How quickly things can change, and how fickle people can be! We begin our worship today with the joyous arrival of Jesus in the holy city of Jerusalem like a king coming in peace astride a colt with palm branches waving and the crowd chanting words forever enshrined in our Eucharistic celebrations: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Then, we end our readings from Scripture today with Jesus having been betrayed and tortured, denied, mocked and crucified.  Some people are uncomfortable that we hang crosses with […]

“O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them. …Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”  Our readings today go straight to the heart of our Christian faith.  They speak of death, and new life in Christ.  We hear it promised in the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel and we hear about it actually happening in today’s powerful Gospel account.  In a world where we spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to look young and doing everything medically possible to avoid […]

Today’s Liturgy of the Word – where God reveals himself to us – starts out with the Israelites and Moses in the desert.  After gladly accepting God’s invitation to abandon slavery for freedom, the people quickly started complaining.  They missed the food the Egyptians let them have, they feared they would die of thirst … and on and on.  Acting as if God had made no plans and was incapable of providing for them, they groused so much that Moses feared for his life.  In response, and to show how […]

Our world is awash with calls for change.  We are called to change our diets, to change our kitchens or bathrooms, to transform our nation’s health insurance plan and our political parties.  I don’t know about you, but I receive lots of mail and email every day asking me to help the world change.  The change is always linked to a promise of a better tomorrow; all I have to do is trust the new diet or the new health plan or the new political agenda.

Our first reading tells of […]

As we begin another season of Lent, our readings speak powerfully about temptation.  But, I’d like to first call your attention to the beginning of today’s first reading from the Book of Genesis where we hear a beautiful story of our creation.  Using three very touching images, we hear about God forming us out of the clay of the ground, breathing life into us and placing us into his lush, fruitful garden.  It’s a very endearing account.  We are invited to see God, the almighty creator of the universe, bend […]

“Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”  “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Today’s readings, which present sermons from both Moses and our Lord, are very challenging, aren’t they?  The law of our land seems so often to be an expression of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” – but we hear our Lord, Jesus, tell us that this is not good enough.  He calls us to take no revenge and cherish no grudge against anyone.  We hear Moses […]

“If you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.”  Of course, fire burns and destroys; water gives life.  Using this very powerful imagery, we hear Sirach in today’s first reading instruct the people of Israel – and us – to trust in God and keep his commandments, for they – and we – will be saved by doing so.  Before us are life and death, good and evil, Sirach says.  Whichever we choose shall […]

As you can tell from the color of my face, I just returned last night from my annual winter get-away, much needed after the busy Christmas season here at our wonderful, very active parish.  While I was enjoying the sun at the beach in San Martin, I read a new biography of our patron saint, Catherine of Siena.  It’s an excellent, critically-written work by Don Brophy, a former editor of the Paulist Press.  I highly recommend it.  In it, you will read about the many metaphors that St. Catherine used […]

Have you ever glimpsed pure peace in another person?  We see it as we gaze on a little baby while they are asleep.  On rare occasions, we experience it in the presence of a particularly holy person.  I have felt it on the occasions when I was privileged to be with Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.  Some people seem to exude peace.  They are a blessing to be around.  That must be what John the Baptist perceived in Jesus: a person whose very being manifested holiness and peace.

So, […]

Last Sunday, we heard of the shepherds who visited the newborn son of Mary in the obscure village of Bethlehem.  Today, we hear of the magi who come from afar to pay him homage.  These familiar biblical Christmas stories that we hear during this holy season provide important lessons for us.  They do so through the many unexpected events and characters.  They hardly seem fit for a king, much less a god.  It all begins with a poor young virgin who cannot possibly be with child, yet she indeed conceives […]