As you know (…or don’t know), September 19th is “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” A day largely consisting of talking like a pirate throughout the course of the day. To that end, this particular post is offering you a short lesson in the key phrases and their etymology – all to better prepare you for the celebration….arrgh! Continue reading
On this day in 1787 delegates to the Continental Congress adopted the US Constitution!
This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the scene immediately preceding our Gospel, the disciples experienced an inability to cast out a demon from a young child – a great change from their initial missionary experience. They are perplexed and do not understand. While Jesus’ answer is simple (v.29), it is a teaching moment for the disciples – more prayer is needed. The disciples are equipped with more witness that the average person Jesus encounters in this Galilean ministry, still they are perplexed about the meta-narrative that is the story of Jesus. Continue reading
Whether it is a business meeting, a social gathering, a volunteer organization planning meeting or any number of similar situations – and you discover you are not invited. Our reactions vary depending on our expectations, track record on previously having been included, and a host of other instincts, hopes and fears. Our reaction oscillates between wounded pride and hopeful humility, between wondering “did I do something wrong” and “what could they possibly be thinking,” and a whole collection of other free-ranging reactions. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, lectionary cycle B. As we move further into the liturgical year, it should become evident that there are fewer demonstrations of power and teaching authority, although they will continue to occur, e.g., the healing of the boy with a demon (Mark 9:19-29). The emphasis is ever more on preparing his disciples for the time when Jesus will not be among them in an earthly form. The text for this Sunday is commonly referred to as Christ’s second passion/resurrection prediction. Continue reading
The English language is a colorful landscape of idioms, expressions and all manner of this and that. Sometimes it is like exploring the attic in your grandparent’s house. Never know what you’ll find. I have always enjoyed exploring the etymology, that is, the origins of words and expressions. One of our common expressions is used when we see someone who has to accept or is stuck in an unpleasant situation or responsibility because there is no way to avoid dealing with it. We remark “that’s their cross to bear.” Continue reading
This coming Sunday, the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, is taken from Mark 8:27-35. Clearly this passage points to suffering and death as being at the heart of God’s plan of redemption and salvation. The passage does not explain why this is the plan, it just insists that this is the way it will be. It sets up a dissonance to our way of thinking. Clearly the accounts of Jesus to this point in the Gospel reveal his cosmic powers over nature, death, illness, demons and more. How can he then permit the enemies who wish to destroy him ultimately succeed? St. Paul’s insistence that the gospel of the cross makes a mockery of our human concepts of success. Continue reading
What drives you? What is your passion? What are the parts of your life that are intrinsic to who you are? This is more than a question of identity. I am a Catholic priest, a Franciscan friar, a Naval Academy graduate, former nuclear submariner, and the list can go on. You have your own list of attributes by which people might identify you. But are any one of these the passion that drives you when everyone else stops? Continue reading
This coming Sunday, the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, is taken from Mark 8:27-35. As Jesus often does, the private conversation gives way to summoning the crowd and the offer of a larger, summary teaching.
34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.
Long a fan of Flannery O’Connor, I recently came across this article by Lauren Meyers. It was originally published on the Word on Fire website. Enjoy.
Tattoos are on the rise in the United States. A recent Pew survey showed that 33 percent of Americans have at least one tattoo, and 41 percent of people under the age of thirty have been inked. The industry is projected to grow immensely over the next few years, and workplaces commonly accept visible tattoos in their dress codes. The trend begs the question: why are people flocking to this formerly taboo practice? Continue reading
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