The Lukan Jump

We can't actually save the people around us, but there are certain things we can do to help them out. One of the big ones is to grow in our own spiritual lives. Here are some thoughts on how to do that!

Whose Church is it, anyway? Mine? The pope's? The Bible is actually pretty clear about this.

St Paul warns us against establishing our own righteousness apart from that offered to us by God. Part of this means forming our consciences well, which is surprisingly like studying for a math test!

The birth of St John the Baptist points to two ways our Lord heals us: by taking away our sins, and by fixing broken human nature.

Thoughts on Revenge of the Sith, being the chosen one, and the real meaning of faith.

A brief reflection on the fact that our Lord gives us rest from the passions through the sacramental life of the Church.

No one cares if you go to McDonald's barefoot unless you start cussing out the manager when you're asked to leave. What does this have to do with our relationship with God?

Faith is more than just intellectual; it requires actually being faithful to God!

How can we know we're doing the will of God? The Bible tells us!

From this All Saints' Sunday, here are some thoughts on Alfred P Doolittle, middle-class morality, and what it means to truly be a Christian.

The Holy Spirit is the source of our life as Christians. Here are some thoughts on how we can experience His grace more fully.

Jesus Christ gives us true knowledge of God, opening us up to an experience of reality at its deepest level and of eternal life even here and now!

Ascension isn't just the lackluster end of the Easter season. Quite the opposite: It's the connecting point between Pascha and Pentecost! What are we going to do in this time?

Even one of the greatest early Christian preachers had to have a significant gap in his education filled in. Are we open to that experience too?

In which I talk about demons, false advertising, magic, and... Justin Bieber?

In today's Gospel, our Lord multiplies five loaves and feeds thousands of people. But, it seems this miracle passes into obscurity pretty quickly in John 6. Here are some thoughts on why that might be.

We are actually living in the end times! Here's why that's a good thing and nobody needs to panic.

The saving and healing mission of Jesus Christ continues in the Church! How do we get in on it?

Taylor Swift and the Pittsburgh Pirates don't really share their lives with their followers, but Jesus Christ does! Are we willing to do what it takes on our end?

After years of hearing about the decline in the Church in America, the tide seems to be turning. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who played the part of Joseph of Arimathea during the dark years, and we have to look forward to the future of our Church!

Obedience to the word of God makes simple fishermen win debates with the high priest and his council. It can give us the same boldness!

There comes a point where the reasonable thing to do is to believe — actually, the most important things in life depend on faith!

One theme of the Gospel of John is the quest for where the Lord stays. Where is He now?

Life is full of disappointments, but the Church's liturgy offers us hope!

St John tells us that "No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son... has made Him known" (1:18). Do we realize how earth shattering this is?

Christ is risen, and our Gospel reading seems unconnected to the Feast at first glance. Fr. Luke takes a crack at explaining the connection in his Paschal homily, as preached at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Avella, PA.

Fr Luke's first homily on Great and Holy Saturday, having just baptized a new member of the Church!

Is the Cross enough of a sign for us to believe in Christ? Fr Luke's homily for Great and Holy Friday.

The Son of God humbled Himself for our sake. Will we humble ourselves to receive His love?

This Holy Week, what am I willing to lose for the sake of gaining Christ?

Fr. Luke's Palm Sunday homily, as preached at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Avella, PA.

A recent magazine article announced the impending death of our Church. Here are my thoughts in response.

Christ is from the Father; we are made by the Father... do we think about how strange it is that He became our Brother?

On the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, let's turn our thoughts to our need for the grace of God and the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ!

The Cross is an unavoidable part of Christian life. But, sometimes it's not that; sometimes we just get in God's way!

We need grace to be able to hear and respond to the Word of God!

God called Abram to begin an entirely new phase of salvation history at the age of 75. Would we be ready to do the same?

How often do we try to build our own little Tower of Babel — an exercise in futility?

Fr. Luke talks Shayne Smith, Sheetz runs, and claims he's taking more of the matins canon than we actually took last night; does that resemble how much we actually take up our cross?

In Christ, we recognize Death as the enemy, and yet there's something relatively insignificant to physical death...

God knows our thoughts tend to evil, and yet He shows us mercy!

Noah was 600 years old when the Flood came. So what?

Jesus Christ left us seven sacraments, but it seems like maybe we've forgotten how to use two of them. Hopefully this will help!

What does it mean that "the sons of God" married "the daughters of earth?" What does it mean for me? Is the Old Testament okay with polygamy? Am I doing something similar? Please forgive the poor audio quality; I didn't have my usual equipment.

Wherein Fr. Luke comments on Bruce Springsteen, our pious and God-fearing ancestors in the Faith, the Second Vatican Council, and the fact that God's plan includes us, here and now.

I read a great article about Scandinavian outdoor culture and failed to apply it. But hey, I got this homily on Romans out of my goof-up.

Are our good deeds done out of love for God and our neighbor, or are they just brand promotion?

Jesus Christ submits to His own law. Why does this matter?

A saying from the Desert Fathers relates rather well to the Parable of the Prodigal Son

A homily on Christian hope, which is different from optimism, pessimism, and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.