Parish News

Let’s talk about voting.

Jesus isn’t running for public office this year. Neither is His mother. That means we can stop looking for the perfect candidate. From the perspective of the Catholic faith, the perfect candidate isn’t out there.  Archbishop Robert J. Carlson writes about forming one’s conscience to prepare to vote. Click on the link to read more.

March and April 2021

Sign up for SMAA Blood Drive on July 24

An estimated 38 percent of Americans are eligible to give blood or platelets, but of those, less than 10 percent actually donate each year. If you are healthy and eligible, please come out to donate. Most donations take about an hour, so book your appointment, roll up your sleeve and become a part of the […]

Lent: A Season of Pruning and Reconciliation

How’s your Lent going so far?  Hopefully, now that we’re a little over a week in, you’re starting to see some fruit from your Lenten practices.  In 2016, Pope Francis said, “Lent is a beneficial time of pruning from falsity, from worldliness, from indifference: to not think that everything is ok if I am ok; to understand […]

Armed with Weapons of Self Restraint

“Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.” Lent is here!  This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season, the time when we are called by Christ to […]

The Eucharist: An Encounter with Jesus

This past week, we had our first parent meeting for First Reconciliation!  I can’t believe how quickly the year has gone, and it’s amazing that we’re already here!  In the talk I gave, I related a story about how when I was very little, upon seeing the priest celebrating the Eucharist, I shouted out from my pew, […]

Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

Hang on to your hats and wallets, folks, because this Friday is Valentine’s Day, or as my priest friends and I like to call it, “National Celibate Persons Awareness Day.”  I’m kidding of course, and while I think Valentine’s Day might be a little over-the-top in its celebrations these days, it’s still a pretty great holiday, […]

Dwelling in Darkness, In Search of Light

This past Tuesday, I received the very shocking and tragic news that a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Fr. Evan Harkins, had passed away, apparently by taking his own life.  Fr. Harkins and I lived together at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary for several years before he was ordained a year ahead of me.  I didn’t know […]