May
8
“Take Courage”
May 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Sometimes, I find myself really focused on one group of saints - those who saw Mary, saints, angels and Christ himself. Is there a greater afffirmation of faith - to get to believe and to see?
I was thinking about these apparitions in reading today’s first reading (Acts 22). St. Paul is in prison, yet again, and we [...]
May
5
Come Holy Spirit
May 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The Ascension is behind us - last Thursday or yesterday, we recalled Christ’s rising into heaven to take his seat at the right hand of his Father.
Now, we wait - but how? Are we treating this week as any other week? Or are we realizing that this is a special time for us - that this Sunday [...]
Apr
14
“Christ Our Hope”
April 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Our Moment
This week is a generation defining moment - when the Holy Father comes to America. Papal visits occur less frequently than a Republican getting elected in Massachusetts. So, let us embrace this moment - let it rejuvenate us, bring us to a greater faith, and give us that hope that can only be found in Christ, [...]
Apr
8
Hearing What We Don’t Want to Hear
April 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Tough Comments
Today’s first reading (Acts 7) has St. Stephen telling it straight to the people of Jerusalem. They get so ticked off by what he has to say and how close he is to the truth that they go after him.
So, what does he have to say? “you stiff-necked people” - ”uncircumcised in heart and ears” [...]
Mar
26
Walking THE Road
March 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Cleopas and his buddy are walking the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus in today’s Gospel (Luke 24). They are probably still stunned and in shock as to what happened that weekend. Then, this “man” comes up next to them and starts talking to them. They don’t realize it’s Christ until much later - after Christ has taught them at length [...]
Feb
7
Running Things By God
February 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I always seem to make decisions - major and minor - that influence the course of my life - and then I realize I really didn’t talk it out with God. I relied on my own counsel.
Sometimes I get it right - sometimes I get it wrong. Sometimes, I realize that God was leading me [...]
Feb
2
Waiting is the Hardest Part
February 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
What would you do if you had to wait your entire life to accomplish something? Would you?
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord - when he is taken as an infant to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to be presented as the first-born and consecrated to God. Waiting there is Simeon, who had [...]
Nov
30
The First to Be Called
November 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Imagine being the first to do something great - being on the ground floor of something that lasts way beyond our lifetime.
Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, one of the Twelve Apostles.
He was also the brother of St. Peter, the original “Rock”.
And he was one of the first to be called and to follow Christ. [...]
Nov
11
The Maccabees - a Nut or a Rock Group?
November 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I went to Catholic elementary school for 4th-6th grades. It was then onto a Catholic high school. And then a Catholic college. I had always gone to Mass on a rather frequent basis. My parents cared about my Catholic upbringing.
And I’m ashamed to admit that my catechist training (i.e. my education on the basics, truths and details [...]
Nov
9
“Welcome Home”
November 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today, the body of the Church celebrates the dedication of an actual church - the Lateran Basilica in Rome (or St. John Lateran). The Basicila was built by Emperor Constantine and is considered the mother church of Christianity. It is the Cathedral of Rome, “The Pope’s Church”, and used to be the pope’s residence.
But why do we celebrate a [...]
