For residents of Jerusalem, weekends can be quite complicated. Muslims celebrate Friday as their day of special prayer, the Jews keep the sabbath on Saturday, and Christians celebrate the Lord’s Day on Sunday. Down through the years Friday has, of course, been a special day in the Christian calendar as well. If Sunday is the […]
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “B†– August 12, 2012 Read More »
If it is true that peace and freedom are seldom found together, that is surely because we live in a fallen world – a world that is not as God intended. In today’s Gospel, Jesus has just worked the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with just 5 small loaves. He did this at the time
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “B†– August 5, 2012 Read More »
Our annual blessing of vehicles in commemoration of St. Christopher.
Annual Blessing of Vehicles Read More »
Today’s Gospel story – the feeding of the multitude – invites us to understand something. The evangelist St. John, in writing down the story, calls it a “sign.†Jesus is giving the people a sign, a message. Actions speak louder than words, and Jesus uses the occasion of a hunrgy crowd gathered around Him to
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “B†– July 29, 2012 Read More »
The Gospel reading today reflects experience of people gathering together, to listen to the words of a teacher. After a hectic time of missionary work, the disciples are exhausted, and Jesus says, “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.†As they sail away, the crowds of
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “B†– July 22, 2012 Read More »
One of the dismissals from the new transtion of the Holy Mass says, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by you life.†This is what Amos and the apostles were called to do. We are sent out from the Holy Mass renewed and refreshed to make the good news of Jesus’ promise of love and
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – XV “B†– July 15, 2012 Read More »
Jesus of Nazareth did not need a talent contest to establish His credentials 2000 years ago. Yet, by the same token, His fame and His popularity were enough for His townsfolk to become suspicious and start casting aspersions. How could someone they knew so well be a prophet? Of course, the real trouble was that
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – XII “B†– July 8, 2012 Read More »
In today’s Gospel Jesus brings back to life a child who is actually dead. On the three occasions recorded in the Gospels when Jesus raises someone from the dead, He demonstrates extraordinary compassion. Jesus raises the young man at Nain because of his pity for the widow. He raises Lazarus because He feels compassion for
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – XII “B†– July 1, 2012 Read More »
The birth of a child is an occasion for rejoicing, not only for siblings but also for parents, aunts and uncles, and even for friends and neighbors. But it also seems to invite questions. Not only the commonplace ones, like: “Is it a boy or a girl?†or “What does she weigh?†or “Who’s he
Nativity of St. John the Baptist – XII “B†– June 24, 2012 Read More »
To preach the kingdom, as Jesus did, always carries with it an element of risk. Indeed, in Jesus’ own time it sounded to some – both friends and enemies – like a call to action, even a call to arms. Just like the prophets before Him, Jesus urges His followers to trust not in their
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – “B†– June 10, 2012 – Father’s Day Read More »