Readings for November 18, 2012: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Whenever I lead a trip to the Holy Land, the question inevitably comes, “Will we visit Armageddon?’ This refers to the battlefield surrounding the ancient city of Megiddo where some…
Hasten the End
The Widow’s Mite
Readings for November 11, 2012: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time The time lag between the two widows in this Sunday’s readings was considerable. Lots of things change in 800 years. But one thing their two societies had in common–they offered…
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Readings for November 9, 2012: Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome As a rebellious teenager, I thought that Catholics should stop wasting their money on expensive churches. We ought to sell them all and buy food…
Hear, O Israel
Readings for November 4, 2012: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time A nice hotel in Jerusalem looks much like a nice hotel in just about any other city in the world but for one thing. At the entrance of each room…
Confronting the Mystery of Death
Readings for November 2, 2012: The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) I’ll never forget that bleak January day when my father died. It was very hard to believe in the resurrection as I watched the undertakers carry…
All Saints Day: Holiness Is for Everyone!
Readings for November 1, 2012: Solemnity of All Saints At age 16, I thought that aspiring to holiness was out of the question. If you really wanted to be holy, I thought, you had to be a priest, nun, or…
The Blind Man Speaks Up
Readings for October 28, 2012: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time There were hundreds in the crowd that day at Jericho. No doubt all of them had needs, many of them urgent. But this Sunday’s gospel tells us that apparently only…
John & James
Readings for October 21, 2012: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B It was time to make their move. Usually it was Peter who took the initiative, but now it was their turn. They cleared their throats and asked the…
John XXIII: Saint in the Age of Television
In 1958, a congenial old man, Angelo Roncalli, was elected to the chair of Peter. He was to be a caretaker pope, someone to keep the ship steady while the cardinals identified a more long-term leader. That smiling old man…
The Tale of Two Men
Readings for October 14, 2012: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B He was curious. He had already fulfilled all the elementary requirements. He was a decent person who hadn’t killed anybody, had honored his parents, and would never think…