Deut 8: 2-3, 14B-16A, 1 Cor 10: 16-17, John 6:57-58 Dear brothers and sisters, Bread of Life: I have always found the aroma of bread freshly baked very comforting. That smell always makes me feel somehow at home. Perhaps it is because bread is such a staple of life. Furthermore, it is difficult to [...]
Ex 34: 4b-6, 8-9, Cor 13: 11-13, Jn 3:16-18 Dear brothers and sisters, Often the Trinity becomes an intellectual puzzle that we try to figure out, rather than an invitation to live into the very being of God, the God who is Fullness-of-Being. The God revealed to us in scripture is always reaching out to [...]
Acts 2: 1-11, 1Cor 12:3b-7, Jn 20:19-23 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, The feast of Pentecost concludes the Easter season, the fifty days that, from Jesus’ resurrection to Pentecost, are marked in a particular way by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is in fact the Easter Gift par excellence. He is [...]
Acts 1-11 Eph 1: 17-23, Mt 28: 16-20 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our first reading today tells us that these forty days after Easter were a time of preparation. Jesus was getting his Catholic Church ready for her mission — to go out into the whole world and proclaim the Kingdom of God. We know [...]
Acts 8: 5-8. 14-17, 1 Pet 3: 15-18, Jn 14: 15-21 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Paraclete: Our Divine Coach Roald Amundsen, the great Norwegian explorer who discovered the South Pole took a homing pigeon with him on his trip. He told his wife that if he reached the end of the [...]
Acts 6: 1-7, 1 Pet 2: 4-9, Jn 14: 1-12 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, It’s impossible to exaggerate the importance of home. I once heard the governor of a prison say: ‘If you were to give the prisoners a choice between going home and staying here in a luxury suite, complete with [...]
CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD Acts 2: 14.36-41, 1Pet 2: 20-25, Jn 10: 1-10 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, ‘I came so that you may have life and have it to the full.’ (Gospel) Is Jesus talking only about eternal life or also about this life? I have no doubt but these words are [...]
Acts 2:14, 22-33, 1 Peter 1:17-21, Luke 24:13-35 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, “God raised him up!” “Were not our hearts burning within us?” The experiences of these early followers of Jesus was incredible. They went through complete doubt, through denial, through sadness, through lack of hope—and then…. Jesus begins to show up in their [...]
Feast of Divine Mercy Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:1-24; 1 Pet 1:3-9; John 20:19-31 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, On this Second Sunday of Easter, the responsorial psalm and Gospel center on the theme of mercy. In Psalm 118 we say three times, “His mercy endures forever.” The Gospel, from John 20:19-31, [...]
The Weight of the Pandemic is the Burden We All Bear We are living in an unprecedented time in history. The COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has interrupted our lives and turned our world completely upside down. It is simply unimaginable that an invisible virus could have such a deadly effect on such a global [...]