Author Archives: Rev. Joe Jagodensky, SDS.

I learned from a family with young children recently that when trophies are given for a sporting event, all the children receive one. It’s a warped sense of affirmation and religiously it’s a warped sense of Christ light in today’s … Continue reading →

“He’s dead. He’s gone. It’s over. He’s dead. I can finally launch my new 800 number. It’s available to everyone, everywhere. 1-800-it’sallaboutme. I know it’s long but it’s surely easy to remember. Repeat number. ’One call, that’s all.’ (That guy … Continue reading →

(Videotaped Mass for Queen of Apostles Parish, Pewaukee, Wisconsin.) Our holiest of days next week is not unlike the unholiest of a family’s yearly obligatory, optional dinner gathering.  It’s the Sunday Brunch! It’s obligatory because it’s family, it’s optional but … Continue reading →

“Between August 2016 and June 2017 I was treated for cancer with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. I entered that time as if it were a pilgrimage, guided by the adage that “the Camino gives you what you need, not what … Continue reading →

Without having planned it, this emergency situation has come to us precisely in the Lenten season. Hopefully, this present time of silence and a desert-like feeling will help us empty ourselves of any selfishness and lead us to a true … Continue reading →

“Left or right.” I’m not talking politics. A business term, “the left-hand doesn’t know what the right’s doing.” Especially true in large companies but also so very true in our clever, little minds. If you noticed, I just canceled out … Continue reading →

“Light, happiness and peace.” That’s what I say at funerals. No, this is not a depressing sermon. Apparently, however, it appears that those wonderfully blessed and God-given words are finally announced…at your funeral! And you’re not there. You’re in that … Continue reading →

The St. Blaise prayer with two candles touching your throat ends with, “And deliver you from every other illness.” Now you have to admit that’s a bit of a stretch. Something is going to take each and every one of … Continue reading →

“…and seven others.” I’ve heard that ending to a sentence countless times the past two weeks. It was a tragic event but a very sad sentence. Seven other lives were cut short in that helicopter crash. Not a follower of … Continue reading →