Dear Sisters and Brothers, A few years ago, my friend Tom died of brain cancer. Tom had been a Navy pilot for thirty years and was always in great physical and mental shape. So when he began to show signs of physical weakness and mental confusion, everyone became concerned. He was eventually diagnosed with [...]
Dear Sisters and Brothers, The first reading and the Gospel are hospitality stories. Hospitality was an esteemed virtue in the ancient world. It is still a highly regarded and very necessary virtue. In the first reading we see how, when three strangers (Yahweh and two heavenly companions) suddenly appeared to Abraham, he reacted with [...]
Dear Sisters and Brothers, Larry Skutnik, 28, was a shy man who worked in a government office in Washington. On the afternoon of January 13, 1982, a severe snowstorm hit the city. He was on his way home when he ran into a traffic jam on one of the bridges over the Potomac River. [...]
Dear Sisters and Brothers, A preacher was speaking at an open-air crusade in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Billy Graham was to speak the following night. But he arrived a day early. He came unannounced and sat on the grass with the crowd. In front of him sat an elderly gentleman who seemed to be listening attentively to the [...]
My Dear Sisters and Brothers, The gospels have one objective, to lead us to Christ. Christ has one objective, to lead us to God. And God has one objective, to bring us to eternal happiness. Today’s gospel, in its desire to lead us to Christ does not picture Christ as “an easy going, do whatever [...]
My Dear Sisters and Brothers, More than sixteen-hundred-years ago, St. Augustine addressed a group of catechumens whom he was instructing on the faith in anticipation of their baptism and reception into the church. In what has become known as Augustine's "Sermon 272," the great doctor of the church unpacks the theology of the Corpus Christi -- [...]
Dear sisters and brothers, The feast of the Blessed Trinity, which we celebrate today, brings us face to face with the mystery of God. We can know certain things about God by looking at creation. But it is Jesus who reveals to us the mystery of God. Sometimes, we may so obsessed with God’s creation [...]
Dear sisters and brothers, The Miracle of Change: Before the coming of the Spirit, the apostles were virtually living in hiding in the upper room. A great task had been entrusted to them, yet they had neither the strength nor the will to begin it. But after Pentecost they were changed people. What was it [...]
Dear sisters and brothers, Once upon a time there was a father who had twelve sons. Though he loved each of them he had a soft spot in his heart for the second youngest of them, Joseph. The others became jealous of Joseph and decided to kill him. However, at the last minute, they changed [...]
Dear Sisters and Brothers, I take to heart these readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. I am hungering for the peace of Jesus promised in the Gospel. I want to see the vision of the New Jerusalem of which Revelation speaks, for it bears the eschatological hope of a world illuminated by God's love [...]
