Benedictine Aidan Kavanagh notes the “gruff robustness” of the fourth-century rite of Baptism. The first thing the bishop said to those about to be baptized was, “Take off your clothes.” Kavanagh writes, They stripped and stood…
Read MoreI have no more words, so today, a poem for Epiphany by Jan Richardson titled, “For Those Who Have Far to Travel.” If you could see the journey whole you might never undertake it;…
Read MoreThe empire strikes back. Today’s episode of the Christmas story is not the stuff of Christmas carols. As a newborn, Jesus meets a violent and threatening world, an arena where some forever strive to dominate others. Herod taunts, crushes and…
Read More“Dale, go do your homework.” As an adolescent, my predictable comeback to that was, “Not in the mood.” “Get outside and help your brother with the shoveling.” “Not in the mood.” Practice the piano? “Not in the mood.”…
Read MoreBe patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord…Make your hearts firm…Take as an example of hardship and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. The Letter of James is addressed…
Read MoreThe reassuring and often tender words we hear from the prophets during Advent were not intended for those who find life at this season oh-so-difficult with all the shopping, baking, partying, and whining. Isaiah didn’t care much about…
Read MoreIn The Rule for his monastic community, St. Benedict wrote, “Always, we begin again.” Likewise, the first day of anything—the first day of school, the first day on a new job or in a new home—is a time for a…
Read MoreLike the soldiers and rulers sneering and jeering at Jesus, we too may wonder, why doesn’t he do something? When will wars and insurrections, the daily nightmares suffered on this planet, all this dying, end? When will humanity…
Read MoreWars and insurrections; famines, plagues, and earthquakes; persecution and imprisonment. All in today’s New York Times. Despite the menacing signs of the times, today’s Scriptures tell us not to panic, but to persevere. They remind us that the…
Read MoreThe inscription above the door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, reads, “Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head.” The 4th-century basilica is the cathedral church…
Read MoreIn 1939, workers were digging a grave for Pope Pius XI in the grotto under the floor of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome when they ran into ancient ruins—not uncommon in Rome. Further excavations revealed a cemetery on which the…
Read MoreThe upstanding Pharisee in today’s gospel did everything right. But he also had the annoying habit of letting God and everybody know about it. The tax collector was equally off-putting, cooperating as he did with the Romans to…
Read MoreI, for one, am confused with Jesus’ comparison of God with a stubborn, dishonest judge who ultimately gives us what we want if we badger him enough. It raises age-old, impossible-to-answer questions about the “squeaky wheel” method of…
Read MorePerhaps the nine who forgot to say “thank you” weren’t so much ungrateful as unsurprised. They were Jewish—familiar with prophets and healings, and with this rabbi Jesus who had been making news from Galilee to Jerusalem. Perhaps they’d…
Read MoreLast week we heard the prophet and fig farmer Amos declare, Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! Never will I forget…
Read MoreThe gutsy shepherd and fig harvester, Amos, declares today, Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! Never will I forget a thing [you] have done! In a…
Read MoreIt’s called “The Problem of Evil.” It’s the question of how to reconcile the existence of an all-powerful and all-loving God with the reality of evil in the world. How can a good God permit the…
Read More“When they come for the innocent without crossing over your body, cursed be your religion and your life.” Among the aspects of Wednesday’s nightmare that especially pierced me was hearing that not only teachers lay on top their students…
Read MoreIn the late 1970s, Archbishop Oscar Romero was branded a left-wing Marxist by political authorities as well as by fellow bishops and other Catholics due to his opposition to the actions of the Salvadoran government. He was further…
Read MoreBy faith Abraham obeyed when he was called…He went out, not knowing where he was to go. Get this: Abraham didn’t know where he was going. Sarah likely urged him to stop and ask for…
Read MoreIf only. If only he, she, or they were different. If only I had that person, or that title, or that waistline, or that kitchen countertop, or just a teeny bit more: that’s all I need.
Read MoreI was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and stopped in at Holy Name Cathedral. It happened to be their weekly day of Eucharistic Adoration. I went into a pew intending to do what one does during…
Read MoreI spoke recently with someone who cheered the demise of government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. I attempted to support such initiatives on biblical grounds—I Corinthians 12:12: Christ’s body of many diverse parts, all necessary and equal—but…
Read MoreThere’s no indication that these 72 disciples received any special training for their mission—other than, of course, their apprenticeship under the Master himself, formed by all that he said and did. Now, they were being sent into foreign territory, hostile…
Read MoreResponding to a letter from a nun who had managed to get a message to him while he was imprisoned and being tortured, 16th-century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross writes, Do not let what is happening…
Read MoreThe Ascension of the Lord has forever been a favorite subject of religious artists. It’s a familiar image: Jesus, looking up and heading into the heavens, a few feet off the ground, surrounded by stunned onlookers. In one…
Read MoreOf the million or so memories I have of my mother, I especially cherish a conversation with her at the end of a three-week hospitalization when she’d received two serious diagnoses. Although she was facing a demanding regimen…
Read MoreAt the beginning of the song, Protector, by Beyoncé, her daughter, Rumi, asks, “Mom, can I hear the lullaby? Please?” Providing the voice that soothes her child, holding her in the arms in which she is safe, her…
Read MoreSome “leading men of the city” and “women of prominence” are a little peeved at Pope Leo XIV. Already. I’ve come across words like, “outrage” and “disgust.” In a social media post this week, a woman of some…
Read MoreI made my First Communion on May 22, 1965—60 years ago. There are a lot of things I remember: the procession down the long aisle, my new white shirt and new black shoes, really tight and uncomfortable; the party in…
Read MoreOn this eighth day in Easter’s Octave, Jesus’ “Resurrection Tour” is underway. The venue for today’s appearance is the Upper Room. Like others who saw him, his disciple and dear friend, Thomas, didn’t recognize the Risen Christ. Clearly…
Read MoreA funny thing happened on my way to becoming a concert pianist. And here I am. Each of us has a plan—the way our life is supposed to go: security, health that holds, love that lasts. But, as…
Read MoreOn the cross, Jesus traveled to the darkest corner of human experience—excruciating, soul-killing heartache—and sat with us there, stayed with us. He knows your hidden wounds, your private pain. He knows what it’s like to be you. Psychiatrist…
Read MoreIn his homily at my mother’s funeral nearly 22 years ago, Fr. Greg Tolaas, her favorite priest, spoke of the two altars at St. Philip’s that my mom regularly stood at: the altar before us in the sanctuary, and the…
Read MoreToday’s story ends with Jesus’ heroic mission collapsing on a cross: an apparent and abject failure. Given the state of the world and society, or the state of our lives, we might come to the same judgment about…
Read MoreAlthough she wasn’t caught in the act of committing adultery alone, she was made to stand there alone, in the middle, in front of everyone. They stripped her of her dignity, belittling and humiliating her. Paradoxically, that evisceration,…
Read MoreI have spoken more than a few times of my eldest brother, George, whom I never knew. Georgie was killed in 1948 at the age of 13 months, when the car my father was driving was broadsided. My…
Read MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning writes, Earth’s crammed with heaven And every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees takes off his shoes The rest sit ‘round it and pluck blackberries. “Remove the…
Read MoreIn a 2015 speech in Bolivia, Pope Francis said: When we look into the eyes of the suffering, when we see the faces of the endangered campesino, the poor laborer, the downtrodden native, the homeless family, the persecuted…
Read MoreHow many Ash Wednesdays have we had a cross of ashes, a symbol of death, casually imposed on our heads? And how often has our mind drifted as we heard yet again the story of Jesus’ stumbling to Calvary, as…
Read MoreWith all the shouting going on these days, it’s hard to be heard. The only solution is to shout louder. But I don’t think before I shout, and consequently my loud talking is usually not only thoughtless but…
Read MoreWhenever my friend Ben and I argue, he remains collected and serene. He refuses to raise his voice. It’s very annoying. Ben lives out of a mash-up of pacifism, socialism, Buddhism, and radical Christianity. Abhorring expressions of violence in the…
Read MoreSt. Paul says today that if we’re satisfied with life as it is, “we are the most pitiable people of all.” Pitiable if we, in our time, grow accustomed to and increasingly tolerant of indifference, meanness, cruelty, and…
Read MoreI was with one of our First Communion classes yesterday, and the lesson was about being made in God’s image. It included a short video on Rosa Parks, a hero in the Civil Rights movement. These days, whether…
Read MorePrior to 1962 and the reform of the liturgy, the Christmas season only came to an end today, giving us 40 days of Christmas, not a measly 12, to ponder the great mystery of the Incarnation. Today, the prophet Simeon…
Read MoreThe old adage, “There but for the grace of God go I,” really bugs me. I’m annoyed whenever someone says it, and ashamed when I catch myself thinking it. When someone else suffers, yes, I count my blessings,…
Read MoreThe Reverend Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., says her father was indeed a freedom fighter and civil rights leader. But at his core, she says, “He was a pastor. He was a prophet. He…
Read MoreI read a woman’s reminiscence about her anguished days as a teen when she felt unable to leave the house because of severe acne on her face. One day her father asked if he might offer a suggestion.
Read MoreIn her sermon for the feast of the Epiphany, Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor says, Once upon a time there are three…very wise scholars of the natural sciences…They are sitting around in their own countries minding their own business when a…
Read MoreSome years ago, I traveled with my father to Slovakia to visit his family and the home from which he had emigrated some 50 years prior. Ten days of pierogi and vodka, and hugs and kisses connected me…
Read MoreIn his poem, “Saint Francis and the Sow,” Galway Kinnell tells of St. Francis putting his hand on the creased forehead of a sow, touching her, blessing her, all down her thick length “from her earthen snout all the way…
Read MoreChristmas is about finding life where you don’t expect to find life. Unexpected life in Elizabeth: they called her “sterile” and “barren.” Unexpected life in Bethlehem: an out-of-the-way hick town. Unexpected, astonishing life in Mary: a 15-year-old peasant,…
Read MoreThe African American spiritual, “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” declares, “Lord, I keep so busy praisin’ my Jesus, I ain’t got time to die. When I’m healin’ the sick, when I’m feedin’ the poor, I’m praisin’ my Jesus.
Read MoreAccording to one wag, More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom…
Read MoreThere are nine hours and one minute of daylight today. That’s 14 hours and 59 minutes of darkness. As Advent begins, we may find ourselves more than ever “in the dark,” a darkness that leaves us vulnerable to…
Read MoreThere are nine hours and one minute of daylight today. That’s 14 hours and 59 minutes of darkness. As Advent begins, we may find ourselves more than ever “in the dark,” a darkness that leaves us vulnerable to…
Read MoreIn 1925, the world was rebuilding after World War I. Mussolini and fascism were on the rise, while the Church had lost its political power. As a reminder to Christians that their allegiance was not to earthly kings, potentates, or…
Read MoreWhen it comes to predictions about the end of the world, I really don’t care to know when it’s going to happen. Whenever it comes, it’ll be hard to miss. And as for fearing it, I, for one,…
Read MorePlease allow me more-than-the-usual self-disclosure today to provide some context. The past few weeks have been a workout for me as I’ve been experiencing some significant grief: some the result of recent situations, some related to…
Read MoreI know it will jeopardize our tax-exempt status but, what the heck, I’m just going to tell you who to vote for. And then I’m going to run out that door. Patty can deal with the IRS tomorrow.
Read MoreIn a 1959 letter to a friend, Flannery O’Connor wrote, My cousin’s husband [became a Catholic] last week. He had been going to Mass…but never showed any interest. We asked how he got interested and his…
Read MoreI wonder if other religious professionals are as uneasy as I am with today’s gospel. Jesus’ scene with James and John raises for me the question of whether I do what I do in order to get some…
Read MoreI’ve spoken frequently of my devotion to St. Ignatius of Loyola, captivated as I am by his remarkable and instructive conversion story. As a soldier in the Battle of Pamplona, Ignatius was struck by a cannonball. During his…
Read MoreMarriage, I’m told, is not for wimps, as evidenced in Jesus’ serious stand on divorce. Notably, the all-important context of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees is the patriarchy of his first century culture. It permitted a man to…
Read More“Xenophobia” is the fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners. Journalist Brian Resnick writes that there’s a reason every country with immigration has pockets of xenophobia. We instinctively are distrustful of those we perceive to be “them” rather…
Read MoreMonday, December 8, 2008: I was driving down Upton Avenue South near 47th Street that gray winter afternoon, heading home for a quick nap before an evening Mass. Especially tired after getting up early that morning to anoint…
Read MoreIf you’ve watched the TV series, The Chosen, the drama based on the life of Jesus, you will recall the episode that includes the raising of Lazarus. It’s intense. After an eternal lead-up, Jesus stands before the tomb,…
Read MoreAn “impediment” is something, literally, that gets in the way of our feet—our “pedi,” in Latin (pedicure, pedal, pedestrian). Jesus’ healing ministry consisted of clearing away impediments, stumbling blocks, that got in the way of people making their…
Read MoreI have a tee-shirt that reads, “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t want to come.” I’m not the most social guy. Being relatively shy, having to go to things like wedding receptions, Christmas parties, or gatherings that involve a…
Read MoreStanley Hauerwas writes, “If Christianity [makes] any sense, it must be because of something to do with eating that meal.” I’d go even further to say that if anything makes any sense, it must have something to do with eating.
Read More“May you live in interesting times.” While sounding like a blessing, this proverb was written as a curse. One presumes that most of us long for less interesting times: those terribly tedious and tiresome stretches of peace, prosperity…
Read MoreFrederick Buechner says that “compassion is the sometimes-fatal capacity for feeling what it’s like to live inside somebody else’s skin.” As much as anyone could, Jesus felt and knew the cost of living inside another’s skin. When he…
Read MoreBiblical scholars, and those who think they are, have forever speculated on just what was St. Paul’s famed “thorn in the flesh,” that “angel of Satan” which he begged God to rid him of. Was it a physical…
Read MoreWhen valedictorian Bryce Dershem stepped to the lectern at his Voorhees, New Jersey high school graduation, he wanted to share how his mental health challenges worsened when school was interrupted by the pandemic. He began with the customary thank-yous, then…
Read MoreI was in a group last week that was led through a guided meditation: feet planted on the floor, back straight but relaxed, eyes closed. We were asked to recall a notable storm that we’d experienced. After a…
Read MoreMy First Communion picture is on the piano in my living room with a votive candle next to it. The candle holder bears the saying of the mystic Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall…
Read MoreThe Church recognizes June as the month of the Sacred Heart. David Richo writes that the Sacred Heart is not a reference to the physical heart of Jesus of Nazareth, but the heart of the Risen Christ. It…
Read MoreImagine one Sunday during the singing of the Gloria that it wasn’t water we were sprinkled with, but blood. That’s what Moses did. Bound by the covenant, the Israelites were “blood brothers and blood sisters” of God. To drive the…
Read MoreLegend has it that as the brilliant bishop, St. Augustine, was walking on the beach, he came upon a little boy with a bucket, running back and forth from sea to shore, pouring water into a hole he had dug…
Read MoreA forthcoming book by The New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, is titled, What You Say When You Listen. He says that, in his experience as a journalist in the Middle East, two things happen when you listen.
Read MoreThe poet, Maya Angelou, describes her grandmother who raised her in Stamps, Arkansas, as “a tall cinnamon-colored woman with a deep, soft voice,” whose difficult life caused her to rely utterly on the power of God. Angelou envisioned Mamma “standing…
Read MoreThe husband-and-wife acting team of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne credit their fifty-five-year marital and professional success to the fact that they were never impolite to one another. It seems like a relatively reasonable starting point for a…
Read MoreIn his book, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Father Richard Rohr maintains that we spend the first half of our life figuring things out, accumulating, and striving to achieve our goals. And the last half of…
Read MoreToday is the “Second Sunday of Easter,” which has also come to be celebrated as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” In the past, it was known as “Low Sunday,” a downgrade from last week’s festivity. And in some places, this is “Thomas…
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