12/31/23 Family Life

Homily from the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is possible to live the rest of your life with no more bad days. Life can be so overwhelmingly difficult and challenging. But challenge and suffering can and do change us; they can break us down or they can change us. Not only ...  Show more

Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Citizens must live with conviction, responsibility, and courage. On the 250th anniversary of our nation, it is a moment to stop and reflect on our identity. Are we "subjects" or are we "citizens"? Are we "American Catholics" or a ...  Show more

Lots of people today will tell you what makes a family well-adjusted, functional, and peaceful. But in this week’s readings for the Feast of the Holy Family, which center on two exemplary women, Hannah and Mary, the Church wants to tell us what makes a family holy.

Sometimes it’s difficult to see how God can work through the hard situations in our lives. In the Mystery of the Nativity, the Holy Family was faced with an incredibly hard situation: traveling 90 miles to participate in a Roman census right before Jesus’ birth. However, Fr. Mark ...  Show more

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The seasons of Advent and Christmas can bring up difficult family dynamics in our hearts, as well as a deep desire for a more whole and holy family. In today's episode, Jake and Dr. Bob welcome Sr. Miriam James Heidland onto the podcast to talk ...

Friends, I always love preaching on the Feast of the Holy Family because I think the biblical message here is very surprising. We say the Bible is associated with family values, and indeed it is, but they're probably not the ones we would automatically think of. We see this in ...