If ever there was a time to unleash the Catholic Church’s “secret weapon,” it’s now! This nonviolent weapon if consistently used would have tremendous power to neutralize evil forces – which Pope Francis laments sadly continue to inflict grave harm even during this pandemic – like “nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and wars and conflicts that […]
Beginning on Jan. 10, the gospel readings for Sundays are taken, for the most part, from Mark’s Gospel. The weekday gospels are a continuous reading from Mark, starting on Jan. 11. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of our four Gospels. Today almost all New Testament scholars believe that Mark was the first written. During the […]
Waiting is a natural part of life. But it’s often hard to wait. And in our modern world which pampers us in so many ways with instant gratification, we expect things to happen, well … instantly. And when they don’t, we often quickly become impatient. If when the traffic light turns green and the person […]
The world – and especially the poor – needs a national and global economy that justly and fairly works for everyone. The hungry, homeless, unemployed, underemployed, refugees, and all destitute fellow human beings desperately need, and deserve a just and fair sharing of the wealth. But instead, most economies are designed to overwhelmingly benefit the […]
Advent has begun and in many gatherings in our churches we sing/hear the familiar hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emanuel.” Beginning on December 17, the “O Antiphons” will be recited during the Liturgy of the Hours; December 23 features “O Emmanuel.” On one level the name Emmanuel can signal haunting melodies, Advent wreathes, winter’s arrival, […]
Children have an uncanny ability to ask questions whose answers are not simple. The curiosity and simplicity of children looking for answers to life’s deeper questions can both challenge and bring joy to an adult attempting to provide an answer in a meaningful and understandable way. Recently a child at faith formation asked, “How does God speak […]
Not only is the United States a divided country, but the Catholic Church in the U.S. is as divided as the nation. And the presidential election drove home that point. According to the Jesuit review America, the Associated Press VoteCast declared that 50 percent of Catholics backed Trump, while 49 percent voted for Biden (see: https://bit.ly/2UfR0cQ). […]
More than anything else the world needs saints! And that is exactly what God is urging you and me to become. Not next week, not next month, not next year, but now is the time humanity needs us to decisively commit our lives to faithfully walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus – just […]
Children have an uncanny ability to ask questions whose answers are not simple. The curiosity and simplicity of children looking for answers to life’s deeper questions can both challenge and bring joy to an adult attempting to provide an answer in a meaningful and understandable way. Recently a child at faith formation asked, “How does God speak […]
The readings of the Eucharistic liturgy for November 8th present two major understandings of the notion of wisdom in Scripture, one in reference to God and the other to human beings. The first reading (Wisdom 6:12-16), picking up on Lady Wisdom of Proverbs 8, presents wisdom as an attribute of God; while wisdom belongs to God, it can […]
