Browsing Pastor's Column

11-24-24 - Christ the King - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 11/14/24

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Fr. Leo

I’m always uncomfortable with the title, Christ the King!  It’s not that we don’t celebrate the day when salvation will be accomplished, but to think of Christ even as a heavenly king, which he is, misses the way he ... Read More »

11-17-24 - 33rd Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 11/12/24

33rd Sunday - Fr. Leo

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, our scriptures speak of the end times and what will happen when the experience of this life is transformed into the next.

The book of Daniel says about the end times, “At that time (of ... Read More »

11-10-24 - 32nd Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 11/05/24

32nd Sunday - Fr. Leo

It is significant that a widow appears in both our first reading from 1st Kings and in our passage from Mark’s Gospel.  The widow is not named in either passage, so her example can speak to all who hear these scriptures.

In our first reading, ... Read More »

11-03-24 31 OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 10/30/24

31st Sunday - Fr. Leo

We hear the best summary of the Christian way of life in today’s gospel.  Jesus sums it up as a loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Reflecting on these two commandments, would constitute ... Read More »

10-27-24 30th Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 10/22/24

30th Sunday - Fr. Leo

There is a lot of symbolism in our gospel today.

First, Bartimaeus is blind.  We don’t now if he was blind from birth, or became blind. Either way, he lives in darkness.  It’s hard for us to imagine what it would be like not to see ... Read More »

10-20-24 29th OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 10/15/24

29th Sunday - Fr. Leo

The paradox of the Cross is that it is a symbol of victory over sin and death, but at the same time the result of the evil and darkness that killed Jesus the Christ.  To overcome the darkness of sin Jesus had to pass through ... Read More »

10-13-24 - 28th Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 10/08/24

28th Sunday - Fr. Leo

Wisdom is the greatest of life's treasures.  Wisdom brings us into the realm of God where we value and live for her goodness in our lives.  In the Book of Wisdom today it starts, “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit ... Read More »

10-06-24 27th Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 10/01/24

27th Sunday - Fr. Leo

When I approach the stories of creation in Genesis, to understand them, I remind myself that it is written in the genre of Myth.  By understanding it as Myth, is not to say it is untrue.  It is true, but in a different way than we ... Read More »

9-29-24 26th Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 9/24/24

26th Sunday - Fr. Leo

Both our first reading from Numbers and our passage from Mark’s gospel, show how the Spirit is beyond human control.  When the Lord took a portion of Moses spirit and gave it to the seventy elders it also reached Eldad and Medad who were ... Read More »

9-15-24 - 24th Sunday OT B - Fr. Leo Schneider

Posted by Jennifer Stephan on 9/10/24

24th Sunday - Fr. Leo

Our reading from Isaiah and from Psalm 116, celebrates a God who hears the cry of his people and stands up for the just.  “I was brought low, and He saved me.”  “I called on the name of the Lord, and he saved my ... Read More »