Browsing Reflections from Fr. Jasper
Survey Says
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
10/15/2023
The words ‘synod’ and ‘deanery’ have been thrown around quite often lately in our Church, and I am sure that some confusion continues to remain around the purposes of each. What is the ultimate goal of the Synod on Synodality happening right now in Rome (and what ... Read More »
The Most Powerful Weapon
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
October 8, 2023
I wasn’t always the best-behaved child in Church. Once, in the few minutes before Mass began, I thought it would be “fun” to jump on and off the kneeler before my Mom could catch me; I ended-up busting my lip on the pew in front of ... Read More »
Another “Holy Week”
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
October 1, 2023
I am like a kid in a candy store this coming week, and I dare say that it might actually be my favorite Church week of the entire year. (Don’t tell Holy Week or Christmas that I told you.) Think about it: we have angels, ... Read More »
Welcoming the Stranger
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
September 24, 2023
A few weeks back, a young man was visiting our area from his home in central Virginia. A Bible retreat for young adults was being held at one of the local “Sandynamed” camps, and his girlfriend asked him to join her and her church that ... Read More »
School Days
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
September 17, 2023
My Mom still loves telling the story of how I used to cling to the neighborhood oak trees on my way to the bus stop, refusing to go to school. “By eighth grade, thank God, he grew out of it,” she would say, smiling as ... Read More »
So Much More
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
September 10, 2023
“If it’s just a symbol, then to hell with it.” So said famed Southern writer Flannery O’Connor when dinner guests began challenging her on the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
For many people today – including ... Read More »
The Five F's
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
September 3, 2023
The very first question I was asked upon arriving here at Immaculate Conception back at the end of June was the following: “Father, do you golf?” To which I replied: “Does miniature-golf count?” Sadly, unlike many of my clergy confreres, I am not skilled ... Read More »
Getting Ready
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
August 27, 2023
A parishioner from a church to which I was assigned about ten years ago as part of seminary formation sent me photos of some letters and a handmade baptismal garment she found in her grandmother’s attic. “Father, look at this bundle of religious items from ... Read More »
Being Church Today
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
August 20, 2023
The parish community where I was raised was, without a doubt, the center of my life growing-up. I worshipped in the church weekly, was educated in the parish school, received most of my sacraments there, and even spent six incredible years teaching middle school students ... Read More »
Walking on (New) Water
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
August 13, 2023
It’s a powerful moment in this Sunday’s Gospel: Jesus makes his disciples climb into a boat and set out for other shores while he went alone to pray on a high mountain, to be united with His Father. It took trust for those apostles to set ... Read More »