Monthly Archives: January 2024

Racing to the bottom?

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I have followed Nate Silver, an American statistician and writer who analyzes baseball, basketball, and elections. He was the founder of FiveThirtyEight (the number of electors in the United States electoral college), and held the position of editor-in-chief there, along with being a special correspondent for ABC News, until May 2023. He rose to national fame for his deadly accurate predictions of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, and in my view, both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. I was living in Florida in 2016 and the polls were calling for Ms. Clinton to win the State by 2-4 percentage points. Silver correctly called the state a “toss-up” leaning towards Mr. Trump. Continue reading →

After Jesus’ Baptism

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This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Each year in the Lectionary Cycle (A: Matthew; B:Mark; C:Luke) the gospel for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel according to John. The purpose for this is essentially the same – following the baptism of the Lord, which reveals the relationship of the Father to the Son and to the Holy Spirit – this week’s gospel reveals the relationship of Jesus to the disciples.  And perhaps no one does so more robustly than the Fourth Evangelist. Continue reading →

Taking the Plunge

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I can remember coming home from 3+ years of mission in Kenya, friends were driving me home, and as we wound through trees, I could see the porch light on at my home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Even from afar, it shone like a welcoming beacon. It was the sign I am home in a place I have always belonged. It is the same moment we have seen on the evening news, in newspapers, on-line in the experience of our men and women serving overseas in foreign lands. Coming home writ large is the heavy bags dropped on the tarmac, the faces of unbridled joy, parents sweeping up children in their arms, a loved one embraced, and the moment they know: I am home. Continue reading →

US Naval Academy – what’s for lunch

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Every once in a while I am asked about this or that from my undergraduate days at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland.  I think the #1 question is “do all the midshipmen really eat a sit down meal all at the same time?” The answer is “yes.” How is that possible?

I ran across this video that answers the question. Enjoy

Some Preliminaries

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This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle B. The gospel reading starts out with a seemingly ordinary phrase: the next day. Although broader than the context of this Sunday’s reading, be aware that this simple expression “the next day” is part of a counting of days that occurs from 1:19-2:12 in which the Fourth Evangelist enumerates the seven days of a “new creation” in the coming and revelation of Jesus. It is just one of the many ways in which the Fourth Gospel traces/connects the good news of Jesus to the whole of Scripture. Continue reading →

Epiphany attraction

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Note: our Deacon is preaching at the Masses for which I am presiding – a homily holiday for me! Here is one of my favorite Epiphany homilies from years past.

Today we celebrate The Epiphany of the Lord, traditionally celebrated on January 6th in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches; but here in the West we celebrate it on a Sunday. So, welcome to our celebration of The Epiphany. It is a word taken from the Greek epiphaneia meaning “manifestation, striking appearance; from epiphanes meaning “manifest, conspicuous,” and from epiphainein “to manifest, display, show off; come suddenly into view.” Our liturgy marks the arrival of visitors, identified in Scripture as the magi, to the place where Jesus was born. Although we know virtually nothing about them, we do know they brought three gifts, each with traditional meanings. Continue reading →

Testimony and Witness

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The Gospel of John is perhaps the most subtle of all the gospels with layers of meaning and nuance that can be overlooked in just the daily readings. Today’s gospel starts at John 1:43, but interestingly it leaves out the opening words (underlined): “The next day [Jesus] decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Granted “the next day” is not needed for this pericope/snippet from the longer narrative, but if you have been reading along you’ll have noticed this is not the first occurrence of “the next day.” Continue reading →

Being the light

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“…the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”

Today the Church in the United States celebrates St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be named a saint. Born in 1774 she was born into privilege among the prominent people of New York City. She was not born into a Catholic family, but was raised in a dedicated Episcopal family. The practice of the faith was sustaining for her family and Elizabeth. Which was good, as her story is one of a slow unraveling of privilege, security, and family. Her mother died when Elizabeth was three years old. Her father remarried and her new stepmother introduced Elizabeth into social outreach to the poor and sick as a ministry of the church. But that marriage eventually failed. The stepmother left with her own children as Elizabeth’s father moved to London for further medical studies. Elizabeth entered a time of great darkness in her life, grieving the loss of father and a second mother. Continue reading →