Author Archives: Friar Musings

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About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

The Mission Plan

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This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle B. Jesus has gathered his disciples: He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching. 7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 9 They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” 12 So they went off and preached repentance. 13 They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:6b-13) Continue reading →

Divine Disturbance

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My Aunt Mary – she was really just a family friend, but out of respect for her 86 years on earth we always called her Aunt Mary. She was the only person I ever met who used an ear trumpet – a tubular or funnel-shaped device which collects sound waves and leads them into the ear. It was an aid for hearing before there were hearing aids. It was necessary to speak directly into the trumpet if you wanted to carry on conversation. My dad discovered that a simple surgical procedure could restore a great deal of her hearing, but Aunt Mary was not interested. It wasn’t that she was afraid, she simply stated: “I’m 86 years old and I have heard it all – and I don’t want to hear it again.” She did want to be disturbed. Continue reading →

Privateering

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Did you know that you have a constitutional right to become a government-sanctioned pirate? I present for your consideration Article I, Section 8: Clause 11, War Powers – To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water. This means that, with Congress’s permission, private citizens can weaponize all manner of watercraft, put  out to sea, capture enemy vessels, and keep the booty. Rather than fly the Jolly Roger, you’d proudly fly the Star-and-Stripes. And even more, rather than taking on the name “pirate”  although that has a certain cache to it, you might go by the title “privateer.” But I must admit that “Pirate Jack” sounds a fair bit more daunting than “Privateer Jack.” Continue reading →

Honoring Faith

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Without faith in Jesus, the people did nothing. It may be that the people’s lack of faith revealed itself in the fact that they didn’t seek Jesus’ help. They didn’t bring their sick for healing. They didn’t bring their children for his blessing. They didn’t come to listen to his teaching. What differences should it make if parishioners believe Jesus is present at Mass or in ministry? Or in one’s own life? A secular criticism of many Christians is that they are “functional atheists” — they live and function as though there were no God. Could that lack of faith keep one from reaping as many benefits as God would give? Continue reading →

NYC, Traffic and Fees

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Like other major metropolitan cities, e.g., London, New York City considered implementing a fee to drive into Manhattan. The system was all set to implement – technology and all – when the mayor decided not to implement (perhaps delay?). Not sure of the reasons why. I was curious about the estimated annual revenue that was expected as the proceeds were to be directed into a subway improvement fund. Monday would have been the first day the tolls would have been in place. Continue reading →

Miracles and Unbelief

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As Mark’s readers would expect, Jesus responds to what people are thinking about him. The proverbial saying “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown” (v. 4) has been expanded with two clauses: “among their kin” and “in their own house.” The original proverb spoke about the “homeland” (patris). The qualifying clauses narrow the region down to the prophet’s household and relatives. If this retort is understood as an insult, then Jesus has responded to his critics in kind. Since the miracles in the previous chapter emphasize the importance of faith in those who approach Jesus for healing, the conclusion that Jesus is unable to work many miracles in Nazareth is hardly surprising. Continue reading →

Patriot

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From the good folks at Merriam-Webster: To be called a patriot is today considered an honor, but it wasn’t always this way. For much of the 17th century, to be deemed a “good patriot” was to be a lover of one’s country who agreed on political and/or religious matters with whoever was doing the deeming. British loyalists applied the word like a badge to supporters of the ruling monarchy, but then the word took on negative connotations as it was applied first to hypocritical patriots—those who espoused loyalty to the Crown but whose actions said otherwise, and then to outright anti-royalists. But in the 18th century, American writers, including Benjamin Franklin, embraced patriot to refer to colonists who took action against British control. After the American Revolutionary War, patriot settled back into more neutral use, but to this day writers of all and various political stripes grapple over who is deserving of the word.

The Carpenter

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. While many of Mark’s readers are interested in this passage because of its reference to Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” (v. 3), Mark’s own interest lay elsewhere. Mark passes on the account of the hometown folks’ rejection of Jesus for a special reason: to provide an important transition and surprising contrasts at this point of his drama. Continue reading →