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Sent Into The Wind

August 8, 2026

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

“After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.” Jesus “made” the apostles get into the boat and depart. In the Greek, Jesus “made them / compelled them / constrained them” to go. Why were they so reluctant to leave? It could simply be that they did not want to be apart from Jesus, but there may be another reason for their hesitation.

Peter, Andrew, James, and John were experienced fishermen who had worked many nights on those Sea of Galilee waters. Jesus was asking them to sail a few miles west across the sea toward Capernaum. When they felt the evening air and looked at the western sky, perhaps they foresaw that the wind and the waves could be strong that night. Besides leaving Jesus behind, the apostles might have been reluctant to be out on the water. Nevertheless, he commanded and they went.

“After doing so, [Jesus] went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a considerable distance offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.”

When I visited Israel ten years ago this fall, it was great to gain a truer sense of sites I had read about in Scripture, like the compactness of the Old City of Jerusalem or the relative smallness of the Sea of Galilee. When you envision “the Sea of Galilee,” perhaps you imagine the view across an ocean or one of our Great Lakes where the opposite shores are out of sight beyond the horizon. But in comparison to them, the Sea of Galilee is tiny. Even Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago is 30 miles in length while the Sea of Galilee, north to south, is just 13 miles. When you stand on its rocky shores you can see the various low mountains surrounding it. Sitting on one of those hillsides a person could watch a boat as it sailed across the sea to the opposite shore.

Jesus was praying alone on a mountainside. The apostles did not see Jesus with them but he was watching them and prayed for them as they were tossed about by waves and sailed against the wind. Likewise, even when we are struggling in the dark, Jesus sees us and intercedes for us.

“During the fourth watch of the night, [between 3 and 6 AM,] Jesus came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’”

In the Gospels, Jesus arguably says variations of “Fear not / Be not afraid” more frequently than he says anything else. And notice how that is not merely his suggestion; it’s a command. Jesus does not want fears preventing us from having peace and doing his will. Peter acted boldly, at least at first. He asked and was invited to walk with Jesus on the water. “But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ After [Peter and Jesus] got into the boat, the wind died down.”

Now here is what struck me most when I read this story this time around. Jesus did not have to send his disciples out across that chaotic sea; he chose to. And as he watched them struggle against the wind and waves, Jesus could have commanded the forces of nature to be still as he did on another occasion with the sea; but this time he chose not to. Jesus is able to walk on water and he welcomes Peter to join him, giving his disciple an opportunity to exercise his trust and virtues. When Peter falters, Jesus pulls him up, and once they reboard the boat together, the wind dies down; for it had served its providential purpose.

Jesus Christ’s will for us in this life is not endless ease. Rather, he desires our greatness. For that purpose, he sends us and calls us to places we might not wish to go; permitting challenges for our greater good and glory. Truly, as his disciples said, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He sees us, he’s almighty, and he loves us. So why ever be afraid?

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, St. Peter, Sunday Homilies, Trust, Walking on Water | Leave a Comment »

Mourning With Jesus

August 1, 2026

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

He was persecuted for preaching the truth. Though he had done nothing wrong, he was hated. They arrested and imprisoned this righteous and holy man, and when questioned, his answers would confound the questioner. The secular ruler was reluctant to put this man to death, but in the end, bowing to social pressure, he ordered his unjust execution. After his death, his disciples took their teacher’s body, laid it in a tomb, and mourned him. This death, this murder, this martyrdom of St. John the Baptist was mourned by Jesus too.

Recall that John the Baptist was Jesus’ relative and friend. In John’s Passion and death, Jesus could see a foreshadowing of his own. Jesus weeps at the tomb of Lazarus, but Lazarus died from a natural illness and was resurrected soon after. John the Baptist’s death was caused by the wicked, the direct result of chosen sins. And Jesus mourned him realizing he would never see John again in this life.

“When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.” When Jesus arrived, “disembarked, and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” Then Jesus fed them all using five loaves of bread and two fish; the only miracle (besides his Resurrection) which is recorded by all four Gospels. Then Jesus “made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. Then [Jesus] went up on the mountain by himself to pray, [and] when it was evening, he was there by himself.”

Jesus and his disciples experienced times of mourning. We and our loved ones will experience times of mourning, too. In today’s Gospel, Jesus Christ, our model for our Christian life, provides us lessons for such seasons.

First, Jesus took time to mourn and it was not selfish for him to do so. He withdrew to mourn and spend time alone, but in that solitude he prayed. Many psalms and Old Testament scenes have God’s faithful voicing their painful laments to God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even though he was divine, prayed to God as man. He did this for personal consolation and that others would be helped. Remember to pray for the souls of the departed and feel free to speak to them, for I am convinced that not even death can entirely separate those who are in Christ.

When Jesus arrived at that desolate place and found the large crowd, his heart was moved with pity. Without suggesting any fault in Jesus, sometimes our sufferings can make us more sensitive to the sufferings of others. Jesus does not close in on himself. He goes outside himself to serve others. How do you think it felt for Jesus to help so many (perhaps while experiencing feelings of such powerlessness)? It was a consolation to him. Going out beyond ourselves can help in healing a mournful heart.

Sometimes when we know someone is mourning, we give them so much respectful space they end up being treated like lepers. The crowds (whether conscious of Jesus’ burdens or not) approached him like before and those encounters blessed them both. So do not be afraid to ask them a favor, offer an invite, or give them a gift; since we see such things can help them. And if they decline, don’t take it personally. Jesus’ friends brought him a meal of five loaves and two fish, and doing that did a world of good.

Jesus experienced times of mourning and we will too. Take time to mourn in solitude but keep close company with God in prayer and pray for the departed. Do not simply close in on yourself but go beyond yourself for others. And approach those who are mourning to offer healthy encounters and opportunities. It pained Jesus to be so tragically separated from his dear one, John, but Christ promises God’s people who mourn will be comforted. And these trials make us more like Jesus Christ, who consoles others. As St. Paul told the Corinthians: “[God] comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Jesus mourned like us. Let us mourn like him.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Last Things, St. John the Baptist, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Carrots Need Time to Grow

July 20, 2026

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Deacon Dick Kostner

One of my best education days as I was “growing up” was when Fr. Frank explained to his Pastoral Study Students the significance of Jesus always teaching through parables. When Fr. Victor asked when I would like to preach to you folks again and I reviewed the upcoming Gospels for this month and I saw this weeks story about God’s Kingdom and Jesus telling the Parable of Seeds I thought this would be the time to share with you what I learned in class about Jesus and parables.

Jesus, while spending time with his brothers and sisters wished them to understand how the Kingdom of God differs from world thoughts and practices. During this period of time most people were agricultural people and had no formal educational skills to help them mature in thought and deed. So Jesus used parable stories to help them develop into God thinking children of God. Parables tell us a story about activities we are comfortable with understanding. But parables come to us with a twist that takes our mindset on a topic and turns it upside down from what we had learned and sends our mind out into a new direction from world thoughts and sends them upward to help us to understand how God’s Kingdom differs from our Earthly thoughts and practices.

As many of you know, I love to spend time with my garden and watch new life transform into mature good eating things. What I don’t love is doing battle with weeds that wish to choke off my vegetable babies. So, I go into the battle mode with a vengeance. This year we were having trouble getting our carrots to spout. After waiting and waiting I told Barb that we might not be getting any carrots this year. She finally agreed and replanted the 20 feet we had prepared for them. The new plantings started to sprout but soon thereafter so did the seeds we had planted earlier. This required us to remove some of the seedlings in order to have any hopes of getting carrots.

In today’s Gospel, the parable story told by Jesus tells us that we must have patience. Deacon Dick is a slow learner on this common sense lesson taught to us by Jesus so I get a “D-”. After sprouting it was only a couple of days and my watering that my weed enemies invaded my carrots. I told Barb we needed to weed in order to save the carrots. Her response was we need to wait until the carrots grow enough or we will tear out the carrot seedlings. The Farmer Jesus gives Dick an “F” but gives Barb an “A-”. for being a good farmer by earthly standards but she fails to get a an “A” in Gods Kingdom because in God’s kingdom patience is needed allowing the evil persons to repent for having sowed the weed seeds before being condemned and punished for evil acts in trying to destroy Gods plants of Love he calls his children.

In my true story we see that parable not only teaches and reinforces activities we are accustomed to for it takes us to a new road to travel. A road that will lead us to a higher level of love patience leading us to God’s Kingdom. In God’s kingdom the seeds planted by God (us children) are given time to develop and mature through mistakes made by allowing evil (weeds) to move us further away from God and His Kingdom instead of moving us closer to sainthood and a life of love in the Kingdom of God. In God’s Kingdom Forgiveness ,unlike the Earthly Kingdom, always trumps justice where there exists in his children a contrite heart. This time conversion can happen anytime during our life experience.

Jesus gives us the tools to ignore and be patient with the weeds that attempt to keep us from sharing eternal life with him in heaven after our earthly life. The tools are his commandments to love as he has loved us. He also allows us and the sinful, to make mistakes and repent before the final harvest when the weeds of evil will be separated from the wheat and burned, while the wheat , the fruit of love and patience ,is gathered and stored and shared in God’s Kingdom. Wishing all of you a blessed and fruitful harvest, and keep your eyes open to see for yourselves a new road to follow when Jesus shares with us his parable stories.

Post-Script: On First Friday’s I attend Exposition at St. John’s. I close out my hour by asking if God wishes that I do anything for him. Usually he says nothing but the last time I attended on July 3, I received this request: “I ask that you tell my Church that I gave Barb an ‘A’ not an ‘A-.’ She knew it was not evil that put weeds in her garden it was horses who donated fertilizer this year for her garden.” Thanks, God.

Posted in Homily, Parables, Sunday Homilies, Supernatural Phenomena | Leave a Comment »

Four Soils, One Calling

July 11, 2026

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus explains the meaning of his own Parable of the Sower. The seed sown on the hardened path is the sort of person who hears about the Kingdom of God without understanding. And what was sown within that person’s heart is quickly taken away by the evil one.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the sort of person who hears and receives the word with joy, but this person is shallow and the seed takes no root. When tribulation or persecution come because of the word that person quickly falls away.

The seed sown among thorns is the sort of person who hears the word, receives it, and begins to grow. But then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and that person produces no fruit.

But the seed sown on rich soil is the sort of person who hears the word, receives and understands it. That person grows and—to a good, or great, or greatest degree—bears abundant fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Some people dismiss Christianity out of hand. Others abandon Christianity when faithfulness begins to burden them. Other Christians are ruled by fears and desires which prevent them from being fruitful. But Jesus wants us to faithfully endure and do many good and holy things for God and our neighbor, in the Church and in the world. So which kind of soil are you?

If you are here today as hardened path soil, or if that describes someone you know, I encourage a deeper search for truth. I believe our only credible philosophical options in life are Catholicism or nihilistic nothingness. Now this fact doesn’t automatically make Catholicism true—it’s true for other reasons—but this justifies a further investigation, since there is no other hope. A person who seeks for truth can find more than just their own excuses. Jesus says that the one who seeks, finds. And to anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

If you are here as shallow rocky soil, appreciate that Christianity does not exempt us from experiencing tribulation or persecution. As St. Peter, the first pope, wrote in a New Testament letter: “Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.” So forewarned, I hope you will be forearmed, prepared and resolved to remain faithful to Christ.

If you are here as thorny soil, dominated by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches, Jesus reminds you to “be not afraid,” and notes that “no one can serve two masters.” Trust Jesus enough not to worry, choose love of God over love of money, and you will begin to bear better fruits.

And if you are here as rich soil: well done, good and faithful servant! Jesus says of every branch in him God the Father prunes so that it bears more fruit. So see if your thirtyfold yield can increase to sixty or a hundredfold.

Inside my kitchen, sitting by the window, are two potted plants that came along with the rectory. From time to time I turn their pots, so I can see the leaves better and so the plants’ other sides can get more sunlight. But as weeks go by, the plants’ leaves and branches gradually turn back toward the window and the sun. It’s their source of life and essential for their growth. Likewise, whatever kind of person or sort of soil you are, you are called to live and grow by turning toward Jesus Christ.

Perhaps this means pursuing him through study, learning more about him. Perhaps this means turning away from sin and encountering him in Confession. Perhaps this means dedicating more consistent time to daily prayer, to better conform your heart and desires to his. Or perhaps he desires you to simply turn more to him throughout your day. St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” So wherever you are, turn to him, to live and grow and bear more fruit.

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Reflecting Our Father — Funeral Homily for Ronald Bischel, 91

July 6, 2026

By Fr. Victor Feltes

In a way, our parents are our first representations of God. For instance, our earthly fathers—for better or worse—serve as icons of God the Father. None of our birth parents were perfect, so our spirituality can be wounded by their sins and shortcomings. But the goodness found in our parents—their virtues and their love—can help reflect who God the Father is. Ron, the father of eight children, was seen loving his farm, his family, and his Faith.

A hardworking dairy farmer, his farm has passed down to his sons. The farm transitioned to exclusively growing crops several years ago and there was sadness at seeing his cowherd go. God the Father, the creator of this earth, treasures his herd, too. David wrote centuries ago, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We are his herd. As another Psalm adds, “We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” Fear not, we are more precious than many cows.

Ron tended to be calmly present, very quiet, and listen, yet he ironically became the family’s so-called “informant.” When his children visited, one by one or in small groups, they told him all the latest about their lives and his twenty grandchildren. Then he in turn, though not in a gossipy way, would update his guests on the family news, keeping them connected to one another through him. “Beloved,” St. John writes, “we are God’s children now.” In Christ, God the Father adopts us as his own. He listens, cares about our lives, and connects us to each other. This relationship makes us brothers and sisters to each other here and now and makes us siblings with a multitude of the living and the dead, most of whom we have never met. But we can look forward to a family reunion of countless millions on the mountain of the Lord that the Prophet Isaiah describes: “On that day it will be said, ‘Behold our God, let us rejoice and be glad he has saved us!’”

Ron was interested in all sorts of subjects; well-read through not just news, farming, or financial publications but also many books. This universe is so endlessly detailed and interesting because heaven and earth are full of God’s glory. With Ron’s strong memory, he could remember details months after reading them. But no matter how sharp, worldly-wise, and learned a person may be, Ron considered these ultimately futile if one did not know God. As a St. Paul’s School alumnus, he sent all of his children to that school as well. He faithfully attended Sunday Mass, and when he could no longer attend he would watch TV Mass and have our Eucharistic Lord brought to him. God the Father is thoroughly interested in us all, and desires closer communion with each of us through his Son and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus praised God our Father, noting that although the wise and learned sometimes fail to perceive spiritual truths, our Father has “revealed these things to the childlike.” Jesus says, “Come to me [and] learn from me. … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And St. Paul adds, “Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ.” Let us pray for Ronald’s soul, for the cleansing of any imperfection which might still distance him from God. And moved by the Holy Spirit, let us look at Christ to behold the best reflection of our heavenly Father. For he “is the image of the invisible God.” And then in him we can be transformed into saints whom others may encounter and see—like they saw in Ronald—an earthly likeness of God.

 

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Loving Jesus Is Rewarded

June 27, 2026

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

An Army private gets called in by his commanding officer for reportedly sleeping while on duty at his guard post:
“But sir, I wasn’t sleeping, honest—I was just keeping my eyes closed!”
“Private, it’s your solemn duty not to let anyone to get past you!”
“Yes sir, I keep my eyes closed so that nobody can bribe me!”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents two lessons back-to-back; lest, understanding only half of his message, we would reach a dangerous conclusion like that Army private. First, Jesus insists that we must keep him as our top priority. We must be even more devoted to Jesus Christ than to our parents, or to our children, or to our own personal comfort.

Jesus tells his apostles: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” In fact, it is only by first and foremost loving our Lord that we can have the wisdom and grace to love our family, our friends, and ourselves as each deserves. Whoever seeks goals apart from the Lord will lose them along with this life, but whoever seeks the Lord’s goals will gain from them along with eternal life. As Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This passage marks Jesus’ transition to his second major lesson in this Gospel: that deeds done in his service will be richly rewarded.

Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” The things we do for Jesus, especially for him veiled within our neighbor, will surely be rewarded.

So Jesus presents to us with two important lessons, side-by-side. If we only heard that Jesus expects be our top priority, we might despair, thinking he is practically impossible to please. And if we only heard that Jesus rewards good deeds, we might become presumptuous, thinking God can be bribed or bought off by occasional gestures without true devotion. Rather, we should hold Jesus as our dear Lord while remembering that he will richly reward even the smallest things we do for him.

The young St. Therese of Lisieux, “The Little Flower,” dedicated herself to doing even little things for Jesus with great love. She called this her “Little Way” to holiness. In her highly-recommended autobiography “Story of a Soul” she writes: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” “You know well enough that our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” “Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” “To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul.” So we should not close our eyes to our solemn duty to Jesus, for if we love and serve him even in small ways we shall see his great rewards.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, St. Therese of Lisieux, Sunday Homilies | 1 Comment »

Fear Not

June 21, 2026

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

A string walks into a bar and the bartender says to the string, “Hey buddy, look at the sign!” The sign says: “NO STRINGS.” So the string steps outside, loops itself around, tightens itself up, messes up its hair, and goes back inside the bar. The bartender says, “Hey, aren’t you that string?” It replies, “No, I’m a frayed knot.” That was a joke referencing persecution, hair, and fearing not. My philosophy on homily jokes is that they should always tie in.

Jesus tells us three times in today’s Gospel to not be afraid. He says, “Fear no one. … Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. … Do not be afraid.” Jesus insists we need not fear because God knows and loves and cares about us. Jesus notes: “Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” Why does he cite hair as an example? Perhaps it is because your hairs are the most numerous, the most replaceable, and the most painlessly disposable parts of you. Yet God keeps tabs even on that about you. Nothing about you is being overlooked.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus also notes God’s attentive care for birds. Earlier Jesus had said: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?” As the inspired 84th Psalm observes: “The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your (temple) altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God. They are happy who dwell in your house, forever singing your praise.” So God feeds and shelters the birds and offered them the opportunity to live in his presence and praise him. He offers the same to us.

Jesus asks, “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” What is this about sparrows “falling” to the ground? By “fall” Jesus may be referring in the Greek to birds simply “landing” or “descending,” but I have also seen dead birds fallen on the ground. Last week for the first time, on the shoulder of the highway, I saw a black crow standing beside a dead crow on the ground, presumably where it had fallen after being hit by a passing vehicle. About the sparrows Jesus says, “Not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” But how can I be consoled by this when I see dead birds on the ground?

Yes, like Jesus and Job, Christians may suffer through no fault of their own. Like Jesus with his kinsman St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary with her Son, Christians may experience the tragic loss of a dear one. Like Jesus and his Apostles, we may suffer and be put to death for our faithfulness to God. But Jesus repeatedly urges us to not be afraid since our deliverance and glory shall be like his. “So do not be afraid,” Jesus encourages us, “you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus also wants us to be open and bold about our Catholic Faith: “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” In America today, you and I are not even facing deadly persecution, so what is our excuse for timidity? Like I said last Sunday, be an unashamed and faithful Catholic in everyday life. Answer people’s questions and invite them to explore our Faith. Be bold, for their souls may depend upon it.

Instead of fearing the judgment of peers, Jesus wants our concern to be what God thinks of us. “Be afraid, rather, of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna,” that is, our Divine Judge. Jesus assures us, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” So if we have been cowardly Christians in the past, repent and resolve like St. Peter to bear better witness to your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior in the future.

St. Paul teaches, “Have no anxiety at all.” Worry is worthless, concern is enough. If I were not concerned about this homily, I would have had nothing prepared. If I were not concerned about this Mass, I would not have shown up to celebrate it. But feeding worries about these things would have been for me a waste of time and energy. As St. Padre Pio often said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!” It comes down to this: will you trust Jesus Christ? Remember his words and his rewards and fear not.

Posted in Homily, Jesus Christ, Providence, Sunday Homilies, Trust | Leave a Comment »

Christ Connectors

June 13, 2026

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes

In a room of 23 randomly-selected people, what are the odds of any two of them sharing a birthday? In other words, what are the odds of at least two of those 23 people not necessarily being the same age but having their birthday on the same day of the calendar? Amazingly, the odds of this happening are a little more than 50-50. This is known as “The Birthday Paradox.” It only takes 23 random people to have 50-50 odds at least two folks match a birthday. And in a room of 75 random people there’s a 99.9% chance of at least two people matching. In America’s 250-year history, 45 different men have been U.S. President and 22 of them (48%) share first names with another U.S President. I mention these surprising stats because of the names of Jesus’ chosen apostles in today’s Gospel.

“The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon [whom Jesus renamed Peter] and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus [also known as Judas or Jude]; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.”

So among these twelve men we find two Simons, two Jameses, and two Judases. But from what I said before, we should not be too surprised something like this would happen. Look at how many women in the Gospels are named Mary: there’s Mary the mother of Jesus, there’s Mary Magdalene from the town of Magdala, there’s Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus from Bethany, and there’s Mary the wife of Clopas, the mother of James the Less and Joses. The name “Mary” was actually the most common name among the region’s Jewish females at that time, belonging to about 1-in-4 women. Now imagine if you were going to lie and simply invent the story of a fictional guy and his closest followers. Would you give them duplicate names or call about half of all the female-named characters Mary? No — Jesus’ disciples have these names because these were their names. These were the historical people closely-involved in Jesus’ public ministry.

In today’s Gospel, we see imagery drawn from the agriculture of that rural historical setting. Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus tells his disciples: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” And when Jesus chooses the Twelve and sends them on mission, he says: “Go… to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In his preaching and parables, Jesus commonly mentions plants and fields, sheep and shepherds. Earlier, when Jesus was recruiting fishermen to be his disciples, he told them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (I suspect if Jesus’ public ministry had happened in Wisconsin, he would have made references to dairy cows and snow.) Jesus used examples close at hand to connect with the rest of humanity. Jesus uses the people he finds close at hand to connect him with others, too.

The harvest is still abundant and the laborers are still too few. Many people are away from Christ’s Church and few work to bring them back. So pray, asking the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest, and consider how he is calling you to help. Our Church and world needs priestly vocations and religious vocations. And if that is your calling, then that is the best thing you can do in your life. But realize you do not need to be ordained or take religious vows to help bring people to Jesus Christ and his Church. Intercede for the conversion of souls in daily prayer. Be unashamed and faithfully Catholic in everyday life. Answer peoples’ questions. Invite them to explore our Faith. Be bold — their souls may depend upon it. Jesus called the Simons, Jameses, Judases, and Marys of his day to play important parts in his salvific plan. Jesus would do the same with us today. Like we see in the “Birthday Paradox,” more new connections are possible for the Kingdom than you might at first imagine, both through Divine Providence and by simply showing up for Jesus.

Posted in Homily, Sunday Homilies, The Apostles, Witness | Leave a Comment »

A Mentor of Love — Funeral Homily for Donald Nielsen, 93

June 1, 2026

By Deacon Dick Kostner

This afternoon, we celebrate the life of a true mentor of the power of love. Our Gospel tells all of the disciples of Jesus that there are rooms that have been reserved for those who have lived out their lives obeying the 11th Commandment that Jesus gave us before he returned to heaven, and that is to love God and our neighbor as Jesus has loved and instructed us. If done, he promises to return to those who have obeyed and take us to our reserved room at the Father’s house.

At one of the TMIY (“That Man Is You”) classes I attended this last year, one of the speakers quoted a homily that Pope John Paul gave to us Christians and within that homily the pope stated that there is only one key that will allow us entry into heaven and that is the key of love. Only those who love God and neighbor will gain entry. During my seventy-plus years on earth, I have been blessed with a list of mentors that have displayed to me the power and happiness that becomes those who have loved as Jesus has loved us. My mom and dad, my wife and son, my priest friends and instructors, and the people of this city and faith community called “The Body of Christ.” Two of them who were instrumental in gifting our community with a hospital we could be proud of and whom I served with as a member of the Board of Directors for some twenty-three years. Those individuals were John Eberle, and the person we honor today, Don Nielsen.

I first came onboard on the hospital board a couple of years after I got out of law school. These two mentors helped me to mature in my youth to recognize the importance of sharing our gift of time to help bring about and keep available for our people a facility that really cared about healing and providing a comfort zone for those of us that needed repair services for our sick and sometimes broken bodies. Don was always one of the first to offer his advice and wisdom to keep our hospital available to our friends and families. There were some tough times we had to make difficult decisions in order to have a medical team supplied to our hospital when the demand for them exceeded the supply. It was out of love that we needed to team up with Luther Hospital and thereafter with Mayo in order to have doctors for our hospital. One of Don’s favorite sayings was that “When life serves us a lemon, we need to use it to make lemonade.” It was through these disciples of love that we still have our hospital. Don’s love for people did not stop with the local hospital but was present when dealing with his car dealership and support for the Bloomer Chamber events and sharing his knowledge and active involvement with financial support for the community business activities and church faith activities.

About a year ago, Don cornered me and said he was concerned that Mayo was helping other hospitals stay up to date but that Bloomer was being forgotten. He questioned our local doctors for their help. It was just last week that I was told that there are plans being made by Mayo to renovate our Hospital and even build some more beds to accommodate more people at our hospital. The demand is great for our hospital to grow and provide more beds and services for neighbors, friends, and families. Before I heard this news Barb and I stopped to visit Don and Phyllis asked Don if he had any words of wisdom to share with us. His response was “Don’t put off until tomorrow what needs to be done now in our life because you never know when you won’t be able to help or enjoy life anymore.” Don died before I could share with him the good news about our hospital, but I bet he and Doctor Eberle are having a cold one together now with Jesus with grins on their face for having loved as Jesus has loved and served us.

Thanks guys for your love, help, and community service. Hope to see you soon! Signed: The Community of Bloomer.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Love, Service | Leave a Comment »

I Will See You Again — Funeral Homily for Stanley Lang, 19

May 28, 2026

By Fr. Victor Feltes

The evening before Jesus died, John’s Gospel recounts him saying at the Last Supper: “I am going to the one who sent me… But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.” Jesus’ disciples, his loved ones, his friends, were understandably concerned and sad to hear of his departure. But Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Jesus tells them again, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ … And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

The next day, they were traumatized by his Passion and death. Luke’s Gospel records that “all [of Jesus’] acquaintances stood at a distance… and saw these events.” And they were witnesses to his burial. Perhaps at first, on Good Friday evening, Jesus’ dear ones were too stunned to feel anything but numb. But then, on Holy Saturday, the reality of what had happened probably settled in. They mourned losing him and were left to ask “Why? How could God let an innocent young man die like this? How is that not a senseless and pointless death?” That might be how we feel today on this day of Stanley’s funeral.

Stanley’s parents tell me he valued the Holy Scriptures, attending a Bible study in high school. He probed the things of God, asking his folks tough religious questions — not looking for excuses but to better understand our Faith. Devoted to worshiping God, he expressed disappointment rather than delight on those rare occasions when circumstances kept his family from attending Sunday Mass. And he desired fellowship with God’s saints, departing from us wearing a St. Francis of Assisi medal around his neck. Why would God allow his beloved friend to die so young?

Reflecting upon Jesus’ Passion and death, we wonder at the mystery of how an innocent 33-year-old being whipped, crucified, and murdered achieves the forgiveness of our sins. Yet it is revealed to us that through patiently endured trials — trials a person would prefer to avoid like a cup of soured wine — God’s holy ones are exalted and our world is saved.

Consider the patron saint of this parish, St. Paul. St. Paul the Apostle is not our Savior and Lord, yet Jesus Christ involves him in his saving work. Because Paul was willing to preach, new peoples were reached. Because Paul bore great sufferings, Christ’s salvation came to others. As Paul wrote to the Colossians: “I now rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church…” By faithfully enduring and dying how and when he did, he entered into heaven’s greater glory.

In the words of the Book of Wisdom: “If before men, indeed [God’s own seem] punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. [And] they shall shine…” Our faithful sufferings, our prayers and penances, our labors, losses and dyings, when mystically united to Christ’s, transform us and help save others. This is called redemptive suffering, and while not yet answering every “why,” it changes how Christians see our pains and tragedies in life.

Jesus Christ came to the aid of humanity with his divinity, fashioning for us a remedy out of mortality itself, that the cause of our downfall might become the means of our salvation. As he told his disciples the night before he died, “So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” Though Jesus’ disciples mourned and questioned on Holy Saturday, a brief time later, with Easter’s resurrection, they joyfully saw their beloved one again. This is our Christian faith and our consoling hope and Jesus Christ’s promise regarding Stanley too.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Funeral Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Redemptive Suffering | Leave a Comment »

Why Did Jesus Go?

May 17, 2026

Solemnity of the Ascension
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus’ Ascension can feel like a bittersweet mystery. Jesus ascends with his human nature into heaven and takes his seat enthroned at the right hand of the Father. This is a wonderful event for us, but it can also feel sad. The apostles had felt that way. Jesus told them at the Last Supper, “I am going to the one who sent me… But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.” We might feel like St. Mary Magdalene, who rejoiced to hear and see and touch the Risen Jesus at the tomb on Easter Sunday. She did not want to ever let him go. Jesus told her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Why was it better that Jesus ascended?

Jesus now enjoys supreme honor and intimacy with his Father in heaven, reigning and interceding for us. But a Christian still might wonder, “Why wouldn’t it be better if Jesus had remained visibly on earth (as during his public ministry)?” Imagine Jesus leading his Church and various nations today as our visible high priest and king whom we could see and hear directly. Some might argue that Jesus on earth was limited by his humanity, saying, “His human nature allowed him to only be one place at a time, like Capernaum or Jerusalem, but not both places simultaneously. So maybe reigning from heaven allows Jesus to be more present to every person and place.” But is the Risen Jesus’ glorified humanity actually limited in this way?

A number of Catholic saints have reportedly manifested the gift and miracle of bilocation during their earthly lifetimes. There are stories of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Martin de Porres, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. John Bosco, St. Padre Pio, and others being physically present at one location while also being present or manifesting at another. Contemporaneous evidence and sworn testimony indicate that in the 1620s a cloistered Catholic nun named Venerable Mary of Agreda was teaching the Faith to American Indians in what is today eastern New Mexico and western Texas without ever leaving her convent in Spain. So if Christ’s earthly servants can be more than one place at once, then Christ the God-Man should be able to do this all the more. Besides, Jesus is really present (albeit in a veiled way) in the Eucharist at Catholic Churches all around the world, so the miracle of visible multilocation does not seem beyond our Lord’s ability. Imagine Jesus ministering today as the pastor of every parish, as the teacher in every classroom, as the doctors at every hospital, and the staff members for every charity. Wouldn’t Jesus do a better job in our roles than you or me? So why doesn’t he do it?

Before his Ascension, Jesus tells his disciples, tells his Church: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” So Jesus could do everything himself, yet he rejects that approach. Instead he gives us a mission, our Great Commission: “Go… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Jesus does not leave us with nothing to do, forever immature and passive. He wants us to actively share in his mission, in his joyful labors, and in his glory. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” Ours is a high calling and a great responsibility toward the good of souls, but Jesus does not expect us to do it alone or by our own power.

Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” “And behold,” Jesus says, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Jesus has important Kingdom work for each of us: to reflect him and witness to him for others and help draw them to himself. In your life you have family and friends, coworkers and customers, neighbors and strangers, whom you interact with and may know well! Jesus would utilize you for his holy purposes, but it is important to make ourselves open and available to him. So pray to him: “Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will. Here I am, send me.” Then watch for and take up the opportunities that follow.

Posted in Ascension, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Salvation History, Sunday Homilies, Witness | Leave a Comment »

He Loves Us Through Trials

March 22, 2026

5th Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus that their brother was gravely sick, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” It appears that Jesus already knew what would happen and what he was going to do; a path probably not what Lazarus, Martha, or Mary would have chosen for themselves from the outset, but Jesus had a plan. Today’s Gospel contains this curious pairing of lines: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.” It says Jesus knowingly remained where he was until Lazarus had died because he loved them. And then Jesus says, “Let us go back to Judea… Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” And when the disciples misunderstand what he means, Jesus makes it absolutely clear: “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”

When Jesus reaches Bethany, he encounters Martha and then Mary, and both sisters say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They both love Jesus but likely wonder in their minds and hearts why he did not prevent this evil from occurring. Perhaps they had heard the stories of Jesus even healing people at a distance, so why didn’t he save their brother, his friend? “When Jesus saw [Lazarus’ sister] weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled… And Jesus wept.” So the Judeans said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them remarked, “‘Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?’ So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.”

This Gospel speaks three times of Jesus’ love for his friends at Bethany: The sisters’ message to Jesus was, “Master, the one you love is ill.” St. John the narrator tells us, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” And some of those who saw Jesus weep said, “See how he loved him.” But amidst these lines witnessing to his love there are three times people then seem to wonder why his love did not protect his friends from undergoing this evil: Martha laments, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary laments, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And then some of the fellow mourners say, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

Why did Jesus become perturbed, deeply troubled, and weep? I don’t think it was merely from mourning for his friend—whom he knew would be alive and well again in less than an hour or two. Jesus saw the pain and scandal caused by evils like death. He sensed peoples’ questions concerning his love and care for others. So Jesus came to the tomb. Jesus ordered the stone be removed, prayed to God the Father in their hearing, commanded Lazarus to exit the tomb, and revealed he had resurrected his friend. And “many of the Jews who had come…and seen what he had done began to believe in him.”

Why had Jesus done all this? Partly, it was to instill saving faith in him, so that they may believe that the Father sent him. It was also for God’s glory, for when the news of Lazarus’ illness first reached Jesus he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” But this trial was also for his friends’ greater good, for as St. Paul wrote, “We know that in everything, God works for good for those who love him.”

Divine providence often takes us down paths we would not have chosen for ourselves. The Lord, all-knowing and all-powerful, permits trials in our lives far more challenging than we prefer to crown us with a glory far greater than we can imagine. As St. Augustine wrote: “God would never allow any evil if he could not cause good to emerge from it.” And as we will recall in the Holy Week fast approaching, Jesus cares so much for us that he underwent the evils of his Passion, Crucifixion, and death for our salvation and glory. Jesus loved his friends Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and though we may suffer, he loves us as well. Look at Jesus Christ on his Cross and see how he loves us.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Love, Redemptive Suffering, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Lessons in Christian Witness

March 15, 2026

4th Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Victor Feltes

The virtuous behavior of a man at the center of today’s Gospel presents us with valuable lessons as Christians. “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.” This describes close proximity, so this man likely overhead Jesus tell his disciples “neither [this man] nor his parents sinned” to make him blind. Jesus said that he had been blind “so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” This must have inspired some hope in that blind man—to hear a rabbi teach that God loved him and desired to do great things through him. Other people only saw a blind beggar, but the Lord looked into his heart.

Jesus then “spat on the ground… made clay with the saliva… and smeared the clay on his eyes”—in the Greek, Jesus ‘anointed’ him—and told the man to “go wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Should he have walked where Jesus sent him? Why not go? What did he have to lose? And he had much to gain. “So he went and washed, and came back able to see.” Anointed and washed, he began a new life.

At first, some doubted it was really the same man but he acknowledged, “I am.” When asked “how were your eyes opened,” he simply told his story: “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And when they asked him where Jesus was, he answered honestly: “I don’t know.”

Then they brought the healed man to the Pharisees, some of whom already disliked Jesus and objected to him healing on the day of rest, saying, “This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath!” The healed man listened while others countered with the argument, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” Then they asked for the healed man’s opinion: “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” And he shared his own reasonable conclusion: “He is a prophet.”

But some of Jesus’ enemies did not wish the man’s story to be true so they interrogated his parents. His parents confirmed the healed man indeed had been born blind so the Pharisees turn their pressure back onto him. “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” But the healed man was honest and refused to denounce Jesus or retract his story: “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”

They went back and forth, exchanging jibes, with the man born blind highlighting the Pharisees’ willful blindness. They don’t believe because they don’t want it to be true. The man points out “It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” But rather than addressing this sound argument, Jesus’ enemies attack the messenger. “You were born totally in sin and are you trying to teach us?” and they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, Jesus found him and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Convinced that Jesus is a prophet, the healed man asks, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus answers, “You have seen him; the one speaking with you is he.” And the man proclaims, “I do believe, Lord,” and worships him.

So what valuable lessons can this healed man teach us as Christians? Each of us is like that man born blind because he could not save himself and neither can we. All of us need Jesus Christ to help us. We hear Jesus teach that God loves us and that God desires to do great things through us, and we should let this give us hope. The Lord is with us, he sees us and he is for us, so we should not despair.

Jesus told the blind man to ‘go wash in the pool’ and he went. When Jesus instructs us, we ought to walk wherever he sends us. Will we be obedient—to come or go or change as Christ commands, or will we stay seated on our stubborn keisters? Why not go? What do we he have to lose? And we have much to gain.

Jesus, through his sacraments anoints and washes us and makes us new. Sometimes the positive transformation in Christ is so profound that adults are almost unrecognizable in good ways after. If people ever ask you what makes you different, why you believe, or what difference your Catholic Christian faith makes in your life, simply answer honestly like today’s healed man and tell them your story.

When people ask you faith or religion questions, you don’t need to know every answer immediately. You can say, “I don’t know.” Good answers exist, even if you don’t always have them ready at hand. Keep your eyes and ears open and you will gains insights like the healed man did.

It is quite reasonable for us to look around and believe Jesus Christ was sent from God. Proof for God, for Jesus Christ, and for their Church take many forms. There’s evidence in reason, science, miracles, mystical experience, and more. Yet many people don’t believe because they wish for it not to be true. They might pressure you, ridicule you, and exclude you, but remain honest like the healed man and never retract your Christian testimony.

Learn from and follow the example of the man born blind, and you will see your reward: the vision, friendship, and blessings of Jesus Christ and his saints.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Sunday Homilies, Witness | Leave a Comment »

The Thirsty Fountain

March 7, 2026

3rd Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Victor Feltes

When the Samaritan woman in John’s Gospel meets Jesus at the well, he says to her, “Give me a drink.” She replies with surprise that he, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink (since Jews used nothing in common with Samaritans). And then Jesus says to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” So Jesus thirsts, and yet at the same time he says he has water to offer her. Jesus in his human nature experienced natural thirst for natural drink, noting “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.” But Jesus adds “the water I shall give… will become in [a person] a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Later in John’s Gospel, in Jerusalem during a Jewish feast, Jesus stands up and exclaims, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.” But then, on Good Friday as he hangs upon his Cross, Jesus says, “I thirst.” And when he died and was pierced in the side, “immediately blood and water flowed out.” Thus, Jesus may be called the “Thirsty Fountain.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, had Jesus’ words “I Thirst” placed beside the crucifix inside of every one of their chapels. Psalm 22 prophesied about Christ’s sufferings when it said, “As dry as a potsherd is my throat; my tongue cleaves to my palate… They have pierced my hands and my feet.” But Mother Teresa recognized that when Jesus said “I Thirst” on the Cross, he spoke of something more profound than merely his physical dehydration. As Jesus pours himself out for us, he thirsts to love us and to be loved by us. In a letter to her religious community in March of 1993, Mother Teresa wrote: “‘I thirst’ is something much deeper than Jesus just saying ‘I love you.’ Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you – you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.” And such reflections did not only originate with Mother Teresa. For instance, St. Gregory Nazianzen wrote in the 4th century, “God is thirsting to be my thirst.”

The Samaritan woman at the wall balked at Jesus’ first words to her (“Give me a drink”) for she thought, ‘How could a Jew want anything from me?’ We, likewise, might resist the idea that God would want us. He is infinite while we are finite. He is perfect while we are flawed. How could God, complete and happy in himself, ever desire us? It is not from any necessity or lack within God. It was not necessary for God create us. And God was not morally obliged to redeem us from sin and death. But “God is love,” and we see that Infinite Divine Love likes to overflow for others. St. Paul wrote to the Romans that “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Other people may resist the idea of Christ thirsting for their souls, not due to philosophical or theological objections, but because they find the idea hard to personally connect with, as happens with other inspired Christian metaphors. For instance, the Church is Christ the Bridegroom’s the beloved Bride whom he cherishes and protects that she might be holy and beautiful. That imagery may feel more relatable to women than men. At the same time, men may more readily relate to the call for all Christians to be priests, prophets, and kings in Christ; sanctifying, teaching, servant-leading as other Christs. If Jesus longing for your soul feels too romantic in connotation, remember how our Lord eagerly longs to lead heroes and heroines. The saints are his friends who are willing to sacrifice in his service. “Only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.” Jesus longs for souls who, with the courage and grace he outpours, are willing to lay down their lives for him as he laid down his life for us.

In conclusion, increase your thirst for Christ who thirsts for you, and drink deeply of the peace, virtue, wisdom, and love which flow out from him. You will never exhaust that Divine Fountain.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Love, St. Mother Teresa, Sunday Homilies, Woman at the Well | Leave a Comment »

Let His Will Be Done

February 21, 2026

1st Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Victor Feltes

When people in Confession confess failing to trust God, I note that humanity has struggled with this since the beginning. In the Garden of Eden, the demonic serpent suggested that Adam and Eve shouldn’t trust God. The Lord God had warned and forbidden them from eating from one particular tree, but they saw that “the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.” The woman and man thought they had a better plan than God, so they grasped at and ate the fruit from that tree. Great evils and painful regrets followed. St. Paul writes how “through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death.” Yet “just as through the disobedience of the [first Adam] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the [new Adam] the many will be made righteous.” Because of the Fall in the Garden, Jesus Christ endures the devil’s temptations in a desert.

Satan hopes to divert the Messiah away from God’s plan to another path. Jesus was very hungry, so the devil said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” But the miracles of bread the Father wished Jesus to perform were not just for himself or for an earthly life of ease. Jesus refuses to turn stones into food, but he would go on to change bread into his Flesh for the eternal life of the world. Then the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, tempting him to choose a trial at the temple free of suffering and death, saying, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, (for God will protect you).” But human redemption would not come without Christ’s Sacrifice. Finally, the devil took Jesus to a mountain top and showed him the world’s magnificent kingdoms, promising, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” But Jesus absolutely rebukes him and rejects his invitation to compromise with evil. Jesus Christ would inaugurate his reign as King of the Universe upon the throne of the Cross.

Jesus achieves God’s purposes for his life and enters into his glory because he entrusts himself to the will of his Heavenly Father. At the beginning of this Lenten season, consider where you cling to your own ways, grasping at hoped-for happiness, against the will of God who wishes for your greatest good and happiness. If you don’t know already where you are resisting God, with your time, your money, your pleasures, your relationships, or your devotions, the Holy Spirit can show you, if you let him. You do not have to change your ways all by yourself, for Jesus Christ is near at hand to help you, but he waits for your permission. The first woman and man thought they had a better plan than God, and were left filled with regrets. Let our Lord accompany and strengthen you against temptation, so that you may share in his triumphant glory.

Posted in Adam and Eve, Christian Perfection, Homily, Jesus Christ, Satan, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

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