text 3rd Sunday of the Year: United We Stand To say that we live in fraught times is an understatement, but may be our lot for some time to come…
text Second Sunday of the Year: Abundant Gifts At first glance, today’s readings seem to have little if any connection. The gospel account of the…
text The Baptism of the Lord: Called to Witness Another year has sped by, or it seems so to those who are of a certain age. For the young, it …
text “Who witnessed your baptism?” Before you start scrambling for a copy of your baptismal certificate, have…
text Feast of the Epiphany 2022: Not So Simple Gifts A new year has dawned. Like a venerable Christmas stocking, the “old year” was stuffed with…
text “Sorry, there is no room in the inn, but would you like to come in for a drink?” The Christmas pageant was in progress and Joseph, along with his wife Mary…
text Sunday within the Octave of Christmas: Holy Families Today, still in the bright glow of Christmas Day, we mark the Passover of one of the spiritual…
text “i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)” The final line of one of e.e. cummings’ “little poems” carries this beautiful…
text 4th Sunday of Advent 2021: Why Bethlehem? As we near the end of 2021 it seems that each passing week witnesses another disaster or tragedy,…
text “Together we can do something wonderful.” One of Mother Teresa’s favorite statements summarized her view of ministry…
text 3rd Sunday of Advent–Surprised by Joy? This Year of Our Lord, 2021, seems destined to end in both a deep sense of grief and a persistent…
text “Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.” Since there is no record in the New Testament of Jesus ever dancing, we might…
text 2nd Sunday of Advent 2021: The Promise of Christmas As the days grow shorter before the great feast of the Nativity, it is sometimes hard to be “of…
text “At what time would you like your wake-up call?” The phone rang almost immediately when I entered my hotel room. Assuming the…
text 1st Sunday of Advent 2021: The Coming of the Lord Today marks the beginning of Advent, a joyful season of preparation before the celebration of the…
text “The truth must dazzle gradually or every person be blind.” In her poem entitled “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant,” Emily Dickinson…
text Solemn Feast of Christ the King of the Universe (and last Sunday of the Church year) Kings don’t amount to much these days. Elizabeth II has been much on people’s minds lately because…
text “Gotta Serve Somebody” When the album entitled Slow Train Coming was launched in 1979, one song from…
text 33rd Sunday of the Year: Consider the trees As autumn slowly gives way to winter, there is a touch of sadness in the air, despite the beauty…
text “In case of the Rapture, this car will be abandoned.” Due to the snow storm, the trip back from Des Moines to Dubuque would take an…
text 32nd Sunday of the Year: Pumpkins and Compassion This week, I was ambushed by a juxtaposition of images broadcast on several news channels. The…
text “A penny for your thoughts?” In a book entitled The Proverbs of John Heywood, published in 1546, we find…
text 31st Sunday of the Year: The Show of Love It is an auspicious moment. Today, the meeting of the “G20” concludes in Rome and COP 26 begins in…
text “Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go.” Listening to Nora Jones sing “Love Me Tender” triggered a memory of Elvis…
