Getting Ready for Holy WeekAs we prepare for Holy Week, let's not forget that we are a pilgrim people, making our journey of faith in this life by walking together with the children of God
of all nations and all ages. Holy Week gives us the opportunity to renew our faith and our hope and to find comfort in the love and power of our God who will not allow evil, sin and death to destroy us. We do this by tracing the footsteps of Jesus and making them our own. Perhaps we can then come to understand more powerfully
how much we need to experience suffering, dying and rising in our own lives.
The Nativity of the Lord - Keeping Watch - Singing Praise"And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the Highest; and Peace on earth to men of good will!"
God's greatest miracles often go unnoticed unless there are messengers and angels to announce them. God's gifts of peace, justice and reconciliation would be hidden in the ordinariness and ugliness of human history unless there are angels to point them out.
Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ - Moment of DecisionThe human story is one filled with broken dreams. Created in the image of God, we can fashion marvelous possibilities of success, fame and pleasure, and spend much of our time and effort trying to make at least some of these dreams come true. But we will always encounter along the way people or circumstances that will shatter those dreams. Our dreams will or will not be realized based on the decisions that we make which determine the course of our lives. We are faced with these decisions every day.
4th Sunday of Easter - GatekeeperThe Gospels over the next weeks are drawn from the Gospel of John leading up to Jesus' farewell discourse to his disciples. Although we are just about halfway through the Easter season, these readings take us back to the Upper Room where Jesus shares a meal with his disciples and speaks his final words to them. Very often in John, Jesus describes himself using the words
"I am" - "I am the true vine, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." And when we reflect on the metaphors that he uses to identify himself, we learn more and more about who Jesus is in our lives.
We also learn much about ourselves and who we are to be. Holy Week: Hope and Ultimate VictoryThe story of the Passion is one which continues today and every day. It is the story told in the lives of the poor, in the lives of refugees and immigrants, in the lives of people in prison or on death row. It is felt in the lives of married and single parents alike, in the lives of the elderly and infirm and those who feel alone and abandoned. The Passion becomes real in the lives of soldiers and combatants and noncombatants. It strikes the hearts of those who are victims of racism and in those who are powerless to oppression. It is even felt in the life of planet earth which has been, and continues to be, so abused.
Looking Toward Holy Week - The God We MeetBiblical commentators tell us that the passion narratives were the first parts of the Jesus story to be proclaimed. Each evangelist approaches the narrative with his unique perspective and one would expect an opening scene in the garden of Gethsemane or in Pilate’s courtroom where Jesus receives his sentence, is then tortured and taken off to Calvary for his execution. But one image by far precedes all of these.
1st Sunday in Lent - Not By Bread Alone...The beginning of Christ's ministry on earth starts with an encounter between Jesus and Satan. First there is the promise of pleasure, the satisfaction of human hunger, then the offer of earthly power and wealth and finally the not-so-subtle challenge: Prove you are the Son of God.
Day in and day out we face these same choices. We are always being tempted to betray, to compromise, to prefer self to others, to prefer our desires over God's promise of Life in some form or other. And in so many ways, people or circumstances around us constantly challenge us to show them our God. He first reminds us that we are free. We then are confronted with empty promises of satisfaction, pleasure, wealth, and power to win our allegiance.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Called to be HolyThe year is very new and there are as ever many questions on the horizon. We look at the days and months ahead and wonder how those still suffering the effects of Covid will fare and when the wars and strife in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Haiti, and so many other places will end. How can we put an end to poverty and homelessness? Will we ever be able to speak civilly to one another again? When will peace rule peoples’ hearts? As "ordinary time" begins to unfold, we will be constantly reminded that
God has not and will not abandon us. The light that led the Magi will shine light on our dark winter days. Into this darkness comes the promise of Light. Will all things get better immediately? Not likely. But a way has been illumined, a path has been shown to us and we must continue to live by the light we have seen.
New Beginnings / Follow the LightChristmas has come and gone and there is a definite shift of focus in our Sunday readings. The hushed tones of Bethlehem now shift to explosive manifestations about Jesus. The
magi caused quite a stir with their arrival at Herod's palace and their questions about the "newborn king of the Jews."
Isaiah proclaims the “Light” that has come. And at Jesus’ baptism,
the voice from heaven announces, quite emphatically: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Nativity of the Lord/Mary, Mother of God - Whose Child is This?As with the shepherds keeping watch, our faith journey to the feet of the infant God-made-man in the manger always leads us to a choice. We are faced with many roads along the way. The road to the manger leads to the road of discipleship, then to the road to Calvary, and finally to the road of resurrection and the empty tomb.
The choices we make along this journey are those that can enable us to bring Christmas to completion. 3rd Sunday of Advent - Go and tell OthersWe are an Advent people who live in hope and trust in God's promises. The spirit of the Advent season is filled with images of some of the most powerful examples of this hope and trust. Two of the most important are the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist.
2nd Sunday of Advent – Welcoming Advent ProphetsAdvent calls us to
conversion, a change to our ways of thinking and acting. There are too many valleys of despair that need to be filled in our lives and in our world. There are too many mountains and hills of pride that need to be made low. Along the way we find winding roads of confusion that need straightening and rough and violent ways that must be made smooth. This is still our broken and tired world and it still needs rejuvenation.
1st Sunday Of Advent - The Coming Of The Son Of ManThe earliest Christian community expected Jesus’ imminent return. But when he didn’t come and the years grew into decades, the community redefined their understanding of the "
coming of the Son of Man" and adopted a stance of patient expectation. The conclusion of our Gospel passage today sums up this communal vision as it has been lived throughout the ages: “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
But the Gospel understanding of the phrase "the coming of the Son of Man" was a bit different. Solemnity of Christ the King - Who is this King?The feast of Christ the King marks the end of the liturgical cycle and Church year - we will soon begin
the season of Advent, when our minds and hearts are turned towards embracing God within our midst.
Advent is a time of anticipation, of expectation and preparation. But it is also a time of memory: we recall the many years that mankind awaited the Messiah. We remember the deep longing within the soul of man for the presence of God throughout history. And we celebrate His coming to this planet in the human form of Jesus -
Emmanuel: God with us. Our liturgies will be filled with the rich memories of the Christmas Story: the call of Mary to be His mother, and her "fiat" to the Father's invitation - Joseph's heartbreak, and his deep love for Mary - the hard trip to Bethlehem, the shepherds, the angels, the swaddling clothes, the Magi who come to worship a new-born King.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Vigilance and AttentivenessThe Gospel story of the ten virgins is not about wedding customs or about charity or even about staying awake at night. Rather it is about being ready, being vigilant, paying attention – so that we never miss an opportunity to experience every moment of our lives to the fullest.
It is a parable of urgency, a parable which urges us not to waste the opportunities that are offered us. The crucial difference between the wise and foolish has nothing to do with staying awake, but with having sufficient oil. Foreseeing that the bridegroom might delay, the wise bridesmaids brought additional flasks of oil, while the foolish neglected the task. And even though they all fell asleep waiting, only the wise had made the proper preparations, while the foolish found themselves locked out of the feast.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Many Are Called...Framed above the desk in my office at home, are the two center pages of the October 11, 1962 special edition of
L'Osservatore Romano, marking the opening session of the Second Vatican Council. The photo which spans these two pages depicts the Council Fathers, bishops from five continents, seated in St. Peter's Basilica as they listened to the opening address by Pope St. John XXIII:
"...the Church, raising the torch of religious truth by means of this Ecumenical Council, desires to show herself to be the loving mother of all, benign, patient, full of mercy and goodness..." A bold caption at the top reads
"Cristo è Qui" (Christ is here).
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - First and LastDiscipleship is an interplay of
gift and
response. It is not simply a focus on social justice but on the unexpected generosity of God, who gifts whom he will and when he will.
Discipleship is never earned, only given. All that is asked of the one called is a response, however and whenever the call comes. And the secret to success in the Christian life is sharing Christ's dream with and among his people.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Liberty, Freedom and 'Good Ground'This weekend, we in the United States are celebrating the birth of our nation. We not only recall the courage and heroism of ordinary citizens as they struggled to fashion a new nation built on the idea of freedom and liberty, but we also recognize, very deeply, that the violence that marked our American Revolution has not gone away.
We live in a world of violence - violence which touches every facet of our lives - violence which takes many forms.
Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ - Receiving and BecomingWhen we – as the people of God - come together to share the Eucharist, we proclaim that we wait
in joyful hope for the coming of the kingdom. It is this vision of faith that gives us the ability to celebrate and affirm life, even in the face of diminishment and difficulty. It does not allow us to be indifferent to suffering and injustice. It challenges us and forces us be involved with the pain of the world, but not absorbed or overwhelmed by it... because our hope is always rooted in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
The Ascension of the Lord - Worth the WaitDuring these weeks between Easter and Pentecost we have had a chance to reflect on the difference that Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension make on our lives. We have read from the Book of Acts during these weeks and have seen how the early church struggled and survived during its first critical days. This early Christian community was mission-minded, wanting to go out immediately to tell others the good news. But Acts begins with a strange message by the risen Christ to his disciples. He tells them to wait.
HOLY WEEK LIKE NEVER BEFORECovid-19 and the Celebration of Holy Week & Triduum Each year the Church invites us to bring the heartaches of our lives, our own personal broken dreams, and moments of sorrow and pain to the Risen Christ. Holy Week allows us to reconnect with and relive the final days of the Savior in order to reinforce our conviction that resurrection always follows death, that victory always crowns our failures.
Easter Sunday: Faith Born Of LoveEach year the Church invites us to bring the heart-aches of our lives, our own personal broken dreams and moments of sorrow and pain to the Risen Christ. During Holy Week we relive the final days of the Savior in order to reinforce our conviction that resurrection always follows death, that victory always crowns our failures.
This is the vision that we celebrate on Easter Sunday: a way of life which continues to offer renewed vision and hope to the human family. 5th Sunday in Lent - Called to ResurrectionThe entire season of Lent points to one central theme: Resurrection. The Easter story is not only an account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The story of Easter is also a living, continuing account of humanity striving to rise and live life to the full. The Easter message is not only about the Risen Lord but also about humanity, who God has saved all throughout salvation history.
Reflections Before Holy WeekBiblical commentators tell us that the passion narratives were the first parts of the Jesus story to be proclaimed. Each evangelist approaches the narrative with his unique perspective from the context of his own Christian community. Today we hear the account of Jesus’ last days from Matthew’s perspective, in which human weakness and failure are exposed. The narrative begins with Judas’ betrayal and later Peter’s denial -- despite the fact that at the supper Peter protested to Jesus, “I will never deny you.” But he does and so do the rest of the disciples. Instead of keeping watch during Jesus’ agony in the garden, all fall asleep. Pilate is weak and the chief priests and elders show they are less committed to God and more to preserving their own privileged status.
4th Sunday of Lent - Light In the Lord“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light...” These opening words from the letter to the Ephesians set the scene and the focus on both of today's message. It is the conflict between light and darkness, between good and evil. But before getting too comfortable we should realize that
this message is also a wake-up call. The struggle is far from over. As "children of Light" we still must be strong and vigilant to do what is "pleasing to the Lord" and to "produce every kind of goodness."
3rd Sunday in Lent - From Sarcasm to PrayerThe struggle to live as Christians can feel at times like a journey through a barren desert. In daily life there is often little around us that refreshes or supports our faith. Where shall we find the faith-renewing water we need? To whom shall we go? Questions of faith don’t get any more basic than that. It is the question the disgruntled Israelites asked in the desert. It is a question that a sarcastic Samaritan might imply and at times it is our question too. Today’s readings might give us an insight for our own faith journey - especially if we are in the midst of our own desert.
1st Sunday in Lent - Led By the SpiritWe know the story of Jesus' temptations very well. The Lord ventures out into the wilderness for 40 days - a time He needs to spend alone in the presence of His Father. We imagine that He needed this time to fast, to reflect, to pray and to prepare. Cleverly and relentlessly, the spirit of evil presents Jesus with some alternative choices and Jesus is tempted to betray, to compromise, to prefer self to others and to prefer his own desires over God's promise of Life.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - See and TestifyToday’s scripture opens with a focus on Isaiah’s “servant” -
the light to the nations; the light then moves to John the Baptist and his
testimony about Jesus and finally that light comes to rest on us, both as church and as individual witnesses to the light of Christ.
The Baptism of the Lord - Bruised Reeds And Smoldering WicksThe whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, whose unconditional love for every human creature is something we rediscover anew each day. And while this pilgrimage takes place in the heart of each person, it should also extend to the believing community, and then reach out to the whole of humanity.
Endings and New BeginningsThe Christmas Season gives us a unique opportunity to focus our attention on "endings" and "new beginnings." Within a short period of time we gather together to celebrate three special feasts of the Church -
The Holy Family, Mary Mother of God and the Epiphany of the Lord. We join with one another to evaluate the end of another year of our pilgrimage in faith and to set our sights on the beginning of a new dimension of our call to discipleship.
The Nativity of the Lord - Angels and Shepherds
Mass at DawnChristmas is such a powerful, intimate reminder that we are never alone. Once we accept the miracle of God-made-man, then every facet of human life takes on a new dimension ...a Jesus-dimension. Everything is touched by His spirit of love, of peace, of hope. Only then will the words of Isaiah take meaning:
"The people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light!"
4th Sunday of Advent - God Be with us!Emmanuel isn’t just a title we Christians bestow on Jesus. It expresses a basic act of trust that God is present and will always be with us. God is not a distant observer, or a cheerleader who roots for us from afar. The Gospel shows us that once again God is keeping God’s word: a child is given to us to assure us that God is doing what the angel told Joseph: “fulfilling” what had been spoken through the prophets.
2nd Sunday of Advent - A Signal To The NationsThe Advent readings point to the overturning and the renewal of a broken world. They bring a promise from our God, that God will bring renewal to God’s people; not just an interior change, but by a transformation of the world.
4th Sunday of Advent/Christmas Eve - Christmas AngelsGod's greatest miracles often go unnoticed unless there are messengers and angels to announce them. God's gifts of peace, and justice and reconciliation are hidden in the ordinariness and ugliness of human history; there must be angels to point them out.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - As For You...Over the past few weeks we have seens Jesus in contention with the “chief priests and elders of the people,” now he takes on the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. And in our readings today, these religious leaders do not come off very well.
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time - My Yoke is Easy...While today’s text has strong comfort appeal to anyone who is burdened or suffering under life’s heavy demands, the original sense of the passage is quite specific. Biblical Scholars identify these texts as coming from the
"wisdom tradition" of the Hebrew bible. God is offering a new wisdom to those who open their hearts to hear his word. Life and the scriptures frequently stand in stark contrast to one another. Which shall we believe and where does wisdom for living lie?
4th Sunday of Easter - A Gospel Perspective
Turbulent times call us to a deeper, more mature faith. The Crucified Christ teaches us that we carry within us - individually and as a community - the wounds of our world and of our Church... and the Risen Christ teaches us that these wounds have the potential to heal us from the hurt that we have endured. The Cross conditions us to self-denial, to contradiction, and to the possibility of total failure. The Empty Tomb assures us that the victory and the power of the Risen Lord are ours. It is through that power that we defy the world and its standards.
3rd Sunday of Easter - Listen and LearnThe resurrection appearances of Jesus are filled with surprises and mystifying details. His friends do not recognize Him. He appears through locked doors; He has broken out of a tomb, but carries the wounds of His dying. He speaks of peace and forgiveness. He promises the gift of His Spirit. He sends His disciples to change the world.
But things really didn't turn out the way the disciples had planned. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Disjointed FaithIt can sometimes be difficult to connect the faith that we profess to believe and the way we live out that faith on a daily basis.
At the heart of the Gospel message is the insistence of Jesus that our love be "inclusive" - all-inclusive, with no exception. And that is probably the most difficult thing about being a Christian. Almost naturally, instinctively, our love and our concern tend to be exclusive. We are comfortable with people who are like us, in color, religion, and economic status. We find it easy to be good to those who like us, those who are attentive to us, those who understand us.
Feast of the Epiphany - The Light Has ComeEpiphany seems to have more sound to it than Christmas. At Christmas, we gather around the crib looking with silent wonder at the newborn infant. Shepherds arrive having heard about the child from the angels. The scene is depicted in art and our home and church mangers as quiet and peaceful. The choir sings "Silent Night." Hushed tones, a sleeping infant and silent admirers.
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - If Today You Hear His VoiceOne of the most difficult facets of Christianity is that it continually invites us to re-imagine how the whole process of life and faith works. There can be no compromise when it comes to the Gospel Message. If we only buy it half-heartedly, we will ultimately lose it. If we pick and choose what parts of the Gospel we will subscribe to, we end up betraying the entire message. If we are faithful only when it is easy to be, we run the risk of denying Him under pressure.
With Jesus, it's all or nothing. His invitation to follow Him is one that requires both
courage and
generosity. 1st Sunday of Advent - Keeping AwakeAs we enter the Advent season, we move liturgically from the darkness that will precede the end of the world to the darkness that hovered over the world at its beginning. This darkness holds within it the promise of dawn. We anxiously await the rising sun. This is a season of expectation and of hope. It is a time for us to listen again to God's promise of deliverance and reconciliation. It is a time for us to be reassured of His relentless love for each and all of us, and for our planet.
Easter Sunday - Experience and FaithThe days immediately preceding and following the resurrection must have been days of turmoil for the first followers of Jesus. I'm sure they went through the whole gamut of emotion - fear and uncertainty, devastation and utter despair, loneliness and separation - only to be brought to the edge of hope and joy with news of "resurrection sightings."
The Epiphany of the Lord - The Lessons of ChristmasThe Christmas season comes to an end much more quickly than all of our preparations for its arrival. Light flows throughout today’s scripture and liturgy. Isaiah proclaims “
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines on you.” In the Gospel the Christmas star becomes a brilliant guide for the magi to the child and his mother in Bethlehem. But as we begin a new year
there is still darkness, there is still chaos and there is still turmoil – for the world community and for the Church as well.
The Work of ChristmasThe ancient story that is forever new breaks once again upon our restless world, and because the Word has been made flesh we are remade, lifted up, revived. Our distant, faceless, timeless God has taken a mortal body as His own. He has entered our time and come to our place. He has grown up among us, learned our language, played our games, sang our songs, shared our pain and sorrow, and embraced to the full our human fellowship. Yet, there is much left to do.
The Nativity of the Lord - The Song of Angels"And suddenly, there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the Highest; and Peace on earth to men of good will!"
Christmas is upon us, and in the Christian community our faith mirrors what is happening in the natural world during early winter. We are waiting for the new light of the world to shine upon a darkened planet. This light comes in the form of the child, born to the Virgin Mary, more than 2,000 years ago. With this one child's birth was born the reality that our creator-God loves mankind unconditionally, and in turn, asks us to do the same.
Solemnity of Christ the King - Come Blest of My FatherChristianity is not just a "personal" religion, addressed to private spirituality. Nor is it an exclusive club living by a set of rules and norms, lost in the idea of "institution."
It is a lifestyle, a way of being in the world that is simple, nonviolent, shared, and loving. Today's parable calls every one of God's people to respond to the poor, the suffering, the hungry, the refugee and the outcast. The Lord addresses two groups of people. Both groups do not recognize the presence of God in others. But only one group is welcomed into the Kingdom.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Power of CompassionReligious leaders do not come off too well in today's first and Gospel readings. The reading from Malachi is an indictment against religious leaders who have been guilty of violating their responsibility as teachers. They have not observed God's ways and have taught falsely. They failed in their roles as leaders and teachers. Over the last few weeks in the Gospels we have seen Jesus as He parries with the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he takes on the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Understanding the Bigger PictureAs today's Gospel unfolds, there is a sudden turnaround in the relationship between Jesus and Peter. In the verses immediately preceding today's (last Sunday's gospel) Jesus sings Peter's praises ("Blessed are you Simon son of John....") and is ready to give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Peter will have authority over Jesus' mission. However today Jesus turns on Peter, calls him Satan and chases him away. I'm sure Peter was feeling pretty good about himself after being called "Blessed," and he must have been taken quite aback with Jesus' sudden change of mood. He had simply taken Jesus aside and told him not think about his suffering and death. Yet Jesus rebuked him publically, in front of all of his friends.
4th Sunday of Easter - PerspectivesTurbulent times call us to a deeper, more mature faith.
The Crucified Christ teaches us that we carry within us - individually and as a community - the wounds of our world and of our Church... and
the Risen Christ teaches us that these are also the wounds of Christ which have the potential to heal from the hurt that we have endured.
The Cross conditions us to self-denial, to contradiction, and to the possibility of total failure.
The Empty Tomb assures us that the victory and the power of the Risen Lord are ours. It is through that power that we defy the world and its standards.
Some Thoughts about Holy WeekBiblical commentators tell us that the passion narratives were the first parts of the Jesus story to be proclaimed. Each evangelist approaches the narrative with his unique perspective and one would expect an opening scene in the garden of Gethsemane or in Pilate’s courtroom where Jesus receives his sentence, is then tortured and taken off to Calvary for his execution. But in Matthew's account that’s not what we hear first. Instead there is a long narrative about Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper and judging from the goings-on around that table we can imagine that Jesus’ passion has already begun.
5th Sunday in Lent - The Turning PointResurrection is a core element of our Christian faith and it is one that requires some very definite commitments on our part. If we truly believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that he is alive, that he continues to live and work in and through those who believe in him, then we had better not linger too long in the garden, or weep too long at the tomb, or gaze too long at the crucifix. We had better not treat Jesus in our mind, in our prayer or in our attitudes as though he is a dead hero, or an object of theological study. We had better not bury him in history, or just remember his story as a fable or fairy tale.
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Seek First the KingdomAs Jesus approached the final chapter of his life on earth, the shadow of the cross hung over him. He must have found it hard to look ahead, sensing imminent failure, betrayal, suffering and death. And he certainly must have struggled fiercely to hold on his trust in the Father, and his faith in ultimate victory. This was His time of trial and testing. And yet, from the very beginning of His ministry until His final days, everything He did and said pointed towards hope, healing, reconciliation and ultimate victory.
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Teaching by ExampleThe quality or value of a sermon is not only measured by the effect it has on the lives of those who hear it, but also in the example of the life of the one delivering it. The Gospel passages chosen for these Sundays before Lent are all from the 5th, 6th and 7th Chapters of Matthew, one hundred and eleven verses, comprising the substance of what is universally called "the sermon on the mount."
This is the heart of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. This is Jesus the Teacher. This is the New Sinai, the NEW Commandment This is the summary of all that Jesus imagined for us.
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Other MountainI suppose we would find it hard to imagine being in the presence of Jesus and not recognizing him. It's hard to imagine that He would be just another face in the crowd, and that there would be nothing remarkable or exceptional that would make him stand out from all the rest. But it wasn't that way. He was misunderstood, people missed the point and there were even those who plotted against him. I imagine many may have walked by Jesus without noticing anything out of the ordinary or thought-provoking. Maybe they needed a special sign in order to recognize Him.
And maybe the same is true today.
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Salt of the Earth - Light to the WorldDiscipleship requires work, lots of sacrifice, discipline and love. It takes heroic love to make the teaching of Jesus concrete and real in our relationships. Today our scriptures again begin with the prophet Isaiah - and we listen as he reminds us of an important aspect of our call to conversion of heart: the presence of God in this world will be evidently seen when we "...share bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when we them and do not turn our back on our own." The prophet goes on to say that to those who do these things, "light shall rise for you in the darkness and the gloom shall become for you like midday."
33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - The Good and Faithful Servant"If you sit fenced off in your apathy, if you look at the stars and yawn; if you see suffering and don't cry out; if you don't praise and you don't revile, then I have created you in vain, says God." - Aaron Keitlin
The Gospel stories always have inherent and important questions:
what kind of people are we; what kind of people will we be? 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Vineyard of the LordFor most of us, our image of a vineyard is limited to an occasional travel show on television, or maybe a wine-tasting tour at a local winery, or simply just a well-produced article from a current gourmet food and wine magazine. But we can all relate to the work of a gardener, even if be that of a small home garden. So it shouldn't take a stretch of our imaginations to consider what both the parables of Isaiah and Jesus mean for us.
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Speaking Louder Than Words...Today’s passage is the first of three parables that Jesus directs to the religious leaders of his day. They have confronted him, but he turns the confrontation around by proposing a short parable about two exchanges between a father and his two sons. "Which of the two did his father’s will?" There are allegorical elements in this parable: the older son is like the leaders of the established religious tradition; the younger represents the outsiders and latecomers Jesus was fond of "latecomers" - as he noted in last week's parable of the workers in the vineyard - those who have lived apart, but now accept God's invitation through Jesus. Their initial "no" had now become a unqualified "yes".
Exaltation of the Holy Cross - God So Loved the World...The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross had its roots in Emperor Constantine's vision of a cross before he set out into battle. This experience led to his conversion and the acceptance of Christianity by the Roman empire. A persecuted religion became the state religion and history shows what a mixed blessing that was!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Two or Three...At the time that Matthew wrote his Gospel, the early church was on its own, no longer a part of the Jewish community and therefore no longer observing the daily norms and customs of that religious tradition. The community needed guidelines for its life together and in chapter 18 Matthew portrays Jesus as a
community builder, instructing his disciples on matters that emphasize and focus on the community of believers.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Given the KeysThe message of Jesus brought excitement to all those who listened. The reign of God was "at hand." He told them how to recognize this kingdom: by living in God and living in love - clothing the poor, caring for the needy, being ready to forgive, feeding those who hunger, overcoming cultural prejudices. This is how the world was to recognize the name and presence of God's Spirit in their midst.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - All in the Same BoatThe story in this week's Gospel is
a perfect example of the process of the faith journey and it outlines for us the three stages of one's faith journey. Matthew's story actually begins at the end of another story - the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus has compassion for the crowds and feeds them with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. Immediately after that, he packs up the apostles in a boat, sends them off to the opposite shore of the lake and He goes off alone to pray.
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Live in the LightOur journey of faith is a never-ending one. It is one where we constantly come to know the Father through Jesus. It parallels the journey of the first disciples. God is always the one who speaks first, who acts first, who loves first. And
discipleship always involves a call - an invitation requiring a response. But without faith, without trust, there can be no discipleship. The Gospel tells us that the real sign of discipleship is trust in Jesus and who he is for us.
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Without Cost, We Have Received
God's kingdom is often compared to a "harvest" in the Scriptures. It is an image that perhaps meant more to other cultures, in other ages than our own. However, there is still an important message for all of us in today's Gospel passage. We can substitute the word "church" for "harvest" and we can hear the Lord reminding us that it is by God's favor that we belong to this chosen community.
9th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Prophetic Times and Prophetic LivingGod is always new, always challenging. Each new circumstance of our life leads us to a new understanding of His goodness and love. As we grow older, God should become younger for us. When we become ill, He becomes our healing and strength. When we grow discouraged, or depressed, He lifts our spirits with hope.
Trinity Sunday - God So Loves the World...Our God is personal, and intimately bound up in who we are and what we do. We acknowledge Him as
Creator and Lord, as architect of the universe and author of life. His
Word became flesh so that He could enter fully into all of the dimensions and experiences of our human journey in the person of Jesus, son of Mary. He promised, then sent His
Spirit to anoint, consecrate and live on in all who would come to believe in Him as Messiah and Lord. They would be witnesses in each generation to the God who is Father, Son and Spirit.
The Feast of Pentecost - The Spirit, Here and NowThe readings for the feast of Pentecost present us with two different perspectives of the Spirit event. They aren’t meant to be reconciled, but rather offer different theological insights about how the early Christian community experienced this life-changing gift of the Spirit to the early church.
6th Sunday of Easter - Pleading the CaseSome folks have a rather harsh image of God. They envision a distant God, ruling over everything and everyone from an on-high vantage point. This God is a ruler and a tester, a judge or an inquisitor, expecting us to live up to a set of rules and regulations or requiring us to pass the litmus test, which weighs our accomplishments against our transgressions. In this perception, Jesus’ role was crucial: to go before God and soften His anger over our failures. Seeing Jesus as "Advocate" in this way, he becomes our defense attorney before a fearsome God. A lot of people in our communities still hold these notions of God.
5th Sunday of Easter - The Way, The Truth and The LifeAll three of the Liturgical Readings for this week
focus specifically on the notion of service and ministry. There is enough in the passage from Acts to remind us of how far we still are from being the community Christ intends us to be. In our second reading, Peter calls each of us to look at ourselves. He reminds us of the dignity of our call to service and the dignity of the community to which we are called to serve. Today's Gospel is a scene from the Last Supper. Scripture tells us that Jesus did two things that night which define the sacramental nature of "service." He commissioned his disciples to bring His healing power of forgiveness, allowing us to reconcile ourselves with one another and with God and He showed by example what it means to be compassionate and to minister to one another.
2nd Sunday of Easter - The Power of ShalomThere are those who will always need in some way to touch the wounds of the Risen Christ in order to come to faith. They will demand some physical proof. Others will become aware of His presence and power in ways that transcend the senses.
2nd Sunday in Lent - Change, Conflict & HopeAll three liturgical cycles for the second sunday of Lent feature the story of Abram and Sarah and it is a focal point in the book of Genesis and in the faith history of the Jewish people as well. It begins with God’s command,
"Go forth." All of the accounts have this same characteristic. They all contain a sense of change and conflict along the way to new life. This is
the hope that their story stirs up. God's promise to them isn't that things will be easy. What makes the end hopeful is that
God promises to “Go Forth” with Abram and Sarah as well.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Bruised Reeds and Smoldering WicksThe prophet Isaiah is dominant in our liturgical readings as we begin our new year. The reference in last week's passage is most significant..."Here is my servant...my chosen one upon whom I have put my Spirit...he shall bring forth justice...not crying out, not shouting...a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench." This week we hear God's promise: "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." And next week we discover the promise fulfilled: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone."
3rd Sunday of Advent - Be strong, fear not! Here is your GodThe spirit of the Advent season is filled with the images of some of the most powerful figures in all of Scripture. This third week of Advent highlights the personality of one of these: the prophet Isaiah - whose words are full of expectation, hope and joy.
2nd Sunday of Advent - New PossibilitiesThe Scriptures these Advent Sundays, particularly the first readings, all from Isaiah, offer us powerful images to touch our imagination with hope and give us a vision of what will come to pass when our God comes. Isaiah's prophetic poetry fills the hearts of a modern people with hope, just as it did for those Israelites in slavery and exile from their homeland. Isaiah says to them and us, that where there has been war, God comes to bring peace... One is coming who will restore the lineage of David, give the people a faithful shepherd to lead them. On that day, "a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom."
1st Sunday of Advent - The Son of Man Will Come...Advent is a season of expectation and of hope. It is a time for us to listen again to God's promise of deliverance and reconciliation. It is a time for us to be reassured of His relentless love for each and all of us, and for our planet. Advent recalls the past acts of God, not for the sake of nostalgia, but to help us look to the future with hope. We don't just extend our present condition into the future; the way things are now doesn't control how they will be. Present circumstances may offer no evidence of future fulfillment; but during Advent we learn to, "hope against hope."
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Who Do You Say I Am?If Christianity is to have a worthwhile message to the contemporary world, it must be based on the vision of God that we have received from Jesus himself. It must be based on what He himself saw his mission to be.
Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - Transformed and Transfigured
Summer movies are out, blockbusters with lots of special effects to draw the young and old alike and to cash in on huge profits. In the light of such movies, our first reading today from
the book of Daniel fits right in. It has a blazing throne, “wheels of burning fire,” “surging stream of fire” and a cast of “thousands and thousands,” with “myriads upon myriads” in attendance.
There are visions to rivet one’s attention: one “like a Son of man” coming on clouds of heaven, the Ancient One whose “clothing was snow bright” and whose hair is “white as wool.” Don’t these images rival the current crop of summer blockbusters?
Feast of the Epiphany - Where Is The One We Seek?We do not know much about the Magi. The text does not tell us there were three, as they are often depicted in paintings and creches. We do not know if they came from different nations or races. We are not sure if they were priests, royalty or astrologers.
Their anonymity makes it possible for Christian tradition to place much symbolic meaning on them: they have come to symbolize diversity of race, ethnic background and nationalities. As today's reading from Ephesians suggests, God's grace has revealed the mystery to us that all peoples, not just a chosen few, will come to discover their place as, "co-heirs," partners in the promise in Christ through the gospel. Matthew has depicted in the Magi the gospel truth that seekers from all nations will come to recognize Christ and be welcome in his presence. And, that the promise of Israel's being a light for the nations, as the prophets anticipated, is now fulfilled in Christ.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - God And NeighborWhen we think about law, we don't usually think about love. But when Jesus was asked to name the first and greatest of all laws, He said very simply and clearly:
Love your God and love your neighbor. For Him, the whole of law is based on these two aspects of love. All law is a matter of love and the Lord intends that His law should be the model for all human law.
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Setting PrioritiesIt is a sign of spiritual poverty to conceive everything in terms of black and white. It is a sign of spiritual destitution when everything is reduced to right or wrong, true or false, proper or improper. It is a sign that you do not understand and appreciate God's world when you look at a person and declare, without qualification, that he is either good or bad, a sinner or a saint.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Without a Wedding GarmentFramed above the desk in my office at home, are the two center pages of the October 11, 1962 special edition of
L'Osservatore Romano, marking the opening session of the Second Vatican Council. The photo which spans these two pages depicts the Council Fathers, bishops from five continents, seated in St. Peter's Basilica as they listened to the opening address by Pope St. John XXIII:
"...the Church, raising the torch of religious truth by means of this Ecumenical Council, desires to show herself to be the loving mother of all, benign, patient, full of mercy and goodness..." A bold caption at the top reads
"Cristo è Qui" (Christ is here).
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Going it AloneThe story in this week's Gospel is a perfect example of the process of the faith journey, and it contains some very powerful biblical images. Jesus comes walking on the water in the fourth watch - very early in the morning. There is a new day beginning, a new strength for disciples who must face the storms and turbulence of life. This is not just a story about a miracle at sea, but it is both a strong statement about Jesus and about the future of the disciples.
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time - A Promise of Rest and PeaceAcceptance or rejection of Jesus and his message is crucial because of who he is. And if we want to know who Jesus really is, all we need do is reflect on the opening verses of today's Gospel, because they assert Jesus' identity in unmistakable terms.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Costly Business of Being a DiscipleTo live the Gospel is to be identified totally with Jesus. Today's passage is preceded by three verses which are not read in today's Gospel: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother. One's enemies will be those of his own household."
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Ready for HarvestGod's kingdom is often compared to a "harvest" in the Scriptures. It is an image that perhaps meant more to other cultures, in other ages than our own. However, there is still an important message for all of us in today's Gospel passage. We can substitute the word "church" for "harvest" and we can hear the Lord reminding us that it is by God's favor that we belong to this chosen community.
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Follow MeAdjacent to the main altar in the church of
San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, is the Contarelli Chapel in which hang three paintings by the famed artist Caravaggio (Michelangel Merisi), depicting scenes from the life of the apostle Matthew: his calling, his inspiration and his martyrdom. The French cardinal Mathieu Cointrel, who died in 1585, had left money in his will for the decoration of this chapel, and even left detailed descriptions of how the paintings were to be created.
Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ - Holy Things for Holy PeopleIn the Byzantine Liturgy the distribution of Holy Communion begins with the priest saying:
"Holy Things for holy people." It is a shame that this phrase is omitted from the Latin rite because it touches the heart of what coming together to celebrate the Eucharist really means.
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Salt for the EarthYou are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its flavor be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel; they put on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Solemnity of Christ the King - Inheriting the KingdomThe struggle for power has always been an issue throughout history. It has been so in the history of our country. It has been so in the history of our Church. It has been especially in the forefront over the last few weeks. Political rivalries in this country have exploded into sharp polarities, angry rhetoric and threats, and total lack of compromise. This struggle for power is
nothing new. There has
always been a constant need for power and control over people and things - in politics, in religion, in business, in media and in personal relationships. In the midst of this we gather to contemplate once again the mystery of Jesus' Kingship. It is a Kingship like no other.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Gifts and Challenges"If you sit fenced off in your apathy, if you look at the stars and yawn;if you see suffering and don't cry out; if you don't praise and you don't revile,then I have created you in vain, says God." - Aaron Keitli
We're coming close to the end of the Church year. Soon we will celebrate the feast of Christ the King, followed immediately with the beginning of the Season of Advent. During these last weeks of the liturgical year,
the theme woven throughout the Gospel readings is that of preparedness. Traditionally, we tend to view this state of readiness in terms of the "final times", the end of the world or Judgment Day - the time when The Lord shall come when we least expect.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Keeping Vigil During An ElectionJesus knew that being his follower was not going to be easy. Being a disciple implies that one has to make hard choices: we will not always get what we want; we may find ourselves at odds with others who do not share our values. It's not easy. It's not easy to do what needs to be done, to say what needs to be said, to work things out when it bothers us to compromise. And then it's not easy to wait. It's not easy to be out of control, without power. It's not easy to allow another, even God, to have the final word. And Jesus tells us:
"Be prepared, stay awake, and be attentive - you don't know the day or the hour." Feast of All Souls - Celebrating HopeWe are people of hope. We celebrate the feast of All Soul's because we are people of hope. Most of us have experienced pain, and loss and loneliness because of the death of one of our loved ones. For some, death came early, with no warning, suddenly, unexpectedly, filling us for a time with anger and resentment and unanswered questions. For others, it came after long illness, or to persons who were elderly, still leaving our lives sad and empty.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Unrelenting LoverThe word "lover" seems to have taken on a rather shady meaning these days, probably because of all of the cheap and superficial ways that it is used. But it would be a shame for us to lose the real significance of the word, especially when we try to understand God as being our Divine Lover.
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Mission"It is easy in the rush of daily life or in its tedium to lose the sense of wonder that is appropriate to this gift. It is even easier at the level of our societal relations to count some lives as less valuable than others, especially when caring for them costs us – financially, emotionally, or in terms of time, effort, and struggle."
- Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.
The month of October is usually one to witness the activity of the Spirit within The Church. Traditionally, one Sunday of October is always designated as World Mission Sunday.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Invited to a BanquetThe struggle between Good and Evil is one that humanity has been dealing with from the first moments of time. It doesn't take much to recognize the presence of evil in our world. Evil has had the most successful advertising campaign in history.
We find it much more difficult to see God's invitation to Love and to respond to it. 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Ownership and StewardshipThe phrase "taking ownership" is one with which all of us are familiar - especially those of us who work and travel in "ecclesial" circles. We hear talk of taking ownership of the Church: this is
our church,
our community, our parish -
we are the Church. In a very real sense, all of this is true, although sometimes we can tend to get carried away with the idea. Broadening the scope a little, we can also carry the idea of God being "
Our God" a little too far. We human beings are a strange species and we need to be constantly reminded that
God does not belong to any one group of us, that we all belong to Him (we are His) and that He has given us His gifts, not to possess, but to use wisely.
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - More Than WordsJesus never offered an invitation without an accompanying challenge. He spent his entire adult life teaching others about compassion, love and service to others and about commitment to God and to His kingdom. The parable of the two sons, seen in today's Gospel, is only five verses long and yet it has much more significance than just looking at the difference between "saying" and "doing."
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Gift and ResponseThe Gospels for the last few weeks have brought back to mind the stories of the first disciples: how they were called from among ordinary people; what they were called to do; and what Jesus told them they could expect by preaching the "Good News of Salvation." As in all passages of the Scriptures, this ongoing re-telling of the episodes of Christ's life is part of our Tradition, part of our history as Christians and part of our history as a community of believers.
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Challenge of ForgivenessIt doesn't take much to remind us of the terrible destruction that flows from anger: wounded hearts, broken homes and families, ruined relationships and shattered lives. Anger so often leads to hatred and suspicion. It blinds our judgment. It festers, makes us petty and spiteful and destroys our peace of mind.
Ultimately, it makes us morose and resentful, mistrusting and insecure. 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Thinking As God DoesAs today's Gospel story unfolds, there is a sudden turnaround in the relationship between Jesus and Peter. In the verses immediately preceding today's (last Sunday's gospel) Jesus sings Peter's praises ("Blessed are you Simon son of John....") and is ready to give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Peter will have authority over Jesus' mission. Yet, today Jesus turns on Peter, calls him "Satan" and turns away from him.
21st Sunday in Ordinary - So, What Do You Think?There have been many great religious figures in history. Their followers in all the world’s major religions (Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.) would count Jesus among the list of holy and great religious leaders. Even people who belong to no religion would say the same. So, there can be plenty of responses today to Jesus’s question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” What's important for us, though, is that we have a clear idea of what
our answer may be to that question.
At the heart of the Gospel message is
the challenge to articulate who we believe Jesus to be and to lose ourselves in the concern for others. If we truly love every other person as Jesus has loved us, then we don't look at risk, or color, or public opinion, or all of the other excuses for walking away. This is easier said than done.
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - It's All About RelationshipWhen you stop to think about it, the message of Jesus was a simple one. It was to make us aware that the Good News of our salvation is a reality and that we are loved unconditionally by God. It was one of invitation and one of challenge. The Spirit of God permeates and enlivens us just as it did with Jesus and we are to be the people who continue what he did.
This is what "church" is all about. It is about a people who believe they are Spirit-filled, called to continue and spread the good news that has as its source, Jesus the Christ.
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Three InvitationsThere is a hunger in the human mind and heart for certainty in every aspect of life. We want to be sure. We want to be safe. We want to be successful. In the midst of this day-by-day struggle, there is also the search for religious truth. Our mind asks about the existence of God, about the meaning of life and death, about life after death. We wonder about the mission of Jesus, about the authenticity of the church, about our role as disciples in the scheme of things.
Feast of the AssumptionAugust the 15th is the feast of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and it is the one of the oldest feasts of the Church celebrated in honor of Mary. It was traditionally believed back in the 5th Century that Mary's body was taken to heaven - that she did not face corruption of the body since she was preserved from Original Sin, and the feast has been celebrated liturgicallly since 600 A.D. This belief by Catholics for centuries was solemnly defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950, namely, that after Mary's death, God raised her body and she lives with God. Pius XII proclaimed that the Assumption is a truth revealed by God in the encyclical
Munificentissimus Deus (November 1, 1950).
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Go and Feed Them YourselvesLife is full of anxieties and worries - and the voice of the Gospel is so easily drowned out by the clamor of commercials that tease us into buying much more than we really need - by the promises of security proclaimed by everyone from insurance agents to software vendors - by the persistent whispers and warnings that come from our deep-rooted instinct for self-preservation, reinforced by the time-honored - but not necessarily true - adage: "God helps those who help themselves."
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Buried in a Field..."...a treasure buried in a field"
We all look for good deals. We search for products with the best track records. We'll spend countless hours visiting different merchants, comparing prices all so that we may get the most for our money. We want our investments to yield good interest, our stocks to produce the highest return. But every now and then there comes a situation that is beyond any "bargain," worth every dollar, and worth any risk. So we should be able to understand the importance of today's Gospel parable.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Like Nothing We Would Expect"The Kingdom of Heaven is like..."
How often we have heard this introduction; how often we have heard the words of Jesus? He teaches in parables, bringing home through common yet vivid images the unfolding Truth about the mystery of God and our relationship with Him. Jesus uses many images in his parables: images of the ordinary, of size, of mystery, of contrast. And He tells us clearly that we should expect growth and change. We should be open to welcome all without condition or exception. He never said that it would be an easy task. In fact, He showed us by example just how difficult and "uncomfortable" it could sometimes be.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Seeds and Good GroundJesus was certainly the master storyteller. He knew exactly how to speak about profound matters in simple, earthy terms. He spent the brief period of His public life describing the kingdom of God but always in images that the average person could understand. We hear Him speak of seeds and harvest, of good and bad fruit, of faithful and worthless servants, of prodigal sons and good Samaritans, of fish in the sea and birds in the air.
He used all of these images to plant the truth of God's love into the minds and hearts of people. Not just those who lived during His lifetime but for those who would read or hear His words in future ages. And especially for us today.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Don't Look Back"Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
These words of the Gospel are pretty tough words for us to ponder; a hard challenge for just about anyone, at any age, to come to grips with. Something deep within our own nature rebels against the idea of giving ourselves - totally, without reservation; of giving up self and, maybe even giving up life.
Trinity Sunday - So Much More...There is a sense of closure about this feast of the Holy Trinity, at least in terms of major celebrations. We have journeyed through salvation history, from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost, commemorating the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, his ascension to the Father, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
Today we summarize all of these events in terms of how they help us understand the mysterious nature of our God, and his presence in our world and in our lives.
7th Sunday of Easter - Models of LoveThe Gospels speak of Jesus giving his disciples a new commandment: that they love one another as He has loved. To love as Jesus loved is no easy task. We are all influenced by our own likes or dislikes - our own preferences or prejudices. Easy or not, this is how others will know that we are His followers. The God who is Love has commanded us to love in the same manner.
5th Sunday of Easter - Lord, Show us the WayIn the wake of a crisis in our Church that continues to unfold every day, I find it interesting that all three of the Liturgical Readings for this week focus specifically on the notion of priestly service and ministry.
We see the Apostles asking the community to select some of its own members for the ministry of service, so that they could concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:4) This fits a pattern for the early church: the priests would serve the community by being persons dedicated to prayer, teaching and presiding at Eucharist. Members of the laity, both men and women would take ownership of the other aspects of their community life.
4th Sunday of Easter - Some Thoughts from the PewA time of crisis calls us to a deeper, more mature faith. The
Crucified Christ teaches us that we carry within us - individually and as a community - the wounds of our world and of our Church... and the
Risen Christ teaches us that these are also the wounds of Christ that have the potential to heal from the hurts that we have endured. The
Cross conditions us to self-denial, to contradiction, and to the possibility of total failure. The
Empty Tomb assures us that the victory and the power of the Risen Lord are ours. It is through that power that we defy the world and its standards.
2nd Sunday of Easter - Doubts and FearsThe impact of Easter in the early Church was for believers to gather as a community, to be together to contemplate the mystery of the resurrection event, to let it touch their minds and hearts, and to reaffirm that one does not live - one cannot live - in isolation. This special sense of community was very tangible in the apostolic church. We read about common living, sharing of common goals and goods, and a great concern that none of the believers should be left alone or in need. But they also recognized that this was a process requiring an ongoing effort.
Easter Sunday - The Stone RemovedThe days immediately preceding and following the resurrection must have been days of turmoil for the first followers of Jesus. I'm sure they went through the whole gamut of emotions: fear and uncertainty, devastation and utter despair, loneliness and separation - only to be brought back to hope and joy with news of "resurrection sightings."
Passion (Palm) Sunday - Living, Not DeadWe gather this week, like generations of Christians before us, to celebrate the Holiest of Weeks, to share in the sacred, ancient rituals that enshrine the essential mystery of our faith - the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We make our pilgrimage, like generations before us, from sinfulness to holiness, from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, from death to life. It should be a solemn and moving experience, an opportunity to be touched again by the power of the Risen Christ.
Holy Week: Dying and Rising with ChristWe approach Holy Week - that special and solemn moment which defines and dramatizes what it means to be Christian. It marks the great festival celebration of the central mysteries of our faith. We tend to look upon this week as a re-enactment of the final events in the human life and journey of Jesus Christ. We move from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, through the Last Supper, the betrayal the agony in the garden, the trial, the way of the cross, the crucifixion, to His burial and resurrection.
5th Sunday in Lent - The Resurrection ExperienceWe are winding down our celebration of the Holy Season of Lent - our time of preparation for the great feast of Easter. Lent can, and should be a solemn and moving experience for us. It should be a time to recall our Baptism, to renew our commitment to our faith and beliefs, to recognize once again our faults and weaknesses, to seek the Lord's forgiveness - and the forgiveness of others - and to become instruments of reconciliation and forgiveness for others.
4th Sunday in Lent - A Light in the DarknessLent is a time of peace. We know it as a "penitential season" - a time of self-denial, self-sacrifice, a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter. Yet all throughout this season, the Church constantly reminds of us of the Peace of God. We are reminded of the all-encompassing peace felt by the disciples as they witnessed Christ's Transfigured glory; we shared in the peace felt by the Samaritan woman at the well as she realized that she was in the presence of God. And this week - a man born blind is made to see and to feel the comfort and peace of the Light of the World.
3rd Sunday in Lent - Never to Thirst AgainThe struggle to live as Christians can feel at times like a journey through a barren desert. In daily life there is often little around us that refreshes or supports our faith. Where shall we find the faith-renewing water we need? To whom shall we go? Questions of faith don’t get any more basic than that. These are the questions the disgruntled Israelites asked in the desert. These are questions that a Samaritan woman put directly to Jesus. And at times these are our questions as well. In today's readings we are provided with some answers.
1st Sunday in Lent - Entering into the Paschal MysteryWe stand poised at the beginning of the Season of Lent, the traditional time within our Church when we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal Mystery: the suffering, dying and rising to new life of Jesus Christ. Traditionally, a time of penitence and penance, it is also a time of hope and joy.
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Authentic ChristianityThe Gospel passages chosen for the next few Sundays comprise the substance of what we traditionally know as
"the Sermon on the Mount." These words of Jesus as recounted by Matthew make up the heart of the Gospel, the substance of the "Good News." The evangelist spends of lot of time - one hundred and eleven verses - making sure that this message would be remembered down through the ages.
The Sermon on the Mount represents the New Sinai, the new Covenant, the NEW Commandment. It is the summary of all that it means to be Christian - all that it means to be fully human.
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Darkness DispelledThe message of Christmas threads itself throughout the Scriptures during these first weeks of the New Year. God is present to the world and acting in a new way through the Child proclaimed by angels, adored by shepherds and magi and given to all through the faith and trust of the Virgin. This Child will grow to be named the Beloved Son of God, baptized by John who reminds us that he is also the "lamb of God" destined to live a life of turmoil. But he will also be the "light in the darkness" calling us to repent - to radically change our lives - in order to make visible the reign of God.
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Here I Am LordThe prophet Isaiah is dominant in our liturgical readings as we begin our new year. The reference in last week's passage is most significant..."Here is my servant...my chosen one upon whom I have put my Spirit...he shall bring forth justice...not crying out, not shouting...a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench." This week we hear God's promise: "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." And next week we discover the promise fulfilled: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone."
The Baptism of the Lord - Living the Life of the GospelI imagine that, at times, the people around Jesus just didn't quite know what to make of this itinerant preacher. Jesus never did anything "by the book." He didn't "play by the rules" of the day. He certainly did things that were totally unexpected and said things that must have been counter to the popular opinions of His day. Jesus made people feel uncomfortable - He asked them to do things they would rather not do.
John the Baptist pleaded with him that it was he who should be baptized. A few years later, Peter would argue that Jesus would never wash his feet. The Pharisees liked to point out that anyone who frequented with tax collectors and sinners could not possibly be the long-awaited Messiah, the Holy One promised to deliver the Israelites from their enemies.
The Epiphany of the Lord - The Search for GodWorld literature is filled with stories of "the search" - the voyages of explorers, the hunt for hidden treasure, the quest for the Holy Grail or the fountain of youth, and the never-ending search in the hearts of all for quality of life, for freedom and justice, and for peace. The Feast of the
Epiphany of the Lord epitomizes all of the longings in the human heart for intimacy with God.
The Feast of the Holy Family - Identity and ContinuityThe calendar year comes to an end and we gather to celebrate two special feasts in our Church: The Holy Family and that of Mary, the Mother of God. We celebrate the end of another year of pilgrimage in faith, and the beginning of a new year of our lives.
The feast of the Holy Family is a celebration of all families: not perfect families, not constantly serene families… but families just like ours. If we picture the family of Joseph of Nazareth as we have seen them depicted in works of art or statuary, it becomes very difficult to model our family lives around theirs.
4th Sunday of Advent - Hope ReinforcedWe approach Christmas with vivid, violent reminders of the evils caused in our society by selfishness, ruthless ambition, twisted hatred and the craze for power at every level. This ugly drama is played out all over our world: in the business community, in our politics, in the bitterness and irreconcilable differences sometimes found in our homes and families, among the peoples of Eastern Europe hopelessly engulfed in a war not of their choosing, in the mistrust found among nations and even in the lack of trust in church leadership.
3rd Sunday of Advent - Voices of AdventThe spirit of the Advent season is filled with the images of some of the most powerful figures in all of Scripture. The first, of course, is the Virgin Mary, constantly with us throughout this holy season, patiently awaiting the birth of her son - God-made-man, God-with-us - Emmanuel. This third week of Advent highlights the personalities of two others: John the Baptist, the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for His coming - and the prophet Isaiah - whose words are full of expectation, hope and joy.
2nd Sunday of Advent - Be Open to His Coming
The message that runs all through the Readings for this Sunday in Advent is one of being prepared… of staying awake… of keeping our eyes and hearts open to the coming of the Lord.
Modern man is not one to enjoy the process of waiting. In terms of our relationship with God, the waiting of the faithful is so often fraught with disappointment. The fulfillment of God's promise of peace and justice so often seems delayed and improbable. In every age, but especially in our own times, believers seem to be besieged by evil, swamped by misfortune and almost overcome by catastrophe. We lose heart; we become impatient.