(To hear the audio version of this post, please visit http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Mass-Blog-for-the-18th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) When you’re in solitary confinement, sustenance is scarce whether your prison is a 10 x 10 cell or a vast expanse of desert. Or a crowded city block, for that matter. In all cases, the solution is to BE sustenance. Our Jewish brothers and […]
(For the audio version of this blog, visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Mass-Blog-for-the-17th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) A little movie with a limited release had a big impact on me recently. Shepherd: The story of a Jewish Dog, tells the story of Kaleb, a beloved German shepherd taken from his Jewish family as they were rounded up, separated from each other and imprisoned […]
One of the worst things you can call someone in today’s world is a sheep. Today the word connotes someone without an identity who follows a crowd of other like-minded sheep. But 2000 years ago, a man identified his followers as sheep, and himself as their shepherd. And he identified with THEM too. That man […]
The readings for this Sunday’s mass have all the makings of a Charlie Chaplin comedy starring his “Little Tramp.” The basis of comedy is contrast and conflict, and the mission of spreading God’s word is filled with both. This is a heroic mission after all, but God always seems to choose people you’d least expect […]
An article about the benefits of swearing in the workplace was posted on LinkedIn recently. Many who read the piece applauded its message: that foul language can sharpen important points and is actually a sign of intelligence. But people of faith might argue that cussing in the workplace is simply surrender—and a sign of larger […]
Imprinting is a 20th century psychological concept with scriptural implications. In clinical examples of this theory, newly hatched ducks were shown to form attachments with the first large moving object they see. Scholars say this attachment is innate and programmed genetically. They also say it explains how the parent-child relationship emerges and influences subsequent development. Scripture repeatedly […]
This cry of terror came from the disciples in whose storm-buffeted boat slept their Savior. For 21st century disciples requiring a piece of scripture relevant to their lives, this is it. This gospel is aimed at anyone overwhelmed by fear. Lately, existential threats have given us many excuses to be fearful—and therefore to lose our […]
As a Eucharistic minister, I can attest to the restorative power of prayer we bring with us—whether spoken from scripture or straight from one’s heart. We visit mostly older people who can no longer visit their church to pray and to receive the Eucharist. Eucharistic ministers are graced and privileged to bring these things to […]
“Street Gang,” a documentary about the origins of the children’s show, Sesame Street, inspired a fantasy in the mind of the child within me. The film tells its audience that the show’s purpose from the beginning was to depict characters representing all the cultures of its audience—as living productive lives. The movie also unveils ugly […]
If we had relied on Moses and the Old Testament prophets and even Jesus’ New Testament disciples to spread the word of God under their own power, not a letter of it would have reached 21st century humans. They started out as mortals, after all, and were thus handicapped by our “what’s in it for […]