SeasonsMay 21, 2018Victoria Day and Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
“Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church.”
SeasonsMay 20, 2018Pentecost: The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
At the time of our Confirmation, we hear reference to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is a traditional list that comes from the early church. The seven are good to reflect on from time to time.
SeasonsMay 16, 2018Ramadan 2018
"Ramadan is a required observance for most Muslims, taking believers on a path to righteousness."
SeasonsMay 14, 201840 Days in the Digital Wilderness: A (very late) Lenten Journal
This post is longer than our usual posts. Lent and Easter are both long gone. Yet one person's experience of a social media fast is important and worth reading. Reposted with permission from Neo(un)Orthodoxy.
SeasonsMay 10, 2018Ignatius and the Ascension
"The Ascension does not mark the end of Jesus’ relationship with the church but the beginning of a new way of his relating to the world through the church."
SeasonsApril 28, 2018The Easter Mystery
"Easter is a time to celebrate God’s love for us, a love that He definitively proves in the death and resurrection of His Son. We mediate that love to each other in our family. God calls us to reflect it to the world."
SeasonsApril 26, 2018Easter Life
"In my new work with migrants and refugees, Pope Francis says each of us, individually and communally, is responsible to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate them. Don’t these four active verbs also apply to those with HIV or AIDS and their people, the infected and the affected?"
SeasonsApril 01, 2018Easter and The Office of Consoler
"Easter grace is elusive and hard to pin down. ...... It’s important to let the Resurrection’s grace do what it did for the disciples heading to Emmaus: Let it set our hearts on fire!"
SeasonsMarch 28, 2018Holy Week – Being With
"Most of us are probably too busy to spend all of our time in Holy Week in the manner we’d like. How can we heighten our sense of being immersed with the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus?"
SeasonsMarch 25, 2018Palm Sunday – The Doorway to a Sacred Journey
"It’s good for us to ask what our true expectations are for this week. What are our deepest desires as we enter through this day’s doorway to Holy Week?"
SeasonsMarch 24, 2018Annunciation, March 25, 2018
On this vigil of the Feast of the Annunciation, some thoughts for consideration.
SeasonsMarch 23, 2018What is the purpose of Lent?
"Lent is a long time of preparation—preparation not just for Easter Sunday, not just for the Great Three Days (the Triduum) of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Holy Saturday Vigil. I would say that Lent is a preparation for the whole of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday."
SeasonsMarch 18, 2018A Grain of Wheat – Fifth Sunday of Lent
"It was Tertullian, an early Christian author, who stated that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Relatively few of us will experience physical martyrdom because of our faith. But anyone who calls him or herself Christian is called to die to self."
SeasonsMarch 15, 2018Spring Fever
"Spring is the season of plans and projects. It’s God’s way of reminding us of what can be done with what looked so bleak and barren in winter. We can finally move beyond daydreams to action."
SeasonsMarch 10, 2018Rejoice and Exult! – Fourth Sunday of Lent
"This Fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday, a day for rejoicing. This comes from the Entrance Antiphon, from Isaiah 66:10-11. Rejoice Jerusalem! Let’s name reasons to rejoice!"
SeasonsMarch 03, 2018Take a sober, second thought – Third Sunday of Lent
"A good Lenten exercise can be to ponder the foolishness-wisdom dynamic in our lives, or the crooked lines of our lives."
SeasonsMarch 01, 2018Lent – An Opportunity
" . . . God often uses how humans perceive the physical world to impart something spiritual. He uses the seasons of the year to ingrain divine lessons. One such season is Lent."
SeasonsFebruary 24, 2018Why do mothers and fathers have to bury their children? Second Sunday of Lent
"We are not usually asked to sacrifice a child. This freedom of Abraham is usually seen as remarkable – to give up one’s only son. But, how can we freely face the death of our children?"
SeasonsFebruary 17, 2018God’s Faithfulness – First Sunday of Lent 2018
"It is not lost on me that we start the Season of Lent with love and end up on April 1 [Easter Sunday] Holy fools.”"
SeasonsFebruary 01, 2018Groundhog Day- February 2, 2018
"Scholars point out connections to old lore that clear weather on Candlemas (i.e., the Feast of Jesus at the temple) forebodes a prolonged winter." What will our groundhog predict for us today?
SeasonsJanuary 06, 2018What will you bring? Epiphany 2018
T.S.Eliot wrote that the Magi had " a cold coming" in "the very dead of winter." Even so, they brought special gifts. What do we bring to Christ?
SeasonsDecember 30, 2017The Holy Family – “A Kind of School”
"Let’s pray, on this Feast of the Holy Family, for all families – that they may continue to serve as educators for all women and men who play a role in public life."
SeasonsDecember 24, 2017Christmas 2017 – Speaking some words to the close and holy darkness
"It remains always essential to continue speaking to the close and holy, but also to listen to what we hear from it. In these days of Christmas, let’s take time to deepen that conversation."
SeasonsDecember 23, 2017Discerning God’s Dreams: The Fourth Sunday of Advent (and Christmas Eve) 2017
"Advent and Christmas are times to look to our desires and God's dreams for us. What invitations from God cause me to be fearful or reluctant? Is that fear really an invitation to ponder and move to a new level of trust in God?"
SeasonsDecember 22, 2017Promises Kept
"this is the night the promises made by God to the Jewish people and to Mary are fulfilled with the birth of a child in the village of Bethlehem. And in the midst of this most holy night the world springs to new life with the promise of joy and peace that this birth announces."
SeasonsDecember 17, 2017Am I Poor Enough to Celebrate Christmas? The Third Sunday of Advent 2017
"The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent has John the Baptist say, "I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." Advent is a time to recognize our basic human unworthiness."
SeasonsDecember 10, 2017Sympathy or Justice : The Second Sunday of Advent 2017
"It's time to stop feeling "sympathy" for our aboriginal brothers and sisters and help them move toward rights and justice. So long as we call them victims and feel sorry for them, we are still maintaining a kind of power over them."
SeasonsDecember 03, 2017Staying Awake & Beholding – First Sunday of Advent
"The 19th century Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, has a line in Hurrahing in Harvest that resonates with me as we come to the beginning of Advent. Hopkins says: “These things, these things were here and but the beholder wanting.”"
SeasonsNovember 26, 2017King and Shepherd – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
"This final Sunday of the liturgical year is celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. The days from now until next Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, are devoted to eschatological themes"
SeasonsNovember 24, 2017Waiting for the Baby
Advent 2017 begins in a few weeks. "There are so many ways to honour Christ and celebrate His birth in this special season of anticipation. Each act of kindness offers the Lord a gift and we show Him how important He is in our lives."
SeasonsNovember 19, 2017World Day of the Poor: “For the least and those most in need …” 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
"The Church is invited to acknowledge the initial World Day of the Poor. Pope Francis said in his June 2017 letter instituting this particular World Day: “At the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy, I wanted to offer a World Day of the Poor, so that throughout the world Christian communities can beco
SeasonsNovember 12, 2017Stay Awake! Or Watch How the Whales Sleep – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
"We can learn from the whales and dolphins. They have a degree of intelligence that often surprises humans. Along with other mammals, humans need to enter an unconscious state when asleep in order to function properly. We normally do that each night, or at other times, for those who work shifts or t
SeasonsNovember 05, 2017Am I Sincere or Superficial? – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
"The Gospel today is an invitation for us to examine the motivation with which we do things. Jesus contrasts those who “do all their deeds to be seen by others” and to be treated with respect, with those who see themselves as one among other brothers and sisters."
SeasonsOctober 30, 2017All Saints’ Day
November is a month of remembrance. This is natural, as fall has settled in and our thoughts are turning to the end of another year and the reminiscing that comes with that. Special days such as All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day and Remembrance Day all heighten that sense of the significance of reflec
SeasonsOctober 29, 2017Did You Love? – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Today’s Gospel reiterates a simple and straightforward message that features prominently in Jesus’ teaching: love of God and neighbour. That love is total - “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It also includes love of self. . . How do I best show love to others?"
SeasonsOctober 22, 2017World Mission Sunday – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
"The Church acknowledges today as World Mission Sunday. The Church is reminding us that through our generosity, we can extend our compassion beyond our own immediate borders to our sisters and brothers who are crying out from every corner of the globe."
SeasonsOctober 15, 2017Paying Attention to Our Relationship with God – The 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday's gospel leads us to reflect on our relationship with God in the midst of our busy life.