June 24, 2023
Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist While reading today’s first reading, I could hear the excitement in the family’s voices as they discussed the child to be born, John the Baptist. And as I read the responsorial psalm, my excitement grew to read how God knows when we sit and when we stand. […]
June 23, 2023
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be. In my former life, I presented a workshop entitled “Work, Family, Faith: Finding Balance.” I would begin with a simple exercise: “In the course of a typical week, where do you spend your time?” I’d ask the participants to be very specific on the worksheet I […]
June 22, 2023
Something about a religious store that offers eye candy – physical and spiritual. From garden statues to beads of every color and kind, necklaces and books to fill a small library, grace the wall and scented candles waft the air with spiritual aromas. Spirituality has a cost. For anyone unaffiliated, this would seem curious to […]
June 21, 2023
“Each one should give as much as he decided, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” I served as development director at a small women’s college for the last thirteen years of my full-time ministry. Like God, I loved a cheerful giver. Early on, I learned that it was not slick […]
June 20, 2023
Going beyond the words to the meaning of the words is the challenge of today’s Gospel. Loving as God loves all of his creation is a vast and impossible challenge for me. I cannot do it until I give myself to God’s spirit. Love as Jesus loves takes on a whole new meaning. I have […]
June 19, 2023
What is grace? John Stott, an English theologian, explains that grace is our God loving us, coming to the rescue, and giving of himself generously in and through Jesus Christ. One of my favorite Christian authors says grace is another word for God’s source of strength and protection, not now and again but constantly and […]
June 18, 2023
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time The gospel begins with a beautiful image: Jesus looking over the crowds that are following after him. He delivered his sermon on the mount a while ago and had been curing the sick as he traveled from town to town preaching in the synagogues. His heart is filled with pity […]
June 17, 2023
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary So many today are afraid of loving Mary too much, of being accused of not being centered in Christ. This danger does not exist when we honor Mary as an adorer of Jesus. Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, a Christocentric title in name and theology, keeps us […]
June 16, 2023
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus In this way, the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation […]
June 15, 2023
“I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment …whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Matthew 5:22) We all know there can be angst, frustration, and many negative feelings in our lives. This is a normal human condition, but we must not dwell there. We […]