Homily Posted

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The homily has been posted for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. You can listen to it by clicking here.

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Pastor's Corner for the week of November 9, 2014

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Pastor’s Corner Week of November 9, 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am currently residing in a dormitory and cannot use the usual video or spoken format for The Pastor’s Corner. Still, I wanted to make a post with something for you to think about during this upcoming week.  One of the things I was taught at an early age was to read with a critical eye. Not everything in print can be taken at face value and while we expect modern day journalists to hold some form of integrity and desire to be objective, the truth is our modern day press is incredibly biased, and in the case of American media, entertainment driven.  Have you ever thought about who decides what is newsworthy? There can be thousands of people dying at the hands of evil tyrants, wars, starvation, etc. and our headlines are all about the latest tirade of Miley Cyrus or some other entertainer. Quite frankly I find this incredibly embarrassing and don’t believe it at all reflects the valu...
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Remembrances

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Today my Grandpa, Robert Martinson, would have turned 101 years old. He died in 2009. He was a great and gentle man who brought much joy to his family. He is missed terribly.  Today, 19 years ago, our family was devastated when my little niece was snatched away not having even reached 3 months old. That was such a sad event for our family and especially my brother and sister-in-law. This was one of those events that remind you that God doesn't always shield us from hardship and suffering but offers us a helping hand to try and make sense out of such difficult events. I remember well the love and support of so many people who attended the funeral to offer their condolences and support. Still, a day hasn't gone by since this event that I haven't remembered to pray for parents who have lost children. I guess this is one small way for me to try and put into practice a line from the Catechism of the Catholic Church I quoted last weekend during my homily It is ...
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What Is A Priest's Calendar Like?

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For people who wonder how a parish priest spends his time, here is my calendar from July through February of this year.  Some parishioners are more connected than others, but I often find a lot of parishioners form very strange ideas about how I spend my time and what I do within the parish. The more connected a parishioner is the more understanding they usually are. Sadly, the vast majority of parishioners are not that involved in the parish and lack a lot of information, not just on how I spend my time, but also the time that other staff dedicate to serving the parish. We have many staff who are incredibly dedicated and make a ton of sacrifices for the parish.  Time management is always a challenge for me. There are a lot of things about the parish I like, and some things I don't like. In general, I wish people would step back and be a little more understanding about how many demands and expectations are placed on their parish priests. We are in short supply and I d...
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