Weekly insight and thoughts from Fr. Damian Zuerlein
Pastor’s Letter 9.13.20
Dear Friends, There is so much talk of violence in our country. There is also a lot of talk about how to reduce the amount of violence. A common answer we hear is with more violence. It might be institutional violence, but it is still more violence. However, that...
Pastor’s Letter 9.6.20
Dear Friends, The gospel this Sunday puts us in the middle of a discussion about how to help those who are doing wrong. Jesus gives us a process to follow. As a part of learning that process, I think it might be wise to have a discussion about “civil discourse” or the...
Pastor’s Letter 8.30.20
Dear Friends, I ran across a quote from C.S. Lewis the other day which got me tracking down one of his sermons which I had never read before. I would encourage you to read it in its entirety for yourselves. It is entitled Learning in War Time. I’d like to give...
Pastor’s Letter 8.23.20
Dear Friends, The students at All Saints School came back this week after a very long break. It was wonderful to see them sitting on different corners of the campus, maintaining social distance, and yet learning together again. I pray it is something that can continue...
Pastor’s Letter 8.16.20
Dear Friends, Two quick thoughts this week. The first is in answer to a question about what to do when God is not answering your prayer. I agree that unanswered prayer causes a sorrow many of us have to face. For many, the silence of God can be a tough moment on the...
Pastor’s Letter 8.9.20
Dear Friends, Since I was still on retreat until late this week, I offer you Pope Francis’ general audience. It is addressed to you anyway! “Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! The pandemic continues to cause deep wounds, exposing our vulnerability. On every...
Pastor’s Letter 8.2.20
Dear Friends,Since I am on retreat this week, I offer for your reflection a passage from Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s writing on prayer. We can learn so much from our Jewish brothers and sisters.“To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain the sense of the mystery...
Pastor’s Letter 7.26.20
Dear Friends, On Wednesday of this week I will begin my annual retreat. I am doing it a bit earlier this year because COVID has made for limited options when it comes to retreats. Fr. Norm Hunke will be covering the Masses for me in my absence. The Catholic Church has...
Pastor’s Letter 7.19.20
Dear Friends, There is an incident in the life of Jesus that has always challenged me to think carefully about my present way of being. Here is the incident as described in the Gospel of Matthew: When he came to the other side, to the territory of the Gadarenes, two...
Pastor’s Letter 7.12.20
How can we best help you be a disciple during these challenging days? How can we help you continue to grow in your relationship with Jesus?
Pastor’s Letter 7.5.20
Dear Friends, I have had the pleasure of doing two sabbaticals during my priesthood. The first was for six months in Leuven, Belgium and the second was for three months in Israel. In both cases, there were students in the program from many different countries. We had...
Pastor’s Letter 6.27.20
Dear friends, During these long summer days, I invite us to learn from the founder of another of our local religious communities. I frequently use St. Ignatius for insight, but we can learn much from St. Benedict, too. As a young man, Benedict left his hometown of...