I hope you have all had some time for rest and relaxation with family and friends this summer – or that it’s on the horizon.  September is only two weeks away!  I enjoyed a week in Virginia Beach in July with some longtime friends and am looking forward to another week in Myrtle Beach with one of my sisters next week.  I love the eastern shore for a number of reasons.  One of them is the opportunity to enjoy spectacular sunrises.  Every morning, I make sure to be on the […]

I hope you listened carefully to this evening’s first reading.  It recalls a very important event in the history of Israel.  King David has established Jerusalem as the new capital of this new nation, Israel.  And, he has ordered the construction of a tent to house the Ark of the Covenant.  Finally, their God would be in their midst.  You can imagine the festival that surrounded this event.  This evening’s reading speaks of chanters, harps, lyres and cymbals, all making “a loud sound of rejoicing.”  What an great image!

But, what […]

We are called to be a people of faith.  We are called to put our faith in God.  But, it is not a blind faith.  Rather, it is rooted in the experience of a God who loves and cares for us.  We see that throughout Salvation History, that is, the history of God saving us, his people.  First, there was Abraham, our Father in Faith.  The second reading today recalls his story.  God called him in his old age, promising a dramatic change in his life, a new season of […]

When God created all things in this world, and He called them all “good.”  We hear that very clearly in the Book of Genesis.  So material stuff is not evil in itself.  Jesus had some wealthy friends, owned an expensive garment, seamless and so nice his executioners drew lots for it rather than dividing it, and he lived a life that some of his critics called excessive with food and drink.  He was obviously not an aesthetic hermit, living a life of poverty to cleanse the soul.  The example that […]