Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), 27 March, 2020: Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32      After decades of listening to today’s Gospel, I have some questions.      Has the absence of a mother in this family had a serious impact on them? Did this father wonder whether his younger son demands his […]

The various ploys utilized in so-called “reverse psychology” succeed because they tap into our sinful, warped, and misguided free wills. In varying degrees, we balk at being told what to do (or not do) and often struggle against a spontaneous rebelliousness. Thus, when a certain response is desired, insisting on its opposite can sometimes achieve […]

Second Sunday of Lent, Year C, 13 March, 2022: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36     …Moses and Elijah…spoke of his exodus that [Jesus] was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.     Right in the midst of this incredible epiphany of glory, the mystery of Jesus’ Passover, from his last supper, through his arrest, trial, […]

It can be helpful (at times) to think in either/or and black and white categories. In doing so, though, we disregard those gray areas of life that can be ambiguous, complex, and even confusing. Jesus seems to be doing just this with his metaphor of the tree that produces either good or rotten fruit—it is […]

Seventh Sunday, Year C, 20 February, 2022: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38       This Gospel carries the extremely hard commandment to love our enemies. It’s not just the alienating nature, the repulsive aspect of people we dislike or who have hurt us; the underlying problem is the nature of […]

Third Sunday, Year C, 23 January, 2022: Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21      Jesus’ visit to his home town starts off well enough, but as will unfold next Sunday, it ends rather badly, with his neighbors attempting to kill him. The narrative doesn’t described how the change occurred which is […]

The Epiphany of the Lord, 2 January, 2022: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12      The Magi from the east are genuine seekers of the truth who brave the risks of travel through an inhospitable terrain to reach their goal in an unknown land and an unknown religion. They have read the cryptic signs […]

Christmas: Mass During the Day, 25 December, 2021, Year C: Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18      We don’t know the actual date or even the season of Christ’s birth because he was born into a world that wasted little memory on such matters. The early church chose a symbolic date to celebrate the Lord’s […]

Third Sunday of Advent: Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18      Does today’s talk of rejoicing seem deflated by John the Baptist’s demanding preaching?      John disqualifies no one from his baptism of repentance. He doesn’t reject the tax collectors for their injustices—nor does he ask them for donations.  He doesn’t repulse the soldiers as […]

Immaculate Conception, Genesis 3:9-15, 20; Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12; Luke 1:26-38      Today’s Gospel gives us an important perspective on today’s Solemnity.      First and foremost, the mystery of Mary’s Immaculate Conception hinges on the Incarnation of the Word of God. When the eternal Word is circumscribed by human contingency, eternity is encapsulated by time and […]