Browsing Fr. Jasper's Homily
No Easy Bread
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Another week, another controversy.
This time, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics the previous Friday. Social media erupted last Saturday morning with shock and anger over apparent and deliberate sacrilege shown toward a sacred image connected to our faith: that of the Last Supper.
If you ... Read More »
Be An Andrew
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Andrew the Apostle does not get nearly as much credit as he deserves. There, I said it.
Think about it: His brother Peter? Becomes first Pope with an awesome new Jesus-given nickname of “the Rock.” Young John becomes the beloved one, invited to place his head on the ... Read More »
How Are We Shepherding
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
This time it was Walmart, not Wawa. (The Lord likes to shake-up my homily inspirations every now and again.)
In the cereal aisle, an elderly woman reaches for some kind of bland fiber product that was placed much too high for her to grasp. As one can imagine, ... Read More »
Take Him at His Word
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
My best friend throughout most of my 20s and 30s was an eighty-year-old nun. Truly.
Sister Irene offered me my first teaching job, masterfully guided me in learning how to work with middle school students, and became my closest confidant. I have no doubt I am a priest ... Read More »
Every Rose Has One
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I think all of us have a list of questions that we’ll have at the ready to ask our Lord when we get to heaven. Many “whys” and “how comes” and “did it really have to be that way” types of inquiries. (Of course, let it be known ... Read More »
Waiting Such a Long Time
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
“I always hated that Gospel.”
Eighty-year-old Helena was never one to sugarcoat her thoughts or feelings, so her comment didn’t necessarily shock me that humid summer afternoon as we awaited her Paratransit bus outside St. Elizabeth’s Church following Sunday Mass.
When I asked why, Helena didn’t hold back: ... Read More »
Three Dads and a Cell Phone
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
During my years of teaching middle school, I kept a small jar of tiny mustard seeds on my desk. On those occasions when I caught a student doing a small act of kindness toward one of his or her classmates, I would place the seed in a small ... Read More »
Out of His Mind
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
“He is out of his mind.”
So say the hosts of The View and Hoda and Jenna on Today. The NFL has indirectly said as much, too, in a public statement. Pop-singer Katy Perry went so far last week as to rewrite his speech to make it more ... Read More »
Hidden Burning
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I often slip into church in the early hours of the morning, before much of Elkton wakes up, so that I have some time to pray and reflect on the Word. It’s my one-on-one time with the Lord, and I am so grateful for it.
On Memorial Day ... Read More »
The Shalom of God
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
It made very little news – only a few Catholic publications picked-up the story, as did the local media in Lafayette, Louisiana: A teen gunman walked into a Catholic church in the suburbs of this southern city halfway between Baton Rouge and Beaumont, Texas, as Mass was being ... Read More »