In the readings from the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we are introduced to two characters from Luke’s Gospel, Simeon and Anna. Simeon, a righteous and pious man and Anna, a prophetess who never left the Temple. They both arrive at the same time as Jesus and his...
How about a little more quantum physics? My mom liked to tell a story about my grandma and my aunt Dorothy. My Grandma, born near the Volga River in Russia, lived in a German area of the country and had a very strong German accent. I don’t remember my grandpa ever saying...
We are back into Ordinary Time. Of course this time is not ordinary. As in life, most of life takes place between the great highs and lows of our lives. The same is true for Christianity. All of Jesus’ teaching, miracles and parables generally occur during Ordinary Time. Today in...
The Baptism of the Lord January 12, 2020 The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives four reasons for the Incarnation, why God became man in Jesus Christ. The third reason is “to be our model of holiness.” All of Jesus’ words and actions model for us what we ought to...
During the Christmas Season, social media puts out many sayings, themes and quotes intended to inspire and remind us of the “reason for the season.” One of the sayings I saw posted included a saying about to celebrate Christmas accurately and faithfully, we need to include concern and prayer for...
Here we are at Christmas and the emphasis for us in our faith is still longing and expecting the presence of Christ coming to us in a new, meaningful and tangible way. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become all wrapped up in the details and preparations for Christmas that we...
Today we hear Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. It is important to remember, while Luke and Matthew likely had Mark’s Gospel and what is known as the “Q Source” (a collection of Jesus sayings and parables that predates all Gospels) in front of them as they wrote theirs....
Today’s Gospel story is rather embarrassing for John the Baptist and his disciples. He is seemingly unsure that Jesus is the Christ or not. We like to imagine John, full of confidence ad certitude, however John is in many ways like us. He is simply unsure sometimes. He wants to...
I always thought John the Baptist would be someone you would hate opposing but would love having on your side. I remember when I was a hospital chaplain, there was an emergency room doctor who at first glance, seemed to be the biggest jerk at the hospital. In the emergency...
Today’s Gospel seems to be misplaced for the First Sunday of Advent. The Gospel from Matthew, is taken from Jesus’ description of the Apocalypse. Why would we have this sort of Gospel on the First Sunday of Advent? We often think of Advent as Christmas shopping season. The theological issues...