Christ is risen! Halleluiah! These are the victorious words we shout and sing with gusto on this greatest of all feast days. Halleluiah is the “h” word I mentioned in my homily last Sunday, when we were focused on another “h” word – Hosanna. As you will recall from last week, “Hosanna” means “God save us.” It is a cry for help. That’s how we started off Holy Week – praying to God to save us, knowing that he, alone, can save us. But this morning we can shout out […]
“Hallelujah!” We’ve already sung it several times and now I can say it: Hallelujah! It was that “h” word I referred to last Sunday when another “h” word – “Hosanna” – was the word of the day. “Hosanna”, you will recall, is a cry for help; it means “God save us.” That’s how we started off Holy Week – praying to God to save us, knowing that he, alone can save us. But this evening we can shout out “Hallelujah!” which means “Praise God!” We can, indeed, praise God because […]
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to be able to get together around the dinner table with my extended family or friends for a good meal and engaging conversation. Msgr. Carroll and I get along very well but it’s getting a little lonely in the rectory. Unfortunately, those family dinners aren’t going to happen soon due to the stay at home order as we continue to work together to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. But tonight, we gather together virtually around our Lord’s Table to commemorate the first […]
Before this coronavirus took over our lives, how many of you had ever heard of Dr. Anthony Fauci? I hadn’t, even though he has been a medical advisor to every president beginning with Ronald Reagan. But now, he is suddenly forced onto the public stage and, although many of us really appreciate and admire his honest, plain talk, presenting the truth as the data demonstrates, there are those who don’t like him because his grim message is upsetting their comfortable lives, closing their businesses and stopping their cash flow, so […]
Well, have you had enough of this sheltering at home? Whether you live alone or are in a home filled with others, it’s a real challenge, isn’t it? We all admit that the coronavirus is a serious threat to us. Some of us are already affected personally, with a member of our family or a friend who is seriously ill or has even passed away from this powerful virus. We recognize the need to practice social distancing and are looking forward to that time when we are rid of this […]
Good morning, everyone; welcome to those who joined in this live streaming after Mass started. I hope you are keeping well in this very stressful time. Fortunately, modern technology allows us to come together – not in person but over the internet – as a faith community to worship our God. This is a time when we need to come to God and support each other as his faithful people. Modern technology also makes it really easy for us to understand that what we’re experiencing in our time isn’t something […]
It is good for us to be here. As COVID-19 continues to upend our lives, leading to both our federal and state governments to declare a state of emergency, and our archdiocesan leaders to suspend all parish activities with the exception of celebrating the sacraments that are so central to our faith, it is good for us to be here. And, as we all watch with great concern the continuing roller coaster ride of the stock market and kick ourselves for not selling out when it had reached its highest […]
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 […]