Today’s Gospel begins in a somewhat unusual way. Rather than starting with the typical “Jesus began to teach them,” or “Jesus told his disciples another parable,” it starts with a statement about geography, about a particular city called Caesarea Philippi.  I’ve been there and can tell you that it’s well worth visiting, although it’s hard to get access to it these days.  Located some 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, it is today an uninhabited no-man’s land in the hotly disputed Golan Heights.  Well before the time of […]

Again, let me congratulate those of you who will soon be receiving the Eucharist for the first time; you’ve waited a long time for this – since May! – and I’m sure you’re excited.  Receiving our Lord in Holy Communion is just as important for our spiritual health as the food you eat every day keeps your bodies healthy.  In fact, while the food we eat every day only satisfies us for a short time, the Eucharist prepares us for the heavenly banquet where our deepest desires will be satisfied […]

Again, let me congratulate those of you who will soon be receiving the Eucharist for the first time; you’ve waited a long time for this and I’m sure you’re excited.  Receiving our Lord in Holy Communion here on earth is one of the first fruits of the kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish while he was among us in the flesh.  Have you ever seriously pondered the kingdom of God?  Have you ever spent time just reflecting on where and what it is?  We hear Jesus talk about […]

There is one question that we all have to struggle with in life and is certainly on the minds of us all today as we continue to cower before the sickening and deadly power of COVID-19 and our nation continues to struggle with the issue of racism following the death of George Floyd.  The question is: why is there evil in the world?  If God is an all-good God, why would he allow us to struggle so much in our lives against seemingly evil forces?  Today, especially, we ask: why […]