Fr. Craig Holway's Blog

Homilies, talks, cool stuff and inspiration for living the Catholic life.

Audio Homily from Corpus Christi Sunday is Posted

Click here for audio recording of the homily from Corpus Christi Sunday.

posted by: frcraigholway at 20:22 | link | comments |

Homily from Trinity Sunday posted

Click here for audio of Trinity Sunday homily.

posted by: frcraigholway at 18:19 | link | comments |

Cicadas and Blessed John Paul II

Now I've seen everything.  Enjoy!

Click here.

posted by: frcraigholway at 15:00 | link | comments |

Pentecost Homily Posted

Click here for the audio of the Pentecost Homily.

posted by: frcraigholway at 16:12 | link | comments |

Pentecost Homily

So, the homily that I wrote for Pentecost was not the homily I gave at Pentecost.
 

All sorts of reasons for that... blame it on the Holy Spirit... Go figure.
 

Anyways, stay tuned. I'll have that posted soon and the audio will be available on Tuesday on the parish web site.

Peace to you today!

posted by: frcraigholway at 13:57 | link | comments |

Summer Reading

I don't know about you, but summer allows me to slow down just a little. I have a few more free evenings here and there, and some quiet afternoons.  I'm not much of a TV-watcher, but I'm a reader.  I thought I would share some summer reading recommendations whether you're heading to the beach, tagging a stay-cation, or just lounging around on a Sunday afternoon.  My list includes some fiction, some spiritual reading, and some good books I've run across in recent memory.

1. Fiction about Catholicism:  "Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather; "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene; "Silence" by Shusaku Endo; "Exile" or "Atticus" by Ron Hansen.

2. Good fiction I've read: "The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski; "The March", by E.L. Doctorow; "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

3. Some spiritual reading: "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen; "Come Be my Light" by Mother Teresa of Calcutta; "Church Fathers: Vol 1 and 2" by Pope Benedict XVI; "My LIfe with the Saints" by Fr. James Martin, S.J.

4. General non-fiction: "Religious Literacy" by Steven Prothero; "Fire Season" by Philip Connors

So, enjoy your summer vacation, safe travels, and we'll miss you here at home!

posted by: frcraigholway at 22:13 | link | comments |

Part 5 - Pursuing God with Passion

I have no idea the kind of dedication it takes to train to run a marathon. I've never been in good enough shape to run a marathon, although, after college, I did put myself through a rigorous training regimen so I could climb some mountains in Colorado.  But, I tend to think that's relatively easier than training for a marathon. From what I know about training for marathons, it takes months of preparation: diet, exercise, sleep, muscle building, muscle rest, psychological preparations... it's takes quite a commitment: I guess that's my point.

I heard it said once that our journey to holiness, our Catholic life as it journeys back to the Father in Heaven, is more like a marathon than it is a sprint.  It's about the long haul; the training and developing and growing over time. And perhaps most relative to this reflection: commitment to constant forward progress. In a word: zeal!

St. Teresa of Avila warns us that if we're not making forward progress in the spiritual life; if we're not striving everyday to allow Jesus to teach us more and more what it means to Love and Serve; if we're not open to constant and ongoing conversion, than we're actually moving backwards.
 

That brings one thought to my mind: RATS!  

Here's the thing: it's a marathon. It's a long journey, it requires a pretty hefty commitment to live a Catholic life and because it's a long journey and because it's a hefty commitment, we need a certain degree of Zeal to foster and sustain our journeying!

How do we do that?
1. First and Foremost: the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, Food for the Journey! If I'm not getting weekly (or maybe even daily) nourishment at the Eucharist, then I'm not going anywhere.  So, regular reception of the Eucharist!
2. Prayer. We all need to consult with someone who's not only knows about training, but who's also run the race!  So we need to consult: regular, daily consultation with the trainer: God in prayer. Whether we're reading scripture (especially the Gospels), offering a Rosary or other devotion, or spending 15 quiet minutes to silence and solitude, allows a chance to talk to God, and God a chance to talk to us.  
3. Reconciliation. I don't know about you, but I screw up daily. There's hardly a day goes by that I don't do or say and mean something that makes me move backward in this journey. The sacrament of Reconciliation gets be back on track; I may have to make up lost ground, but I'm moving forward again, and that's the point.
4. Acts of Love and Service. These are like power bars!  If you feel like you're lagging behind a little bit, slowing down, losing momentum, reach out to someone in need and show them Jesus' Love. Sometimes, as we make this journey, we can feel like we're in it by ourselves. But when we reach out to Love and Serve those in need, or even those we live with, it gives us a boost!

The invitation today is to pursue God with passion; wanting to keep moving forward to not stop, to attain that goal for which God has destined me- union with Him (Phil 3:14)!

So, take this all to prayer. I'm grateful to Fr. Guerric DeBona for the insight!

 

posted by: frcraigholway at 21:52 | link | comments |

Part 4 - The Psalms as Soul Food

Continuing our explorations of the richness of the monastic prayer tradition, we come to a reflection about using the Book of Psalms as a prayer-aid.

The Book of Psalms contains what amounts to 150 poems or hymns about God, Love, Repentance, Love and Redemption.  In the final analysis, we know that the Psalms point to Jesus Christ, as does all the books of the Bible. But the Psalms, in a special way, provide a more lyrical, poetic way of approaching prayer. Whether or not they were written by King David is immaterial.  What is important is this: the Psalms are such an essential element of Christian prayer that monks, priests, religious, and even some lay people pray with them every day, several times a day.

There are Psalms for any kind of prayer.  In a tough spot and need some guidance? There's a psalm for that prayer. Received a blessing or success and want to give thanks and praise to God? There's a psalm for that prayer.  Been a while since you've celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation and feeling the weight of guilt? There's a psalm for that prayer.  Starting to question God's Love or Providence? There's a psalm for that prayer.

I would encourage you to pray with the Psalms.  You can either read them individually to explore their words and meaning, or you can read them as part of the Church's prayer in the The Liturgy of the Hours which priests, monks, religious, and some lay people offer every day.  In any case, I would encourage you to make the Psalms a part of your daily prayer.  They point to coming of the Messiah; they demonstrate for us the care that God the Father used in shepherding the Israelites to the Promised Land even as He still shepherds us to Heaven. 

Ultimately, the Psalms are Jesus' prayer to the Father. And when we offer them, we unite ourselves more closely to Jesus as slowly and surely the Psalms become our prayer too.

Here are a few links to some helpful books about the Psalms that can help stimulate prayer:

Praying the Psalms with the Early Christians

Psalms: A Spiritual Commentary

posted by: frcraigholway at 13:35 | link | comments |

"The Rapture- Postponed!"

For your information.  Or entertainment... depends on where you're coming from...

Click here.

posted by: frcraigholway at 17:52 | link | comments |

Good to be home

Friends, 
It's good to be home after a week away.  

I didn't have the opportunity to preach this weekend, so there's no homily to post. Give me a day to dig out of email and phone messages and I'll be back to regular postings here!

Until then, I pray you're well and it's good to be back home!  Let's offer a quick moment of prayer for those in Joplin, and elsewhere, we were either killed or injured or displaced by the storms last night!

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us, and them!

Have a good day,

Fr. Craig

posted by: frcraigholway at 14:14 | link | comments |

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