The greatest speechwriters will tell you that the secret to their craft is this: Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then … tell them what you told them. There’s nothing new in that lesson. In fact this  Sunday’s mass readings will tell you where our greatest communicators learned it: from […]

When Adam and Eve evicted themselves from paradise, they also destroyed a beautiful edifice. God was just establishing his Kingdom within them and they turned their rich colony of life into a sterile husk—unfit for life. Since then our Father has been in rebuilding mode. Today’s readings show us the blueprints for the Kingdom of […]

This Sunday’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a surprising assessment of the coming Savior’s power. “He shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench.” The power of […]

Our church uses simple symbols to communicate complex themes. The crucifix is the most important, signifying that God so loved the world that he sent his son to die for our sins. Then there’s the fish, which has become a symbol for Christianity in general. And of course there’s the dove, which has come to […]