Easter is both a resounding surprise of life and a harmonious interweaving of cosmic signs: spring, full moon, the first day of the week, the first hour of the day. It shouts of a new start: a new week begins (just like in biblical Genesis), the day starts, the sun is new, and the light…
During the supreme days of Holy Week, the weight of time changes pace; the liturgy slows down, takes another breath, and calmly accompanies the last days of Jesus: from the entry into Jerusalem until Magdalene’s rush into the garden when she sees the tombstone clothed with angels. Sadly, hate for Jesus is growing, but he…
Today’s readings talk about reconciliation, not the sacrament so much as the whole concept ofhealing our relationships with God and our fellow brothers and sisters. “Reconcile,” means tocause something to coexist in harmony; to be in agreement, balanced, and in tune with oneanother. Do we have any accountants in the congregation? For you, reconciling involvesmaking…
We are blessed to have 4 adults and 2 children in our St James RCIA program this year. We callthose preparing for baptism, “The Elect,” because they have been called by God to join Hiscommunity. At the Rite of Election on Feb 17th, they began a period of intense preparation toreceive the Sacraments of Initiation…
The Gospel, which means “Good News,” took a profound turn when religious leaders presented a tragic story about the murdered Galileans to Jesus. They work with an image of God as an angry judge with a heavy and unrelenting arm, thrashing many. Jesus’ answer is stark: stop imagining existence as a courtroom. There is no…
He went up a mountain with them to pray. The mountain is the earth that becomes vertical, the closest to heaven, where God’s feet rest, testifies Amos. Mountains are index fingers pointing to the mystery and depth of the cosmos; to the infinite, they are the earth penetrating heaven. Jesus goes up there to pray.…
Today, may be one of the hardest days to be Catholic. Here we are, 5 days into Lent and goingthrough withdrawals from the things we’ve given up, and, to make matters worse, we all hadto wake up an hour earlier, due to the time change. Maybe this explains why the 11:30 massis so popular today!…
Jesus uses unexpected comparisons to illuminate personal, dark habits and highlight our need for light. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye? Notice the precision of the verb: why do you “look” and not simply “see”; why do you observe, fix your gaze on straws and trifles, scrutinize the shadow instead…
Jesus has just launched the “blessed are you” revolution into the lives of every human. Now, he unravels the first “how-to” instruction through an imperative: Love your enemies. You will do so at once, without waiting, not in response but in anticipation, not because that is how things are, but because you are the difference.…
In today’s gospel Jesus shares The Beatitudes, a teaching that forms the foundation of Christian living. Our Catechism contains a section called, “Our Vocation to Beatitude,” and helps us navigate to the desire for happiness. It says, “This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw…