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There are two Old Testament prophets of the O.T. who had particularly keen and powerful visions of a Messiah who was to come. One is the Prophet Isaiah that we hear a lot about during Advent. He lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. He speaks about what seems to be impossible scenarios like a lion and lamb lying down together (lions eat lambs the last time I checked); a baby putting his hand in a snake’s den and the snake not harming it ...

Each time we celebrate Eucharist together, we are reminded that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, a cloud of Saints.  In the Apostles’ Creed, which we profess each Sunday, we say, “I believe in the communion of saints.”  In other words, we believe in an eternal bond between us and all those who have gone before us, between Saints and saints in the making. We invoke the Saints in each Eucharistic Prayer: “And so, with the Angels and ...

Within this Sunday’s three readings there are a couple of themes which dovetail well with each other, themes prominent in our Christian life. Theme one is dying and being buried with Christ in baptism, and theme two is about hospitality.

The first reading and gospel have to do with hospitality. We hear in the Book of Kings about a wealthy woman who welcomes the prophet Elisha into her house and something good happens to her as a result. In the same vein of welcoming, Jesus, ...

In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), and particularly in the Book of Exodus, there is a strong emphasis on “remembering.” Moses, speaking the words of God, would often say: Remember the Lord brought you out of slavery and provided you with manna and water as you journeyed through the desert. Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. Remember that you were slaves at one time so never mistreat anyone under you.

Remembering is so important in faith. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” That is ...

On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, a strange thing is happening, both in the readings and in our lives. As you get older and you grow in your knowledge of who Christ is more and more, you simultaneously grow in self-knowledge. This true self, who you are in God, and not who others want you to be or some persona of who you would like to be, was given at conception and takes a lifetime to discover. Discovering the true God and ...

Worldwide, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity today. Theologians, saints, and mystics have tried to describe the Trinity, three persons in one God, in various ways. St. Patrick apparently used the cloverleaf as his teaching tool. Others have used the comparison of H2O; water comes in the forms of a gas, a liquid, and a solid. As helpful as descriptions are, they are not what people really want in life. People do not want a description of Trinity as much as they want ...