October is Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church.  It is a time to reflect on the gift of life more deeply, to renew and increase our commitment to promoting a culture of life through prayer and action, and to recognize the dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death.  Every week of the month, I will be sharing a post on one of the many life issues in our world today.  

Back on July 2nd, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court struck down the 1849 abortion ban.  As a body of people tasked with ensuring that the best interests of citizens are met, the government has failed to recognize and protect the most vulnerable- the unborn.  While disappointing, it is not shocking to see politicians fail to recognize the dignity of every human life. What is shocking, is seeing some Catholics and other Christians celebrate  this ruling and praising those involved with making the decision.  We know that abortion is more than just a political issue.  It is a heart issue and a moral issue, a deep stain on the fabric of our society.

Life is an irreplaceable and precious gift.  And that gift starts in the womb, at conception.  A failure to recognize the value and dignity of life from that moment is a failure to recognize the value and dignity of the lives of all of us.

Life is always a gift because it is from God and He only gives us what is good.  From the moment of conception, a new and unique individual, with his or her own DNA comes into existence.  And that is a beautiful and amazing thing.  Whether or not the child is “wanted” by his or her parents never lessens the value of that child.  The circumstances the child might be born into never lessen the value of that child.  The abilities or lack of and medical conditions the child might have never lessen the value of the child.  All of this is to say that abortion is never acceptable and justifiable in any circumstances or for any reasons.  Our society has widely accepted the lie that abortion is okay, that it is needed, and that it’s a woman’s right to choose. 

Abortion violently destroys human life.  This clearly and unquestionably violates the command to not kill.  And that is a simple reality that much of our culture has refused to accept, even some Christians.  We must work to promote and support life, speaking out about the evils of abortion always.

We must also walk with women and families who need support.  Pregnancy resource centers are doing amazing work, providing material, spiritual, and emotional support to pregnant women and their babies, before they’re born and after.  Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics do not support or care about women, families, or their babies.  They care about the bottom line, taking advantage of and lying to women, and doing whatever it takes to profit from deception.  Pregnancy resource centers are truly amazing places that God works through.  We need to support them with our money, time, and prayers.

Abortion is a prevalent issue today, an attack on the most innocent and vulnerable.  It can be really hard to go against the grain, to speak out when so many people are pro-abortion.  We must speak the truth with love, and that means opposing abortion and supporting life, through our words and actions.  Life is always a gift, and that gift starts in the womb.  May this reality guide us to respect and stand up for the lives of the unborn always!

“Each of us is called to be a witness to the Gospel of Life, proclaiming in word and deed the innate goodness and dignity of every human person” (Thomas).

Thomas, Daniel E. 2025 Respect Life Month Statement. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Oct. 2025, https://www.usccb.org/resources/2025-respect-life-month-statement.

I returned home from a CEW (Christian Experience Weekend) retreat yesterday evening and I’ve been reflecting on how retreat experiences are vital to our faith.  The analogy that came to mind was that of a car needing to be filled with gas.  Without refueling our vehicles, they will become empty and not be able to move forward.  It is the same with our faith.  Without taking time to be filled, we will be empty and not able to move forward.  

Whether attending a retreat or serving on a retreat, we are filled by the Holy Spirit, being given the fire and love that gives us the ability to go back in the world and move forward, to live and share our faith.  The world can so easily tear us down to the point we feel like we are running on empty.  We need to take time to be filled, to get that spiritual boost that reignites us so that we can continue the work that God is asking of us.

Scripture tells us that God knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8).  And I’ve experienced this reality myself.  God knows that we need faith communities to walk with and to encounter Him.  He knows what we need and when.  God makes Himself present in powerful and tangible ways when communities are gathered together for His sake.  He knows that the journey can be hard and that we need experiences that fan the flames of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we are strengthened and ready to continue to be witnesses of Him in the world.

The power of the Holy Spirit is real and makes a profound difference in our lives and in our faith.  He fills us up with his fire and love.  And this means we cannot stay still, like a vehicle without fuel.  He gives us what we need to move and to go where He needs us to go and do what He needs us to do.  Are you full right now?  If not, find a way to be filled and reignited.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would let the Holy Spirit move us forward as we work to do what He asks, being a witness to the ways our lives have been changed.

Last week I was at an advisory board meeting for Phoenix Catholic, the Catholic group at UW-Green Bay.  Listening to all that the group is doing and the ways that students’ faith is being impacted was a great inspiration to me.  The question that the board has been exploring over the past few years is, how can campus ministry be a bridge to missionary discipleship?  Being at the meeting, it was a reinforcement of just how important and impactful college campus ministry is.

The four year period of time from 18-22 years old, the typical age of a college student, can really shape a person.  When students go off to college, one of two things can happen.  They either lose their faith and stop practicing or just drift away, or their faith is deepened and transformed.  Unfortunately, the statistics point to the former, and it’s a huge percentage.  There are a lot of factors that play into this.  Some of these factors include the prevalent party environment and out of control drinking, the hook-up culture, and other activities contrary to the faith, the presence of some professors who are openly anti-Catholic or anti-Christian, who do not hold back on pushing their views in the classroom, the desire of students to recreate themselves and fit in.  There is a lot that students are up against when they get to college, it truly is a whole new world, one that has the ability to suck people in and pull them from their faith.

In the midst of the seemingly typical college lifestyle, there is good that is happening.  And that good is Catholic campus ministry.  Having access to a faith community filled with others who are the same age and are striving to grow closer to Jesus and deepen their faith is what makes a difference.  Being able to attend various gatherings throughout the week such as dinners, Bible studies, service events, and more, as well as mass and adoration is what makes a difference.  My time in college had a huge impact on my own faith and I know that without Phoenix Catholic, my faith would not be the same.  And I am seeing other students’ lives and faith being deepened and transformed.  That gives me hope.

No one can force their kids to get involved with the Catholic organization on their campus.  But they can encourage and pray that they may choose to do so, or that they may encounter others who invite them to do so.  If you have any college students in your life or kids who may one day go to college, pray that they would be open to growing in their faith when they head off on their own.  College campuses are known to be places where not so good things happen.  But they also can be the place for students to have deep encounters with Christ.  Let us all pray for Catholic organizations on campuses and for all who may be impacted by them!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about light, a theme and message that is spread throughout the Gospels and other places in scripture.  In the first verse of the passage, Jesus says, “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light” (Luke 8:16).  We first received our light at Baptism.  The celebrant tells the parents and Godparents that the child “is to walk always as a child of the light”.  Reflecting on today’s Gospel, we are reminded that we are to be the lamp, and to live in a way so as not to conceal that light.

The light of Christ that is within us is meant to shine and fill up the space around us.  It is by this light, that others can come to see and recognize Jesus and the truth of who He is.  Once we read and understand the Gospel message, our lives must reveal this message to the world around us.

Oftentimes, we can say we love Jesus and are living our faith.  But how true is this if our lives are not a reflection of this statement?  It can be easy to cover up and conceal this reality.  We don’t want to be different or to stand out, so we might sometimes not share our faith, especially in the areas that might be darkest, the areas that need it most.

What is the purpose of a lamp if it is not going to be used?  If it is concealed with a vessel or under a bed, what is the point?  It is the same for us.  If we are not trying to reflect Christ’s light, and rather, keeping it hidden, what is the point?  The light we have been given is meant to shine the truth of our faith and show who Jesus is.

The world needs Christ’s light, every space and corner must be illuminated with Him.  And we are the lamps that can help to make Him visible in these spaces.  My prayer for each of us is that we would allow His light to be on display in our lives today.

Every week in my 8th grade religious ed class, I share about a saint of the week.  At last Wednesday’s first class for the school year, in starting our introduction to saints, I asked the students, “who wants to be a saint?”  None of them raised their hands.  I then asked, “who wants to go to heaven?” and they all raised their hands.  This was a reminder to me that sharing the faith with others does not have to be complicated.  It must start with the simple message regarding what our purpose in life is.

There is a lot of value in the details of our faith.  From Church history to doctrine and everything in between, these are important areas to know and share with others.  However, we have to start with the basics.  What is our point here in life?  It all comes back to one simple truth which is to know, love, and serve God.  We must always keep this in mind and should also come back to this simple truth ourselves, no matter where we are at in our faith.

We should ask ourselves often, how am I doing with knowing, loving, and serving God?  Where is there room for growth?  What do I need to change and do differently?  Are we accepting God’s grace and remaining open to how He wants to work in our lives?

In this weekend’s Gospel, we heard one of the most popular verses in scripture, John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  This verse is simple and it reminds us of the deep love God has for us.  And it is when we encounter that love that our lives are changed.  It is when we encounter that love that our faith leads us to action and leads us to live for God.

That is what I want for each of my students and for every single person.  When one has an encounter with God who is love, it leads to knowing, loving, and serving Him.  And this is how God makes saints.  My hope and prayer for each of us is that we would always remember our purpose, to be saints!

Yesterday, September 7th, was an exciting day in the Catholic Church.  Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were canonized.  These two newly declared saints seemed to have brought more excitement and noise than usual.  I think one of the main reasons is because of how young they both were and also the fact of how ordinary they were.  They were normal and ordinary but their love for God was extraordinary.  They lived their faith boldly and followed God wholeheartedly.  In Pope Leo XIV’s homily, he stated that, “the greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan” (homily, Rome, September 7, 2025).  These two saints clearly did not waste their lives.  As we reflect on our lives, can we say the same?

Knowing what God is calling us to do each day and in particular moments can be really hard.  How do we know if we are doing what He is asking?  How can we be sure we’ve heard Him correctly?  Are we following His plan?  What if we are wasting our lives?

God has given every single person specific gifts and talents that He wants us to use for Him and for His glory.  I think if we are using those gifts and talents to serve Him, we are not wasting our lives.  The challenging part can be knowing and understanding what those gifts and talents are.  It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and start to doubt what they are.  But God equips each and every one of us with what we need in order to serve Him.

St. Carlo and St Pier Giorgio should inspire in us a desire to love God extraordinarily through our ordinary lives.  In our work, in our interactions with family members, friends, and others, in receiving the Eucharist and in our time spent in Eucharistic adoration, and in our commitment to living our faith daily; these are the ordinary ways that God asks us to serve and follow Him.

If we are striving to use our gifts and talents for God, to love and serve God and others wholeheartedly, and to live our faith daily, we will be on the right path.  May we all follow the examples of these two saints and countless others who did not waste their lives but loved God with everything.

1. Pope Leo XIV, “Homily at the Canonization Mass of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati” (homily, Rome, September 7, 2025), https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250907-omelia-frassati-acutis.html

On Friday, I worked my last shift at Eddie Whipp’s Dining Hall.  It was a part time weekend job that I started when I was 14 and in eighth grade.  Having worked there for 14 years and five months, literally half of my life, it will be a huge change to not work there anymore.  While it was really hard to make the decision to stop working there, I made the choice  in order to put more focus on some other upcoming events.  We all go through changes in our lives, some big, some small.  Change can be good, but it can also be hard.  There is one thing in life that is guaranteed to never change, and that is God.

For the most part, people like to have routine and consistency.  Changes in our lives can be a big adjustment, because what we once knew becomes different and unfamiliar.  But a normal and natural part of life is change and it comes in all forms.  The jobs we work, the places we live, the people we are close to, and our stages of life all change.  Through it all, one thing is constant.

God never changes.  We read multiple times in scripture of this reality.  One verse from Hebrews tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  And what a blessing that is.  We can be sure of the fact that no matter what changes happen in our lives, God is always the same.

We can count on God always and at all times.  His love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, goodness, wisdom and all other aspects of who He is remain the same.  And that is a great comfort.

Have you experienced any changes in your life recently?  If so, take it as an opportunity to reflect on the one and only thing that is unchanging.  God never changes, but He changes everything.  Knowing and loving God makes a profound difference in our lives.  May we all be reminded that whatever changes we experience, God is always the same.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to some people who were part of a pilgrimage group that had stopped at my parish.  They were talking about their experiences of the day.  They talked about the small towns and rural areas they walked through and how beautiful the fields, trees, and trails were.  They were from Colorado and had not been to Wisconsin before.  They were also commenting on how beautiful the church was and were amazed at the architecture and style.  They reminded me that God gives us beautiful things and they are all around us, even if we don’t always recognize it.

The people I was talking to reminded me of the beauty that is all around us.  Living in a small town in Wisconsin, it can be easy to miss the beauty that surrounds us.  The landscapes do not appear that extraordinary, at least to someone who has always lived here.  These few pilgrims that I was talking to came from a state with mountains and some of the most beautiful landscapes that exist.  I wondered how they could think the small rural areas in Wisconsin were beautiful when they have mountains.  But, it is simply a different kind of beauty.  God created it, and He only creates good and beautiful things.  The group also talked about how beautiful the church was, which is something I can easily overlook when seeing it week after week.

Everything God created is beautiful, and that draws us back to Him.  Whether we see it or not, beauty surrounds us every day.  Sometimes it might be in the small things, other times, it might appear more grand.  Works of art, music that is sung or played, and words that are written can also be beautiful, because God has given people gifts and talents that can reflect Him.  And beauty is also in the people around us, because each and every person is created in God’s image and likeness.  We just need to stop and take time to see it right in front of us.

God wants us to see the beauty around us and wants us to be drawn closer to Him through it.  We need to open our eyes to see it.  And once we recognize it, we must remember to thank God for the gift.  Whether it’s in the sunrise or sunset, places we go, people we talk to, or words we read, it’s all a gift.  My prayer for today is that we would all be able to recognize the beauty that we encounter today and see it as a gift from God!

The Gospel we heard at mass over the weekend may appear to be challenging at the surface level.  But Jesus is just telling us about the reality of living our faith and following Him.  He wants us to be on fire with love for Him and, if we are, this will come with a cost.  Our faith will cause division and conflict, possibly even among people close to us.

In this culture, if our faith has never offended or upset anyone, are we truly living it out?  While our goal as Catholics and Christians is not to offend and upset others by our faith, we know that the Church’s teachings are in direct opposition to the world around us, so it is highly likely that when we live our lives in accordance with the Church, people will be offended and upset as a result.

I am grateful that the family members closest to me, my siblings, all are Catholic and practice their faith.  It is a huge blessing to share the faith we were given and to continue to grow in it.  When it comes to some extended family members, such as aunts, uncles, cousins, that is not the case.  Whatever your situation is, you probably have family members, whether immediate or extended, who don’t practice the faith, have left the church, or who think your faith is weird and outdated.  Wherever we find ourselves, we must not let people around us weaken or diminish our faith.

Jesus knows that our faith will cause division, whether that is among family, friends, or other people we know.  Our love for Jesus and desire to follow Him must be greater than our fear about what others think and our desire to fit in.  In the Gospel passage from this past weekend, Jesus says “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing” (Luke 12:49)!  Are our hearts on fire?  Are our lives already blazing?  Do we allow Jesus to work in our lives and increase our faith?

Our greatest desire should be to have hearts that are on fire for Jesus and a desire to live our faith boldly.  Jesus wants to use us to help spread the fire of His love.  And we can only do this if we are willing to face division, conflict, and discomfort.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would let His fire overtake us so that we can help spread it to the people around us.

The Gospel we heard at mass this past weekend should serve as an awakening for all of us.  It is a reminder to be vigilant and live our faith daily.  Jesus tells us, “you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Luke 12:40).  Are we actively working to grow in our relationship with Jesus and deepening our faith or are we being complacent and putting off what we know we need to do?

Our faith is not something we can put off for a later time.  It is not something we can just decide to pick up when we’re older, less busy, or when we’re facing hardship and uncertainty in our lives.  Our faith needs to be fully lived each and every day, here and now, in each present moment.  So often, faith gets put on the back burner.  But Jesus never puts us on the back burner, so why would we do that to Him?  Are we remaining vigilant and prepared?

When I take time to reflect on this in my own life, I recognize just how far I am from being fully the person God created me to be.  Holiness often seems so unobtainable.  If Jesus came now at this exact moment, would I be ready?  In our weaknesses, sin, and human condition, we will never be exactly where we should be, but are we putting in effort and commitment?  Are we acknowledging that we cannot do it on our own and asking Jesus to lead us and work in our lives?

If we are doing the things we know we need to do to deepen our faith, grow closer to Jesus, and try to grow in holiness, we are on the right path.  If we are not doing these things, we become complacent, staying the same.  And when complacency sets in, the worldly distractions take over.  And when worldly distractions take over, we cannot be watchful, vigilant, and prepared.  This Gospel passage about the vigilant and faithful servants reminds us that our actions have consequences and our choices either bring us closer to God or further from Him.  Are we living like the faithful and vigilant servants or the unfaithful and ignorant servants?

Jesus, thank you for loving us and for teaching us the way.  You alone can give us the ultimate fulfillment and happiness.  Help us to be vigilant and watchful, so that we are always prepared and ready to meet you, not just at the end of our lives, but in each moment that you come to us.  Open our eyes to see you in each day.  Help us to keep our focus on you today and always.  Amen.