The gospel this week is a continuation of lessons on prayer. Last week we learned about the need to persevere in prayer. The lesson this week is the importance of humility in our prayer. I’m going to start with a little background for today’s gospel. First, in Jesus’s day, Pharisees were very highly respected. We … Continue reading The Tax Collector and the Pharisee (A lesson in humility by Deacon Bob)
Author: Joni J. Seith
Rekindling Wonder, Touching Heaven in a Screen Saturated World
Joni interviews author, Fr. Chris Seith. This is why we should leave this kind of thing to the professionals. Enjoy! This was fun. https://youtu.be/W4i6_BHpEdU
A Few Thoughts on St. Therese from Deacon Bob
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus rejoice at the things revealed to the childlike. This is a prefect opening to share some thoughts on St. Therese of the child Jesus. It’s quite amazing. She wrote 1 book, and 8 of the 11 chapters were about her life growing up in the Martin family. She only … Continue reading A Few Thoughts on St. Therese from Deacon Bob
Deacon Bob Tackles a Tough One
I have to say that when I read this gospel and started doing some research at one point I got really scared. I’ve since calmed down, but there’s no question that this parable can be challenging for us middle-class Americans. I’m going to share a few comments about the gospel and then talk about how … Continue reading Deacon Bob Tackles a Tough One
Take a Back Seat
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:1, 4:14) On the surface, Jesus’s parable sounds like a lesson in good etiquette. It’s good advice to win the esteem of others. But the commentators point out there’s more to it than that. This is really about … Continue reading Take a Back Seat
Deacon Bob on Prayer
I remember Fr. Groeschel once described petitionary prayer as ‘how do I get God to do what I want’. So, I’m going to do a little catechesis on prayer of petition, and I have 3 points. First, God wants us to pray for ourselves. Some people never pray for themselves because they think it’s selfish. … Continue reading Deacon Bob on Prayer
Servants of the Eucharist Prayer Apostolate
Pray for our Church. Pray for our world! In 1989, while surfing the Internet (is that still a thing?), I happened upon an article about Our Lady of Akita Japan that changed my life. As Sister Agnes prayed the Servant of the Eucharist Prayer, Our Lady had her insert the word “truly” between the words, … Continue reading Servants of the Eucharist Prayer Apostolate
Deacon Bob’s Divine Mercy Sunday Homily
Today we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. We owe this feast day first to Jesus who wanted it, then to Saint Faustina who was the one He chose to make His desire known, and finally to Pope St. John Paul II who promoted this feast. In fact, he said from the beginning of his … Continue reading Deacon Bob’s Divine Mercy Sunday Homily
First Saturday Devotion and Russia
The five First Saturdays Devotion requested by Our Lady of Fatima is connected to the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. July 1917 apparition. At this apparition, Our Lady showed hell to the children. Afterward, she said “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God … Continue reading First Saturday Devotion and Russia
Spiritual Growth Requires Training
(Deacon Bob's Homily for the 8th Sunday Cycle C) I want to look at 2 points in today’s gospel. The first is how absolutely essential it is that we bear good fruit, and the second is the importance of training for our spiritual growth. A few months ago, a very popular psychologist, Dr. Jordan Peterson … Continue reading Spiritual Growth Requires Training
Pain of Grace 