The Conversion of St. Paul: not what we usually think

Today, January 25th, is the feast of the Converstion of St. Paul.

We all know this day as the "day that Paul fell off of his horse" when he heard the Voice of Jesus asking why Paul was persecuting Him.  Then when Paul realized that he was persecuting Jesus he became a Christian and then the greatest evangelist we've ever had. Well, there is more to the story than that.



As I hear confessions there is one very consistent theme that most people struggle with.  We (and I am part of this group too) all tend to struggle with the same sin over and over again.  It seems that each and every time we go to confession we are saying, "Yup, did it again."  While each of us has a different "it" a different sin that we are constantly struggling with we all have at least one sin that we can't quite stop committing.

St. Paul was no different!

I often think that we need to change our imagination about what things like "conversion" or "discipleship" or "holiness" look like.  So frequently we think that conversion is a drastic once-in-a-lifetime experience that changes us so completely that we spend the rest of our years almost untroubled by sin and the "same old stuff" of life.

The story of St. Paul's conversion is drastic and life changing but it is also ongoing and very normal.  St. Paul wrote this in his Second Letter to the Corinthians chapter 12 verses 6-10, "A thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.  Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me."  

This is the real story of St. Paul's conversion.  Yes, his life changed when he first encountered the Lord but his struggle for holiness is ongoing and never ending.  This is what conversion is really about.  Rarely does a conversion moment mean much apart from an ongoing struggle with sin and weakness.

Yet, this is exactly the point!  This is what Jesus has planned for all of us.  Conversion isn't overcoming weakness but rather learning how to be weak.  

Jesus responded to Paul with these words, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness."

The only way that we can come to know the power of Jesus Christ is through our own weaknesses.  The only was that we can be changed by the power of Jesus Christ is through our own weaknesses.   

But here's where we need to reimagine what conversion and holiness looks like.  Jesus' power isn't made perfect when we overcome our weaknesses and sins.  No!  Jesus' power is made perfect when we are weak, when we experience weakness, and when we learn how to be weak.

When St. Paul finally figured this out (after begging Jesus 3 times to remove his "thorn in the flesh") he said this, "I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.  Therefore, I am content with weaknesses... for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, them I am strong."

Please, hear and understand Paul's insight. His strength, the strength of Christ, doesn't show up after He overcomes his weakness but rather Paul's weakness is necessary for Christ to be strong.  Our weaknesses and sins are needed and necessary for Christ to be strong.  Christ can't be strong in our lives apart from our weaknesses.

So next time you examine your conscience and see that, yes, "you did it again" take comfort.  St. Paul found out that conversion isn't about perfection.  Rather conversion is about weakness.  The more that we learn what our weaknesses are and the more that we learn to be honest about them the more that we give Christ permission to be strong in our lives.

Fr. Augustine Francis Donegan TOR

In the words of Fr. Augustine TOR, who was my spiritual director when I was in college, "Peter, your last temptation will come two minutes after you're dead!"  

Fr. Gus (as we all called him) said that with a broad smile and twinkle in his eye that made it clear that he knew what he was talking about.

This is what the strength of Christ looks like.  This is what the conversion of St. Paul is really about.  

Reflections on the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary time (August 31st 2014)

Hello all,

I didn't have a public mass call this morning so I celebrated mass in the friary chapel.  This doesn't happen all that often but it is very prayerful for me and a wonderful time to reflect, pray, and savor the mass.

While I didn't prepare a homily for today I did pray with the readings and I wanted to share my thoughts.

I love these reading!  I especially love the connection between the Gospel reading from last Sunday to today.

Last Sunday we heard about the question that Jesus asked, "who do you say that I am?" It was Simon Peter who spoke up and professed that Jesus "is the Christ the Son of the Living God."

In response to this Jesus called him "Peter" the Rock upon which His Church will be built.  This Church will even withstand the onslaught of the powers of hell, time, and last into eternity.

Then today we hear Jesus warn the Apostles that He is going to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die, but rise from the dead.  In response to this Simon Peter confronts Jesus and tries to prevent Him from going.  Jesus then says to Peter, "Get behind me satan! You are an obstacle to me.  You are not thinking as God does but as humans do."

Notice the contrast!

One moment Peter is professing faith in Jesus that was revealed to him from the Father and then very next moment he is no longer thinking and acting based on the inspiration of God.  One moment Peter is being praised by Jesus and the next he is being called "satan".  One moment Peter is made to be the building block for the Universal Church and then next moment Jesus is calling him an "obstacle" to His work.

I love this moment in the Gospels because at times I feel like I can identify with what St. Peter is going through.  There are moments when I feel like I am part of God's plan and the very next moment my sin, pride, and weakness is an obstacle to Our Lord.

So often we get this silly idea in our mind that saints are perfect.  We fail to realize that it is stories like this that illustrate what the life of a saint is really like.

We all, sinners and saints, are part of God's plan and then obstacles to that plan.  

It is so difficult to accept God's mercy, at times, because we often fail to forgive ourselves.  I think the secret to forgiving ourselves as freely as God does is by accepting this reality.  We are all sinners and saints at times.  One moment we are part of God's plan and then the next we are His obstacle.

If we look at St. Peter we should be able to see something profound to hope in.  God can still do great things in us even if we are very good at being His obstacle.  St. Peter was a formidable obstacle to Jesus and yet he is still a saint.  St. Peter even was running away from persecution the day that he died.  Jesus appeared to him, Peter realized his weakness, and he turned around  to return to Rome to be crucified upside down.

I love St. Peter and I think that his example of humanity, mistakes, and humility is good example to meditate on today and for life.

My homily from August 24th 2014

Hello all,

Well I've finally figured it out how to make a movie from the audio recording of my homily.
Then I put that movie on YouTube.

This is a first and a very exciting step for me, personally.  This is my first movie to be put on YouTube.

Here's my homily from yesterday.

Enjoy and God bless.

Homily: 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A (August 24th, 2014)

Hello all,

I was able to record my homily today... please stay tuned as I try to figure out how to upload it to this blog.

I'm not tech savvy so this might take a bit but once I figure it out it will be easy in the future to upload my homilies quickly and often.

Sorry for the delay.

But while you are reading this I just wanted to let you know that Monday August 25th is my 2 year anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood!

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

God bless and stay tuned!

I've moved!

I know that it has been a long time since I've blogged anything.

I do hope to get better at that now.

I have recently moved down to Baltimore and I will be teaching at Archbishop Curley High School.

I will be teaching Morality to the Juniors and one section of Philosophy to the Seniors.

Along with that I will be going to help out with masses at some local parishes on the weekends.
It is my hope that I can figure out a way to audio record my homilies and post them here on my blog.

I know that a good number of people (especially my mother) want to hear my homilies so I'm going to try to share them with you as often as I find myself preaching on a Sunday.

I never really got the hang of "blogging" so if you want to see certain things here please don't hesitate to email me at frpetercft@gmail.com and let me know what you'd like me to blog about.

Someone suggested that I share what I'm reading and studying.  I'm not sure if that is something that you'd enjoy hearing about since I have continued studying in some specific and technical areas of theology.

But incase you are interested I am in the middle of a few books (audio and otherwise) and here is some of what I'm doing/reading/studying right now.

The Great Courses: Exploring Metaphysics

The Great Courses: The Great Ideas of Philosophy

The Great Courses: The Story of Human Language

Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction

The Outer Limits of Reason

I'm rereading The Nature of Doctrine

And this is the article that I was reading yesterday.

Reconstructing The Nature of Doctrine

If any of this is interesting let me know.  I'm not sure if my curiosities are at all something that you'd enjoy hearing about.

God bless!

Why should I go to mass reason #5 (A response to love)

Hello all,

I recently had someone email me and ask where reason #5 was for the list of reasons  that I had begun to share about "why go to mass".

I thought I had concluded this list a while ago and I'm sorry to say that I forgot the most important and last one!

A response to love! Reason #5 for why we should go to mass.

In the Sermon on the Plain in Luke chapter 6:20 (and following) we see Jesus preaching the Beatitudes.  That list of beatitudes begins with "Blessed are you who are poor for the Kingdom of God is yours."

When Matthew tells of Jesus preaching of the Beatitudes he tells of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 and following. The beginning of this list of beatitudes is "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I think there are many who are poor in our world and they are certainly blest by God.  They are even more blessed by God than those who are rich in spite of the fact that our world sees wealth as a blessing.  

There are also those who suffer from spiritual poverty.  In fact I think most of us suffer spiritual poverty in our culture.  Our culture tells us that things, stuff, possessions, and wealth will make us happy.

If anyone ever really gives this type of offer a try they quickly will find out that stuff doesn't fill the hole that each of us have in our hearts. We all long to be loved.  We all need to know that love, affection, and affirmation of another.  Money can't buy this, wealth can't supply it, and possessions can't fill this hole.

The love of another person can go a long way in filling our need to be loved but even then everyone knows some type of loneliness and longing.  There is some type of emotional need that even other people can't fill.

The only think that can fill this need is God.  St. Augustine, famously said, 

Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.

This is our struggle.  This is the struggle that everyone shares in.  This is what it is to be "Poor in Spirit"

Spiritual wealth is to know and plunge into the love of God.  Yet, we so often plunge into the love of wealth and the collection of possessions.   In so doing we grow in our spiritual poverty even as we amass material wealth.  

Spiritual wealth is to know, even in some small way, the love of God.  This knowledge, this experience, this assurance that God is for us, supporting us, encouraging us, and blessing us is a profound things.

This experience of God's love changes our lives.  I don't think it will make life easier.  There will still be the temptation to seek material wealth to fill the void that can only be filled by God.  But once we have tasted the love of God we too, like St. Augustine, hunger and thirst for more.  

This is reason #5 for why we should go to Mass.  Our worship of God, within a community, is a seeking of God.  We know that in some special way God is to be found in the ancient ritual, the reading of the Word of God, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and in the community of fellow Christians who are gathered.

I don't know of anyone who has known what it was like to be loved and then they weren't different.  Usually when someone loves us we love them in response and that changes our lives, our behavior, and our priorities.

Look at teenagers who experience their first taste of love.  They change, they behave differently, and they act (especially around their beloved) differently.  This is a beautiful thing!
Look at young adults who love and know that they are loved.  They willingly give up huge amounts of their time, money, and autonomy and share their lives with each other.  They marry and then new life is the product of love.

In our culture we tend to celebrate individualism and we believe that we don't need others to be happy. That's not true.  We need love.  We need to be loved.  And we need to love and be loved by our creator.  It's just who we are.

So communal worship, at mass, is a response to being loved.  I attend mass because I long to love He who loved me first.

I think the reason that mass attendance is declining is primarily because our culture is so "poor in spirit".  So few people know what it is to be loved by God and so they don't even think to love God back.

When we do love God in return then we willingly participate in a ritual of love, the mass.
When we like a sport we willingly participate in it.  We play that sport, attend games, or watch it on TV.
When we love our country we attend parades, observe national holidays, fly a flag, and vote.

The idea that love of something changes our behavior isn't abnormal.  In fact our behavior is the best indication of what we love.

So we go to mass as a response to knowing the love of God and seeking to love Him in response.  It is in Mass that we encounter Him in a special and powerful way.  So we go to mass as a response to love. 

Jesus Christ is Our King

Hello all,

I wanted to share with you the homily that I offered on this past Solemnity of Christ the King.

I find that I, myself, am coming back to these words are readings as a inspiration for prayer and reflection.  I hope that they might offer the same for you.

Homily on Christ the King


I'm not sure how long this like will work since it is saved on our parish website.

Let me know if you can't hear it if you are interested and I'll try to get the link to work/work again.

Here are all the friar's homilies that are updated regularly from St. Paul Church

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

I often hear people say something like, "I don't go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I just pray to Jesus personally and He forgives my sins.  I don't believe that I have to tell a priest my sins"

I understand this.  This way of thinking about God's mercy and how He forgives sin makes a lot of sense.  However, I think there is an unstated presumption.  I wonder if by having this idea [that I can have my sins forgiven in private] doesn't presume that God wants the forgiveness of sin to be a private matter.

I think I might be able to clarify this by drawing an analogy.

Consider our view of liberty in the United States of America.  I'm a huge fan of my country.  I love the USA and I cherish the freedoms that I've been blessed with.  

Here in the USA we, correctly, understand that liberty means that each one of us has the right to our own opinions on politics, politicians, platforms of political parties, and just about anything that we'd like.  Liberty means that I can decide whatever I want and no one has the right to tell me what to think, who to vote for, or what issues to support or oppose.  Essentially this means that my personal politics are very private!

In our culture the more important some value or idea is the more we hold it as being private.  When we vote we vote privately, when we form our opinions we are free to do so in private, and when we have opinions we are always free to hold onto them without any outside influence.  Essentially our politics are very important to us as a society and as a result of that we hold them to be extremely private.  The more important a value or idea is, in our society, the more we hold it as private.

It is true that a lot of people share their opinions publicly but their views were formed and are held as private and outside anyone else's influence.

In my humble opinions this is the very foundation of true political liberty.  But I don't think this is the same value that Jesus had in mind when He initiated the ministry of forgiveness of sins.  The values that are the foundation for our understanding of liberty, in the 21st century United States of America, are not the same values that Jesus was acting out of when He sent his apostles out into the world to forgives sins. (Jn 20:19-23)

When Jesus initiated the ministry of the forgiveness of sins He sent out the Apostles with the command to forgive sins.  Jesus did not tell them to instruct people to pray to God privately for their sins to be forgiven.  Rather Jesus gave the apostles authority to forgive sins.  The successors to the apostles where then called bishops and the bishops ordained presbyters (normally called priests today) to help them in their ministry of the forgiveness of sins.

So today we have bishops and presbyters (AKA: priests) who are charged with the ministry of the forgiveness of sins.  No one is given the ability, authority, or ministry to forgive their own sins.  Even the pope has to confess his sins to another bishop or priest.

The whole notion of confessing to God in private and then having Him forgive is not in line with the ministry that Jesus started.  I know that it is not easy to humble yourself and muster your courage and confess to another person.  Ever since I have been ordained it has actually become more difficult for me to go to confession.  I understand.  I'm not a big fan of going to confession myself but I do it.

I am frequently saddened by the stories that people tell me of the times that they have been hurt and humiliated by a priest in confession.  I am so sorry that this happens.  I know that moments like this are painful.  I've been treated like that myself when I've gone to confession.  Regardless of  these moments of pain I still believe that the ministry of the forgiveness of sins is still the work of the bishops and the priests.  If we seek certainty and assurance that we have fully received the mercy of God then I don't know any way to come to that knowledge apart from the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  If we want to be sure that we have been forgiven the only way is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  

Think about it this way: if we pray to God in private and ask Him to forgive our sins then who's really doing the forgiving?  If we pray to God in private, on our terms, in a way that is comfortable for us are we really humbling ourselves before a God who is offering mercy?  Or are we dictating the time, manner, and way that we will allow God to forgive us?  If we ask for mercy in private aren't we really telling God when and how to forgive us?  If we tell God to forgive us in private aren't we really demanding that He forgive our sins on our terms?  

If this is the case then who's really the one who is forgiving sins?  If we are telling God to forgive us in private (on our terms) is God the one who is forgiving or are we absolving ourselves... because we will only accept absolution on our terms, when we want it, and how we want it?  Where's the humility in that?  Where's the ministry of the apostles in that?

In other words when we seek the forgiveness of our sins in private aren't really absolving ourselves and expecting that God will ratify our decision?  

Who's really doing the forgiving? Did Jesus ever give us the authority to forgive ourselves?

When we seek absolution in private aren't we really notifying God of our decision, that our sins are forgiven, and then expecting that He will go along with what we just decided?

Do we really expect that being forgiven of our sins and forming our own personal political opinions can happen the same way... in private?  Are those two things [absolution and opinions] alike in any way?!?

In fact, when we expect that we can find forgiveness of our sins in private we are just absolving ourselves.  I have no doubt that God's grace can even show up in moments like that.  But I don't think it is a good idea to dictated to God how, when, and under what circumstances He can forgive us.

The only way that I know of where we can find certain mercy is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus sent out the apostles to forgives sins.  His intention was that this ministry would be a moment of humility and grace where a sinner was shown mercy through the ministry and work of the apostles.  Jesus did not intent that the powerful experience of absolution to be a matter of personal opinion.  Forgiveness of our sins is not something that happens in private.

Pope Francis' new car

Fr. Tim showed me this cartoon of Pope Francis today.

I really did laugh out loud so I thought I'd share it with you.

He regularly reads political cartoons from GoComics.com and this one was drawn by Joe Heller and published on the website on Sept. 20th.

Enjoy!

He makes it look easy and fun

Hello all, as a woodworker I love this type of video.

So I wanted to share it with you.

Chris uses only hand tools which is the way that I got started woodworking a few years ago.

I've always wanted to make a rocking chair so maybe someday I'll this this.

Enjoy!

Happy Feast of St. Francis

Happy Feast of St. Francis!

I hope everyone has a wonderful feast day!

The saying of St. Francis that has been a strong theme in my prayer lately has been his words while he was on his death bed.

The friars came to him worried that they would not know what to do after he was gone.  They had looked to him to guide them in what they should be doing.

His response was, "I have done what is mine to do, may Christ teach you what is yours."

This isn't easy.  At times I've wished Christ had different lessons that He needed me to learn and different tasks that He wanted me to do.  This has been a reoccurring theme during this first year of my ordained ministry.

Humility, meekness, and service seem to be things that I need to learn how to do more and a better job of.  These seems to be what is mine to learn about and do, above all.

So, if you can, say a prayer for me this wonderful feast day and I'll be sure to say one for you.

God bless and happy Feast of St. Francis.

A language event: My thoughts on Pope Francis

In his book What really Happened at Vatican II John W. O'Malley summarized the Second Vatican Council as a "language event"

O'Malley makes the point that what is said by the Church, and it's leaders, is as important as how it is said.  "The 'what' of speech and the 'how' of speech are inseparable."  The idea is that the attitude that the Church brings to its conversation with the world communicates a huge message.

At points in the history of the Catholic Church we have been hostile, withdrawn from, uncomfortable with, and excessively critical of the world that we live in.  The words and proclamations of the Church have, in the past, been filled with condemnations, criticisms, and condescension.

Again, O'Malley makes the point that the tone of the message at Vatican II was profoundly different.  For the first time in a very long time the Church changed Her way of speaking to the world.

Beautifully the documents of the Second Vatican Council were filled with words like, "brothers/sisters, friendship, cooperation, collaboration, partnership, freedom, dialogue,... servant, evolution,... dignity, holiness, conscience, collegiality,... liberty, equality, fraternity."

The bottom line is that the style of language that is used is, "really the ultimate expression of meaning.  The "what" of speech and the "how" of speech are inseparable."

One of the main points of his book is that there are

"Almost two different versions of Catholicism: from commands to invitations, from laws to ideas, from definition to mystery, from threats to persuasion, from coercion to conscience, from monologue to dialogue, from ruling to serving, from withdrawn to integrated, from vertical to horizontal, from exclusion to inclusion, from hostility to friendship, from rivalry to partnership, from suspicion to trust, from static to ongoing, from passive acceptance to active engagement, from fault-finding to appreciation, from prescription to principled, from behavior modification to inner appropriation."

Throughout much of our history we have been a Church of commands, laws, definitions, threats, coercion, rules, withdrawn, exclusion, hostility, suspicion, static, and fault-finding.  At the Second Vatican Council there was this shift to invitation, ideas, mystery, persuasion, conscience, dialogue, serving, inclusion, friendship, partnership, trust, active engagement, principles, and inner conversion.

One of the realities of the time after the Council is that this shift hadn't fully sank in.  The world continued to change and often we, as a Church, reverted to the pre-Vatican II model of relating to the world.  I don't think that many in the Church would see it this way but I know that many on the fringes of the Church or outside of the Church certainly see it this way.

There is an old latin phrase, "Lex Orandi Lex Credendi Lex Vivendi."  Translated loosely it means, how we pray effects how we believe and how we live.  Please notice, that in recent memory there has been a resurgence of the old latin mass, in the Church.  This was that mass that the Second Vatican Council revised because with a new attitude toward the world we needed a new way to pray.  Much of the symbolism and rites of the old latin mass did express the old attitudes of the pre-Vatican II Church.  The Novus Ordo (the mass after Vatican II) expresses the shift in attitude that the Council had toward the world.  As we have gotten away from the inclusive and open attitude of the Council it makes sense that many have gravitated back toward the mass that predates it.  In this case how we lived and believed began to be express in the old latin mass.  I don't think that this is a good thing at all.

How we pray really does effect what we believe and how we live.  So to see a growing affection for an old form of the mass (that was all-but the opposite of inclusion, participation, active engagement, and inner conversion) seems to show that the shift in attitude of Vatican II has begun to slip back toward the old attitude of hostility, exclusion, and suspicion.  The Church was slowly forgetting the attitude of openness, welcoming, service, inclusion, and friendship that Vatican II had offered the world.

Now we can fast forward to Pope Francis and his recent interviews.  I've listened to a number of commentators speak about what they think the Pope is saying.

I'm of the opinion that his message is profoundly orthodox and Gospel based.  In a fresh way he is getting to the heart of the Gospel and readopting the attitude of the Second Vatican Council.

Jesus was often criticized by those who thought that they were holy and righteous.

The Pharisees saw this and said to [Jesus'] disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physical, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words 'I desire mercy, not sacrifices.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners"(Mt 9:11-13)

It seems to me that Pope Francis has learned the meaning of those words, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."  Mercy and compassion to sinners, non-believer, homosexuals, the poor as well as others is what he is offering.

This is exactly what Jesus called for.  During Jesus' time "sacrifice" was an obligation of the law.  It was a functional, legal, and  non-personal payment for sin that was allowed only to those who were pure, mainstream, or "holy" people.  The outcast, aliens, and sinners were not allowed because they were ritually impure.  Sacrifice, at Jesus' time, had become an act of self-righteousness for many.

For Jesus to eat and relate to sinners was unacceptable to those who considered themselves to be righteous.  For Pope Francis to speak with and relate to atheists, homosexuals, sinners, the poor, and the outcasts of society is also looked down upon as unacceptable, by some.  It seems, to me, that Pope Francis has learned the meaning of Jesus' words, "It is mercy that I desire, not sacrifice"

All of this is most profoundly expressed in his tone, language, and audience.  Pope Francis has become, in his own way, a new "language event" just as the Second Vatican Council was.

Pope Francis hasn't said anything new nor groundbreaking but how he speaks and to whom he speaks is the ultimate expression of meaning.  Pope Francis has adopted the merciful attitude of Jesus, the faith of a true son of the Church, and the inviting language of the Second Vatican Council and created a refreshing phenomena in the Church today.  And people are paying attention!

Tough Mudder 2014

Hello all,

I'd like to see if any of my readers are interested in joining our Tough Mudder team "Bad Habits"

"Bad Habits" from L to R: Bill, Chris, Brooke, Me, Beth, Sal

Myself and five other brave people participated in this event this past August at Mt. Snow Vermont.  It was the most brutal thing that I have ever done.  

It was so wonderful that me and the team want to do it again.  This time we are opening up the invitation to others who might be crazy enough to join us.

The "Bad Habits" team from L to R: Sal, Chris, Bill, Me, Beth, Brooke

Bad Habits (our team) will be participating at the May 31st event at Mount Snow Vermont.  Email if you are interested in joining us.  Remember that the proceeds all go to support the Wounded Warrior Project.

Consider joining us for the May 2014 Tough Mudder.  It will be very difficult but also promises to be a lot of fun (if you like pain and mud).

If you are interested email me.

Faith and family

Hello all,

I think that the most common issue or question that people ask me about is how to share their faith with their family.

Let me offer some [made-up] examples:

• My niece doesn't go to church, how can I get her to go?
• My granddaughter is living with her boyfriend, how can I get her to stop?
• My (adult) son doesn't believe in God why can't I tell him that he should believe?
• My sister is telling her friends that God isn't real, how can I convince her that He is?

These are just a few examples.

The basic issue is, "How can I share my faith with my family?"

My answer, YOU DON'T!!!!

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE don't try to talk, explain, or preach to your family.  It doesn't work!

Disclaimer: this does not apply to those who are raising their children.  If you are raising children, by-all-means, explain your faith and teach them about moral living.

For anyone who wants to share their faith with their family (other than children that they are raising) it can only be done by example.

Please remember that Jesus preached the Gospel in His home town and His friends and relatives wanted to throw Him off of a cliff. (Luke 4:16-30)

I promise that you will receive the same type of reaction if and when you try to preach or minister to your family.  I can speak from experience.  I have deeply hurt a brother of mine because of the way that I presumed to "minister" to my family and it does not work!

What can you do?

I really like the words of St. Francis, "Preach always, sometimes use words."

Here's a list of my recommendations for preaching to your family.

1. Practice your faith with humility (don't do it to be noticed)
2. SMILE!  Nothing is more attractive than joy and peace.
3. Keep being humble.
4. Pray (In secret Mt 6:6)
5. Live your faith.  Be humble. (I hope you are seeing a pattern)
6. Never volunteer answers but you can offer to answer questions if they have any.
7. If, and only if, they ask a question then be well prepared to answer their question.
8. Do not preach.
9. Listen very well.
10. Be ready to share a story of your faith and why it is so important to you.  Nothing is as powerful and personal as a heartfelt story.

I think the bottom line is that if we preach to our family they will draw back.  It will hurt our relationship with them and our message will be rejected.  When we preach to our family we can accomplish the opposite of what we want to do.

We so often want others to believe as we do and love God as we do.  That is wonderful but if we preach to them without their permission then we will actually push them away from God and our faith.  We will be doing the opposite of what we are trying to do.

My experience is that this is not easy to do.  We want to preach to our family but if it didn't work for Jesus it won't work for you.

Trust God that He will send someone into their lives to draw them close to our faith and then make yourself available if God will call you to have a positive effect on the life of someone that is not in your family.

We can't evangelize or preach to our family, others can.

All we can do is live our faith with humility and joy and then 

"always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for your hope but do it with gentleness and respect."(1 Peter 3:15-16)

My favorite thing!

Hello all,

I might have posted this here before but my favorite thing is, questions.

I love questions.  

I know that I'm really bad about posting new content on, but I do know that if someone asks me a question I will be sure to post an answer here on my blog.

So, if my lack of blog material is leaving you wanting more [please hear the sarcasm] then send me questions to answer and I will fill these pages with opinions, ideas, information, stories, and other typed tidbits.

God bless!

My homily: August 25th 2013

Hello all,

As you can tell I have not updated my blog in a while.

I am sorry for this.  It's an honor that so many people check my blog regularly and I'm grateful for that.  

I'm sorry that I have not taken the time to regularly share with you my homilies and my random thoughts.

An update:

Here at St. Paul's Church we have a new website feature.

The homilies of all the friars are audio recorded and then posted to our website.

St. Paul Friars' Homilies Online

I will try to post my homilies individually here, in audio form.

I'm sorry if you like the written out version.  Those took me a few hours to type and then illustrate.  My homilies are never written out so I needed to go back and remember what I said and how I said it in order to type it up correctly.  Then finding the pictures and getting everything looking neat took me a very long time.

Here is the audio of my homily this past Sunday

My homily August 25th 2013

Thank you very much.

Please remember that if you have any questions, concerns, comments, or complaints I'd be glad to address them here.  Just send me an email at FrPeterCFT@gmail.com or FrPeter@StPaulKensington.org

God bless,

Here's a thought

Hello all,

I was just going though my blog looking for a few things that I've posted in the past and I decided to share a thought with you.

Often I'm asked about going deeper in faith: "how to" and "tips" for doing this.

I think the most immediate and basic thing that you can do is read and spend some time (a few minutes) praying with the Sunday readings BEFORE going to mass on Sunday. 

It only takes a few minutes and when you hear the reading proclaimed and the homily you will be much more engaged and you will get a lot more out of the experience of hearing the Word of God proclaimed.

Here is the Bishop's web site and on the top right is a calendar.  Click on the upcoming Sunday and you will see the readings for the upcoming weekend mass here (this is for the Sunday mass on May 26th 2013)

This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday and I'm struggling with what I'm going to say.  It is not easy explaining the Trinity.

God bless,

Homily: Pentecost Sunday

Hello all, here is my homily from Pentecost Sunday.

Let me know what you think.

Happy Pentecost everyone!

Bye the way... if you struggle with an understanding of the Holy Spirit or if you want the Paraclete to enter your life in a deeper and more significant way pray this prayer!

This prayer, along with reading the Bible*, is the best way that I know to allow the Holy Spirit to flourish in your life more completely.



* If you do not read the Bible I suggest and recommend it very strongly.  Don't read it like you might normally "read the Bible"... just read it as a story book.  Read two chapters a day.  Each chapter is about one page so it's not more than 5 minutes to read a chapter or two.  Read it like you would read a story.  Don't study it, read the story.  

Start with the Gospel of Matthew and then just read the New Testament straight through as a story.
When you are done do it again and each word will come alive more and more and the power of the Holy Spirit will come alive more and more in your life.

God bless you!

Homily: 5th Sunday of Lent, cycle C.

This is the novel that I read.

The other day I finished reading a long novel. My mother gave me it as a Christmas gift and I finally got around to reading it. When I started reading the book I was fighting the temptation, I was trying to resist the urge... but I finally gave in. I flipped to the last page of the book and I read the last few sentences. I was weak and I gave into the desire to see how the story ended.

I think we all want to know how things end. It may be a novel, or a movie, or in this case life. And that is exactly what we see today in our second reading. We see how the whole story ends.

This reading is from the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation. That book is the last book of the Bible and there are only 22 chapters. This is the final vision. This is the end of the story. Here we see, not just the end of the Bible, but the completion of the whole story.

We see, in this passage, what God has always been doing. We see what God is going to do and what the end of the story of our faith is. Here we see the end of your story, or my story, and of our story.
This is it!

We see that from the very beginning God created from nothing a world that was good. In that world God raised up from the dust humans like Himself. Man and woman are in God's image and likeness. But that wasn't enough!

God so longed and desired to be united with His beloved children that He drew us into a relationship with Him through the covenants of old. Then He desired to draw even closer to us and He became one of us so that we could be completely united to Him.


Even that was not enough. In His flesh He saved us by dying but, most importantly, by rising from the dead. In this we finally see the ultimate victory over death and sin. In the resurrection we see what God has desired to do all along. 

And yet, God is not even done there. God is still working to draw all of creation closer to Himself. This is what we see in this vision from the Book of Revelation.

At the end of the world God will unite heaven and earth in a perfect union. No longer will those two places be separate. God will finally put this world right. This is what God has been doing from ancient times. He has been working to draw the world into a perfect union with himself. 

At the Second Coming of Jesus, at the end of the world, all the dead will be raised just as Jesus was raised from the dead, and this world will finally be put right. Then God will perfectly and completely unite heaven and earth in an eternal and complete union, a new heaven and a new earth, a new Heavenly Jerusalem!

We hear: "Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.  He will Wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain."  

God's desire is to put this world right, unite this world to Himself, and destroy death and pain for all eternity.  This is what He has been doing from the beginning!

This is heaven, a very real physical place.  God does not want us to spend eternity in some fluffy place where we go about skipping from fluffy cloud to fluffy cloud all the while strumming a small harp.  NO! 

We will be raised from the dead (as Jesus was) and this earth will be put right and united with God perfectly.That is heaven!  That is what we've always hoped for.  Not some fluffy spiritual place.

So the question then becomes... what are we doing now?  Are we just killing time between now and then when Jesus returns in the Second Coming?  Is our job just to take up space in a church pew once a week, be good for the rest of the week, and then just waiting?

NO!  Not at all!  We've got something to do.

The best example that I can give is similar to the old commercial for "Shake 'N Bake" chicken.

You might remember the old commercial.  A young girl helps her grandmother make chicken for dinner. Everyone thinks the chicken is fried but the young girl tells everyone that it is "Shake 'N Bake" and then she proudly exclaims, "And I helped"

This is very much like what we are supposed to be doing.

Notice what we hear in the Gospel.  Jesus is speaking to His Apostles at the end of the Last Supper, just a few hours before He will suffer and die on the Cross.

It is in this act of love, in this gift of Himself on the cross, that we see the fullest expression of God's glory.  

Look! Look upon the crucifix and see the Glory of God!  There it is!  That is God's love and glory on full display.  God's glory is seen in His total, complete, and limitless gift of Himself in Love.

This is the reason that He tells us, "I give you a new commandment; love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."  

Jesus isn't asking us to just "be nice" to others.  Rather, He is commanding us to love others as He loved us.  This is a call to give of ourselves is sacrificial love.  This type of love isn't easy.  That's why St. Paul said, in the first reading, that, "it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God."

This self-sacrifical love is hard and difficult.  And yet this is what Jesus is commanding us to do.

Our job is not just to kill time between now and Jesus' Second coming rather we are called to work with the Holy Spirit as God continues to put this world right.  God is working to get this world ready for it's union with Heaven, at the end of time.  Our job is to cooperate and work with God by our self-sacrificial love.

You and I should be working with God, through our work of loving.  When the end of the world comes  and God has put this world right and united it to Himself, we should be able to say, like that little girl in the commercial, "I HELPED!"

That is what we are supposed to be doing between now and then, between now and Jesus' Second coming.  The world should know that we are working with God to put this world right because they will see that we are His disciples because we have love for one another.

Homily 4th Sunday of Easter: April 21st

Here is my homily from Sunday April 21st, the Fourth Sunday of Easter.