In the mountains of northern India, where the temperatures can drop dangerously low, travelers keep warm with a small vessel, wrapped in cloth that contains a burning coal. Three men were traveling toward the sacred cave of Amarnath when one of them saw other travelers suffering from the cold. He took the coal out of his vessel and lit a fire so everyone could get warm. They continued their trip alive.

When it grew dark, the second traveler used the burning coal from his vessel to light a torch so that all in the party could see the path and travel safely. Mocking the other two, the third man said, “You fools! You wasted your fire for the sake of strangers.”

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2nd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Merry Christmas! I’m not one to say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings.” Instead of being politically correct, I wish you a merry and blessed Christmas, for this day a savior is born to us whom Isaiah describes as Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Prince of Peace. We gather to celebrate the birth of the eternal Word made flesh.

The right word at the right moment can transform a person, for good or for ill. Hollywood knows well the dramatic value of such moments. So did John. The opening line of his Gospel makes it clear that the divine nature of Christ has existed eternally with the Father. John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, didn’t suddenly come into being when he was born in Bethlehem. He has existed with the Father for all eternity. Yet on this night, God found the right moment to transform the world.

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ChristmasRead More »

On December 8, the last of the Mercury Seven astronauts, John Glenn, passed away. When he circled the earth in 1962, we were captivated by the emerging potential of space travel. His death brings back memories of our country’s initial space endeavors: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Of those missions, one stands out for me.

On Christmas Eve, 1968, millions of people around the world, by means of television, traveled with the Apollo team on an unforgettable journey around the moon, six months before Neil Armstrong was to land there. We watched in awe as the camera of Apollo 8 scanned the lunar surface, showing us with the incredible details of mountains, craters, canyons and plateaus. We could hardly believe that we were being drawn so closely to such a distant and bleak place. …

4th Sunday of AdventRead More »

As a sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll wrote Through the Looking Glass. One verse of its unusual poetry comes to mind as I reflect on today’s feast.

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes –and ships—and sealing wax—
Of cabbages – and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.” …

Christ the KingRead More »

Jesus had a knack for speaking words that made his listeners uneasy: words that took them by surprise, words that forced them to confront their own prejudices and preconceptions; he had a knack for speaking words that led them to reconsider what it meant to be numbered amongst God’s elect. Imagine yourself sitting on the steps of the Temple, listening to Jesus share his lesson of the day that is aimed at shaking your complacency and mine.

Perhaps Jesus was speaking literally when he cautioned his disciples, “the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down,” foretelling the destruction of the temple, which was the most magnificent building in Jerusalem, destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Today the Wailing Wall is all that is left of the splendid temple that once graced the skyline of Jerusalem. …

33rd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »