EASTER GREETINGS
Alleluia! Our Lord is risen and offers us new life! We certainly need to hear this message this year as we find ourselves still surrounded by suffering and death after a year of assault by a powerful virus. The Paschal mystery proclaims that Jesus, truly man - the son of Mary - really died on the cross and then overcame the power of death as he rose on Easter. The resurrection of the body, the central mystery of Easter, is an essential Christian doctrine. As the apostle Paul declares so clearly: “[I]f [...]
PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION (Year B)
Isaiah 50: 4 - 7 The passage that we will hear this Sunday comprises a portion of the prophet Isaiah’s third of four Servant-of-the-Lord oracles. In Isaiah 50:4-9 the Servant speaks; in Isaiah 50:10-11 God reproves the people for not following the Servant. 4 The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; 5 And I have not rebelled, have not [...]
THE MORALITY OF RECEIVING THE COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
A number of you have asked me about the morality of receiving the COVID-19 vaccinations and, in particular, the most recent vaccination made available through Johnson & Johnson. Your concern is due to the reported use of aborted fetuses in the development and production of these vaccines. It is a very valid concern and I applaud you for asking this question. I’m sure you recognize that I am a staunch pro-life advocate and would not want to encourage abortion for any reason. On the other hand, it is important to [...]
FIFTH SUNDAY LENT (Year B)
Jeremiah 31:31 - 34 It has been some time since we have heard from Jeremiah so let’s review the who, what, when, where and to whom of this important prophetic book. Please take out your time line. You will see that Jeremiah was active as a prophet from 609 until 586BC. He was born into a priestly family in Anathoth, a town just 2 ½ miles northeast of Jerusalem. Those of you with maps in your Bible will find it just above Jerusalem; my Catholic Study Bible shows it on [...]
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, [...]