This coming Sunday marks our journey in Ordinary Time, the 23rd Sunday in Year C. You can read a complete commentary on the Sunday Gospel here.
25Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, 26 “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-33) Continue reading
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Not my favorite verse in Scripture because of they way I think we tend to hear the word “humble.” I suspect a lot of people hear “get too arrogant, prideful or presumptuous – you’ll be put in your place and get what’s coming to you.” Merriam Webster defines humility as freedom from pride or arrogance. That seems a little thin; it tells us what humility is not and by implication tells us what not to do in life…but… 
The 
In the first reading, it has been about 40 years since the armies of Babylon captured, destroyed and burned Jerusalem. The Prophet Isaiah is speaking to people who have lived their life in exile with only the stories of the Jerusalem-that-used-to-be as solace. A people that are wondering if they will ever be saved from exile. Will God rescue them as He did when he led the people out of exile and slavery in Egypt those many years ago? 
The rains came to the hollows of Appalachia. The forecast was that rains at the higher elevations would be especially heavy resulting in rising floodwaters in all places and flashfloods in the steeper hollows and valleys of the county. The emergency warnings were for all residents to seek high grounds and keep away from streams and rivers.
In case you are traveling and are looking to attend Mass (especially on Sundays), lots of major US airports have Catholic Mass in the airport chapel. Here is a list – but like all things commercial aviation – check with the airport! 
The Book of Judges remains a bit of a mystery to lots of Christians, although some of the more notable names from Old Testament scripture are from the Book of Judges: Deborah, Sampson, and Gideon. The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (
