Fr. Hefty the Epic Snowman

This is a video that I shared on my Facebook page after challenging everyone to make an Epic Snowman. I hope you enjoy.

40 Long Days

You may be asking why the number 74 is the picture to the left, and that is a very good question. The reason for it is because it is my favorite number, and you will figure out why if you listen to the homily below.
    A couple other points of interests real quick. The first is that this upcoming weekend Fr. Troy Przybilla the vocation director and a native son of Epiphany will be joining us at the 8:45, 10:30, and 5:30 Sunday evening Masses. I'm guessing that he will be preaching on vocations, and I'm sure that he would to see all of you and talk with all of you. Another thing that our parish is doing is the program "called by name" which is inviting people to write down people who they think might be called to the priesthood, religious life, or deacon. If you know of anyone you can fill out the form online right here. For how big this parish is, it would be great if we had more cards filled out then we did last weekend, so pray about it, and then fill out the form.
    Also, I hope that some of you have been using my twitter reflections during Lent. If you have a twitter account it would be great if you followed me. I pray that you are having a great Lent and that the reflections are helping out.
Here is my homily from this past weekend:

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Preparing for Confession

Ash Wednesday Homily

If you want to you can listen to my Ash Wednesday homily from last night. It was great to see so many people at Mass and starting Lent the right way.

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Repent and believe in the Gospel

Welcome to Lent 2012. I am sure by now that all of you have figured out what you are going to give up, and what you are going to add as well, and this is great. When we take a look at the season of Lent we know that it is a time that we are called to grow closer to God (not only during Lent, but throughout our life). But Lent is a special time to figure out what is distracting us from God and then try to get rid of these distractions.

I am guessing that one of the main distractions for all of us is actually the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and reading blogs. Over the past couple of years I have read news stories of people giving up such social media for Lent, but if you are reading this I guess that you have not given up social media (or if you have and are reading it I am sure that it is for a justified reason). Anyway, I know that it may seem strange to start for Lent, but I am actually going to dive more into social media, mainly through the use of Twitter. You will notice on the right side of this page a scrolling Twitter feed. The intent is that during Lent I will provide a short reflection (140 characters or less). Some days it will be a scripture passage, while other days it may be a link to a reflection, and so on. It is my hope that this will help people have a more spiritual Lent, because let’s be honest, Lent is long, and we need some help to get through it. Speaking of help, Epiphany has put together a spiritual Lenten calendar that has a challenge for every day during Lent, and here is a link to that calendar.

One final thought on the season of Lent; it can be very difficult to give something up, but if we offer it up for something or someone not only does it make it easier, but it also makes it more meaningful. So think of someone who may need the extra help right now, and offer up this Lent for them. Let’s make this season of Lent what it is truly called to be, a time to make ourselves ready to celebrate the paschal mystery even more fully. 

Catholic Services Appeal

This past weekend we showed the Catholic Services Appeal video after a very brief homily. In case for some reason you missed the video or the sun was on the screen and you could not see it, here it is.

Saint Damien of Molokai

This past weekend I preached about Saint Damien of Molokai, the "Leper Priest". I have always been impressed by his life, and it seemed fitting to preach about him when I took a look at the readings and realized that both the First Reading and Gospel speak of leprosy. If you want to find out more information about Saint Damien I would recommend that you Google him, and one of the websites that I recommend is from Catholic Online and here is a link to it. Also, if you want to watch a movie about Saint Damien there was a movie made in 1999 called Molokai and it is very well done. I believe that many Catholic Book Stores would have this movie, and I have included a trailer to the movie down below my homily.

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Everyone is looking for you

There have been a couple of questions about the talk I am giving on Thursday about the Sacrament of Marriage (which I think is a good thing, because it means that people might actually be interested in coming). One of the questions was if it were only for married couples, or if anyone can come. The answer is that anyone and everyone can come. The other question was if there were going to be cookies, and the answer is of course there are going to be cookies. Alright, that wasn't a question that someone asked, but that is a true answer.
Below is my homily from this past weekend. It focuses on trying to let God into our life in whatever we are going through.

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Fr. Carlson can you tell me more about St. Blaise?