March 14, 2024
Get his credentials! At times, we have to produce some paperwork to let inquisitors know that we are alive – that we are who we say we are, that we are stamped, notarized, and bonafide. Produce some identification. Wallets can hardly hold all the cards we must produce. There are medical cards, insurance cards, driver’s […]
March 13, 2024
As children, we looked up to our fathers and learned many life lessons from them. Small children imitate their dads – copying how they gesture, eat, talk, and live. In the time of Jesus, sons followed the trades of their fathers, learning their skills by observing and imitating. This is true also with Jesus. “Amen, […]
March 12, 2024
“Look, you are well; do not sin anymore so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man had paralysis for thirty-eight years! He has no one to help him put him into the pool for the healing he longs for. What worse could happen to him? In the Old Testament, Israelites wandered in the […]
March 11, 2024
Media reports civil unrest and military action occurring on every continent except Antarctica. That sounds like the whole world is at war. Eliminating war does not bring peace; it brings nervous quiet. And there is adequate evidence our abuse of the gifts of creation is poisoning us. Jesus brings peace. “Unless you people see signs […]
March 10, 2024
4th Sunday of Lent Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent, known as Laetare Sunday, because the entrance antiphon invites us to rejoice. At this halfway point, we are invited to be joyful! We may ask why we are rejoicing in this season of penitential practice. The readings give us a clue to the reason […]
March 9, 2024
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled…. These words of reconciliation lead us to pray the Act of Contrition, the Confiteor, and when our day ends. We acknowledge the sins we have committed and sins where we failed to give love in some way. It may hurt to view […]
March 8, 2024
Today’s Gospel: So much to reflect upon! Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti: So much to reflect upon! When I see the word “neighbor” in “love your neighbor as yourself,” I recall how Pope Francis uses that familiar story of the “Good Samaritan” as an image for our meaning-making and reflection – the non-Jew (read […]
March 7, 2024
I used to work in Youth Ministry and accompany our parish teens to summer camp. One year at LifeTeen summer camp, I met one of the hosting teens, originally from Colombia. He was a bright and capable young man with a heart for community. After a few days, I saw the hosting teens struggling to […]
March 6, 2024
Today’s section from Deuteronomy reads like a pep rally or a political rally speech. “We have it made!!” There is no god like our God who listens to our petitions! There is no nation like us with its ceremonies, just judgments and all the law! These people had a right to be exuberant and proud. […]
March 5, 2024
Remember, for 50 years, the true fall classic? I wondered how many times this happened over the years and, of course, found it all on Wikipedia. Peanuts characters Charlie Brown and Lucy would have a unique philosophical reflection and hope that he would kick the football one day. Even though he had been burned repeatedly, […]