The Spin Cycle
We cannot live without God’s Mercy, His unconditional, eternal, and ever-present love. We do not always get it right; the world does not get it right. The world is like a washing machine stuck on the spin cycle, relentlessly rotating, never getting where it needs to be.
We Have Seen His Glory
On this Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, the gospel story of the wedding at Cana forms the third part of a sort of Epiphany trilogy and carries the themes of these two Christmastide feasts into the green days of Ordinary Time: manifestation and transformation.
The Baptism of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God
Who is Jesus Christ? It is a question people asked as they witnessed him preach, heal the sick, and work other wonders. If we are to be his followers and pass on the good news to the next generation of believers, it is a question we must constantly ask ourselves.
Revelation of the Magi
This feast of the Epiphany is best understood as a dialogue or relationship. Clearly, the Feast has the perspective of the Christ Child being revealed to the Magi who had been seeking him. But also, it has the perspective of the Magi “revealing their gifts” to the Christ Child.
When We Ask Why
Today is the feast that reminds us that God could use any mechanism in the whole world to communicate His message — but He chooses to do so, mainly, through the stories of family relationships. Families that fall apart and are put back together.
Mary, Jesus Expert
If we long to uncover the path, learn the wisdom, and acquire the disposition of heart required to follow Jesus, we have but to look to one expert — Mary, his mother. By contemplating her principle virtues, actions, and devotion, we can reach unparalleled heights of faith.
Rejoice in the Presence of God!
“Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!” “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” These words from the Prophet Zephaniah and the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians frame the festive call of Gaudete Sunday.
Hear the Voice of the Lord
Hearing the voice of the Lord in the distance demands action, but this isn’t only an invitation to turn away from personal choices and sins that may limit or even prevent God’s coming among us. And this turning — conversion — isn’t only about what we give up, it is really about accepting the gift that we are being offered.
Commemoration, Anticipation, and Participation
This week we begin the season of Advent to prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, this isn’t just a time to commemorate an event of the past. That is only one part of what Advent is about. It is not just a time to look backward but to look forward.
Recognizing the King
We tend to view Jesus’ kingship with human eyes instead of through the lens of faith. We prefer to see kings in splendid majesty, and here is Jesus bloodied and bruised. And so, when we join our question to Pilate’s, “then you are a king?” we betray our own blindness to Jesus’ kingship.
You Can Always Find Hope
At first glance, the weeks’ readings leading up to Advent become foreboding, ominous, and even a little depressing. One has to search really hard to find the hope, but it is there. Thanks to the Resurrection, one can always find hope!
The Gifts That Cost Us
The gifts we offer to God from our poverty are far more precious than those we offer from our abundance. We think we don’t have enough, so we think we have nothing to give. But how precious are the gifts that really cost us — the ones that we fear we cannot afford.