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“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”

I take part in a book study every Sunday night.  I love this group because we study Christian books and stretch our brains as well as deepen our faith. This past Sunday was particularly interesting. Right before we started the conversation about the book, a close friend posed the question, “What’s the difference between disciples and apostles?”  It’s funny, because somewhere in …

As I’m sure most of you know, today’s gospel is often referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount”.  In Luke’s version, Jesus begins strongly with the Beatitudes.  These are composed of some blessings and curses.  These teachings show Jesus as the Lord of reversals.  However, let’s not misunderstand them, the Beatitudes are not just about the rich or the poor, happy or sad, hungry, or satisfied, etc.  It is beyond our status in life but more of our …

‘Tis the season, the season of Christmas! I don’t know about you, but it’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Mahoney household, as we prepared our home with lights, wreaths, garland, and other decorations for the Christmas season. We’ve put in a lot of time, effort, and elbow grease into making our home festive.  I guess what I should have said at the start of this paragraph is, ‘tis the season of Advent!  But I’m sure you already knew …

Today’s gospel had me pause often as I find the subject to be touchy, divorce! I had almost a full page written out then I stopped, read, and erased everything. This happened to me twice. I’m not going to lie, I’m happy I’m not the having to preach today’s gospel. We live in a time where divorce is a common and acceptable practice. We’ve all heard the statistics; fifty percent of marriages end in divorce and over sixty-five percent …

This week’s readings are, in short, about the Ascension of our Lord to heaven where he takes his place at the right hand of our Father.  As big as the event is, I feel like the most important part is what happens right before Jesus ascends.  In all three readings, Jesus leaves his apostles with an especially important task, that of going out and spreading the good word and his love.

We are, and have been …

Often in our lives, we experience darkness in some way.  Whether it be when the power goes out, if we drive through a tunnel, or simply pull a blanket over our heads, these are instances of literal darkness.  What about those times where our darkness could be an internal struggle, such as a battle with addiction, mental health issues or simply grief and loss of a loved one?  We have all been there. Rest assured that this darkness is …

As we come to an end in our church’s Christmas celebration, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the greatness of all that has just occurred.  Before Jesus’ birth, angels descended upon Mary and Joseph and told them who their son would be.  At his birth, the shepherds and the Magi recognized and accepted Jesus as the Messiah.  And here we are at his baptism, where Jesus fully accepts that he is God’s son, this being a pivotal …

I don’t know if anyone else feels this way, but I found that this liturgical calendar has gone by so fast.  As we quickly approach the end of this liturgical year, like any good “end of the year”, we prepare.  Don’t we all set out at the end of the year, setting out goals and challenges for ourselves?  Well, that’s exactly what we’re being asked in this week’s gospel reading; to be prepared and to get ready.  But be …

It seems to me that
today’s readings have a bit of a darker tone to them. In the first reading we
hear of violence and destruction and of Jeremiah resisting his prophecy to the
point of internal anguish. In the second reading, we hear of our bodies as
living sacrifices. Toss in the Gospel with Jesus speaking of his upcoming
suffering, death and resurrection, well it all seems like there’s a bit of a
dark cloud over today’s readings. …

I’ve recently started gardening and I’ve
planted flowers and vegetables. I’ve found this to be a truly rewarding and
satisfying hobby.  Even so, it’s not an
easy one.  One has to think of so many
things!  Where to plant, what to plant,
prepping the soil, checking dates for the plants you’ve chosen, planting the
seeds, watering, keeping the weeds out, making sure your plants have room to
grow, fertilizer(?) and of course, reaping what you’ve sown.  Honestly, these ten …