Come away with me to Saint Peter’s Square. Look up and see the statue of Saint Peter dominating the whole place. Walk around the Basilica and try to count the references to Saint Peter. Bend low in the caves and try to catch a glimpse of his tomb. Here we begin to understand in a…
Today we are offered two very different visions of right living before God. One is to blindly follow the letter of the law; the other is to follow its heart. It is tempting in daily life to hold others to the letter of the law and ourselves to the spirit of the law. A quick…
Human beings are made for relationship; we long to be connected to someone. A young mother who had been adopted in infancy shared with me her experience of motherhood. She said that she finally felt biologically connected to someone. Even as she said this, there was a glow on her face that revealed a deeper…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. The multiplication of the loaves and fish in today’s gospel is a central part of Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life. When Jesus asks Philip how the people will be fed, Philip simply refers to the amount of money required. Jesus teases Philip and…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. As Jeremiah reminds us, not all leaders have their people’s best interests at heart. Too often, the ones who long to control others seize positions of leadership. They care nothing for the people’s needs. Instead, they get carried away by their own power and their…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. Summer fills our senses with sights, smells and sounds that are particular to the season. We hear many sounds, but we really listen only to some, to those that mean something to us. Today’s readings focus our attention on listening—on paying attention to the ways…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. I admire prophets when they challenge other people to change their attitudes and ways in face of a threatening reality. But when they invite me to see and live in a new way, I suddenly feel uncomfortable and resistant to their message. Prophets uproot us…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. Most of us can’t imagine circumstances that would prohibit us from entering our parish church. But a Jewish woman of Jesus’ time who was menstruating was prohibited by Jewish law from participating in communal prayer, in violation of the blood taboo, rendering all who came…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. If a small farmer in Puerto Rico wants a fence that will last, a strong limb from a roble tree will do the job. The branch, once placed in a post hole along a fence line, will come alive in the moist tropical soil. New…
Here is a link to the readings for this weekend. Recently, I met a young Irishman and a young Englishman who are in the United States on an exchange program to coach soccer to our country’s youth. I always enjoy welcoming new people to the country and hearing their stories. I asked where they were…
