“He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness, he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.”
There is an internet video clip that shows a large group of young adults lined up on a field to begin a running race. The winner of the race will be given one hundred dollars. The person who is organizing the race says that before the race begins, he gives a series ...
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When the Babylonians gathered the intellectual, spiritual and political leaders from various areas of Israel and settled them in Babylon, there was an unexpected result. Those descendants of the 12 sons of Jacob, thrown together by tragedy, shared with one another the various strands of the traditions, laws and histories since their ancestors left Egypt. The result of their collaboration is our Bible.
Biblical scholars call one of them “the Priestly Writer” and credit him for the great Creation Hymn, ...
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Each day, we hear on the news of leaders who are meant to care for their citizens, use increasingly divisive language to promote their own agendas, and then reports of riots, bombings, shootings and abuse soon follow. It is easy to think that our world is rapidly becoming more inhumane. Yet, if we look at today’s readings, and look at the reasons behind our church’s creation of today’s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (better known as the Feast of Christ the King), ...
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For the Northern Hemisphere, the Church’s liturgical year seems to often be in sync with nature – even though we struggle culturally to live that rhythm in the way the Church envisions. The readings we hear proclaimed these past several weeks; the feasts of All Saints and All Souls; the shorter days and longer nights; our secular celebration of Remembrance Day; barren trees; snow – during November, the focus of the Church and the world seems to be ...
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Resurrection. How often have I uttered this word without considering seriously how this might be manifested? Am I going to be happily driving to work one day singing along to Selena Gomez when suddenly all those who have died before me begin to climb out of giant, fiery cracks in the earth, entirely presided over by a Judgmental Jesus attired in the fashion of first century Palestine? Perhaps one day God will have grown weary of our larking and hijinks and chastise us, “Now come on ...
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In all three readings today, I find a common theme to be trust and acceptance, hospitality and love. The first reading from the Book of Wisdom speaks to us of God loving all things he created. In the second reading, we hear of Saint Paul pleading to the Thessalonians to remain faithful to God until Jesus comes again. And finally we hear of Jesus choosing to stay with Zacchaeus in his home.
As I read the first reading my first thought was: “God don’t make no junk”. ...
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You will not get very far into any of the four gospels before you inevitably bump in a story of Jesus showing concern for the sick. When Jesus personally wasn’t anointing and healing the sick, he was delegating his apostles to do so in God’s name. In the course of time, the focus of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick shifted from healing to the forgiveness of sins. And the time for receiving the sacrament was delayed to the deathbed when forgiveness of sins ...
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Every time I hear this week’s gospel I smile because it reminds me of someone in my life who is very dear to me. The passage reminds me of this person because when I hear it, the phrase that comes to mind is: “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. To say this person who I am referring to is persistent is like saying it can get a little chilly here in January (lol). But when we ...
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This week’s gospel reflects the importance of faith in our lives. It is a lesson about faith and reminds us that faith is sometimes found in unlikely places. Jesus commends the man, a Samaritan, for his faith, which has been his salvation.
The gospel made me think about the concept of faith. I had a very positive example of strong faith~ “living proof”~ in my mother. Her faith sustained her through many trials, early widowhood, health issues, the obstacles that ...
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“Oh Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? … Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.” Whether it is news about environmental degradation, or about the undermining of the democratic process, news about migrants dying as they try to reach a place of safety or news about the violence in Yemen or Syria or Hong Kong, news about increases in gun violence in Toronto or about the recent spate of suicides ...
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