Browsing Fr. Jasper's Homily
Retaliate Through Love
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
“I know what you’re going to tell me, Father, but I don’t know if I can. No … this is more honest: I don’t want to.”
The young husband who sat before me was broken and hurting. Two nights before, his wife of five years cheated on him ... Read More »
Makarios
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The word “Blessed” in the Beatitudes just doesn’t cut it, not really.
“Blessed” is overused. Bland in some ways. Safe and untouched. Picture rosaries that are “blessed” – the image that comes to my mind is something brand-new and spotless, right out of the sealed plastic container.
That’s ... Read More »
Go Deep
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The Note. The Knock.
Nearly nineteen years ago now, what Marie Roberts says she remembers most about that day in October 2006 were those two things: the note and the knock.
As she has told her story in the past, Marie had come home to find a message ... Read More »
The Light of Pierced Hearts
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
My parents were the age I am now when my younger brother was paralyzed in an automobile accident more than 25 years ago. Sometimes we are given the grace to see our particular Calvary looming on the horizon; other times, as it did for my family, it crashes ... Read More »
Love Story
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
For me, it was I-95 North during rush hour as I was driving through Chester heading toward the Blue Route. From seemingly out of nowhere, this wave of “emotion” washed over me, a moment in which I had no doubt I was experiencing God’s love in a way ... Read More »
Love and Marriage
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I carry with me a little red notebook that contains within its pages 75-and-counting stories of how two remarkable souls fell in love: notes that I take while meeting with Catholic couples preparing them for the sacrament of marriage.
One couple shared with me in extraordinary detail about ... Read More »
Baptism by Fire
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The scenes out of Los Angeles this past week have been beyond comprehension, looking more like something Hollywood itself would produce in one of their epic blockbuster disaster films. Entire neighborhoods wiped-out, block after block charred beyond recognition. Cars abandoned on the state's beloved freeways. People wandering the now-barren ... Read More »
Look Up
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
For two summers I worked in a Catholic-run group home for older men with severe physical and mental challenges; many had been cared for there since they were in their early 20s. In my limited role as an aide, I was able to assist the residents with their ... Read More »
In My Father’s House
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
It was the way in which the minivan careened into the church parking lot that instantly told me it was Mom and Dad seeking their lost daughter.
It happened – no lie – Christmas Eve after the early Vigil Mass. Throngs of people leaving the Church, happy and ... Read More »
Look Up
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
It was a sweet moment between a current UD student and a former Blue Hen, both attending the morning Mass on the weekend of final exams last Sunday. As the current sophomore was sharing tales of her recent late nights and study-stress, the older gentleman standing nearby offered ... Read More »