The World’s Gospel vs. Jesus’ Beatitudes: Where True Happiness Is Found I believe it’s the inherent right of older generations to provoke a little cringe in younger ones. Recently, while visiting with our Confirmation students and discussing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, someone asked about my injuries. I saw my opportunity and told them,…
The Three Temptations: A Path Through Lent Like every Lenten season, we just started this one with fasting and abstinence. The Church suggests the same three spiritual disciplines for our Lenten journey every year: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. There are many other spiritual disciplines we can adopt. Meeting with our young adult group, we discussed…
As I reflected on the time I have been assigned to St Peter’s and Our Lady of grace, I couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy. Time goes by so quickly! It slips like water through our fingers. Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving; in just four more weeks we’ll be celebrating Christmas, then New Year’s…
The Gospel last week presented us with the challenge to forgive, admonish, and reach out to those who have sinned against us. Today, the holy liturgy follows the theme on anger and resentment and the importance of forgiving injustice. The first reading says, “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.”…
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Discerning vs Doing All three readings from this week echo a theme about the way of God, the will of God. The first reading (Ezekiel 18:25-28) contrasts the ways of God with the ways of man. This is echoed throughout Scripture: “Your ways are not my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). In the second reading, we hear…
Why Forgive? Thirty-six years ago, there was an attempt on the life of Pope St. John Paul II. Many of you may even recall it. Fortunately the pope lived, and after he recovered, he shocked the world when he made a visit to Rome’s prison on Christmas Day to see the man who had attempted…
The theme in today’s holy Liturgy is that of power. We hear it in the first reading, the book of Isaiah, reminding us that there is a power greater than human power (Isaiah 19:22-23). We can think of Pontius Pilate lording his human power over Jesus: “Do you not know that I have the power…
Did God create the world in seven literal days? The Church warns us against taking an exclusive, too literal interpretation of Scripture. Could God have created the world in seven literal days if there was no sun around which to rotate? Those seven days could very well signify times, seasons, perhaps even seasons of evolution….
Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus is God? What is the chapter and verse where Jesus calls Himself God? We know He’s the Son of God. We know He calls Himself the Son of Man (Mt 24:30), the Messiah (Mk 14:60-62), the Anointed One; the Truth, the Life, the Resurrection (Jn 14:6)…but…
A couple of years ago, when I was still in seminary, we were assigned to parishes over the summer. I got assigned to a medium sized parish with a couple of resident priests. I befriended a Jesuit priest. Every night after having dinner, we would enjoy a glass of wine and talk about theology, the…
