“Is the Lord in our midst or not?” What a question to ask after God had freed them from their slavery to the Egyptians and led them through the Red Sea to escape the Egyptian army. And yet, just a month later, we hear the Israelites grumble: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
As much as we may be tempted to look back on the Israelites and wonder at their doubt in our first reading, if any of us have ever been truly thirsty, we will be moved to […]
THE ARCHDIOCESE FOR THE MILITARY SERVICES COLLECTION
The Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) was created by Pope John Paul II to provide the Catholic Church’s full range of pastoral ministries and spiritual services to those in the United States Armed Forces. This includes the men and women serving in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force and Coast Guard and their families in more than 220 installations in 29 countries, patients in 153 V.A. Medical Centers, and federal employees serving outside the boundaries of the USA in 134 […]
With winter storm Hernando bearing down on us, I’m sure we’re all looking forward to spring. And, as you all know, the word “Lent” means “spring.” It comes from an Old English word that spoke of the lengthening of daylight hours. I don’t know about you, but I’m enjoying the earlier sunrises and the later sunsets. They are harbingers of the new life that spring will bring. So, as we begin another season of Lent, our readings speak powerfully about God who gives and sustains our lives and the temptations […]
God called Abraham to leave behind everything he knew – his family, his friends, his land – and set out on a difficult journey to a new land. He wasn’t told where he was going. All he was given was a promise of future blessing. We heard that in today’s first reading. Notice how Abraham responded. He went as the Lord directed him. And, we all know the end to that story. Abraham was, indeed, blessed: he became the father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims.
As we heard in today’s […]
Salvador Dali Candlesticks
You might have noticed some different candlesticks on the Daily Mass Chapel; I have used them every Lent. But, it’s been a few years since I offered an explanation about them and a few people have asked to hear it again so I offer it, once again, for your information. In the summer of 1979, I went on vacation to Spain with a priest-friend of mine. Touring the country, we ended up one day in the little town of Figueres in Catalonia. As we waited for the restaurants […]
Many of us are finding life to be a little more difficult this year as a result of the economic and political uncertainty that our country faces. The challenges we face are multiplied many times over in other parts of the world where resources are much more limited and people struggle to survive even in normal times. Many of the Catholics in the 34 countries and 14 dependent territories in Latin America are experiencing serious challenges. A high percentage – 31% – of the people in Latin America live in […]
Jesus sat in the middle of the crowd on the hillside. Some of them had been with him for a few days as he began his public ministry, but many of them were new today. They had all come to hear his teaching. Rumors were running wild about what he was going to say. Most of the rumors were about this new kingdom he had announced was at hand. Everyone was interested in a new kingdom. They weren’t at all happy about the one that the Romans had imposed on […]