Today, as I write, is World Refugee Day (June 20). For those of us who are not refugees – nor internally displaced people, migrants, asylum seekers – it is easy to ignore their plight involving fears of harm and death, traveling long and dangerous unknown paths, hunger, thirst, carrying the uncertainty of not knowing if […]
The Book of Ruth can be dated to the early years after the Exile, 587-37 BC, during a time when intermarriage with foreigners was being debated. The book concerns the plight of three widows, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, both Moabite women. Briefly, Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, had settled in Moab […]
Memorial Day in the U.S. is a time when Americans honor U.S. combatants killed in wars. It is a day of intense nationalism with lots of flag waving accompanied with a perceived need for military strength – even superiority. But with more than 1 million Americans who have lost their lives fighting in America’s many […]
This past April 17, the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was held in Windsor Castle, England. One memorable image was that of Queen Elizabeth, in widow’s black, sitting alone in the chapel for the services. She reminded me of the many stories of widows or references to widows in the Bible. This reflection, the […]
St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians writes, “When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. … Do you show contempt for the Church of God and […]
Although a court jury’s recent verdict convicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the death George Floyd has been declared, the jury is still out on how we will comprehensively educate and work to rid our society, nation and world of racism and prejudice against various ethnicities and minorities. […]
As we approach the global celebration of Earth Day (April 22), it would be wise for Catholics to reflect on Pope Francis’ famous environmental encyclical letter “Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home).” Citing Francis of Assisi – patron saint of ecology – Pope Francis writes, “Our common home is like a sister with […]
Pope Francis has often urged us to prayerfully meditate before the crucifix. Because by prayerfully meditating before the crucifix, one can see and begin to understand the ultimate result of sin. The Romans’ sins, the Jews’ sins, our sins nailed our Lord Jesus to the cross. The cost of sin is death. Our sins killed […]
When I taught in the Oakland area, my friends and I often drove down the coast to Carmel by the Sea. There we enjoyed the 17-mile drive along the ocean, the Pebble Beach Golf Course, Mission Carmel, the shops, and the art galleries galore. Some of the galleries had a second floor. One that I […]
“Repent and believe in the Gospel” – the call we received from Christ on Ash Wednesday – is a radical call, the most important call we will ever receive. It directs our attention to uprooting all that is sinful in our lives and to ever more fully live lives of love – for friend and […]
