This week’s gospel presents the last words of Jesus on earth, before he ascended to the Father.  St. Matthew makes this both the conclusion and the climax of his gospel.  On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus began his final lesson by telling the disciples that He, the Son of God and their brother, has been given authority over creation.  He then commissioned them “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  They are to be taught everything the disciples were taught and know that Jesus is there with them until the end of the age. 

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Trinity SundayRead More »

A poor European family was migrating to the US a century ago. On the ship, they had bread and cheese they had purchased prior to sailing. After many days of cheese sandwiches, the son came to his father, “Papa, if I have to eat cheese sandwiches all the way across the Atlantic, I won’t make it.” The sympathetic father gave him his last nickel for ice cream. Hours later the child returned. The father noticed his wide smile. He asked what he had eaten. “Several plates of ice cream, papa, and then a steak dinner.” “For a nickel?” “No, papa, the food is free. It’s part of the passage ticket.” He returned the coin to his father. 

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PentecostRead More »

Come!  Go! 

You have just lost a loved one; a father, a mother, a sister, a brother, a grandmother, a grandfather, a cousin, a spouse,  a close friend. We have definitely have had our share of loss in this parish in the last couple of months. Do you remember at your times of loss how you felt?

All partings, especially the loss of a loved one, is difficult. It is never easy to say goodbye! I remember back in 1997 when I told my father it was o.k. to leave and that the family would be o.k. all the time thinking in the back of my mind that he would never leave. It is really hard for us to let go, even when someone is dying.

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AscensionRead More »

Do you remember Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem? …“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach…” Those poetic, tender words express all that encompasses the character of human love—especially on this weekend of Mother’s Day. Our love is expressed in beautiful, captivating music, in art, in literature, and in the dynamics of our personal relationships with each other—by our actions. And, love is the essential ingredient of our faith.

But it was not always so….I am old enough to remember some Protestant and Catholic clergy talking about the “old faith”… our faith before the Church started talking about love (and mercy and forgiveness). For them, there was right and wrong and punishment. There was fear of God and the following of the law. These “old faith” clerics would say that since Vatican II and the theology of love, everything has been watered down and made easy. They knew there was a place for love, but now it has taken over everything and made a mess of the church. I have often wondered if, before Second Vatican Council, today’s Scripture readings ever recited at Mass?

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6th Sunday of EasterRead More »

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Jesus is using an image that his early audience could relate to. A vine is made up of branches woven together, working together to produce fruit, but a branch when cut off cannot survive on its own. Jesus is giving us a lesson in living life fully; to do so, we must see ourselves as being connected, like branches, to one another.

Too often, we forget that our actions speak louder than words. “He says that he loves me but he’s never here!” cried one wife, hurt and angry by the turn her marriage had taken. “We kiss each other every morning and he says, ‘I love you,’ but then he calls me from the office to tell me that he’ll be working late and won’t be home for dinner. ‘I love you,’ he says before hanging up. But how am I supposed to believe him? He doesn’t do anything to show me that he loves me!”

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5th Sunday of EasterRead More »