Today we begin a new Church year, we move to Year A to Year B of the three year cycle. Our masses will be slightly shorter as we read from the Gospel of Mark who has a succinct writing style, but we have to pay closer attention or we might miss his message entirely.  Today…

Today, I’d like to use a car analogy to describe God’s role in our lives. He designed andmanufactured us and in today’s readings he operates as our mechanic. A good mechanicconsiders the conditions a car is exposed to, how the driver responds to those conditions,identifies what might fail, and then offers options for keeping the…

God is great! Amen!? (Amen).  Our psalm today says, “Awesome is he, beyond all gods. For all the gods of the nations are things of nought, but the LORD made the heavens.” Finally, it says, “Give to the LORD glory and praise; give to the LORD the glory DUE his name!” Read all

Today’s readings come from times of turmoil. We start the first reading with the words, “The Lord’s way in not fair!” Paul writes the second reading from his prison cell, facing the possibility of death, not unlike the death of Jesus. Paul talks to the Church of Philippi with some of the strongest words in…

Commitment. It’s a foundation of our faith and a theme that runs through all of today’sreadings. God is famous for the commitments between Himself and his people. We see thisthroughout the Old Testament in the various covenants. For example, in Jeremiah a newcovenant is proclaimed, “I will be their God and they shall be my…

Happy summer to all of you, especially those who are visiting St James. We’ve been blessedwith local sunshine today and hopefully you’ve had a chance to enjoy it. In our gospel, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor, and are burdened, and I will give yourest.“ This is a time of year when we…

Happy Father’s Day! Today’s readings put a whole new spin on “raising children.“ In the first reading, think of God as the Father and his Chosen People as His children. In thisreading we can learn a lot from how God sees the role of a FATHER. “If you harken to myvoice and keep my covenant,…

Happy Easter!!  Easter’s not just a one-day affair, the resurrection is so essential that we celebrate for 50 days! This gives us time to reflect on our Lenten experience and incorporate new insights, just like the Early Church reflects on how they will follow the gospel of Jesus after he is resurrected.  I work in…

Welcome to the 5th Sunday of Lent.  We’re getting close to the end!  We have Palm Sunday next weekend and Holy Week festivities begin.  Today, Lazarus is restored to life after FOUR days in a tomb.  Let’s look at how Jesus, as the SOURCE of new life, uses this moment to teach Martha and Mary,…

What’s on your “Bucket List?”  You might remember the movie, where Morgan Freedman plays a man with a chronic illness and Jack Nicolson is a wealthy executive. They fly around the world together fulfilling bucket list items.  The purpose of the bucket list is to look at the BIG PICTURE of our lives and identify…