November 6 – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time “That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Lk 20:37-38) Dear Friends, While the…

October 30 – Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” (Oscar Wilde) Dear Friends, The wonderful story of Zacchaeus in this Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that the only thing small in life is some people’s ability to see only limits and not possibilities. It is amazing how quickly we can make a judgment about…

September 25 – Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” ~St. Theresa of Kolkata Dear Friends, Continuing the theme from last Sunday’s readings where the Lord lifts up the poor, we reflect on the story of…

August 28 – Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time “Life is a banquet and most poor folks are starving to death.” (Quote by Patrick Dennis from the play Auntie Mame) Dear Friends, As we begin to enjoy the fruits of the harvest, we hear the refrain from Psalm 68 used as the Responsorial Psalm: “God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the…

July 31 – Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and the greed that is idolatry.” (Col.3:5) Dear Friends, While I could talk about the many challenges that face our world, especially this month of July, I would like to focus on one part of Paul’s message to…

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, ch. 5) Dear Friends, St. Paul’s words are so appropriate for the current climate we are living in. In an election year that has…

Dear Friends, It was only a week ago that our country went into mourning as we heard of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history with 50 dead and 53 others injured at the gay night club known as the Pulse in Orlando, Florida. In the first reading, the prophet Zechariah expresses our sorrow, even though the historical circumstances were different. “….they shall…

“One who accompanies others has to realize that each person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries which no one can fully know from without.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, par. 172) Dear Friends, As I get older I hope I am growing in a bit of wisdom. One thing I am trying not to do as much as I…

Dear Friends, Now that we have completed most of the Solemnities of the Lord, we begin Ordinary Time in earnest with two stories of a widow who had lost her son and how God intervened in their lives. The plight of the widow of Nain is captured in a limerick, a five-line, rhyming poem. There once was a widow of Nain whose…

“Blessing, upon second thought, is not always an obvious gift. Often it’s what’s needed for the next part of the journey – Kicking and screaming, perhaps, but without which the ground remains hard.” (Sr. Madeleva Williams, CSJ) Dear Friends, As we celebrate the great gift of the Eucharist this Sunday, we are reminded that God continually shows up and feeds and provides…