Reflections on the “Year of St. Joseph” in anticipation of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
“Where was St. Joseph buried?” a parishioner asked me recently. I thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t think we know. I have been to three places that claim to be burial sites for Mary: in Jerusalem, Ephesus and Kashmir. I have been to two burial sites for Jesus: inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and just outside the walls of Jerusalem. But I’ve never heard of or read about a burial place for St. Joseph.” “How, sad,” the parishioner commented. As I thought more about it throughout [...]
FOURTH SUNDAY LENT (Year B)
2 Chronicles 36: 14 – 16, 19 – 23 In our first reading this Sunday, we hear the Cliff Notes version of the Old Testament kerygma: God gives people good things, the people sin and are punished, God saves them again. Our brief text is taken from 2 Chronicles. We only hear from the Books of Chronicles once every three years in this single passage so let’s review the who, what, when, where and two whom of these two books. This book was originally given the Greek title of Paraleipomena, [...]
NEXT GENERATION PARISH
This has been a very interesting year, hasn’t it!?! Last February, we started hearing about a virus that was spreading quickly around the world with deadly consequences. The medical world struggled to understand and even name it; it finally settled on COVID-19 since it was a version of the coronavirus discovered at the end of 2019. With increasing alarm, our government reacted, calling for all non-essential activity to stop for a short time beginning on 18 March 2021. That short time was extended and rules and guidance changed constantly as [...]
THIRD SUNDAY LENT (Year B)
Exodus 20:1 - 17 Last Sunday, we heard of God’s test for Abraham after he had made a covenant with him. This follows the reading from the First Sunday of Lent, in which we heard about the covenant that God made with Noah and his descendents. This week, we hear the commandments that God gives to his people at Mt. Sinai as part of that covenant. The text of the Decalogue has evolved in two forms: Ex 20 and Dt 5:6 – 21. 1 Then God delivered all these [...]
Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa and Collection for the Church in Latin America
We are all finding life to be a little more difficult this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. You may find that your regular work schedule and your children’s school schedule have been significantly altered, your children’s sport activities and your social life have been seriously curtailed. You may even find yourself between jobs or you may have gotten ill from COVID-19 or even had a member of your family or one of your friends die from the virus. It has, indeed, been a difficult year for all [...]
SECOND SUNDAY LENT (Year B)
Genesis 22:1 – 2, 9a, 10 – 13, 15 – 18 As I mentioned last week, we will be hearing a great deal about the covenant relationship God has with us over these weeks in Lent. Last Sunday, we heard of the covenant that God made with Noah and his descendants. It is the first of two patriarchal covenants that serve as precursors for the covenant at Sinai. That, in turn, prepared the way for the new covenant God made with humanity in Christ. This week, we hear of the [...]