When Justin Timberlake sings out that he has sunshine in his pocket and a good song in his feet, he is speaking about what makes him move and feel. Like songs that help us share our feelings, our faith connects us to the people in our lives and the world around us. Faith in ourselves […]
Sunday Readings: Exodus 32.7-11, 13-14; 1 Timothy 1.12-17; Luke 15.1-32 “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep…..Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.” (Luke 15.6, 9) Losing, finding, rejoicing — that is the pattern in each of the three parables Jesus tells in chapter 15. Who doesn’t bother to
Gospel Reflection for September 11, 2016, 24th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Wisdom 8.13-18; Philomen 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14.25-33 “None of you can be my disciple if you do not renounce all your possessions.” (Luke 14.33) Proclaiming the good news of God’s abundant loving kindness toward all people contradicts conventional wisdom that there is not enough love or anything else to go around, so it
Gospel Reflection for September 4, 2016, 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Sirach 3.17-18, 20, 28-29; Hebrews 12.18-19, 22-24; Luke 14.1, 7-14 “When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.” (Luke 14.12-13) Jesus’ two healings on the Sabbath demonstrate God’s will for human beings. We read neither story among
Gospel Reflection for August 28, 2016, 22nd Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Isaiah 66.18-21; Hebrews 12.5-7, 11-13; Luke 13.22-30 “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” (Luke 13.24) A door or gate always represents choice. As long as a room has a door, we can enter and exit it. We can choose to go in and choose to leave, to enclose or expand ourselves. A
Gospel Reflection for August 21, 2016, 21st Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Jeremiah 38.4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12.1-4; Luke 12.49-53 “I came to bring fire to the earth…I have baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” (Luke 12.49) When the evangelist Luke writes about A.D. 85, Jesus has completed his baptism — his suffering, death, resurrection, and
Gospel Reflection for August 14, 2016, 19th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Wisdom 18.6-9; Hebrews 11.1-2, 8-10; Luke 12.32-48 “If a householder could know just when the thief would break in, the householder would never leave the house to be broken into? You have to be ready the same way, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you don’t expect. Who is
Gospel Reflection for August 7, 2016, 19th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Ecclesiastes 1.2, 2.21-23; Colossians 3.1-5, 9-11; Luke 12.13-21 The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones and there
Gospel Reflection for July 31, 2016, 18th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Scripture Readings: Genesis 18.20-32; Colossians 2.12-14; Luke 11.1-13 Jesus said, “Say this when you pray: Father, may you name be held holy; your kingdom come…” Jesus encourages us to pray for “the kingdom,” the vision he has for a just and loving society and world. To pray that God’s name be hallowed and that God’s kingdom come
Gospel Reflection for July 24, 2016, 17th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »
Sunday Readings: Genesis 18.1-10; Colossians 1.24-28; Luke 10.38-42 “Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him to her home. She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teachings.” (Luke 10.38-39) Luke puts Mary and Martha in their place in Sunday’s gospel passage. To
Gospel Reflection for July 17, 2016, 16th Sunday Ordinary Time Read More »