It seems macabre to have a special day devoted to reminding people they are going to die. Yet on the surface that appears to be the reason behind Ash Wednesday. “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust” and all that… Indeed,...
“Your light must shine before others…” (Matthew 5:16). As we launch into this day, many of us have a number of things planned. Our “to do” list looms before our mind’s eye, waiting for us to begin. We do our best...
“I urge you, brothers and sisters…that all of you agree in what you say…that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). For the past fifteen years I have periodically attended one week of...
“I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). When I hear the word “salvation,” my first thought is of a kind of personal benefit, something that I...
“Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains” (James 5:7). I gave a...
“Pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). We...
“The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14). At the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, there is a brief dialogue between the priest and congregation. In one form, the priest says,...
I have neighbors who came here five years ago from a repressive dictatorship. They have overcome many hurdles—learning English, finding their way in our society, and finding employment. I am impressed by their appreciation for our democracy. After they became...
The conviction that the God of Jesus is a loving and merciful God is very powerful in today’s gospel, featuring three parables to illustrate that conviction. Through the images of a man leaving the 99 sheep to find the lost...
I recently chatted with a young woman who had just completed a grueling music examination. She spoke of the long hours she spent alone in a soundproof room, doing scales and practicing her repertoire over and over, thinking often about...
