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Behold Thy Son – The Third Word
“Woman, behold thy son … Behold thy mother.” [John 19: 26, 27] As Jesus hangs from the Cross, his body weak from the night being tried by the Sanhedrin and Herod before being flogged by Pilate and sent to carry his Cross to Golgotha, he is naked and alone. Thieves on either side, Roman soldiers… Continue reading
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Pretty in Pink
This is the Fourth Sunday in Lent, and you have probably noticed that we swapped out the regular Lenten purple vestments for these special rose colored vestments. The Fourth Sunday in Lent is also known as “Laetare” Sunday because Laetare is the first word in Latin of the entrance antiphon for today. It means “Rejoice!”… Continue reading
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From the fullness of the heart
This is the eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and this year it is the last Sunday before we start the penitential season of Lent. The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Today’s readings really drive home the importance of prayer as the foundation of a life in Christ. You’ve probably been told… Continue reading
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Our Fortified City
We read in Jeremiah today of a promise made to the prophet as he is sent out on his mission. The promise is that God knew him and loved him from all eternity, and as God sends Jeremiah out, he tells the prophet he is a fortified city. Jeremiah must gird himself with his traveling… Continue reading
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The Wedding at Cana
This past Sunday was the second Sunday in Ordinary time, and the Gospel reading in Year C was the story in John 2 of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples… Continue reading
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The human person
I had a nice conversation with a young adult whose sister will be married in a few months to a wonderfully kind and fun young man. My young conversationalist is a man of simple faith, not one who attends church on a regular basis but one who believes in the Christian God. Like so many… Continue reading
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The King is Coming as an Infant
This is the fourth and last Sunday of the season of Advent. Advent is the season in the church year when we anticipate the coming of the King. The King is coming. We know he is coming in the flesh in just a few days, when he comes as a little baby born in a… Continue reading
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Real Progress Under the Real King
When we think about the progress of our lives, we often have major milestones that we point to. And once we reach them, we have a sense of having moved forward or up a step. For example, when we are young, we spend a long time in elementary school pointing to and waiting for high school.… Continue reading
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Seeing as Bartimaeus Sees
I want to draw your attention to the dialogue between Bartimaeus and Jesus because it speaks to us and our relationship with God. Bartimaeus is at once a famous figure and at the same time an anonymous man. We don’t know his name, we only know he is the son of a man named Timaeus,… Continue reading
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Tuning in to the major thing
The readings for the 25th Sunday in ordinary time remind us that we live in a fallen world. The world we live in has separated itself from God’s plan for the world when he created it. We have concepts of law and justice and righteousness and transgressions but they no longer mean what God intended… Continue reading
Bound in Love 