With Faith Our Blessing Cup is Never Empty
“I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” How many of us have felt like…
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Be Like a Trained Seal in the Desert
The combination of readings for this Sunday’s celebration of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is like reading a Navy SEAL training manual. The SEALs are trained to operate in all environments, including climate extremes like the scorching…
Stick Your Neck Out and Look Within
“If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” What a timeless sentiment in Moses’ prayer in…
Welcome to God’s Kingdom; Population: 1
This is the weekend of Pentecost Sunday. We associate this day with the Holy Spirit’s possession of Jesus’ disciples, enabling them to speak many foreign languages. But we can also look at Pentecost as the day when people of many…
Take the Master’s Class in Succession Planning
Christianity wouldn’t exist if Christ hadn’t been a smart businessman. Every successful business requires a succession plan, and this Sunday’s readings let us in on the culmination of that plan. Our gospel passage from John (jn 17:1-11a) puts us right…
Spiritual Scaffolding Helps Repair Our Ruins
I just returned from a business trip in Hannover, Germany, but it turned out to be a spiritual journey, as well. I arrived in Hannover late last Sunday morning and, having not yet attended Mass, asked the hotel attendant where…
Free Yourself from the Tyranny of the Ordinary
We’re entering the fifth Sunday of Easter and before you know it, we’ll be in “Ordinary Time.” This is the timespan outside of the Easter and Christmas seasons in which we live our lives neither feasting nor repenting but simply…
Heed the Shepherd in Your Head
Earlier this week The Wall Street Journal recommended a new source of inspiration to its readers: their own inner voice. In an article titled “Self Talk, or a Heart-to-Heart with Your Closest Friend,” author Elizabeth Bernstein describes self-talk as what…
God Hides in Plain Sight
After all the pain and sorrow Jesus went through before his earthly death, it’s delightful to see him having a bit of fun with his disciples in this Sunday’s gospel reading. That’s how I read it anyway. He’s toying with…
Seeing God’s Reflection is Believing
Jesus wasn’t just a carpenter by trade, but a master planner. We can see the brilliance of how he designed the foundation of his kingdom with the luxury of hindsight, but at the time his plan was unfolding, the people…