“Be watchful! Be alert!” Three times in today’s Gospel passage we hear Jesus urge his disciples to be on the watch, alert to the time when he comes. This call to be on the watch, to be alert is meant for us, too, and is a very good call for us as we begin, once again, the sacred season of Advent during these stress-filled times. And, we hear in today’s gospel a short parable that emphasizes this message. It speaks of a householder who has a number of servants. As […]
“Off with his head!” This command that William Shakespeare popularized when he put it in the mouths of kings in several of his plays demonstrated the ultimate power that royalty wielded at one time. Those of you who are familiar with the history of western civilization know, however, that rule by royalty came to a bloody end, beginning with the French Revolution in 1789 when so many lost their heads at the guillotine. This revolutionary movement spread quickly through Europe so that today, the few kings left in major western […]
On this, the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Church calls us to reflect on the kingship of Jesus Christ. It’s quite different from how we ordinarily think of a king. Rather than a ruler who makes his power known over his subjects, our God is like a shepherd tending his flock. As we hear in this Sunday’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, God will look after his sheep “as a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep” (Ez […]
“The end is near! The end is near!” As we continue to struggle with the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and a record number of hurricanes and tropical storms, devastating wildfires and even earthquakes, it’s easy to wonder if the end is near. Of course, people have been making that prediction for thousands of years. In fact, in today’s second reading, we hear St. Paul address a community anxious about the predictions they are hearing regarding the end of time and the return of the Lord. Like some people are doing today […]
Do you remember the day last April when the Notre Dame Cathedral was so badly damaged by fire? We all looked on with horror and gasped as the spire collapsed into the roof. Was the entire cathedral lost? It was a great relief to learn days later that much of the interior had been spared and the walls were still intact, for the most part. For those of us who have visited this magnificent cathedral, it was a time of great sadness and a feeling of tremendous loss.
This experience […]
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip our nation and – indeed, our world – I’m sure you’re all aware of the impact it’s having on millions of families who have lost their jobs or had their work hours severely reduced. Many parishioners in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, are among those struggling families. We also have families in our own parish who could use some assistance as Christmas arrives; it’s less than six weeks away! We have several parish initiatives that will allow you to give to […]