It’s almost Christmas. To share joy with their fellow citizens, an atheist group purchased a billboard in the heart of midtown Manhattan stating “Keep the MERRY! Dump the MYTH!” Of course, this message wasn’t intended to spread joy but to…
John the Baptist was identified as a lone voice crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” The key word here is “lone.” He didn’t have disciples to help him spread this message—at least while he…
Today’s readings span a wide range of human feelings…happiness, love, fear and courage. The common denominator is the coming of Jesus, which will elicit all of these emotions when time’s up and we have to account for how we’ve lived.…
All Christians can agree on this definition of God: “God is love.” That’s an easy one. But there is something else God is that human beings have trouble wrapping their heads around. Jesus told us who God is by introducing…
Today’s readings remind us of the scary times in which we live. I’m not just talking about today’s scripture readings, but also the readings from today’s newspapers. Palestinian rockets are bombarding Tel Aviv and Jerusalem while Israel is readying for…
Last month we read the gospel passage about the rich man who justified himself before Jesus, hoping to hear that he was now ready for salvation. “You lack one thing,” Jesus told him. “Go, sell all that you have and…
test post on open blog
My wife and I attended Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel today for the baptism of our grandniece, Angelina. The readings couldn’t have been more appropriate. They are the instructions to lead a blessed life. The first reading from…
The world’s best leaders came to that role reluctantly. That truism is reflected not only in today’s readings but throughout history. In today’s second reading from Hebrews, Paul notes that God appoints every high priest to act on the people’s…
All politicians are local. They’re inescapable, and lobbying to take an even loftier position in our lives. That must have been how Jesus felt in today’s gospel when James and John asked for the highest positions in his cabinet. But Jesus was suspicious…