TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Where were you on that awful day? Looking around here in church, I see some of you were not even born yet or too young to realize what was happening but most of us will always remember exactly where we were. It was a beautiful fall day 20 years ago yesterday, just like this morning. I was about to go to church to celebrate the 9:00am Mass at the parish where I was stationed at that time when a friend called me to let me know that a plane had […]
PARISH ACTIVITIES RESUME AS COVID-19 CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE US
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this, he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said, “Whoever wishes to come […]
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
We’ve all learned about the importance of washing our hands over this past year, haven’t we? But, it’s not a matter of religious belief but one of several important measures we all practice to combat the coronavirus. I’m sure Jesus would encourage us to wash our hands regularly, but it won’t necessarily get us closer to God; religion does that. You have probably all read or heard about one of the latest statistics regarding religion: the growing group is the “nones.” And, that’s not the women taking religious vows but […]
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Have you have watched any of the television series entitled “Chosen”? I’m sure you’ve heard of it; it’s a powerful depiction of the life of Jesus – now in its second season – and, if you haven’t watched it yet, I strongly recommend that you do. It presents Jesus, his disciples and friends and the milieu in which he lived in a very compelling manner. One of the most remarkable aspects of this series is that it presents Jesus as just an ordinary man of his day, poor, sometimes even […]
THE WINDOWS OF ST. KATHARINE OF SIENA CHURCH
Last summer, while we were in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I began a series of presentations in my Parish Bulletin articles on the beautiful stained glass windows of our church. This was in response to an increased interest in them that had resulted from a highlighting of some of the stained glass windows during our live streamed Masses that began when all public Masses were prohibited due to the pandemic. Beginning in July and ending in December, I offered explanations on all of the windows in the nave, […]