I vividly remember where I was on July 20, 1969 when humanity reached and landed on the moon. Amazing does not do justice to the feeling of that moment. We had just arrived at the front door of the universe. What did it all mean? Some 53 years later, we have perspective. The writer Adam Roberts wonders if it was a profane moment in our history and our world when we took on a more universal view. Continue reading
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the adjective “weird” as “of strange or extraordinary character : odd, fantastic.” Joseph Henrich, an anthropologist at Harvard, has coined the term WEIRD to describe societal differences between the West and other global regions. The acronym stands for “Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic.” Tufts University philosophy professor Daniel Dennett described Henrich’s concept as follows: Continue reading
What ever happened to a shared sense of manners? Possibly such a question is just the first indication that I am growing really old, as in, ‘What’s wrong with these young people” kind of old. “I remember when….” All possibly true, but I do remember when snark, outrage, and the rest were a poor reflection on your upbringing. Maybe the internet needs a Artificial Intelligence Mom to scold and dispense “time outs” to miscreant behaviors. Continue reading
While I like technology, I don’t think I am too much of a gadget person. I am rarely-to-never an early adopter and will acquire gadgets when I think they serve a functional purpose I might value. The one exception was Amazon Echo. They promoted it at about 25% of the first generation Echoe and I thought why not, buying the device before it was generally available.. The year was 2014. As with most things technological, things change and advance. Continue reading
Today’s reading is from the Prophet Ezekiel, one of the really interesting prophets. Ezekiel was among the first wave of refugees forced from Jerusalem and relocated to Babylon in 597 BC. No doubt he had other plans for his life. He certainly was not planning on becoming a stranger in a strange land nor becoming a prophet to the people in exile. Ezekiel’s problems started back 1 Samuel 8. Continue reading
Do you remember Art Linkletter’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things?” It was an entertaining segment on show “House Party” which aired on CBS from 1952 to 1969. In the show’s best-remembered segment Linkletter interviewed schoolchildren between the ages of five and ten. During the segment’s 27-year run, Linkletter interviewed an estimated 23,000 children. What made the segment fascinating was the complete lack of guile. They simply said what they were thinking. No diversion, no coverups, just a bit of innocence. Today’s gospel encourages us to have that same innocence and openness, fascination and wonder. Without all the flotsam and jetsam of adult life maybe Ps 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.” – is just a little easier to discern. Then maybe in child-like fashion we can follow the path that light marks for us.
Beginning this Monday just past and continuing until August 21st, with the exception of some solemnities, feast days and memorial celebrations, our first reading is from the Prophet Ezekiel. It is a dense book with lots going on, and it is broken up into bits and bites that make it hard to know what is transpiring. And without that sense of continuity and flow, it’s difficult to understand what the Word is trying to say to us in our time. So…. let me bring you “up to speed.” Continue reading
I thought Bishop Barron’s reflection on today’s gospel was particularly good. Here is what he had to offer:
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the necessity of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is an act and not an attitude. It is the active repairing of a broken relationship, even in the face of opposition, violence, or indifference. When a relationship is severed, each party should, in justice, do his part to reestablish the bond.Forgiveness is the bearing of the other person’s burden, moving toward him, even when he refuses to move an inch toward you. There is something relentless, even aggressive, about forgiveness, since it amounts to a refusal ever to give up on a relationship. Simon Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus replies: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Christians should never cease in our efforts to establish love.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter is the Bible. It is 176 verses of love poem to God for the gift of His Word. There are many verses that are memorable and oft quoted. Perhaps at the top of the list is v.105: “Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.” In today’s mid-morning Divine Office, here is the Psalm Prayer that accompanies this verse:
Let your Word, Father, be a lamp for our feet and light to our path, so that we may understand what you wish to teach us and follow the path your light marks for us.
I hope that each of you are lovers of God’s Word and that His wishes and path have been well illuminated…. and you have the courage to walk where that path may lead.
Today is the Feast of St. Lawrence of Rome, one of the early martyrs of the Church who died during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian in 258 AD. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome, directly serving the pope. Pope Sixtus II had been martyred just four days before. It is not clear what instigated the Valerian persecutions apart from the Roman Empire was beginning to fray at the seams with revolts in the East and the West. Perhaps the Christians were a convenient scapegoat. Continue reading
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