2015

If God the Father Almighty, the creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist? Imagine how different the world would be if there was no evil. Our nation would not be on the brink of another war in the Middle East, this time with the Islamic State. Nine-eleven would have been like any other day in Manhattan. Closer to home, we wouldn’t read headlines that speak of lives shattered or destroyed by the selfishness of others.

The Catechism tells us that like angels we are free to move toward our ultimate eternal destination: heaven or hell. God hopes that all peoples will choose to be in heaven with Him but that is a choice we have to make freely. Along the way we will have ample opportunities as Jesus and Satan did to love or not, to do good or not, and to do evil or not.

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1st Sunday of LentRead More »

Over the past few weeks, Mark’s Gospel has revealed to us Jesus’ healing powers on one hand and the power of faith on the other. Today we are confronted with the leper. The first reading paints a very dismal picture of a leper’s life. 

For us to fully appreciate and understand today’s readings, we need to first reflect on and name the lepers in our society today. Would they be those with HIV/AIDS? Would they be unwed mothers or women who have had abortions? Would they be the homeless, the mentally ill, people on death row? Would they be priests and others who have molested children? Would they be gays and lesbians? Would they be the divorced, the one %, a gang member, a family member, the neighbor, a co-worker?  Who are those we might call “unclean” or have ostracized? 

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6th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Job, a wise man, blameless and upright, having many blessings from God; children, wealth, a large stock of animals, is suddenly put to the test by Satan. Will Job remain strong in his faith when all is lost and suffering ensues? This question is also the question we need to ask ourselves as well. Will we remain faithful when our lives are turned upside down? We know Job’s answer but do we know ours?

Our world is full of suffering. There are sufferings that you and I, to one degree or another, can relate, to that of Job’s suffering, his cries for help. Job says; “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? 

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5th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

I half expected to see everyone show up for Mass today in Seahawk blue, praying for the Hawks to win what is likely to be a close game against the Patriots in Superbowl XLIX.

Today’s gospel is very fitting for Super Bowl Sunday. The scene we encounter could be named the original super bowl, a contest of strength and strategy between the two most powerful opponents in the world: the Capernaum Demons, known also as the unclean spirits against the Holy Ones of Nazareth, led by Jesus and his disciples.

This spiritual super bowl began much like any super bowl does, with much jeering, hollering and screaming. The unclean spirits are shouting out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” Their aim is simple: they want to frighten and intimidate their opponent and his fans but ultimately they are unable to.

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4th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Do you make up your mind once and for all when it comes to making commitments or do you tend to vacillate? When he was a boy, Ronald Reagan’s aunt took him to a shoe cobbler to get him a pair of custom shoes. When the cobbler asked, “Do you want square toes or round toes on the shoes?” Reagan hem-hawed around; he didn’t know what he wanted. The cobbler then said, “That’s all right, see me in a couple of days and tell me and I’ll make them for you.”

A couple of days later, the cobbler saw him and asked, “Do you want square toes or do you want round toes on your shoes?” And Ronald said, “I don’t know.” The cobbler replied, “Well, come back in a couple of days…your shoes will be ready.” When Reagan picked up his shoes, one shoe was square-toed and one was round-toed. The cobbler looked at him and said, “This will teach you never to let people make your decisions for you from this time on.”

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3rd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »