All Souls Day • The dead are not so very far away. They have a message for you:

"What you are, I once was.
What I am, you will be."

I want to start my homily by talking about funerals. Funerals and Baptisms have more in common than you might realize. We greet the body at the door, we sprinkle the casket with Holy Water, and we unfold a white pall over the casket. Jesus receives all of our concerns and burdens, and covers us in his own holiness. Finally, we are given a lit candle, the Light of Faith, to light our way to heaven.

Our Baptism starts us on our journey to God's kingdom. We then spend the rest of our life preparing for our funeral.

We are deeply connected with the spiritual world, but we are often unaware of this aspect of our existence. When the soul leaves the body, it sees it's own state. Souls that said "No" to God, and that was their final answer, begin immediately to experience hell. Souls that were free of all sin begin immediately to enjoy the happiness of heaven. And those that still had some attachment to sin enter a state of purification.

Salvation isn't finished yet. On the last day, at his Second Coming, Jesus will return in glory with his angels. He will raise the dead and put Heaven and Earth together forever. It will all go quicker than we think. Are you preparing for your funeral?

(2 Nov 2025)

Going Deeper: Go walk in a cemetery, pray for the dead, and reflect on your own funeral.

Join me for the final year of Oriens: A Pilgrimage Through Advent and Christmas learn more at PilgrimPriest.us/book

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Ordinary Time, 29th Sunday (C) Welcome to our Stewardship Commitment Sunday. When it comes to stewardship, I feel like the little old lady who is constantly badgering the judge. "Turn in your card!"

When God doesn't answer our prayers, we need to step back and notice our underlying need. The Lord wants to grow deeper in a relationship with us. We are often not open to receive the gift of Jesus himself. The good times and the bad, the sickness and the health, can all be opportunities to grow closer to God. But we need to be persistent in prayer if we want to see growth happen.

Our annual Stewardship Renewal is not fundamentally about Time, Talent and Treasure, but rather about growing closer to the Lord. "Lord, show me how you are inviting me to grow closer to you through my Time, Talent and Treasure commitments in 2026."

Do you ever feel like you're not having an impact on the world? When you make changes to your own life, you also change the world. Thank you for changing the world today!

(19 Oct 2025)

Going Deeper: If you are a member of the Antigo Area Catholic Churches, please turn in your Stewardship Renewal card or fill out your commitment online through the parish website.

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Ordinary Time, 28th Sunday (C) Naaman the Syrian is powerful, wealthy, and successful. But his strength and wealth are not enough to make him healthy. He encounters love and truth through his obedience to God's will, and experiences wholeness and communion.

When we started our stewardship program, I thought everyone else needed to learn stewardship. The program is helping me learn to trust in God, be grateful, and be generous with God's gifts. Being obedient to God leads to healing. Even the sufferings, burdens, and challenges that we face are really gifts from God.

(12 Oct 2025)

Going Deeper: If you are a member at the Antigo Area Catholic Churches, please turn in your stewardship renewal card next weekend. Consider committing yourself to a daily Rosary.

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Ordinary Time, 27th Sunday (C) "I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord." Was the prophet Habakkuk looking over my shoulder as I watched the evening news?

We come to Sunday Mass to get a new vision, a vision that is different from the evening news or your social feed. God appears not to intervene because he is more concerned about the state of your soul than about the state of the world. Let's consider an attitude adjustment.

First, how do we look at the global and national news? Some people like to use the lens of "Spiritual Warfare." By this, they mean that the Devil has a secret plot to undermine the Church and take over the world, and we have to act now to stop him! But that's not how the Church sees the world. Our Father is still in control, and he is quietly working things out for our good.

We spend a lot of energy on the big-picture things we have no control over. And we miss chances to change the world immediately around us. I'm an advocate of Stewardship because I believe that it can be an antidote to our consumer culture. It starts when we are grateful for God's gifts. Then we can be generous with the time, talents, and treasures that God has given us. The more we give, the more we will see ourselves as a gift.

If I'm trusting in myself, my resources, and my smarts, then I only have a limited amount to work with. But even the smallest amount of faith gives us access to the infinite power of God. Faith enables us to act with power, love, and self-control. And when we have done great things by God's power, we can simply say, "I was just a faithful steward."

(5 Oct 2025)

Going Deeper: Take some time to re-evaluate your life. "Am I really living as a Steward?" Am I taking care of my little world, and trusting God with the big picture?

Oriens: A Pilgrimage Through Advent and Christmas 2025

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Ordinary Time, 26th Sunday (C) I saw a lot of amazing things on my pilgrimage to Italy: medieval towns, Pope Leo, three Eucharistic miracles, the four major basilicas... but the most amazing thing was our Italian bus driver, Pino. I used to think that Italian driving was highly competitive. But I watched Pino and the other drivers cooperating with one another.

Do we see the world through a lens of competition or cooperation? Many of our political leaders today see the world as winners and losers. Jesus has a message for us: The winners of today will be the losers of tomorrow, and the losers of today will be the winners of tomorrow. St. Francis of Assisi chose to be poor today and became wealthy in eternity. Emperor Nero tried to be the big winner, but St. Peter was victorious. St. Wenceslaus was a loser to sibling rivalry, but he was the big winner in the final analysis.

Pope Leo invites everyone to pray the Rosary for peace during the month of October. I just started a commitment to a daily Rosary, and I want to encourage you to do the same. The Rosary will help you be grateful and generous.

(28 Sep 2025)

Going Deeper: Consider a commitment to a daily Rosary.

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Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross • Anti-venom comes from animals who were poisoned but survived. Jesus drank the poison of our sins and it killed him. But he rose from the dead and now his body is the antidote to sin and death.

Grumbling is a kind of poison. If left unchecked, it will kill our spirits. When you suffer, look at the cross. Know that Jesus suffers with you and he suffers for you. You can unite your sufferings to Jesus. It is a good habit to have a cross in every room in your house.

(14 Sep 2025)

Going Deeper: Hang up a crucifix in a prominent place in your home. Spend 15 minutes gazing at a crucifix and sharing your burdens with Jesus.

Image © Benjamin Sember | Over 14 years of homily episodes available at PilgrimPriest.us/podcast | Like, subscribe, and share us with your enemies. | Find me on Facebook and Twitter | Powered by Patrons | give through PayPal or leave a nice review on your favorite podcast platform.

Ordinary Time, 23rd Sunday (C) We think we are free, but many of us are slaves. We are burdened by the needs and worries of the flesh. The book of Wisdom says, "For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns."

In today's Gospel, Jesus seems to be adding more burdens: Hate your family, take up your cross, and renounce all your possessions. In reality, Jesus is not adding more burdens, but lifting burdens from us. He is setting captives free.

Think of the times we worry about our family and friends. If Jesus is the most important person in our lives, all our other relationships will find their proper order and place. We all face suffering. But if we carry our crosses with him and for him, our burdens will be lighter. We all worry about our material possessions. But if we follow Jesus, he will make sure we have what we need.

I find marriage to be a useful illustration of this "all-in" principle. Can a husband say to his wife, "I love you, but my mother is more important than you. My family, my friends, these are all more important."? I tell you, his marriage will not last long. A wife needs to be the first and most important woman in her husband's life. Then the other relationships will find their proper places.

How many would want to be married to a spouse who says, "I will be with you when things are easy, fun, and comfortable, but I will be leaving as soon as things get hard?" Even in marriage we must take up our crosses daily. Lastly, the possessions of one become the possessions of both when you are married. Some people are trying to be married as a kind of side job. Marriage only works when both spouses are willing to go "all-in".

In a similar way, many of us are trying to follow Jesus as if it were a side-job, something we do after we've done everything else. But it's only when we are willing to be "all-in" disciples of Jesus that everything else falls into place.

(7 Sep 2025)

Going Deeper: Join me for Oriens: A Pilgrimage Through Advent and Christmas this year. Learn more at pilgrimpriest.us/book

Image Source | Over 14 years of homily episodes available at PilgrimPriest.us/podcast | Like, subscribe, and share us with your enemies. | Find me on Facebook and Twitter | Powered by Patrons | give through PayPal or leave a nice review on your favorite podcast platform.