Category: From our Pastor:

Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!     How is it possible to be pro-life, pro-birth, pro-woman, pro-family and Catholic today?     In order to adhere to all of the above, we must begin by acknowledging God’s love as expressed through God’s compassion, fidelity, forgiveness, mercy, and justice toward us. Because these principles are…

Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!       Historically, St. Willebrord has had a robust Parish Pastoral Council. The Council consists of parishioners who serve their parish family by assessing parish needs, planning for the future, monitoring finances and physical plant needs, observing the general dynamics of the parish community, and advising the…

Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!       Death is such a difficult reality for us. Even when we are ready for it, our loved one and others near us often are not ready. Not being ready for death makes the grief that comes with death all the more difficult. When death occurs unexpectedly…

Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!       We celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday in the United States, and in 33 other countries. And, in eleven other countries, including Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, Mother’s Day was celebrated May 10. To all mothers therefore, we say: “Happy Mother’s Day! May God’s blessings be evident…

Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!       May 7, 2019, marks 25 years since the Church ordained me a priest by the hands of Bishop Robert Banks. Bishop Banks ordained me with the approval and acclamation of my confreres of St. Norbert Abbey, as well as the affirmation of the family and…

      Never give up! Some of you have seen the cartoon image of a frog being swallowed by a stork. The frog’s head is unseen as the stork begins to swallow it, BUT, the frog has its hands around the stork’s neck preventing it from eating the frog. The title is simply: “Never…

     I need to return to a subject I wrote about a couple of weeks ago – demonizing, dehumanizing, or hating the other with whom one has disagreements or differences. I wrote that Jesus himself never did such a thing. He maintained tremendous patience both in trying to stay engaged with his opponents as…

     Have you ever been harassed, assaulted, or robbed? Maybe the violation was sexual harassment or a sexual assault.      I had the experience of feeling violated when a pick-pocket took money from my father in Rome, Italy. I felt responsible for my dad and knew that he was vulnerable to theft. I too…

     Fr. Jack is currently in Peru meeting with personnel in Santa Clotilde, Iquitos, and Lima. He and the leadership team of the non-governmental organization (NGO) called PANGO are planning for the future of the health center at Santa Clotilde. Do a web search for “Rio Napo: Socio-cultural context of the Centro de Salud…

     Fr. Jack and I recently talked about a frequent temptation which we confront: the desire to demonize those with whom we are in conflict. We agreed that this is a dynamic to avoid. Jesus the Christ is our example. Jesus remained in communication with his opponents and at other times remained silent in…