In the first reading God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and to put it high on a pole for everyone to see. The gospel makes reference to this event by saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” What are we to make of all this lifting up business and the snake? Personally, when I see a snake, I run in the opposite direction. These …
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This may be overly simplistic, but I think there are three different ways of approaching and applying the Scriptures to our lives.
The first approach is to look at somebody’s attitude, behavior, or lifestyle and say, point blank to them, “You need to change.” This usually is a stance of superiority over and against someone who we deem as needing to “shape up!” Often times, what we’re saying underneath our breath is, “Your upsetting the status …
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Alongside the four seasons in nature the Church also, as you know, marks time with seasons such as Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time, Advent, and Christmas. Not as well known is the Season of Creation celebrated annually and ecumenically from September 1st to October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The first Season of Creation was celebrated starting from September 1, 1989, when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios l proclaimed it as the Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation. It …
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I had the privilege twice of visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This church building is the scholars’ and archeologists’ best guess marking where they suspect Jesus was born. I was a little shocked on my first visit, as I entered Manger’s Square, the outside courtyard leading to the church, that the front door to the church wasn’t obvious. In fact, had the tour guide not pointed out where the door was, I don’t think I would …
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Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled.” We better not tell that to the people of Miramichi or Irishtown or the many other places in our country alone threatened by wildfires that this is Jesus’ intention. Jesus continues with equally contentious and provocative words when he said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
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A few weeks ago, I was home, back in the Ottawa Valley, staying up late and swapping stories with my siblings about our childhood. While we were fortunate to have the parents we had and the upbringing we had, we also grew up quite poor looking back. How poor you ask?
We were so poor our Christmas tree was a piece of broccoli. We were so poor the tooth fairy left us I.O.U.’s. We were …
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These Scripture stories, if we spend even the shortest amount of time with them, will always name what’s going on in our personal lives or in the life of the world at large. For instance, as I approach my 60th birthday in November, I’m debating whether or not to start collecting my C.P.P. (Canadian Pension Plan) at 60 or postpone it a little longer. (I’m sure I’ll get all kinds of advice from you as soon as Mass is …
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This story, about the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray, begins with an observation. It begins with noticing. The disciples observed Jesus, probably from a distance, as he prays. They knew that Jesus was drawing his life, his energy, from a source that sustained him in ways that they, themselves, were not being sustained. So, they figured the key must be prayer. And if prayer sustains Jesus, then maybe they should ask how it works, so …
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Like all gospel stories, this Mary and Martha story has many layers to it. Let’s pull back a few layers and see what it has to say to us. If it is the Word of God—the living Word of God–it should be as relevant now as it was 2000 years ago.
Layer one. I’ll just call it “Mary’s gutsy move.” Actually Mary doesn’t move at all; she sitting on her duff while Martha is doing all …
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There is a spirituality for the first half of our lives and a spirituality for the second half of our lives. First half of life spirituality and second half of life spirituality are very different from each other, but both are necessary. Unfortunately, most of us Catholics—including us priests—continue to operate out of a first half of life spirituality even when it is no longer serving us well. We just keep trying the same old things over and over …
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