2023 archive of Messages From Father Steve
The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 22, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 10/20/23
With little more than a year until the United States’ national elections, I find myself feeling, like many Catholics, both dread and energized. Dread, because our democratic republic can be a messy endeavor and campaigns a long, nasty, and unedifying slog; energized, because hope for positive societal change can ... Read More »
The Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 15, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 10/14/23
I confess that I have a soft spot for the scary things Jesus says because they are usually ignored. But there’s gold in them thar hills, if we have courage to look. This week Jesus gives us a terrifying warning in his parable about the king who gives a ... Read More »
The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time October 8, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 10/07/23
Jesus’ parables are much stranger than most people realize. This week is an attention-getting example. He tells the religious leaders a parable about a completely absurd situation. Blood-thirsty and insane tenants violently abuse and kill the servants of their landlord. Inexplicably, the owner keeps sending them more victims of ... Read More »
The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 1, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 9/30/23
A life-long Catholic friend of mine recently mumbled to me, “I can’t stand all these converts to the faith. They’re always rocking the boat.” It surprised me because he is dedicated to evangelization, and yet he struggles with openness to new Catholics. It made me realize how easily I ... Read More »
The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 24, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 9/23/23
Once I gave my three-year-old niece a certain toy for Christmas. When she opened it, she was happy. Shortly thereafter her five-year old sister opened another present from me: the same toy, along with some play jewelry. The three-year-old cried out: “That’s not fair!Why’d she get the jewelry, too?!”
... Read More »
The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 17, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 9/16/23
When I was in second grade, my prized possession was a metal Star Wars-themed lunch box. After school one day, another student ripped it from my hands. I helplessly watched in horror as my classmate threw it to the ground and violently stomped it into an unrecognizable heap of ... Read More »
The Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time September 10, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 9/09/23
What are you supposed to do about the bad behavior of the people around you? You know who I’m talking about. That family member, friend, coworker, or acquaintance who is quite immoral. On this front there are two lively options in our culture: bash the person to others (probably ... Read More »
The Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time September 3, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 9/01/23
Isn’t it easy to relate to Peter? One moment Jesus announces Peter’s deep communion with God the Father. The very next, when he rejects the logic of Jesus’ suffering and death, Jesus calls Peter Satan. We Christians shouldn’t be too shocked when we experienceboth spiritual highs and lows, when ... Read More »
The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 20, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 8/18/23
The suffering of a child symbolizes uniquely terrible evil as well as despair about the future. This week’s Gospel gives a “limit” case in which Jesus encounters this evil in the form of a mother with a suffering daughter. What he does is stunning and massively helpful for us ... Read More »
The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 13, 2023
Posted by Nancy Carrizales on 8/12/23
A man at my parish was struggling to overcome a habitual sin. He said to me, “Father, I know the chance that I will commit sin again is really high. Why should I keep confessing my sins? Isn’t that dishonest?” Anyone who has felt the tyrannical power of sin ... Read More »