“There was a famine in the land.”  That’s how the section just before the passage we hear in today’s first reading begins and it’s important for us to know this as we listen to today’s first reading.  At a time when travel was difficult and transcontinental transport was extremely expensive – you couldn’t go to your local ACME to pick up lamb chops from New Zealand or blueberries from Chile, or anything else you wanted for your next meal – everyone was dependent on the local rains to survive.  […]

“The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all that they had done and taught.”  In last week’s gospel account, you will recall that Jesus sent his apostles, giving them authority over unclean spirits so they could preach the good news, cure the sick and drive out demons.  This Sunday, we hear what happened when they returned to Jesus.  Notice what the apostles did not do.  They didn’t recall and rejoice in the great things God had done through them.  Rather, they reported all that they had done and taught.  […]

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  What a curious statement for Paul to make – we hear it at the end of today’s second reading.  Sometimes, St. Paul can sound like an insufferable know-it-all or a proud braggart.  In today’s reading, however, we encounter a real sense of humility as we hear him speak of a thorn in the flesh that had been given to him.  He doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t tell us what that “thorn in the flesh” is, and theologians have been speculating ever since what […]

My father was a captain of the Dutch Merchant Marines.  Unlike the Marines we’re familiar with in this country as a branch of our military forces, the Dutch Merchant Marines is a private, commercial enterprise that trains officers for the Dutch merchant ships.  When we moved here to America, his expertise in seafaring led him to be employed by the Insurance Company of North America where he worked in its marine department.  His job was to travel around the world and inspect ships and their cargo after they had been […]

As I work in my rectory office which has a large window facing Aberdeen Avenue, I’m sometimes distracted by bright red, yellow, black and blue flashes as cardinals, finches, starlings and blue jays fly from the tops of the trees across the street and swoop down to feed on the grass and shrubs in front of the rectory.  It reminds me of today’s first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, where we hear God foretell the growth of a great nation using the image of a shoot that he will take […]

Jesus was having a really bad day.  The crowd was so big that he and his disciples couldn’t even eat.  His relatives were out to seize him, saying, “He is out of his mind.”  The scribes claimed that “he is possessed by Beelzebul.”  And then, his mother and his brothers arrived.  Who knows what they were up to. 

But Jesus was unfazed.  He knew what he was up to.  If you were to read the Gospel of Mark just before the passage we heard today, you would see that Jesus […]

Although they are separated by more than a thousand years, the incidents in today’s first reading and the Gospel have many striking similarities.  They both recount a gathering of the faithful during a time of struggle hearing the assurance of God’s continuing presence and care for his people.  In both incidents, there is a sacrifice and the expression of a covenant.  And, although these two incidents are separated from us by thousands of years, what we are doing here at this sacred moment shares these same characteristics: a gathering of […]

Over the past few weeks, we have celebrated some very important feasts: Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.  In these three feasts, we have celebrated some of the wonderful mysteries of our faith: Christ’s triumph over death, his return to heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit.  In these celebrations, we are given the hope of new life with God forever in heaven and, in the meantime, God’s accompaniment with us here on earth through his Holy Spirit.  All of these great mysteries of our faith, however, are built upon the […]

As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we all learn about Jesus and are encouraged to develop an intimate relationship with him.  We also learn about Jesus’ heavenly Father who sent Jesus into our midst to lead us back to God, our Father, who longs for us to join him forever in heaven.  And today, we celebrate his giving of the Holy Spirit.  As we hear in today’s readings, the Bible presents the introduction of the Holy Spirit on two occasions: on Easter day and on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.

As […]

I hope you had an opportunity to view the solar eclipse last Monday.  Despite the partial cloud cover, it was quite interesting as the moon slid over the sun, leaving just a banana-shaped illumination.  The temperature dropped as the sky darkened in an unusual way.  As I enjoyed this rare event, I was reminded, once again, of the wonder of God’s creation. 

Another wondrous sign of God’s creation is nature springing back to its glory after lying dormant over the winter.  I hope you’re paying attention to the beauty unfolding […]