Just a few weeks ago, the stock market was flourishing.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its all-time high of 29,551 points on 12 February; that was less than a month ago.  And yet, that seems to be a world away, doesn’t it, and now it resembles a roller coaster, with wild swings up and down – mostly down – as the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19 or even more correctly SARS-CoV-2, interrupts trade and travel for so many and has us all concerned for our health and the health […]

Who would have thought that we would experience such turmoil from a lowly virus?  A rogue nation shooting a dirty nuclear bomb or a cyber attacker crippling our electrical power grid – sure – but a virus?  And yet, the coronavirus, renamed COVID19 or more correctly SARS CoV-2, is certainly giving us great concern and the stock market tumbles as a result of serious trade and travel disruptions.  It’s tempting to retreat from the world but where do you go to be safe?  Sorry, I don’t have an answer to […]

“Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”  “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Wow – those are two really bold, demanding statements, aren’t they!?!  And yet, they’re straight from God, one through Moses, as we heard in today’s first reading from the Book of Leviticus, and the other from Jesus himself as we continue to hear from his Sermon on the Mount.  That’s what we – we who believe in God and follow his son, Jesus – are called to do.  It’s a […]

“Let there be light.” These are the first words of God recorded in the Bible.  We all know how important light is to us; just stub your toe in the darkness in an unfamiliar room and you remember how important it is.  Every major religion extols light and identifies God with the light.  The ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra, the god of the sun.  Jewish people use the menorah to celebrate the Hanukah miracle of faith triumphing over evil and they declare in psalm 27 that “The Lord is my light […]

In all of sacred scripture, there are only two accounts that tell us of the life of Jesus between his birth and his public ministry: his presentation in the temple – as we celebrate today – and his finding in the temple when he was twelve years old.  We hear the account of Jesus in the temple every three years on Sunday but the account we heard today about his presentation in the temple occurs on a Sunday only when the second of February is a Sunday; the last time […]

            “Now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb” (Isaiah 49:5).  As we hear proclaimed so clearly in today’s first reading, each of us is God’s servant even while we are still in our mother’s womb.  On this, the eve of the 47^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, allow me to offer some reflections on the tragedy that continues to misdirect our nation.

On 22 January 1973, the Supreme Court decided on not one, but two abortion cases: Roe v. Wade, challenging a Texas abortion […]

As we come to the end of the Christmas season, we continue to hear from the Gospel of Matthew.  As I’m sure you know, throughout this year, Year A of the Liturgical cycle, St. Matthew’s Gospel is the featured gospel and we hear his account of Jesus’ baptism.  All three of the synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – report the baptism of our Lord because it is a very important event in the life of Jesus.  After being born in Bethlehem and spending some time as a refugee […]

“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”  As I ride my bike through the neighborhood, I see so many Christmas trees already at the curb and the Christmas decorations coming down.  For so many, the Christmas season is already over.  Now, it’s on to the next thing – the Eagles are in the playoffs and Valentine’s Day is not far off.  We the faithful, however, are still in the midst of the Christmas season – it doesn’t end until next Sunday, the Feast […]

“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”  As the world celebrates the beginning of a new year with fireworks, parties and parades, we come to celebrate New Year’s Day by reflecting on the most important new beginning in all of history – the birth of Jesus.  By having his Son born of a woman, God has invited us to participate in the mystery of our salvation.

This first solemnity of the New Year is one that celebrates Mary, and her role as the Mother of God. […]