”When Judas left, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man Glorified’.” Why? Why, on Thursday night, hours before he would be arrested, tortured, scourged and executed…why, would Jesus feel that he was glorified? It seems like an odd thing to say at that moment in Jesus’ life, especially at...
May 12, 2019 4th Sunday of Easter We all face obstacles in life. Perhaps it’s a lost job, the death of a loved one, a sudden accident that places an unexpected dent in our finances. Sometimes the challenges are of our own making. Perhaps we’ve developed patterns of sin...
Today’s Gospel is an example of John at his best. He gives us a wonderfully descriptive and charming description of the disciples’ behavior and attitudes, post resurrection and paints a purposeful description of post resurrection Jesus. There are some who criticize Peter’s and the others’ decision to go fishing, claiming...
Since Holy Thursday, we have been talking about the wild ride of emotions that the disciples had endured since the strange proceedings at that last supper, to the violent arrest of Jesus, their fear and loss, the savage execution of the one they loved and followed. At the break of...
Can you imagine the chaos that must have been going on among the disciples when they faced the risen Jesus? After all they had been through! They literally had their hearts ripped out when they watched their friend and their hero be cruelly executed, fearing that they too, would be...
Most unsuspecting Catholics will come to Mass today and react in horror when they realize that we will read the Passion. “Oh, no!” they think, “this will last forever I will have to stand for so long!” Yes, such is the burden of Catholics on Palm Sunday, why does the Church...
We tend to wax eloquently on and on about what we call “the good old days,” that magical, elusive and non-specific time of yore. We look back and imagine a time, usually of our own construction of this time, when everything was right, ordered and just. The problem is, the...
There are many people who like to gather with sinners. They like to indulge themselves into whatever is base, but at the same time may feel that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the group or their shared activities. They find solace in the echo chamber of the affirmations they...
Humans always seem to turn everything into a competition. Whether it is who has the most, who is the best or who is on the Mount Rushmore of…..? We can even compete on things that should not be competitive, like competing with each other in holiness, piety or who has...
Today’s Gospel challenges all the easy assumptions that we make about Jesus: Jesus the inspiring teacher, Jesus the compassionate preacher, Jesus the friend of the poor. He is all these, but he is also the One who comes from the Father, the One who we believe, was prepared for by...