The readings for today’s readings brought to mind the perpetual topic of leadership and the selection, appointment and installation of leaders.
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain” (John 15:16)
And while we easily think of the application of this verse with priestly vocations, religious life, the call to serve as bishop and in the election of the pope, we are not so quick to apply the same thought to those in the public square of civic leadership. Of course the demagogue is certain to point out that his election or candidacy is divinely appointed, certain destiny, and blessed by God. But apart from the demagogue, the verse challenges me to ask what am I looking for (hoping for) in civic leadership this time around. And hence the image of the “coming storm”. Continue reading
One of the “silver linings” in the pandemic is that it has increased people’s mindfulness about thanking others. Reports have indicated that people are sending digital and postal service cards and letters to thank folks. That is now that things have settled out a bit. In the early days when the “sheltering in place” orders came out our fears and anxieties were too much in the forefront of our minds. My point is that we can look to our own recent experience to understand the transition from the early days of Covid-19 to days of sheltered in place and new normal. As we no longer “strain against the way things are” we find a certain degree of freedom, and then our minds wander to the essentials. And saying “thank you” is right there at the top of the list. 
Gardens are a necessity. Vineyards are a sign of abundance beyond the necessary. As terrible a gardener as I am, I can get a crop of vegetables in several weeks’ time. Not so with a vineyard. Vineyards take a long time and hard work to develop. Try googling “starting a vineyard;” the results might surprise you. After you buy the land (and not just any location will do), it costs $20,000 a year per acre to cultivate a vineyard, and there is no cash flow for 3 to 5 years while you wait for the grapes to be good enough for the harvest. There is a lot of patient, intensive work and commitment. Vegetable gardens are near-term cash crop; you can change it up every year. Vineyards are a long-term investment with one fruit produced for one’s lifetime. 
Exile comes in many forms and manners. To be in exile means to be away from one’s home (city, state or even country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. It can happen to individuals, e.g. Napoleon’s exile on Saint Helena. It can happen to nations, e.g. after the partitioning of Poland in the 1800s, many Polish people moved to France and the United States. Here is the United States, many Native American peoples were exiled from their land to reservations. In Biblical narrative, exile plays a huge role in the life of the people of Israel. 
Guest column from Sacred Heart’s Chairman of the Parish Advisory Counsel, Mr. James Rossman. 
Sometimes, another just says it succinctly and to the point. Bishop Robert Barron does that so well commenting on 
Take a moment and look back over the last 10 weekdays (or so) and consider the first reading for daily Mass. (If you look at 
This weekend I was in the back of the church and saw that the Lenten Giving Tree was still up, with unclaimed tags dangling on the barren branches. Apparently, it has been weeks since I have been in the back of the church. My world has gotten so much smaller. I wondered what else was back there as a reminder of a time before pandemic. There were copies of the bulletin for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. And here we are now at the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Things change. It is inevitable. It is the way of things. 
The daily Mass gospels for this week (
friarmusings 