May 17, 2026 - Ascension of the Lord

In this engaging homily, Fr. Rob reflects on the essential balance between spiritual life and practical service. Sharing a humorous and blunt story from his early priesthood about a pastor’s frustration with "professional prayers" who refused to help decorate the church, Fr. Rob explores the true purpose of our devotional lives. Using the Feast of the Ascension as a backdrop, he reminds us that while the disciples could have spent their lives simply staring into heaven, Christ called them to move. Prayer is never meant to be the end goal; rather, it is a transformative conversation with God intended to change our hearts so that we can better serve, forgive, and love our neighbors. Fr. Rob challenges listeners to be people of both prayer and action, translating their faith into tangible acts of mercy and compassion in the world today. Note: We did have some audio issues with the first half of Fr. Rob's homily. Here is the transcript from that portion: Most parents that I have spoke to, and a friend of mine who had children, they acknowledge that there have been a few times raising their children when they said things that they wished they could’ve pulled back because it probably wasn’t the best example to set, and they know that eventually the kids will be saying the very same thing to somebody else. Well, it's not that different when you're a young priest, you should look to the older priest to model for you the best way you can be. Which is why, at least you used to get a couple of assignments before you made a pastor, so you could see different styles and learn from them. And one of the pastors I was assigned with will always say he wishes he never said this in front of me because at that time when somebody was arguing with him quite vociferously, and he [the other person] said, “well, why do you need to do that?” He [the priest] said, “Well I'm the pastor.” And he said, that's the only thing I ever learned from him, as I say that same thing. Which isn't really true. But there was another time where I heard another priest say something, And it really wasn't the best, but it still spoke the truth that it was worth the period. It was the last Sunday in Advent. And we were at his parish to help out with, you know, penance service.