Last Tuesday, we started the Lenten retreat called From Here to Eternity: How to Live and Die Well. During this first session, I covered our Catholic belief in the resurrection and the communion of saints and how those affect our approach to death itself. If we know we are destined for eternity life, then the…
I just arrived back from St. Monica’s Parish in Santa Monica, CA where I presented to them the Cairns on the Second Mountain of Life retreat that I gave at St. Simon’s last year. It was very well received and lots of people came to the sessions each night. It was a particularly healing trip…
All of this weekend and next week, I am away giving a retreat at St. Monica Parish, Santa Monica, CA. It will be the retreat I gave last year here at St. Simon, Cairns on the Second Mountain of Life, with some modifications to localize it. St. Monica Parish is a mega parish with over…
Over the last several weeks, I have shared some insights about the mental health continuum and how important it is that we become aware of what contributes to good mental wellness. Last week, I shared how traumas can often cause us to slide down the continuum, sometimes without us becoming aware of it. I…
As we continue our short 4-minute series on the mental health ministry Hope & Wellness, we will now focus our attention on how we move from the wellness part of the mental health continuum to the illness part of the continuum. While it is more complex than we will lay out, there are some basics…
On Friday, February 11, the Church celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick. It is a recognition of the importance to pray and care for those who are ill in our community and in our world. Jesus always had a preferential option for the sick and constantly…
“The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, joy is constantly born anew…I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy,…
I recently read an article about the distinction between our private lives and our public lives and it affects the community at large. I found it provocative and I want to share some of it with you as we reflect on the power of community. Fr. Ron Rolhesier says, that “No one is an island;…
Over the last many months, many of us have heard about the Global Synod on Synodality but we have heard little in our own local Diocese of San Jose. What we do hear seems to be confusing! So let me spend a few moments trying to explain some of the different aspects of what will…
I am not sure if you have ever visited the famed John Muir National Forest. It is about 1.5 hours away depending on traffic and has some beautiful old sequoia trees some of which are 1,000 years old. It is a beautiful national treasure along with many other places to hike and enjoy nature. …