Today, the Church celebrates Good Friday. It seems odd to me to call the day Jesus suffered, died, and was buried “good.” Because on this day Jesus shed his blood, we have been rescued from sin and death, and we also know just how deep and wide the love of God for us really is that […]
The Carrot & the Stick: Homily for August 7, 2016
Below is the written text for Deacon Pat Hessel’s homily at Holy Trinity Parish on the weekend of August 6-7, 2016 – on our motivation for living our life of faith. Some people speak about reward and punishment in terms of “the carrot and the stick.” They talk about it in relation to motivating people. […]
Lessons From Star Wars: The Stony Heart
“…show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” -2 Corinthians 3:3 One of the first large youth ministry events I organized was a youth rally meant to bring together […]
What does it mean to be free?
Because I spend a lot of time trying explain my faith to teenagers, many of them have no problem turning around and asking me questions about this or that teaching of the Catholic Church. Bar none, the most popular questions I’m asked usually have something to do with morality – why is it that God expects us […]
Man up!
As a certifiable Trekkie (I have attended three Star Trek conventions and once forced my wife to make a stop in Vulcan, AB, so I could check out the Star Trek museum there), I get really excited when I come across a scene I can use in my work with teenagers. One such scene came from JJ […]
“Hating the Sin” (but never a person!)
At the end of confession, the priest usually invites me to pray an act of contrition – a prayer saying that I’m sorry for my sins. This is the prayer I usually pray: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins, because of Your just punishments, […]