I am sitting on a plane in Philadelphia waiting to take off for Tel-Aviv. This is a ten day journey with about 100 other pilgrims, mostly from Kansas City.

This will be my second journey to the Holy Land. I went for ten weeks in seminary. I was always hoping to put up my travel blog from that trip on this website, but it never happened. So, I'll just start from scratch on this pilgrimage.

Check back periodically. I'm hoping we have wi-fi in the hotels, so I can upload photos and journal entries. Be patient, though, please, because I don't know how busy our days will be. Please pray for us and I'll pray for you.

In Route To See The Home of the King,

Fr. Scott

On May 10th, two seminarians, two priests, and I will be running a race in Wea, KS called Running with the Cows. The priests will be running the half marathon to raise money to support seminarians. We need sponsors, and I would love it if you could sponsor me. Please go to the site below, scroll down to my name, and donate. The first $10 goes to Wea's Catholic grade school and CRS, but everything else goes to seminarians. If you do it by May 1st, your name will be on my shirt during the run! Thanks so much!!!

Http://www.runningwiththecows.com

I am slotted to be on AM 1090, the Catholic radio station, from 4 to 5pm on April 2nd. Please listen and donate. I have a track record of high donations during my hour (it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the generous people I'm privileged to know), so help keep my track record going!!!

Thanks and God Bless!!

As you spend time with your nativity scenes, I encourage you to ask yourself through whose eyes you will be looking at the newborn Savior this Christmas.

Mary
            As Mary joined Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem, she could see through the aches and inconveniences of pregnant travel, and look expectantly to the arrival of her baby boy.  She was the Mother of the Redeemer, but she was still just a mother, excited to bring her pregnancy to fulfillment and to contemplate the face of her little boy.  Nothing could keep her from the love, care, and devotion she had for her child.
            This year, perhaps Christmas is for us the joyful season it is meant to be.  Perhaps we gaze at Jesus through the eyes of Mary, an excited parent or grandparent, ready to watch family members experience the joy of Christmas, maybe for the first time.  That child of Mary has made each of us, and each of our family members, His sisters and brothers, so that we can joyfully and eternally be part of the greatest family of all.

Joseph
            Joseph had generously accepted Mary and her mysterious pregnancy into his life.  He took on the role of foster father, so it pained him to watch his new, pregnant wife travel many miles and give birth far away from home.  He didn’t know where they would stay.  He didn’t know the danger that came with being in this child’s presence, and he didn’t know that it would be years before they went home.  But he trusted that God had a plan, although he could not see it, and he carried his worries with hope.
            No year is perfect, and no Christmas is without stress, but maybe for us this year is more anxious than usual.  Perhaps we gaze at Jesus through the eyes of Joseph, a trusting but worried parent, not sure what the future holds or how we will be able to care for the ones we love.  But the baby we gaze upon, when he becomes an adult, tell us to trust in him and to take his easy yoke on our shoulders.

Shepherd
            The shepherds were the lowest of the low, at least in the eyes of society.  They were dirty, smelled like their sheep, and were looked upon as thieves.  Yet they were the first ones, besides His parents, to see the face of the Redeemer.  Christ came to save all of us, but He had a tender spot in His heart for those on the edges, broken and rejected, and so in His amazing plan of salvation, it was to them that the message of joyful peace was first revealed.
            We don’t always need to be successful, to be congratulated, to be everyone’s favorite, but we do need to feel loved, cared about, and appreciated.  Perhaps this year we gaze at Jesus through the eyes of the shepherds, feeling alone, misunderstood, over-worked but under-appreciated.  But the baby we gaze upon came to not only save each and every one of us, but to be our friend and to show us how valuable we are in His eyes.

Wise Men
            The men from the East were great astronomers, or maybe they were kings.  Either way, they were probably men of wealth, knowing how to read the sky and having the means to take off on their adventure.  Most importantly, though, they were wise, because instead of staying comfortable in their affluence, they looked to the sky and followed God’s sign wherever it led.  That sign, that star, led them to the simple manger of a poor, humble child, but they wisely saw that He deserved gifts fit for a king.
            We know in our minds that Christmas should be about Christ, but it is terribly easy to get caught up in the consumerism of the season.  Perhaps we gaze upon Jesus through the eyes of the wise men.  We are used to a world of excess and relative luxury, stuck in the desire for the material.  But we recognize our need for a relationship with the little One who showed us that He is the gift we need to receive, the gift we need to give.

Angel
             The angels, as ministers of our Heavenly Father, are blessed with the eternal joy of the Beatific Vision.  As great as their existence is, the Second Person of the Trinity never became an angel, but He did become human.  The angels faithful to God were not resentful, but saw clearly that His life would mean redemption of all creation.  Their focus never wavered from that Beatific Vision, even as it lay humbly in a manger.
            Sometimes we go through periods in life where our relationship with God is so clear and it motivates all that we do.  Perhaps this year we look upon the child Jesus with an eagerness to be His friend, His minister, and His messenger to the world.  That child responds with a smile, which is enough to fill us with unending joy.

Jesus
           In return, Jesus looks upon each of us to say, “My sister, my brother, my friend, it does not matter what eyes you look through to see Me, I just want you to see Me.   That is why I became human, so I could reveal Myself and my Father to you, and so I could give you the Spirit so that you could see Me in every aspect of your life.  I wanted to be close to you too, to see you in a way similar to the way you could see me, to take on your life, your ways, your body, your humanity, giving up all glory to be as close to you as possible.  That is how much I love you.  So wherever you are, however you are, whoever you are, I just want you to see Me and let Me see you.”    

Today the Office of Readings for St. Bartholomew has a great reading from a letter by St. John Chrysostom. He lays out well the proof to Jesus' divinity and resurrection through the success of the weak Apostles:

"It was clear through unlearned men that the cross was persuasive, in fact, it persuaded the whole world. Their discourse was not of unimportant matters but of God and true religion, of the Gospel way of life and future judgment, yet it turned plain, uneducated men into philosophers. How the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and his weakness stronger than men!

"In what way is it stronger? It made its way throughout the world and overcame all men; countless men sought to eradicate the very name of the Crucified, but that name flourished and grew ever mightier. Its enemies lost out and perished; the living who waged a war on a dead man proved helpless. Therefore, when a Greek tells me I am dead, he shows only that he is foolish indeed, for I, whom he thinks a fool, turn out to be wiser than those reputed wise. So too, in calling me weak, he but shows that he is weaker still. For the good deeds which tax-collectors and fishermen were able to accomplish by God’s grace, the philosophers, the rulers, the countless multitudes cannot even imagine.

"Paul had this in mind when he said: The weakness of God is stronger than men. That the preaching of these men was indeed divine is brought home to us in the same way. For how otherwise could twelve uneducated men, who lived on lakes and rivers and wastelands, get the idea for such an immense enterprise? How could men who perhaps had never been in a city or a public square think of setting out to do battle with the whole world? That they were fearful, timid men, the evangelist makes clear; he did not reject the fact or try to hide their weaknesses. Indeed he turned these into a proof of the truth. What did he say of them? That when Christ was arrested, the others fled, despite all the miracles they had seen, while he who was leader of the others denied him!

"How then account for the fact that these men, who in Christ’s lifetime did not stand up to the attacks by the Jews, set forth to do battle with the whole world once Christ was dead—if, as you claim, Christ did not rise and speak to them and rouse their courage? Did they perhaps say to themselves: “What is this? He could not save himself but he will protect us? He did not help himself when he was alive, but now that he is dead he will extend a helping hand to us? In his lifetime he brought no nation under his banner, but by uttering his name we will win over the whole world?” Would it not be wholly irrational even to think such thoughts, much less to act upon them?

"It is evident, then, that if they had not seen him risen and had proof of his power, they would not have risked so much."

Today, Wednesday, April 24th, I will be on Catholic radio, 1090am, from 5pm to 6pm. All week the station is having its annual fundraiser, and they bring on several priests throughout the week to have them help promote the station. Catholic radio is a very valuable ministry and has been the source of many conversions and reversions to the Catholic Faith. I encourage you to listen and call in to support. And, well, I wouldn't complain if my hour got the most pledges!

Thanks for your support, and I promise that I will do more blogging in the near future. I hope the Holy Spirit has been enlightening and encouraging you with the homilies on this site.

God Bless,

Fr. Scott

Well, we have only two weeks to go to the end of Lent, and I thought I would start to do a little blogging in addition to adding my homilies from each week.  I just want to wish you all a good rest of your Lent.  I hope that you have truly entered into this season.  Hopefully the focus on the virtues has been helpful.  If nothing else, perhaps you have learned a something, or at least endured some of your purgative penance by listening to a homily or two.

I am terribly excited about our new pope, Francis, and I ask you to join me in praying for him.  He has a huge task in front of him, in the Church and in the world, and the weight of so many things rests on his shoulders. We need to surround him with our prayers.

One of the things I really like about Francis is his sense of humor.  Cardinal Dolan says that at the end of the first meeting with the cardinals after he was elected pope, Francis told them, "May God forgive you for what you have done."  Love it.  I also was watching video of him greeting cardinals, and he was smiling and joking and having fun.  Slightly different from his first appearance on the balcony, where perhaps he was still in shock.  But I'm glad he has relaxed.  At any rate, I truly believe that he is a great embodiment of the gospel message, combining adherence to the truth of the Faith with service to the poor and suffering, all while exuding simplicity and joy.  I pray that he inspires me to a holier priesthood.

God Bless,

Fr. Scott