Category Archives: Musings

Worthy

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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 →

Driven

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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 →

Tattoos, O’Connor, and a Sacramental Worldview

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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 →

Blessed are the poor

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“Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.” (Luke 6:12)

Over the years I have read many and varied interpretations of this single verse that reflect a rich diversity of thought within Christian theology rooted in various theological perspectives and contexts. The focus of thought hinges on the meaning/understanding of “poor” and “Kingdom of God.” Is it a literal promise to the economically poor? Perhaps it is a spiritual call to humility. Some offer its understanding as a prophetic vision for social justice. For others its primary meaning centers or eschatological hope. Perhaps the one overlap is that most understandings emphasize God’s concern for those who are marginalized, humble, or oppressed. Continue reading →

Maturing in Faith

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Today’s first reading from the 1st Letter to the Corinthians, a book we have been following since last Friday’s readings. A fundamental question Paul is asking the Corinth community is this: are you choosing the Wisdom of men or the Wisdom of the Cross? St. Paul makes it clear that the Cross is not something to which one may add human wisdom and thereby make it superior; rather, the cross stands in absolute, uncompromising contradiction to human wisdom – all part of God’s wisdom and folly. Continue reading →

Wisdom and Folly

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Today’s first reading from St. Paul is part of a cohesive thought that he has been building upon since the beginning of this 1st Letter to the Corinthians (which began with Friday’s readings and continues for about three weeks.) It all began after Paul left the Corinth community for new evangelizing opportunities. He received a letter from a believer named Chloe who reports problems in the community: there is quarreling in the community all carried on in the name of “wisdom” and some associated boasting about who possessed wisdom and the exact nature of the wisdom. We are picking up the conversation-in-progress, but let me offer that the major point St, Paul has already made is: Are you choosing the Wisdom of men or the Wisdom of the Cross (1:18–2:5)? Continue reading →

The Folly of God

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Today’s first reading from St. Paul is part of a cohesive thought that he has been building upon since the beginning of this 1st Letter to the Corinthians (which began with Friday’s readings and continues for about three weeks.) It all began after Paul left the Corinth community for new evangelizing opportunities. He received a letter from a believer named Chloe who reports problems in the community: there is quarreling in the community all carried on in the name of “wisdom” and some associated boasting about who possessed wisdom and the exact nature of the wisdom. Continue reading →

Nothing Borrowed

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A world of information, expert advice, and knowledge all sit at our fingertips. With all that available to us via a simple query or the use of artificial intelligence such as Chat GPT, we should have plenty of answers to our questions. But will the answers carry wisdom? I can find a world of knowledge about bees and bee stings with a few keystrokes. Wisdom lies much deeper than our quick keystroke answers. Knowledge understands bee stings, but wisdom does not disturb the hive. Continue reading →

Why confused?

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As a Catholic priest I have done my fair share of weddings. It is a honor to help prepare the couples and to celebrate with them – and you get to meet some really nice couples and their families. Over the years I have also seen the pre-wedding day traditions change and the costs of the wedding (dinners, receptions, etc) grow in size and cost. Continue reading →

Shunning

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Today’s first reading begins: “We instruct you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who walks in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.” (1 Thess 3:6).

I have to admit I was surprised with the word “shun.” My first thought was from some movie from long ago when an early American faith community formally “shunned” one of its members for some transgression. Everyone in the church turned their backs to the person, marking the point in time when that person ceased to exist in the life of the community. It was a harsh moment. Continue reading →