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reasons to hope
on scandals, shepherds, pastors, and keeping the faith
The prophet Jeremiah lived an estimated 650 BC to 580 BC, around six centuries before Jesus, and his main ministry was in the capital of Judah, in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah’s time, there was political intrigue, backstabbing, plotting, and overthrowing. When he is speaking in the first reading, a good king has been overthrown in […]
death, the great silence
As the liturgical year draws to the end and we prepare ourselves for a new one, the Readings presented to us start to get a little uncomfortable. Both the First Reading and the Gospel we hear are considered apocalyptic writings, writings about the end of time—Apocalypse meaning unveiling, seeing things as they truly are. In […]
to die or not to die
Last week we heard the story of Zacchaeus, which occurred as Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem. This week we hear that Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem, where he finds the authorities are plotting against him. They set traps for him with their questioning. First they try to trick him by asking where his […]
commencement speeches and st. paul, the millennial
A few months ago some friends and I drove up to Austin to attend a graduation ceremony. We started talking about commencement speeches, and we noticed that most commencement speeches have two key elements in common. The first element is an emphasis on discovering your passion, talents, and gifts. The second element is a call […]
cereal-aisle faith
One of the perks of wearing the roman collar in public is that I get to have the most interesting conversations in the oddest of places, even in the cereal aisle of a supermarket. I was looking at cereals the other day, and from the corner of my eye I saw someone pass by, and […]
meta-olympic fire
Sometimes I think that watching the Olympics should count as exercise. After just ten minutes of watching athletes swim, jog, and run, I feel like I’ve had half an hour at the gym and I’m ready to order a good pizza to compensate for all the exertion! Eight years ago a thirteen year old kid […]
