The Thanksgiving holiday offers a little extra “down time” from the ebb and flow of parish life. It offers time to accomplish things, let the mind wander, read a book, or spend time thinking about a random assortment of words and phrases. With the Thanksgiving dinner complete, the refrigerator brimming with leftovers, one wonders about the phrase “cold turkey.” Continue reading
In the morning prayer of the Divine Office, we began with Psalm 36: “Sin speaks to the heart of the sinner in the depths of his heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt… all wisdom is gone. He plots the defeat of goodness..”
Being Irish Catholic and a product of Catholic elementary and high school, there is no chance that I do not know my guilt. One can only hope that there is a residue of wisdom, Given that personally I am a big fan of goodness, plotting its defeat is not something that is in the cards. I am not saying I don’t bruise goodness from time to time, but it was never part of a large insidious plot. Continue reading
I am grateful for a day in which we, as a people, pause to give thanks. And who do we have to thank for this holiday? Your answer is likely “The Pilgrims.” You would not be wrong, but then not completely correct, either. Certainly, Thanksgiving and the religious response of giving thanks to God is as old as time. When one considers enduring cultures, one always finds men and women working out their relationship to God. There is almost always a fourfold purpose to our acts of worship: adoration, petition, atonement, thanksgiving. Such worship is part and parcel of life. And yet, there is still a very human need to specially celebrate and offer thanksgiving on key occasions and anniversaries. Since medieval times, we have very detailed records of celebrations marking the end of an epidemic, liberation from sure and certain doom, the signing of a peace treaty, and more. Continue reading
“The Man Who Would Be King” is a story by Rudyard Kipling. This is not that story, but today’s gospel. If this gospel sounds super familiar, it should be. This is the parable of the gold coins as told by St. Luke. Just this previous Sunday, the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, our gospel was the parallel in the Gospel of Mattew, the parable of the Talents. If you are so inclined, you can read my Sunday homily on the gospel. Continue reading
The other days while celebrating Mass, it was after Communion that I noticed a lady bug was traipsing across the altar. The bright red shellback stood out nicely on the white linen of the altar cloth. My first reaction was a warm, cozy reaction likely stemming from childhood books and memories. So I gently picked the sojourning bug off the altar and found a place for it among the plants. Continue reading
The gospel for today tells the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus from the Gospel of Luke. St. Luke is a pretty good story teller. Luke chapter 15 is a wonderful collection of parables about things lost and found: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Different kinds of lost, but one kind of found. Continue reading
I am grateful for a day in which we, as a people, pause to give thanks. And who do we have to thank for this holiday? Your answer is likely “The Pilgrims.” You would not be wrong, but then not completely correct, either. Certainly, Thanksgiving and the religious response of giving thanks to God is as old as time. When one considers enduring cultures, one always finds men and women working out their relationship to God. There is almost always a fourfold purpose to our acts of worship: adoration, petition, atonement, thanksgiving. Such worship is part and parcel of life. And yet, there is still a very human need to specially celebrate and offer thanksgiving on key occasions and anniversaries. Since medieval times, we have very detailed records of celebrations marking the end of an epidemic, liberation from sure and certain doom, the signing of a peace treaty, and more. Continue reading
The good folks at Merriam-Webster posted a list of words whose original meaning has morphed into something else, leaving us with an allusion that is obsolete while the word itself is still in use. For example, the expression “hang up.” For eons our parents have told us to “hang up” our clothes/coats. Often that meant to hang the coat on a wall mounted hook. Continue reading
The first reading for today is from the Book of Wisdom (2:23-3:9), which provides a profound reflection on the contrast of world views between the foolish and the wise.
The foolish people are described as those who reject wisdom and live in a manner that is contrary to God’s ways. They mock and persecute the righteous of faith, seeing them as fools for basing their lives on the moral teachings of Scripture and the promise of eternal life. These are people who believe that life ends in death and that there is no purpose beyond the present moment. As a consequence there is a focus on worldly pleasures and material gain. There is no need, purpose, or possibility of biblical Hope. Their focus is on the present and this life. Continue reading
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