Brian Mullins is a permanent deacon in the Rockford Diocese who has been assigned by his Bishop to Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish in Genoa, Illinois.
Forgiveness. One of the hardest things for us to do, at times. Mostly because we think of forgiveness as forgetfulness, and they aren’t the same thing. Forgiveness doesn’t make us a doormat to be stepped on, or a fool to be hurt again. Rather, it does something even more powerful. Continue Reading
Here we are in Lent, the season of penance and fasting. A good time to disconnect from the information vortex of the world and social media and attempt to connect more fully with God. We do that through the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We try toContinue Reading
Life or death. Seems like a radical choice, and should be an easy one, right? This was the choice presented to the Israelite people and the formula used at their yearly covenant renewal ceremonies. Sort of like how we at Easter will renew our Baptismal promises during the Mass withContinue Reading
Atrophy. The dictionary defines this as a gradual decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect. When I was a teenager, I played basketball with a few friends and decided to get fancy. Believing myself to be some famous basketball star, instead of the tall and uncoordinated oafContinue Reading
We live in farming country, so this parable is very near to our own lives for many of us. As Christians, we are supposed to become like Jesus. That is, He is the Divine Sower, and we are supposed to take the Word we receive here at the Mass andContinue Reading
I was humbled to be able to preach today. Deacon Bill Stankevitz and I switched weekends this month , and at the time, I didn’t realize the significance of today’s date. I am enamored with the written word. Poetry and prose make my heart leap with joy. No written wordContinue Reading
In this first reading today, we see a story most of us are probably very familiar with. David and Goliath. Sometimes we focus on David, sometimes we focus on Goliath. I want to focus on Saul and the Israelites for a moment. Notice what they are doing. They are quakingContinue Reading