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If you were to ask people in the time of Jesus, people who lived in the Mediterranean world, the known world at the time, the Roman Empire, “Who is the Son of God, the redeemer, the saviour of the world?” Everyone would immediately answer “Caesar Augustus” and not “Jesus” as we would answer now. The emperor, in Jesus’ time, was seen as divine or at least as a demi-god, and if you were a good, law-abiding citizen of the …

When Fr. Richard Rohr, the great Franciscan I love to quote, was newly ordained, he concocted a private agreement between himself and God; they were going to be a team. It was going to be a 50-50 arrangement. God would do 50% of the work in bringing salvation to the world, and Richard would make sure, through hard work and dedication, that he did his 50% as well. A few years into ordained ministry, Richard, unilaterally modified the percentages …

Every Advent we are presented with one of the most perplexing figures in the entire Bible—John the Baptist. He is totally unorthodox. Orthodoxy in general, similar to Church orthodoxy, conjures up words like devout, structured, true blue, predictable, or traditional. An unorthodox person, however, would be described as unconventional, radical, off-centered, avant-garde or original. John the Baptist is definitely unorthodox even though he was born into an orthodox world.  John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah, a well-respected priest. Following …

We are all familiar with the story of Moses receiving the 10 Commandment either by reading our own Bibles or maybe by watching the classic movie of the same title: “The 10 Commandments.” These commandments are still central to our lives as we try to live in relationship to God, neighbour, and self. Some theologians say that the 10 Commandments had a reincarnation, of sorts, when Jesus gave us the Beatitudes. I personally don’t think we ought to ditch …

I said last weekend that meerkats, much like Timon the meerkat in the Lion King, were going to be my guides this Advent. I am still holding to that. I said that because the meerkat is a symbol of alertness, of attentiveness, of being awake. On my better/holier days, I try to be alert, attentive and awake to what God is doing in my life and what God is doing in the life of the world. And then, hopefully, …

Who is up to learning a few words in Swahili? Actually, you already know these words if you ever watched the movie or saw the musical The Lion King. The main character is Simba. Simba is the Swahili word for “lion.” Another character in The Lion King is a wisecracking meerkat named Timon. The meerkat is the image that is staying with me this Advent. Timon sings a song called Hakuna Matata which is Swahili for “no worries” or …

Once again, there is a connection between the first reading (Proverbs) about the “capable wife” and the gospel about the slaves left in charge of their master’s money. For me, the invitation in both passages is to be a risk taker. I find that challenging, because my nature is not to be a risk taker. For the most part, being cautious has served me well. I always look before I leap. But other times, being overly cautious has meant …

As our liturgical year is drawing to an end, and we are on the cusp of beginning a new liturgical year in just a few weeks with Advent, our Scripture stories are more and more about the end times, or if you prefer the fancy, theological term “eschatology.” One thing I sense in these readings is that we are not to become obsessed with the questions of: “When will the Lord will return in glory?” nor with the question: …

While God, through Moses, gave us the 10 Commandments, God, through Jesus, gave us the Beatitudes—a new way of living our relationship with God. You may have noticed there are eight Beatitudes with the eighth one sort of spinning into a ninth one about rejoicing in the face of persecution.

I like to look at the first four Beatitudes one way and the last four, differently. The first four–Blessed are the poor, blessed are those who …

“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.” Isn’t that true? Bad habits abound in all of our lives and are not just the downfall of gambling-chain-smoking-foul-mouthed nuns! As Catholics we have always been susceptible to having bad habits encroach upon the way we celebrate Eucharist. And now with the restrictions and protocols thrusted upon us during this pandemic time, it is even easier for us to slip into bad …