I left a comment on YouTube this week, something I rarely do. The video described the vastness of the physical universe with breathtaking facts about the infinite void that both creates and surrounds the relationship between the celestial bodies. I had nothing critical to say about the science, but instead about something the narrator said, which seemed intellectually dishonest to me.

I was going to entitle this first section, “The Church Has No Mission,” but it would have been too obvious that I was trying to get your attention. Still it’s true that the Church does not “have” a mission. Rather, the Church is a mission. Even the word “Mass” comes from the Latin “Misa,” which means mission.

My classmate, Father Tom Tassone, is an exceptionally talented man; he can build just about anything. One of the last things he built (while he was still living at Saint Joseph’s) was a wooden boat. When I saw it and asked him, “How did you bend the wood like that?” he told me about the steam box.

It’s an enclosure made by the woodworker that he fills with steam before inserting pieces of wood to make them pliable and able to bend without breaking.

You may know that we design a customized curriculum here for the children of our Faith Formation. Last year we taught seven months on the seven Sacraments. This year is on the seven virtues.

What we would like this year is for all of us to benefit from our evangelization and catechetical efforts. We get so excited when preparing the lessons that we say, “I wish the whole parish could hear this!”

Did you know that King Herod is described in the Gospels as “trying to see Jesus?” I wonder if that strikes you as odd. Why would a man with so much of this world’s riches and power want to see Jesus? Perhaps it’s for the same reason we do. We eat of this world, but hunger all the more. We get drunk and high, but are still unhappy. We clothe ourselves with comforts, but grow even colder.

On Wednesday of this past week, a husband and wife of our parish celebrated seventy years of marriage. We offered the 9AM Mass for them; much of their family was in attendance, and we thanked them for their example of fidelity. It was really lovely.

I want to say something about the trustworthiness of the Scriptures, because it occurred to me this week that I am more confident in the historicity of the Bible than in today’s media. But why? Is it just because I disagree with much of the commentary on the news? Or do I have some other reason for distrusting the ability of this age to communicate truths? What grounds do I have for putting more confidence in the handing on of an event that happened 2,000 years ago than I do in hearing from an anchor about what took place in the Midwest last week?

I didn’t have time to write out a column for you this week, so I thought I’d share the notes that I took in preparation for the homily this weekend - hoping you might find that interesting. In any case, please know that I started recording a new segment for the Petersboat podcast called, “The Monday After.” Check out the first episode for an explanation of the reason for it. I hope you enjoy both.