Can you believe this weekend will already be Memorial Day Weekend?  If it hasn’t already ended for you and your family, the school year is almost over and the summer looms large.  Ordinarily, we would all be looking forward with great excitement and eager anticipation to getting away for some rest and relaxation.  But, this isn’t an ordinary time, is it?  Rather than excitement and eager anticipation, we’re feeling anxious and concerned.  We want to get away but we’re worried.  Is it safe?  Do we have to make alternate plans?  […]

We all know that God gave Moses 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai.  These commandments were given to help the ancient Israelites know how to show their respect and love for God and his people.  Unfortunately, they reduced their relationship with God to just following rules.  And, since they thought God liked rules, they made even more rules.  If you go through the Old Testament, you will find 613 of them.  And, the people thought that, if they followed these rules, God owed them a good life.  God then sent his […]

I was riding my bike a few days ago and passed one of our neighbors as he was leading his three kids on their bikes.  Keeping my safe six foot distance, I called out to him and asked him how he was feeling.  “Somewhere between stir and crazy,” he responded, “but hey, I get to spend more time with my kids.”  Every cloud has a silver lining and I was glad he could see the silver lining in the cloud that’s been hanging over all of us these days.  One […]

We’re all familiar with the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  It’s a wonderful image for us, especially these days as we feel lost and uncertain as to where we – or, in fact, the entire world – is headed.  As we hear in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls each of his sheep by name – just as he did at our baptism – and leads them out to find green pasture and plentiful water for the day.  We are also familiar with the story of Jesus going after the […]