Readings for the 1st Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2016 As fall moves onward towards winter we have places to go, things to do, people to meet. Yet as we go about our business, we notice the days are getting…
Advent: The Real Meaning of Christmas Lights
Christ the King
Sunday Readings for November 20, 2016 The Philistines had beaten them, and the Israelites were determined not to let it happen again. So they demanded from God and from his prophet, Samuel, what all the other nations had–a king to…
Apocalypse Now!
Sunday Readings for Nov 13 Whenever I lead a trip to the Holy Land, the question inevitably comes, “will we visit Armageddon?’ This refers, of course, to the battlefield surrounding the ancient city of Megiddo where some think the final…
Zacchaeus
Readings for Sunday, October 23, 2016 the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Tax collectors have never been popular. But in Roman Palestine, they were particularly hated. It was bad enough that they collaborated with the foreign oppressors. It’s understandable that…
Prayer
Sunday Readings for October 16, 2016 I’ve often heard people say that they don’t want to trouble God with their petty needs and concerns. After all, he has more important things to attend to, like running the universe. Yet, the…
Thanksgiving
Sunday Readings for October 9, 2016 Leprosy is a dreadful thing anywhere, anytime. But in the ancient Near East, it was a particularly heavy burden to bear since it meant complete social isolation. You could, of course, hang out with…
Mustard Seed Faith
Sunday Readings for October 2, 2016 We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis (feast day, October 4). Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens,…
Protecting our Addictions
Sunday Readings for September 25, 2016, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Temperance. For older American, that word conjures up images of Carrie Nation shattering bottles of gin to usher in Prohibition.But the word temperance does not mean abstinence from…
A Lesson in Stewardship
Sunday Readings for September 18, 2016, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Our society tolerates religion, as long as it keeps to itself. After all, America is about the separation of Church and state, right? Education, entertainment, employment, politics are…
The Golden Calf and Prodigal Son
Sunday Readings for September 11, 2016 the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Everyone knows the bible stories of the Prodigal Son and the Golden Calf. But they don’t usually put the two together as this Sunday’s readings do. So what…