Fr. Jim's Blog

After a nearly two month absence I am starting to post the homilies again. I will be away this weekend but will record them from now on and post them regularly. It has been really busy so I haven't been blogging much. I am taking my computer with me on the trip and maybe will write a few theological reflections on some thing that have happened over the summer.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A  Kempis is timeless spiritual classic that has been a great help to many Christian men and women. I discovered this treasure when I was first ordained a priest and it has helped me through difficult times and has been a cherished source of encouragement for me. Here is one chapter that covers a topic of great importance about having a purity of mind and unity of purpose. A MAN is raised up from the earth by two wings—simplicity and purity. There must be simplicity in his intention and purity in his desires. Simplicity leads to God, purity embraces and enjoys Him. If your heart is free from ill-ordered affection, no good deed will be difficult for you. If you aim at and seek after nothing but the pleasure of God and the welfare of your neighbor, you will enjoy freedom within. If your heart were right, then every created thing would be a mirror of life for you and a book of holy teaching, for there is no creature so small and worthless t...

I will be leaving this afternoon for the SCRC Convention in Anaheim. SCRC stands for Southern California Renewal Communities. This is a huge gathering of Catholics from all over the country. I last attended this conference nearly twenty years ago while I was in the seminary. I was really impressed by it. I signed up for a workshop with a classmate who doesn't know I am coming. I thought it would be a great surprise to just show up for his workshop. I will still send out Daily Thoughts while away as I have done a little work in advance. There may also be a blog entry or two about the Convention depending on how much time I have. It might be considered a sin not to go to Disneyland since it is nearly right across the street from the Convention center. :) I wish Magic Mountain was closer as that would be my preference. They just built the world's tallest and fastest looping roller coaster in the world. I can't wait to try it out but that will have to wait for another time....

I will post the homily from this past weekend's Masses this afternoon when I come home for a break for dinner.  I should be getting back into the habit of posting the homilies each week now that the schedule has gone back to normal for weekend liturgies at St. Brendan parish. 

My dad was able to return home yesterday from his three day hospitalization after suffering a stroke. It is pretty miraculous (thanks for your prayers) but everything seems to be returning to normal. He was very worried about his eyesight and afraid he wouldn't be able to drive anymore. Even that is improving and almost back to normal. This was a real wake-up call and he is going to be making some serious lifestyle modifications. He has a follow-up appointment on Friday with his general physician. He had the boat all ready to go for the salmon fishing trip and has asked if we can go next week. I will take a couple of days off of work to join them. Again, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers. My dad is not on Facebook but wanted me to express his thanks for all your prayers.

I will be away from the parish this weekend helping with a Project Rachel Retreat. Please keep us in your prayers and all the people who still need healing from the trauma of abortion.

I had a respectful and interesting visit with three young Mormon missionaries yesterday. They arrived shortly after 2PM and we continued our discussion which was started on last Saturday. I asked them numerous questions and raised my objections to some of the beliefs Mormons hold. They too had some questions for me. I doubt we'll ever interact again since I didn't show an interest in further exploration of the Mormon faith. I hope I gave them a few things to think about. They weren't too familiar with Catholic beliefs and practices. While I was away in Tofino fishing, I saw that the program I use to produce musical CD's received a major upgrade. I am by no means an expert in recording production and wish I had the time and resources to receive more training. I began my journey with home audio recording with an industry standard many studios use called Pro Tools. I then switched to the Apple Logic Studio program which runs only on Apple computers.  I have been a die-ha...