Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Have you ever said or had someone say to you, “Don’t call us … We’ll call you?” I think that’s usually another way of saying, “If I want to talk to you, it will need to be on my own terms … on my schedule, not yours.” Sometimes we might even say that to God. We know that God is important to us ... but we still like to think that we’re the ones who are in control ... we like to think that we’re the ones who remain in control of our relationship with Him.
3 days ago4 min read
The Baptism of the Lord
C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, is right when he says that the doctrine of grace makes the Christian faith unique among all other faiths. Other religions hold that God rewards the just and punishes the wicked. The Christian faith also believes in the justice of God.
Jan 114 min read
The Epiphany of the Lord
Today’s Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the showing forth or the manifestation of the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, and successor of King David to the Gentiles ... represented by the Magi. Following a star in the darkness of night, the Magi came from a foreign land to honor Him.
Jan 44 min read
The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
As time continues to move onward, God is always present to bless us. In order to realize this, we need to broaden our vision by not dwelling on the past, particularly on those events and things that we cannot change. Rather, we must move forward where a possible future of renewed hope awaits us in the Lord.
Jan 13 min read
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, & Joseph
As we listened to Saint Matthew’s Gospel, we are told that Joseph … warned by an angel in a dream … takes Mary and Jesus down to Egypt until Herod’s death. We can imagine that they lived as migrants there for a year or two. And so, consider this. Were they able to travel safely? How were they received once they arrived? Were they welcomed or looked upon with suspicion? Was there gainful employment for Joseph? Did he meet with resentment for taking work away from Egyptian carp
Dec 28, 20255 min read
Christmas ... Mass at Dawn
If you take the time to stop and really think about it, I think you’d come to the conclusion that we Americans spend a good part of December celebrating Christmas. Even though the days of Advent should dominate the Church calendar in December, for many of us, Christmas celebrations may have begun a week or two ago … perhaps even earlier … with holiday parties at work or in school. Radio stations have played Christmas music for a month already. All of the Christmas television
Dec 25, 20255 min read
Vigil of Christmas
Tonight, as my Christmas homily, I’d like to give a brief history of a song you might know. And if you are a fan of Sight and Sound Theatre in Lancaster and saw that back in 2022, they released their first movie, you may know the Christmas carol to which I refer. I had the opportunity to see the movie in the theater when it first came out and since it has become part of my cherished Christmas movie collection. I watched it again last weekend. It gave me some insight into what
Dec 24, 20256 min read
