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 […]

“Peace be with you.”  Three times in today’s Gospel, we hear the risen Lord assure his disciples with these comforting words: “Peace be with you.”  And, although this greeting of peace, “Shalom,” was a common expression among the Jewish people of his day – as it still is today – it had taken on a much deeper meaning for the followers of Jesus who had just gone through three days filled with anything but peace.  It made them remember our Lord’s words of encouragement to them just a few days […]

Again, allow me to wish all of you a joyous Easter with a hopeful message for all of us believers.  Christ is risen! Alleluia!  These are the victorious words we shout with gusto on this greatest of all feast days.  This is a celebration of moving from doubt to belief, from fear to faith, from death to life.  Our readings present the strong faith that the earliest followers of Jesus expressed as they spread the Good News of our salvation in the risen Lord.  In today’s first reading, we hear […]

Over these past three days, we have participated in something most unusual – in fact, absolutely unique in the history of humanity.  God, the almighty, the creator of the universe and all that is in it, the maker of light and darkness, life and death, has died in his human form.  As we recite in the Nicene Creed every Sunday, “for our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried.”  Every Good Friday, silence envelopes the earth as it contemplates this terrible reality.  We have […]

You know this is a special Sunday when we have two gospels.  And, you can’t help but notice how different our two Gospel passages are in tone and sentiment.  We began with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the adulation of the crowd, and followed it with Mark’s account of his passion, at the hands of that same crowd.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is at first the focus of Israel’s deepest hopes and dreams.  Frenzied crowds shout with pleading and joy – Hosanna – which means both, “save us, we […]

Once again, Happy St. Patty’s Day!  It’s fun to see so many of you dressed in green.  My nod to the Irish is this little button that has a green stripe across it and says: “If you’re not Irish, fake it!”  Last Sunday, a number of our proud parents watched with great delight as their children participated in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Philadelphia.  I enjoyed watching some of it on television and I caught it just as our group came on.  It was great to see these […]