This is Pentecost Sunday. Yes, I know last week was the official feast, but every mass is designed to be a Pentecost of its own, where the Holy Spirit comes down on everyone and prepares them to go out and spread the good word. That’s why Father Pete noted in his “Joy of the Gospel” […]

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. Amazing Grace is a great hymn any time of the year, but it has a special resonance on Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit came down on a group […]

It’s interesting how prominent rolls of the dice were in the events of Easter. One of these happened at Christ’s crucifixion, when the Roman soldiers cast lots to determine who would get Jesus’ garments. They didn’t want to divide his tunic among themselves because then it would lose its value. The second dice roll is […]

It’s amazing how much hate love has inspired over the last 2000 years of Christianity. Our readings this Sunday reflect some of that. While they all send the message “God is love,” as Jesus says in our gospel reading (Jn 15:9-17), “no one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The […]

I recently heard a businessman speaking about his least favorite scripture passages. First was Jesus’ story about the vineyard owner recruiting workers throughout the course of a day (Matthew 20:1–16 ). He didn’t like the ending, with those hired toward the end of the day getting the same pay as those who worked a full […]