Fr. Rick Spicer

Have you ever found your heart heavy, maybe so heavy that you wondered if life was still worth living? Such moments can arise when we find ourselves grieving the loss of someone or something dear to us. I imagine such was the pain Mary Magdalene and her companions felt as they walked in the early dawn toward the tomb of Jesus.

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl describes what having a heavy heart was like after spending three years in a Nazi concentration camp, knowing that everyone in his family had perished there. He emerged from the camp emotionally drained but soon he discovered that one could begin life anew.

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Easter SundayRead More »

This gospel brings to mind a Japanese tale of another man born blind. Being blind didn’t really bother him nor stop him from doing anything he wanted to do.

With age, he grew more confident in handling the world around him. His house was arranged so that he knew where each piece of furniture and utensil was placed. He knew where every street in the village was. He knew how to find his way to the market, the temple, and even neighboring villages. He would feel his way along, using what he could smell, hear, and touch as guides.

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4th Sunday of LentRead More »

Perhaps you have heard of the book, You Just Don’t Understand Me, written by Deborah Tannen some twenty years ago. The book discusses how difficult it is at times for women and men to truly understand each other, even when they use the same words. The meaning each one is trying to convey while communicating to the other somehow gets lost.

You Just Don’t Understand Me would be a good title for a biography of Jesus. I suspect he said those words often. In today’s gospel, we find him expressing that sentiment with the Samaritan woman at the well. “You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.”

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3rd Sunday of LentRead More »

The elderly lady spoke softly as the nurse came in the room with her nightly medication. “I will never forgive him. I told him I would never forgive him.” She then told the nurse that her brother had visited her that day and accused her of taking more than her share of family heirlooms following their mother’s death. He spoke of various items, ending with the “berry spoon.” He said, “I wanted that spoon.” For forty years he had hidden his feelings and now they had erupted.

She was both hurt and angered by his accusation and vowed never to forgive him. “It’s my spoon. Mother gave it to me. He’s wrong and I won’t forgive him,” she said, defending her stance.

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1st Sunday of LentRead More »

Each time we Catholics pray the Hail Mary, we remind ourselves of what we are. “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” Mindful that we are sinners, we begin the Mass by asking God to forgive us.

Oddly enough, some people claim there is no such thing as sin. For them, the idea that certain kinds of human behavior are inherently wrong and necessarily harmful to those who engage in them is outmoded. They think of sin as an attempt by the Church to keep people from doing what comes naturally to them. Behavior that was universally deemed immoral in the past is gaining acceptance today. This approach to sin is quite common in the crazy world around us.

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7th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »