Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year C. Last Homily at St. Charles Catholic Church, Hartland. Of the many things that a newly ordained priest must get used to, being called “Father,” is at the top of the list. At first, the title doesn’t quite seem to fit, like a shoe that …
Author: Fr. Nick Baumgardner
The Breath of God
Homily for the Solemnity of Pentecost, 2022. An aspect of physics which science-fiction films routinely ignore is that it is impossible to make or hear sound in space. Ships whizzing by, laser canons firing, battle stations exploding—all of this would happen silently if science-fiction was determined by science-fact. Because the atoms in space are so …
Space for God on Earth, Space for us in Heaven
Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension, Year C. A father of four was accused of a crime he did not commit. At his trial, false evidence was brought against him and evidence which could have acquitted him was suppressed. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. All the misfortunes which …
Continue reading Space for God on Earth, Space for us in Heaven
Signs of Heaven
Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C. One of the things I had to get used to when I first arrived in Lake Country, is that some of the stop signs are optional. There are a couple three-way intersections around here where, if you are coming from a certain direction, and are making …
Love is True Sight
Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C. If you’ve ever walked face-first into a spider web, or had a bug fly straight into your eye, your reaction was probably quite comical. Not comical to you, of course, but to anyone who happened to be watching. To the casual observer, it probably appeared that …
The One Who Knows You
Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C. Sometimes it feels like no one really knows you. I’m sure all of us, young and old alike, have felt that way at some point in our life. It’s easy in junior high and high school to feel that no one really knows you. Even if …
Back at the Scene of the Crime
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C. If you’ve ever had to take care of someone else, you know that it’s easy to become so consumed with taking care of that other person, that you forget to take care of yourself. And if you do this for long enough, it eventually catches up …
Disappointment and Divine Mercy
Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday 2022. The summer after my second year in seminary, I had the opportunity to go on an eight-day silent retreat. It was exactly what I needed at the time, because the past two years had been extremely challenging. While the months leading up to my decision to enter seminary had …
At the Starting Line
Homily for Easter 2022, Year C. When I was in college, the first day of class was always “syllabus day.” The professor would outline what we’d be learning that semester, and then go over the various expectations and requirements for the class: the number of tests and assignments, when each of them was due, and …
Participate, Don’t Anticipate or Imitate
Homily for Holy Thursday 2022. As many of you know, today, Holy Thursday, is also known as “Maundy Thursday,” after the Latin word, “mandatum,” meaning “mandate” or “command.” Jesus gave two commands to His disciples at the Last Supper: one about celebrating the Eucharist and the second about loving one another. “Do this in remembrance …
Isaiah Forty-Three 