Water in the Desert
For Sunday, June 28, 2015, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Arava Desert is the northeastern portion of the Negev Desert in Israel. It is arid, rocky, and hot. This is where I am for three months of volunteer work at Biblical Tamar Park. There is a tel here (archeological site), going back to the […]
Fortnight for Freedom
For Sunday, June 21, 2015, 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time What is a fortnight? It is simply another term for “two weeks.” It is a word more frequently used in England than in the United States, perhaps because of our shorter attention spans. In 2012, the bishops of the United States established the Fortnight for […]
Seeds of the Kingdom
For Sunday, June 14, 2015, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time If you read any of the accounts about American Pharoah last weekend, and the way he secured a place in sports history by winning the Triple Crown, you might have thought his triumph was inevitable. But the man who helped raise him wasn’t so sure. Tom VanMeter, […]
Eucharistic Presence
For Sunday, June 7, 2015, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Our first reading this weekend from the Book of Exodus makes a very bold and confident statement of faith. “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.” People of faith must constantly be reminded of what God says and […]
Father, Brother, and Spirit
For Sunday, May 31, 2015, The Most Holy Trinity Are you ready for months and months of presidential candidate news, speeches, and controversies? The next presidential election is over a year away, but already the Internet, television, and print media are filled with information about all those who aspire to be arguably the most powerful person on planet Earth. […]
Our Surging Life Force
For Sunday, May 24, 2015, Pentecost Sunday It’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere. New life is surging up all around! Male birds in all their colorful finery are dancing and prancing to attract mates. Turkey tails are fanned. Rich melodies permeate the morning breezes. Farm animals are fat with soon-to-be-borns. Yes, even the maternity wards in our hospitals are […]
Handling Snakes
For Sunday, May 17, 2015, The Ascension of the Lord Walking through some grass during a warm spring morning, I stepped on something squishy. My immediate thought was that it was a snake. Waves of revulsion washed over me as I jumped away. Thankfully, it turned out to be only an old discarded length of […]
A Message of Love
For Sunday, May 10, 2015, 6th Sunday of Easter It’s been a brutal couple of weeks. Baltimore has been burning. Nepal is in ruins, with tens of thousands lost. Israel remains uneasy and on alert. And the city of Tel Aviv was rocked by protests amid charges of police brutality. At times, it seems we are […]
Transforming the World
For Sunday, May 3, 2015, 5th Sunday of Easter Resurrection has much more relevance to life than just the promise of more to come when we die! When the first disciples met the risen Lord not only did their understanding of Christ’s purpose become clear, but the way they conducted earthly business became transformed as well. […]
Shepherding Is Not Peaceful
For Sunday, April 26, 2015, 4th Sunday of Easter I was recently reading a book review by Horatio Clare on the UK’s The Telegraph website about a recently published title, The Shepherd’s Life, by James Rebanks. I can’t say I really know a lot about sheep and shepherds. A few years back, I was traveling the […]
We Do Believe, Alleluia
For Sunday, April 19, 2015 Do we really believe in the Resurrection? Jesus’ resurrection? Our own? During the past three weeks I’ve traveled in India and am currently in Uganda, Africa. In India, our tour group boarded a wooden boat at dusk and shoved out into the Ganges River. It was Tuesday of Holy Week, […]
Proof of the Resurrection
For Sunday, April 12, 2015 2nd Sunday of Easter or Sunday of Divine Mercy Saint Thomas might just be one of the figures in the New Testament who is the easiest for us to relate to. Like him, we have all had our doubts. We’ve wondered how we can know for sure that God exists. […]