Filling the Water Jars
For Sunday, January 17, 2016, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time presents us with the wedding miracle at Cana in John’s Gospel, continuing to center on the manifestation of the Lord, which was celebrated on the solemnity of the Epiphany. The feast of the Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and […]
Grace Awakens
For Sunday, January 10, 2016, The Baptism of the Lord The latest installment in one of Hollywood’s most successful movie franchises, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, became the fastest to reach one billion dollars in ticket sales. Though it takes place in a galaxy far, far away, one of the key characters of the Star Wars […]
Looking Up
For Sunday, January 3, 2016, The Epiphany of the Lord On a summer’s day in 1879, an amateur archeologist named Marcelino de Sautuola went into a cave in Altamira, Spain, looking for prehistoric artifacts. He’d been there several times before, and hadn’t found much of interest. But this day, he brought with him his eight-year-old daughter. […]
Fifteen Minutes in a Target
For Sunday, December 27, 2015, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph We were in Target, shopping for something I have long since forgotten. We often find ourselves in stores long after the intentionality of buying something has past, now aimlessly encountering things that promise to make our lives better or more exciting. On this […]
A Season of Joyful Hope
For Sunday, December 20, 2015, 4th Sunday of Advent The woman had a frantic look in her eye. Her hands were continually measuring out six-inch stretches of sheet on her hospital bed. She would glance at the clock. Then her eyes moved to the window and back to my face. “How can you be so calm?” […]
Shout for Joy
For Sunday, December 13, 2015, 3rd Sunday of Advent This weekend the church celebrates Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. Our Advent themes of expectation and hope are quickly turning into the anticipated joy that meeting Christ will bring. Merriam-Webster defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what […]
The Prophetic Voice
For Sunday, December 6, 2015, 2nd Sunday of Advent John the Baptist is one of the towering figures in the Advent drama. Following in the tradition of the prophets, he closes out the Old Testament and heralds the New with his cry: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” While our popular culture […]
The Greatest Solace
For Sunday, November 29, 2015, 1st Sunday of Advent Advent is traditionally the time of anticipation, of breathless wonder and waiting. It’s a season, right now, perfectly attuned to our times. As I write this, Belgium is anxious and on alert for a possible terrorist attack. Presidential candidates are stoking fears. Airlines are on edge again […]
My Son Needs His King
For Sunday, November 22, 2015, Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe I suspect the events of the past week might have many people longing for a world that does not exist. My youngest child no longer feels that he is safe from the reach of terrorists. He has been to professional sporting events and […]
A Time Unsurpassed in Distress
For Sunday, November 15, 2015, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time BBC broadcasts from Burundi are horrific. Dead bodies in the streets. Killed execution style. President Pierre Nkurunziza is demanding that all citizens must surrender illegal firearms by the end of week or risk being “dealt with as enemies of the nation.” “The crash of Metrojet […]
Embracing Life
For Sunday, November 8, 2015, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time After reading the story of creation in Genesis, what images come to mind? We hear of a God freely and intentionally choosing to create something out of nothing motivated by the pure power of love, of which he is the author. God pronounces all things good […]
The Call to Greatness
For Sunday, November 1, 2015, All Saints When we are young, we carry within us ambitious dreams for our future. We imagine what we may be one day-an astronaut, a doctor, a professional athlete. In our minds, nothing seemed impossible for us. There seemed to be nothing we could not achieve if we only had the […]