In the gospel for last Sunday, a scribe approached Jesus and asked, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” All the centuries later, we Christian people know the answer. We know it well. The first commandment is to love – to love God with our entire being, all that we are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We all know what to do…but… Everyone of us can easily think of our epic failures in fulfilling the first and greatest of the commandments. During the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a very common confession includes “failing to put God first.” If I ask what that means to the person it is often answered with accounts of falling short on love of God or neighbor. As I said, we all know what we are called to do. As challenging as it is, simply put, we are called to be all-in. How do we become “all-in”? Continue reading
Dramatic in the Ordinary
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We live in a world of email, text messaging, tweets, instagrams, and all manner of connectivity in social and electronic media. It has become all very ordinary. Yet, each day, I am more than a little curious about what comes “old school” via USPS into my mailbox. There is correspondence from the Diocese, advertisements for one thing or another guaranteed to improve and renew the parish, bills and invoices, catalogs, and “ta-da!”… Christmas cards.