As a missionary, St. Boniface would be proud

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Boniface on what is the 16th anniversary of my ordination to be your bishop.  Many of you were not yet even in the seminary in 2008 and most of you were not yet priests. Over…

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Jesus owner but delegated responsibility to us

My grandfather founded a small meat packing business in Fort Worth (Taylor Dressed Beef) and worked at it very hard for many years.  He had to make many sacrifices in order to succeed, worked long hours, going in to work very early…

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Greatest commandment: To love God with heart, soul

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about the teaching of Jesus has to do with his commandment of love.  You recall when Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment of the law,” and we are told that the answer was…

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Devastating effect of individualism in U.S.

We live in a culture that has been impoverished by individualism, which is made all the worse by the fact that as a society we value personal autonomy at the expense of the common good.  Our national myth is that of the…

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I knew in fifth grade Jesus was my best friend

Today is the Vocations Day for Central Arkansas Catholic Schools, a day when we gather fifth-grade grade boys and girls and invite you to consider whether the Lord may be calling you boys to serve him as a priest or as a…

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St. Joseph a model of solidarity with immigrants

Today as we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, who models for us what a good father must do when faced with challenges — walking by faith, responding to God’s message received in dreams, receiving Mary as his wife, being a faithful…

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Two gifts after Jesus’ death: Mary and Eucharist

On Friday afternoon, they took Jesus’ body down from the cross, and I imagine that they probably laid him gently in Mary’s arms.  Joseph of Arimathea and John and others did the things that had to be done. Every squeak of the…

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Why we have altar, not just a communion table

Today begins the sacred Triduum, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday — the days when evil did its worst, but Jesus rose victorious and now offers us a share in his victory. The first of these days has an older name…

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