Ellen Bennett

“God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called,” is a quote I see frequently. Each of today’s readings has someone being called to do something for which they feel unworthy.  Rarely do three readings align so well as these three do.  While usually Peter is my guy – the one whose actions and words speak to me most poignantly – today, it is Paul’s words that resonate: “By the grace ...

Last spring, I received a text from a dear niece requesting prayers for a good friend who had a few months previously been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  Two weeks ago, this young lady died.  She was 23.  A last Facebook post, presumably written by her family, states: “I’ve been battling cancer for over a year now, it was one mighty battle and I went further than any of ...

It is rather amazing when you think about it – what James and John do. The arrogance of it! Imagine! “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you … Grant us to sit … in your glory.” I can’t envision ever going to any teacher of mine and asking such a thing. Jesus’ final response is an explanation that for James and John and all the ...

Always and Never.  Two words, which, I frequently argue, should probably be removed from the English language.  Of course, this is usually during a heated discussion with my husband: “I have never done that,” or “You always say that.”  Still, I would suggest that at the very least, we need to be more circumspect in our use of them.

The Passion of Our Lord ...

Wouldn’t we all want to know the future?  Let me rephrase that …wouldn’t we all want to know the future if everything in the future were going to be okay!  The psalmist sings, “Lord, make me know your ways.”  It’s a little like asking, ‘Let me know the future.’  Maybe … but not if it’s bad news.  Good news is what Jesus is speaking when he arrives in Galilee.  Mark tells ...

The first reading of the capable wife from Proverbs proclaimed this morning is one that is sometimes used at funerals for wives and mothers. Initially, there seems little connection between it and the Gospel, where a bond is usually evident. However, I will never again hear that reading, without thinking of a very dear friend who died in September; because of who she was, the ...