Is My Phylactery Showing?: 2018

Prepare the way—Second Sunday in Advent (Cycle C)

Baruch 5:1–9; Philippians 1:4–6, 8–11; Luke 3:1–6

I assisted at a funeral the other day, and the priest brought up an experience from his childhood of a time when his mother had divided a sandwich between him and his brother. And once the halves were distributed, the bickering started: “Why does he get a bigger piece?”

I’m sure none of you parents have experienced this phenomenon. And I’m sure none of us with siblings have ever made this protest.

The priest used the story to make a point. All of us are innately attuned to a sense of fairness, that no one be given more than another because of some arbitrary preference of a deciding authority. Or to put it simply, we are all endowed with a sense or need for justice. And we recognize from an early age when something is not just.

Nov

We do not know the day. We do not know the hour.—Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Dan. 12:1–3; Hebrews 10:11–14, 18; Mark 13:24–32

We do not know the day. We do not know the hour.

I am grateful for an end to the election season. Politics seems to get more contentious with every year. No one seems to be interested in serving the common good, just in tearing down the other side. And within the Church, the picture isn’t particularly good either.

Oct

The Sanctity of Life—Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Isaiah 53:10–11; Hebrews 4:14–16; Mark 10:35–45

Today we celebrate Respect Life Sunday, a day that the Church sets aside to remember the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to grave. I think it’s also appropriate to reflect on the ways in which some lives are treated with a lack of dignity and how we can remedy such injustices.

Oct

How difficult it is for the wealthy to enter

Fatima Rosary and Benediction—October 13, 2018

Mark 10:17–30

Do we really know what it is that Jesus offers us? Do we really grasp what Heaven is, what Eternal Life means, and what it is that Jesus has done for us? These are the questions that come to mind for me when I look at this passage from Mark.

In this passage from Mark, we have the rich young man who recognizes Jesus as a good teacher. Actually we don’t hear in Mark that he is young.

Sep

On the Goodness of Created Things—Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Isaiah 35:4–7a; James 2:1–5; Mark 7:31–37

I’m sure you’ve heard people comment negatively on the wealth of the Church and suggest that it really should sell everything off and give the proceeds to the poor. Of course, there will be plenty of time for that in the future. Pope emeritus Benedict predicted that the Church would become smaller and lose much of the grandeur of its glory days. We are, at least in the West, becoming a smaller Church.

Aug

What is it?—Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

1 Kings 18:44; Ephesians 4:30–5:2; John 6:41–51

Man hu (מו הוא)? That's Hebrew for "What is it?" And that’s what the Hebrews said in last week’s reading from Exodus. You might recall the people of Israel, after grumbling about starving, are given bread in the morning and quail in the evening.

Jul

Your are a prophet—Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Amos 7:12–15; Eph. 1:3–14; Mark 6:7–13

Did you know that you were anointed priest, prophet, and king? Your baptism and confirmation join you to Christ—who is priest, prophet, and king—which makes you a partaker in those three offices: priesthood, kingship, and prophecy. Now, while you don’t see this phrase “priest, prophet, and king” in scripture, you do see these offices exercised by Jesus. And the Catechism tells us that we share in these offices with Him (CCC 897-913).

Jul

Spiritual Battle Comes to Us—Fatima Benediction and Rosary: July 13, 2018

The message in this evening’s gospel reading is rather sobering. Jesus is sending His disciples out to preach the good news, to heal the sick, and to cast out demons. He tells them to take nothing with them—no money, no extra clothing, no food. They are expected simply to trust that they will be provided what they need. And then the clincher: “I send you out as sheep among the wolves.” And it’s not just here! The Beatitudes largely tell us how we will be blessed in adversity.

Jun

Via Dolorosa: Day 6

West Wall, Old City, Jerusalem

For me, day 6 was the most important day of the pilgrimage. Our morning began with a quick entry through the Dung Gate and into the Western Wall plaza. Larger tour groups had to wait in a long line, but small groups were allowed to skip the line and get almost immediate entry. The Church of the Nativity had a similar allowance but for much smaller groups (of six or so).

Jun

Bound: 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

Gen. 3:9–15; 2 Cor. 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20–35

It’s been a long week, with work and ordinations, so my homily will be brief today—unless, of course, the Holy Spirit takes hold of me. Then we could be here for a long time.

There are two parallels in this weekend’s Old Testament and Gospel readings that I want to touch on. The first is that we fall into sin when we fail to defend the voice of our conscience, when we capitulate to external pressures to compromise our values.

Is My Phylactery Showing?

Faithful Catholic or modern-day pharisee? Sometimes I might be a bit of both.