objects — sacramentals — in your house where they may be seen by guests and visitors? If not, are you willing to hang a cross on the wall, add a Mary statue to a shelf or put a Bible on a coffee table? These are ways to evangelize without words.

April 27, 2025

As we said last week, prayer is an action of evangelization. When you speak blessings on your kids or others, you are invoking God and witnessing to the presence of God in everyday life events. Our parish offers holy water which you can take home and use for blessings. Do you pray before family meals at home? If not, might you be willing to start? Are you willing to do so even with guests present? If you are really gutsy, you might even conspicuously pray at your table when your meal arrives out in a public restaurant. That’s definitely evangelization.

If someone asked you how you might handle a difficult situation, would you be inclined to immediately act as a healing presence and lend them a listening and compassionate ear? Would you tell them you would pray for them in their struggle? Would you pray over them right then and there? If not, what would you need to do to get comfortable doing that? How might our parish help you boost your confidence to become a prayer warrior?

April 20, 2025

Our focus in this column series remains on evangelization. Prayer is an action of evangelization. And there is no greater prayer action in our Catholic tradition than the Mass. Every Sunday we gather to celebrate as if it’s a mini-Easter — because it is! But today we celebrate the original Easter. The events of Easter Sunday are indeed the Good News of Jesus Christ. Today caps off the Greatest Story Ever Told with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Not only did God break into our lowly human condition, but God transformed our plight by bringing life out of death.

The numbers of people who typically show up for an Easter Sunday Mass is a witness to the impact of the story of Jesus’ life. All the bells and whistles that make up the Easter Vigil testify to the magnitude of this annual remembrance. We proclaim the Exsultet! We hear more of the story of our salvation history through additional scripture readings. And we welcome new members through baptism into the Body of Christ; members who evangelize the rest of us through their demonstration of courage and commitment to become Christian disciples. May we all be so bold! A very Blessed and Happy Easter to all!

April 13, 2025

Let’s explore more ways to evangelize. Every attempt to cultivate a more ethical conscience, to see how God sees, or to work for the common good can stand as a proclamation of faith. God is eternally present. There are endless possibilities for professing, living and celebrating that Presence, all of which are acts of evangelism. For example, if you personally participate in adult faith formation activities and programs such as ALPHA, retreats or missions, you’re demonstrating interest in your own spiritual growth, which can enhance your relationship with God. The internet offers online programs to help us learn the teachings of our Church, including the Catechism in a Year podcast.

Participating in a bible study, either in-person or online, is also a good way to grow in faith. Perhaps you’ve heard of The Bible in One Year podcast. St. Thomas offers bible studies in person on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and via Zoom on Thursday evenings. Mentioning to someone that you are part of a bible study is a statement of personal faith. Adding spiritual books to your reading repertoire is another way to grow in faith. And growing in your own faith can make evangelization easier. Perhaps you could find someone to read those books with you and discuss them. Have you ever considered forming your own faith-based book club?

April 6, 2025

How can we show others that God is present and active today and every day, especially in our own lives? Perhaps it’s easiest to start right at church. When you show up for Mass and participate in communal worship, you are acknowledging that God plays a role in your life and you are physically witnessing to a desire for spiritual renewal and conversion. When you partake of the gift of the sacraments that our Church offers, especially those that are repeatable like Eucharist and Reconciliation, you are demonstrating your belief in the tangible gifts that God makes available to you and in their capacity to change you for the better.

If you are involved in ministries of service or education or administration here at St. Thomas, you are engaged in active evangelism. As Christian disciples, your acts of service on behalf of others are a personal witness to your faith in Christ and the Christian way. Helping the parish by serving as a catechist is a great way to evangelize yourself — to grow in your own relationship with Jesus Christ and to learn about our Church. Plus it’s a built-in opportunity to share all that with others.

March 30, 2025

The Catholic Church is not just an institution; it’s a living being — the Body of Christ. We are the living, breathing members of that Body. We are the Church — the public continuation and manifestation of Jesus Christ’s presence in the world. That means we are part of the evangelization process. And members of our Church throughout all these centuries felt inspired and compelled to perpetuate our Catholic Christian customs, scriptures, traditions and teachings in order to feed their own faith and the faith of those who would come after them.

So now it’s our turn. We are modern-day Christian disciples. We are players in the ongoing Great Story of Jesus Christ. Will we do our part to keep the legacy of Jesus Christ alive? How might we do that? Many of us find it a challenge to speak of God in a world that is becoming more and more hostile to God. But that’s why it’s all the more important that we do so. And the fact is, we can show the work of God in the world even without explicitly talking about it. How? Think about it — and we’ll offer some of our ideas starting next week.

March 23, 2025

The angels evangelized by announcing the coming of Emmanuel — God with us — at the birth of Jesus. Jesus himself evangelized with his life, especially through his public ministry of life-giving words and sacrificial actions. The apostles evangelized by keeping Jesus’ story alive — the Greatest Story ever told. And for the next 2,000 years, the Church Jesus Christ established evangelized and continues to do so. St. Pope Paul VI said “The Church exists in order to evangelize.”

Our Church evangelizes by proclaiming the gospel — the Good News of Jesus Christ captured in scripture — during the Liturgy of the Word at every Mass she celebrates daily, worldwide. She further evangelizes by preaching Christ and his sacrificial acts of love in every Homily. She evangelizes by teaching the life, death and resurrection of Christ to her members and to the larger cultures in which she exists. She evangelizes by offering all the sacraments instituted by Christ to confer graces upon her members. And Mother Church evangelizes by bearing witness to Christ through her actions of charity and social justice throughout the world. What good is knowing something important if you’re not willing to share it? Every gesture and action of loving kindness toward another, in imitation of Christ, is essentially an act of evangelization.

March 16, 2025

St. Paul not only preached the gospel, he also lived the gospel. Throughout the past 20 centuries, our Church has amassed a whole slew of saints who birthed Christ into the world in their time and place as a result of Christ’s transformative presence in their own lives. They were evangelists in that their lives witnessed to the life of Christ. We could not call ourselves Christian today without the 2,000 years worth of Christian ancestors in faith who preceded us and evangelized — keeping the good news of Jesus Christ alive.

We all seem to agree that the world we live in needs more virtue, hope, compassion and mercy. But who is responsible for bringing all of those things to the world? All of us are. We can’t really leave that up to our political, social and economic leaders. They have certainly fallen down on that job. But so have we. Our world needs a good and beautiful message — an “evangel.” The world received such a message 2,000 years ago at the birth of Christ and it was so powerful, it profoundly changed the course of human history.

March 9, 2025

Because the witness of Jesus’ words and actions were so compelling, his disciples kept the stories of him alive. They continued to travel and speak about Jesus and to practice the actions they had seen him do. Some of them put those stories into writing, which eventually became what we know as the New Testament portion of the Bible. We have four gospel accounts composed by four writers we call “evangelists.” The word “gospel” means good news. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John made sure they proclaimed their faith in Jesus as the long-awaited messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, because to them, that was indeed good news.

Christianity could not have spread worldwide if only those four disciples had been willing to witness to Jesus Christ. The stories would have ceased to exist at the time of their deaths. Fortunately, Jesus hand picked disciples, who then commissioned other successors to follow their lead. They in turn did the same, so the tenets and the practices of the Christian faith would continue into future generations. In his first letter to the Corinthians (9:16), St. Paul, talking about the gospel, wrote that preaching the gospel was an obligation and “woe to me if I do not preach it.”

March 2, 2025

So how was Jesus the best evangelizer ever? To “evangelize” means to witness to the good news of Divine Presence at work in the world. And Jesus did that in spades. It was his life’s mission. Jesus was a dwelling place for Divine Presence. From that stance, he preached about God, taught about God and lived according to the nature of God. Jesus spent his public ministry pointing to God, which revealed who he was in relation to God. And he accomplished all that in spite of traveling on foot and rarely leaving the boundaries of Israel in his short 3-year ministry.

Jesus, in his humanity, dealt with the same limitations and struggles we all do. Yet, he managed to live out the fullness of the depths of a human life. He showed us how to live a fully whole, holy and loving human life by inviting others into his mind, toward transformation, toward humility and compassion, toward love and hope, toward forgiveness and mercy. And he tried to teach his disciples how to do the same.

February 23, 2025

So what do we mean when we say the word “evangelization?” We’re talking about the willingness to witness to the reality of God’s presence in the world. The Jewish prophets were evangelists; they spoke truth to power, sharing God’s words and intentions with the people of Israel in order to bring about faith and conversion. In Jesus’ time, John the Baptist acted as an evangelist when he said he “came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:8-9) So who was the greatest evangelist of all time?

It wasn’t Billy Graham, even though he preached to millions of people across the globe throughout his decades of public ministry. It wasn’t even St. Paul who went on three mission trips over the course of eleven years to bring the good news of the Risen Christ to thousands of people living in the ancient Near East in the early first century. It was Jesus. Think on that for a bit.

February 16, 2025

We refer to our four Gospel writers as “evangelists” because they wrote about the good news of Emmanuel, God with us. If you look at the words evangel and evangelist, at their root is the word “angel.” The English word angel comes from a word that means “messenger.” So the angels in Luke’s gospel were deliverers of good messages. They were acting as evangelists when they were sharing the good news of God’s presence in the world in a newborn named Jesus. Our recent Homily Series here at St. Thomas focused on evangelization and the responsibility of each one of us in the process. If you are a baptized Christian, then you personally have a responsibility to evangelize. Does that scare you?

What does the word “evangelization” stir up in you? When you hear it, does your mind go to someone standing in the middle of a public square or on a street corner or in a large auditorium, preaching about Jesus and the gospels? Depending on your age, you might be envisioning Billy Graham or Joel Osteen. And most of us could never imagine ourselves doing that. It’s so — public! It seems to automatically invite criticism and critique. Plus, many of us have a fear of public speaking.

February 9, 2025

Luke 2:10 described Jesus’ birth as “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Those same shepherds who received that good news then headed to Bethlehem to find the infant Jesus. And after they found him, they “made known the message that had been told them about this child.” (Luke 2:17-18) News that noteworthy should not be kept a secret. So the shepherds shared this good news. And “all who heard it were amazed.”

The shepherds were so taken with this event that they headed back to their communities, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” Shouldn’t we be willing to praise God for all the amazing things that we have heard and seen? The dictionary defines any good news or glad tiding as an “evangel.” Ponder that word for a bit. We’ll come back to it next week.