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A few weeks ago, I led a pilgrimage to Spain with about 40 of our parishioners. We had a wonderful opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Spanish mystics.  We had the chance to visit Loyola, where Saint Ignatius was born and lived. But one of the most important parts of that was it is where he also returned  to convalesce after being wounded in a war. It was there that he had his conversion.

I recently reread some statistics  that I found rather shocking,  but probably not terribly surprising.  They were from the Pew Research and CARA studies  on church attendance and church affiliation. They said that 25% of people who claim to be Catholic,  come to church.  That means that 75% do not come to church. Now, they are the ones who claim to be Catholic. Read More

As many of you know, I just returned last weekend from a two week pilgrimage to Spain with parishioners. We walked in the footsteps of St. Ignatius, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross. We started out following St. John of the Cross in Segovia and Sevilla, beautiful cities, stunning, where John was buried, Segovia. Read More

My mother used to have problems with some of my homilies, and she used to say so, "You are a bit light on judgment and a bit heavy on love." I would say, "God has more love than judgment." She would go, "Yeah." Then she would always end the argument, "Yeah, but that one who gets in at the end of time, who kind of just shows up with a conversion at the last moment, I think that is just a bit unfair!" Read More

I remember 9-11, twenty-five years ago. I was in the rectory at St. Lawrence Parish, as that second plane crashed into the tower, and then watching the two towers burning. It is seared into my memory. Then the following hours of confusion and anger, and then eventually watching both buildings collapse. I remember every moment of it. It is as if it happened yesterday. I remember in particular the next day, those hours after, the sky was silent. It was eerie. There were no commercial airplanes flying anywhere for days. There was a deep sense of eeriness, and of shock and anger. In the days that followed, I remember how the anger rose up in the nation and demanded revenge. Read More

When I was growing up in Ireland,  you would turn on the tap and have water,  just like you guys do, right?  The difference is, in Ireland, there is no bill.  Water is free.  Never charged for it. Read More

Human behavior scientists maintain that in order to change one’s behavior, the person who actually wants to change needs to desire to change. That sounds so obvious, right? If you want to change something, you have to actually want to change it. Read More

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my close friend and mentor, Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson. Lloyd is a towering figure in the American church, especially in Los Angeles. He is eighty-six years old, still pastor, and he has been pastor over thirty years. He is still as sharp as a tack. He has this wonderful way. He is so hospitable. He is such a generous human being. He meets me, and it is always the first thing he says: “Brendan, you are so wonderful. I love you.” Read More

This last week we had a great opportunity as a parish and school staff to go away on a day of retreat. It was wonderful just to be away and to spend a day in prayer, holding up the whole year ahead. I introduced the theme for the year: Flourish: Cultivating Dignity Through Presence. Read More

I just got back from vacation. I had been in Florence for a conference on artificial intelligence for the first nine days, where I gave four presentations over those days. Then I had the great opportunity to go to Sicily and visit with a friend of mine, with another friend, and we spent two weeks there. It was great to catch up and see my friends, but I must confess, one of the struggles with vacation is that you get out of your routines, right? You do not have as much control of the environment, and that was certainly my case. Read More

Last year, when we were on pilgrimage  to Turkey and Greece, in the footsteps of St. Paul,  we had nearly 50 parishioners.  When you have a group of people like that,  something always goes wrong!  So the first day, somebody cut their foot on something  as we were walking somewhere.  I turned around and I asked,  “Rachel, we need a large bandage.”  Rachel opens up her bag  and out comes this huge bandage. Read More...

During the year, at our Men’s Group,  we have been reading a book called  “The Power of Purpose” by Richard Leider,  and in it he tries to articulate  what it is that gives us meaning and purpose in our life.  In this book in particular, he says  that once we find this purpose,  in relation to the world’s needs,  and that it is a dynamic process.  I think that insight is very powerful.  It is a process that we come to,  and we know when we get there.  We have this aha moment. Read More

I bring you this homily today from Florence, Italy. I am here with a group of Jesuits from throughout the whole world, those working in formation, bringing them all together to learn a little bit more about artificial intelligence and how to integrate that into their ministry. Read More

One of the great gifts that we have as priests  is that we are invited to journey with people  in some of the most tender and vulnerable  moments of their life. In particular, when people get sick, and when they get terminally sick,  they invite us into that very vulnerable part of their life,  and they share the most powerful insights  and the most tender moments ever shared.

Many of you know how much my own father  was a hero in my life.  He always seemed to have the right thing to say  at the right moment.  He just seemed to have that wisdom  to always guide in the midst of darkness. Read more...