Browsing Fr. Jasper's Homily
Twenthy-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (10/1/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
I Wanna Be Free
Twenty-three. That’s the number of unexpected Confessions heard at a recent Confirmation retreat held at a nearby parish.
The funny thing is – the Sacrament wasn’t officially scheduled on the itinerary for the day. However, we all know how the Spirit of God works, ... Read More »
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (9/24/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Take and Go Into My Vineyard
(Note: As an alum of Cabrini University, I was asked to preside at the college’s Alumni Mass during this final year of its storied history)
“It’s not fair.”
When it comes right down to it, this entire Gospel is the story of ... Read More »
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (9/17/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The Hardest Thing
A few years back, a couple unknown to me called the parish where I was stationed seeking a priest to provide some guidance. Quite bluntly, their marriage was at its breaking point.
Mindful that their story in all its detail is not mine to tell, ... Read More »
Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (9/10/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The Jesus Way
In 2007, I was on the steering committee that recommended to the diocese that my childhood parish elementary school – the school where I was at the time the 8th grade teacher – should close that coming June.
It was a heartbreaking decision. Many of ... Read More »
Twenty- Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (9/1/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The Whole Picture
The Presbyterian minister in town called here last week on behalf of one of his parishioners. “Father, this woman’s husband is Catholic, and hasn’t been to Church in decades,” he told me. “He’s dying and in need of the Sacraments. Will someone from your parish go?”
How could we ... Read More »
Twenty- First Sunday in Ordinary Time (8/27/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Who Are You
It’s exam time, and the teacher is asking his students two final questions. Only two.
How do others describe me? Who do you say that I am?
The second, even more than the first one, might be the only question in life that we ever ... Read More »
Twentieth Sunday In Ordinary Time (8/20/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Who Let the Dogs Out
My closest friends and I are quickly approaching the half-century mark, and for most of us, our lives revolved around the Catholic parish and parochial school system. In fact, many sociologists believe we Gen-Xers might be the last generation where one’s church community ... Read More »
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (8/13/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Sinking Springs
The caller on the phone – a woman I had never met in person – was desperate. “Father, I am just so tired.”
You could hear it – she was literally hanging-on by a thread.
Her health was a mess, both physically and mentally. Her family ... Read More »
Transfiguration (8/6/2023)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Climb Every Mountain
“I don’t want to do it.”
How often have we muttered that phrase, either silently to ourselves (over-and-over) or even out loud to anyone who will listen?
I don’t want to move. Begin a new job. Go to the doctor’s appointment. Put Mom in a care ... Read More »
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time(7/30/23)
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Treasure, That Is What You Are
Of the nearly three dozen couples I have prepared for marriage these past six years, Andrew and Maggie (pseudonyms) will always hold a special place in my heart for this one reason alone: Maggie was courageous enough to turn to her fiancé ... Read More »