2015

Several years ago, I had an extraordinary conversation with our daughter—one of those special times in a father/daughter relationship that I especially recall on this Father’s Day weekend.  She was in the senior year of college majoring in chemistry and I was nearly finished with diaconate formation and in the midst of a masters degree in pastoral studies. We got off on the topic of chaos….and how each of us approached the topic. It was a fascinating discussion and we concluded chaos was the essence of all her study and I had to agree that addressing chaos in its many forms was an integral part of my formation as well.

Today’s readings also remind me of that conversation. In Scripture there are many examples of bringing calm out of chaos. Certainly in the Book of Job we experience chaos in one’s life.  Job’s personal life was beset with a series of storms.  We can surely relate to Job’s situation when we confront the challenges and even dark spaces in our own spiritual journey.  In those times, we, too, turn to God for comfort and courage.

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12th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

About four weeks ago I left the safety of my home, went out to my South 40, that is, 40 feet from the back of my house, battled the elements and planted my vegetable garden. With much anticipation, I was waiting for the first sign of growth; that little bit of green popping out of the earth. Every day I went down to see what was new, what was the first to grow.

I knew that the seed I had planted in the ground would have to go through a change in order start growing, a change that would eventually put fresh produce on my dinner table; as long as the slugs and the rabbits didn’t get it first! It is hard to comprehend how a seed starts to grow but it really is pretty amazing.

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11th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

What goes through your mind when you step up to receive communion and hear the words, “Body of Christ” or “Blood of Christ?” Do you take those words literally or do you think instead that piece of bread is only a symbol of Jesus’ body? 

Today’s feast is meant to help us treasure the wonderful sacrament that Christ left us in the Eucharist as a reminder of the covenant we have entered into. St. John Paul II noted, “The Eucharist is the Church’s most precious possession in her journey through history.”

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Corpus ChristiRead More »

This week’s gospel presents the last words of Jesus on earth, before he ascended to the Father.  St. Matthew makes this both the conclusion and the climax of his gospel.  On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus began his final lesson by telling the disciples that He, the Son of God and their brother, has been given authority over creation.  He then commissioned them “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  They are to be taught everything the disciples were taught and know that Jesus is there with them until the end of the age. 

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Trinity SundayRead More »

A poor European family was migrating to the US a century ago. On the ship, they had bread and cheese they had purchased prior to sailing. After many days of cheese sandwiches, the son came to his father, “Papa, if I have to eat cheese sandwiches all the way across the Atlantic, I won’t make it.” The sympathetic father gave him his last nickel for ice cream. Hours later the child returned. The father noticed his wide smile. He asked what he had eaten. “Several plates of ice cream, papa, and then a steak dinner.” “For a nickel?” “No, papa, the food is free. It’s part of the passage ticket.” He returned the coin to his father. 

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PentecostRead More »