“…every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Jesus was speaking about false prophets, a warning to his disciples. Not bad advice in general.
Perhaps not a bad criteria to judge those who would minister in the name of the Church – from volunteer to Bishop. The problem these days is that I wonder whether we would agree of what constitutes “good fruit” from a ministry or minister. There are places in which good fruit is measured by the liturgical celebrations of solemnities, feasts, and memorials; other places via outreach ministries. I was once told I was a poor minister and pastor because I dishonored the Blessed Virgin Mary. The instance was just having celebrated a Mass and did not center the homily on Mary. It was the Feast of the Ascension. Continue reading
The full 
Shira Ovide sent out an interesting article. Shira writes a technology column for the NY Times. It is not a deeply technical article about software or the newest tech devices, but more a “big picture” view of things technical going on in the world. Her post today looks at what we think we know – that ain’t necessarily so. Some curious factoids:
Today is the Memorial of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, the latter of the two who is more popularly known as he was the central character of the movie, “A Man for All Seasons.” The film depicts the final years of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England who refused both to sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry VIII of England’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to take an Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry VIII Supreme Head of the Church of England. But St. John Fisher was in the same situation as Thomas More. 
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Last week (the 12th Sunday in Year B) we heard Mark’s account of Jesus on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41) during which Jesus calmed the seas with his word. This 
Let’s see…where was I? It has been several weeks since I posted about my time in mission in Kenya. In a previous post, 
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mark 4:40-41)
The 
friarmusings 