Christ is risen! We approach the end of our Bright Week celebrations and we go on with our more or less continuous reading of the Gospel of John. One of the most important verses in today’s Gospel (3:22-33)—at least to me, since I used it as the Scripture quote on my ordination cards—is this: “No [...]
[To keep the paschal spirit going this week, I’m offering today one of my older Easter homilies, which I think I never “recycled” here before. May it be a blessing!] Christ is risen! This morning, I am going to give you a prophecy. It’s not my prophecy, though; this is a prophecy of Isaiah—I think [...]
Christ is risen! This is the cry that echoes throughout all the churches of East and West on this glorious day. It is the reason that Christianity exists in this world, for as St Paul says, if Christ is not risen then our preaching is in vain and your faith is useless and you are [...]
[I published this about three years ago, and I noticed it has been making the rounds lately, so I looked at it to see what I had written. Perhaps it will be an appropriate Good Friday reflection, though I still think you shouldn't have turned your computer on today!] In reading the Passion account of [...]
[I won’t be preaching as much as usual this year, so there won't be as many Holy Week reflections. But if you want something additional to read, you may wish to consider a fine article by Peter Kreeft on God’s answer to human suffering. May grace and mercy be yours these holy days.] I have [...]
“Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” With these words of the Lord, which are both invitation and challenge, we begin the celebration of the mysteries of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. Yesterday we ended the 40 days of preparation, and this weekend is a [...]
A while back I wrote a few posts based on the writings of the 14th-century mystic, Juliana of Norwich. I had collected a few more of her sayings, which I’d like to post here with just a minimum of commentary. I find her style to be refreshing, and simultaneously warm and courtly. The passage from [...]
Today the Church directs us toward Jerusalem, that is, toward the celebration of the Passion of Christ, with Jesus’ solemn declaration in the Gospel (Mk. 10:32-45): “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem…” He goes on to describe his condemnation, reviling, scourging, crucifixion, and death, with the final note of victory through his resurrection. We’re [...]
We all recognize the kiss as a gesture or expression of love and affection, or even of respect and veneration. There are a number of references to kissing in the Scriptures, mostly among relatives and friends, and there is the touching story in the Gospel of Luke of the repentant harlot who kissed the feet [...]
There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, which I haven’t quite been able to articulate well, and I still don’t know if I can, but I’ll give it a try. It has to do with the awesome, overwhelming power and blinding glory of God—and by extension the same that He communicates through the [...]
