by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • April 16, 2010
Gone Fishing!
We are so familiar with this fishing expedition that it feels like a quaint little story about Jesus making a big catch for his friends. That much is true, but it leaves out everything that happened before. It is a story about ordinary fishermen in an ordinary village in ancient Palestine. They have ordinary wives and ordinary children and ordinary lives. They are on the sea most of the time. Their faces are weather beaten, their hands cut by net barbs and hardened by the sea salt. It is a hard life of work, but it is a good life: honest, healthy and simple and they are content. 
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • March 27, 2010
The crowd that shouted “Hosanna!” also called out “Crucify him!”
The gospel according to Luke has been called the gospel of prayer, the gospel of women and the gospel of compassion because it stops to pay attention to these themes and the stories about them.
On His way to Golgotha, Jesus stops to acknowledge the grief of the women of Jerusalem and their insight that His death also signals the failure of the holy city to avert coming disaster and destruction.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • March 20, 2010
Our Lenten journey is coming to an end. In the past weeks we have encountered our own darkness of the soul. We have stood in the light of our Transfiguration and asked for faith. We have been blessed by God’s patience as he gives us another chance to follow his path. As prodigal children we have decided to turn back and return home once again.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • March 8, 2010
Have you ever had a burning bush experience? Have you ever known a moment in which you were so profoundly in touch with the presence of God that your life was totally changed by that encounter? Moses experienced God in the burning bush and through that experience began to realize his true identity and his purpose in life.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • February 19, 2010
”Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you, for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real.” (from the Velveteen Rabbit). Lent gives us a perfect time to begin to get real. Becoming real is a life long process. It means that we have attained authenticity, that our thoughts, words and actions are truly integrated. Our yes is yes and our no is no. What we confess with our mouth must be consistent with the manner in which we live our lives.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • February 12, 2010
Have you ever asked the question “What is Catholic Stewardship?”
Stewardship is not simply about making donations or taking care of the building and grounds. It is a spirituality, a way of life and it is made up of four parts:
- Receiving the gifts of God with gratitude
- Cultivating them responsibly
- Sharing them lovingly in justice with others
- Standing before the Lord in a spirit of accountability
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • February 5, 2010
Where’s Waldo? How many of us have shared this series of books with our children and tried to find Waldo, the bespectacled, bobble-headed man dressed in a red and white shirt, blue pants, and carrying a walking stick among various backdrops. Because the backdrop in which he appears is always different, sometimes young and inexperienced eyes need help in their search. But Waldo is always the same, and discovering him is always a happy accomplishment.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • November 23, 2009
The Fate of Jesus
As we draw to a close of another liturgical year, I thought this homily says it all. I read this in “Celebration”, a resource pamphlet, and thought it was worthy to share with you.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • November 23, 2009
All are invited to an Advent Presentation!
Hosted by Men’s Fellowship
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 3rd, for a special presentation hosted by the Men’s Fellowship and presented by Deacon John Dumas, on Everything you wanted to know about Advent. It will begin at 7:30 P.M. in the Social Hall and is open to all in the parish.
Come learn about the Season of Advent and it’s Scriptural anticipation of the three comings of Christ (Past, Present, Future). Learn the central message of the Liturgical Season, current Church guidelines and regulations. He will speak of the meaning of Advent, it’s origin and history, and current and past traditions. The history of the Advent Wreath; the Jesse Tree; the Advent Calendar and the Great O-Antiphons and more will be explained.
This should be an exciting and informative presentation! Come and learn more about Advent and support our seminarian, Deacon John.
by Rev. Mr. Ron Cook • August 12, 2009
Had Jesus been born into a place other than Judah and into a culture other than that of our Hebrew ancestors, the Gospels for the next four Sundays would probably have been a little different. In these Gospels, Jesus offers himself as bread: sapiently (the bread of his word) and sacramentally (bread of the Eucharist). But perhaps an Asian Jesus would have offered rice as the sustenance that gives life. A Latino Jesus might have offered corn and beans, while a Jesus born into sub Saharan Africa could have provided matoke or plantains as the staple to feed the physical and spiritual hungers of his contemporaries. Wherever he might have ministered, whatever staff of life he chose, whatever sign he offered the gift that Jesus gave was the gift of himself for the life of the world.