A few years ago, I came across an article in the Psychology Today magazine. The article described what the author called "HOT” WORDS.” Whenever we hear a hot word our blood pressure rises, our hearts beat faster, and our body temperature climbs. Psychologists found that the one word that had the biggest effect on people is the word "CHANGE." No matter if it refers to a physical change like moving from one place to another, a mental change like trying to remember our doctor’s directions, or a spiritual change like trying to accept a loss, people react adversely to the word "CHANGE.” As human … [Read more...] about Flourishing Is Never Easy! (Fr. Bob reflection)

​On Wednesday, September 20, the Church of St. Matthew began its Faith Formation Program with students from Grades 1 to 8 under the direction of Janelle Rohr, our Coordinator of Faith Formation. As a volunteer for many years, Janelle has organized and directed the formation program that cultivates the faith our students who attend public schools and helps them to prepare for their First Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation along with our students at Community of Saints Catholic Regional School. Responding to the needs of families, Janelle guides parents in having their child(ren) … [Read more...] about Parents and Community Sharing Our Faith (Fr. Bob reflection)

The Feast of St. Matthew is on Thursday, September 21 in the Roman Catholic Church and on November 16 in the Orthodox Church.  Matthew, the Evangelist who wrote the Gospel that appears first in the Christian scriptures, was born in Galilee, the son of Alpheus (Mk 2:14).  His original name was Levi until it was changed by Jesus. He is first mentioned in the Gospels in lists of the disciples, except in the Gospel of Matthew, which tells the story of his conversion (Mat 9:9). Matthew was different from the other Apostles. Many people felt that he was unworthy to be a chosen as a follower of … [Read more...] about St. Matthew, Our Patron, Our Feast! (Fr. Bob reflection)

After World War II, Simon Wiesenthal, who was a prisoner in a German concentration camp and who after the war became a Nazi hunter, wrote a book he called, The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Schocken Books, 1976).  The book begins with a true experience he had while he was in a German concentration camp. One day he was taken from a work detail and guided up a back stairway to a dark hospital room. A nurse led him into the room, then left him alone with a figure wrapped in white, lying on a bed. The figure was a badly wounded German soldier, whose entire face was … [Read more...] about Redemptive Responsibility (Fr. Bob reflection)

In the Walt Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, seven short men invite Snow White into their everyday world with the words, “Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho. It’s off to work we go!”  A song about work by those who do work invites us to look at the spirituality of work during the 2017 Labor Day Weekend.  There are many examples of a spirituality for work in the scriptures. The story of Peter fishing is a good example (Lk 5:1-11). Peter and his partners, James and John, have been working all night at their fishing profession. Their work provided money for housing and food—a livelihood for their … [Read more...] about A Spirituality for Work! (Fr. Bob reflection)

In his book Years of Minutes: The Best of Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes (Essay Productions, 2003), Andy Rooney makes some comments in his essay “On Mixing Flavors.” “Obviously, I like to eat,” writes Andy “but I do have some rules. I don’t mix flavors. I like vanilla ice cream and I like chocolate ice cream but I don’t put them in a dish together. Friday, I went to the deli across the street and took a sandwich and a Coke back here to my office. I opened the Coke, took a gulp and almost spewed it over the papers on my desk. I looked at the label and it said VANILLA COKE. Well, I like Coke and I … [Read more...] about For Everyone! (Fr. Bob reflection)

Because I am writing this reflection on the 8th of August, the Feast of St. Dominic, I will share with you my thoughts on “study,” the one pillar of Dominican life from which no friar is ever excused from doing. The other three pillars are “prayer,” “ministry,” and “community” which could be postponed for the sake of study.       For me, the benefit of study is wisdom. But it seems to me that wisdom is a lost virtue for us today, especially for those of us who were born after World War II. We have grown up immersed in information, obsessed with technology, and addicted to quick fixes. … [Read more...] about Study in the Dominican Tradition (Fr. Bob reflection)

August 8th is the Feast of St. Dominic.  I am taking this opportunity to share with you a brief overview of the Dominican Order and a quick glance at Dominican spirituality. The Order of Preachers (better known as Dominicans) was started in 1216 by a Spaniard, named Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221). Dominic was known for carrying the Gospel of Matthew with him and it is likely he contemplated the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:1-23) that we recently heard on the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Dominic envisioned a group of religious men devoted to preaching and living the truth of the gospel. … [Read more...] about And Many, Many More! (Fr. Bob reflection)