Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries to England in the year 597 to convert the Angles and Saxons to the Christian faith. When King Edwin heard the gospel message, he held a council of his nobles to discuss this new religion. One wise nobleman concluded the discussion, “Your majesty, it seems to me that our human life is like a banquet hall. You are sitting at table feasting, with the warm fire blazing in the hearth, while outside the wintry storm rages. A sparrow enters through a window, flies the length of the hall, enjoying the light and warmth, and then flies out back into the cold wintry darkness from which it came. So with us.  At birth we emerge from who knows where, and for a short time we live here on earth, with its light and comfort, but then we fly out back into the darkness. We know nothing of what went before and what comes after. If this new teaching can lighten the darkness for us, let us follow it.”

The good news is that this new teaching does lighten the darkness for us.  By his death and resurrection, Jesus has revealed that there is new life beyond the threshold of death and many who have had near death experiences testify to the beauty that awaits those who seek to be there.

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26th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

We are presented today with another one of Jesus’ puzzling and disturbing parables. He praises the steward, not for being dishonest, but for his prudence. The steward is looking out for his future and so must we, that is, our ultimate future, which is ours to squander by the choices we make each day. Once again, I have a story to share, based on one written by the Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy.

Once there was a farmer named Pahom.  As a young man, he took over the family farm and was very successful.  Soon he bought the neighbor’s farm, and then other neighboring farms, until he owned thousands of acres of land.  He continued to buy land until he was the largest landowner in the area.

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25th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Recently I ran across a story that could be a modern day version of the parable we just heard, entitled, “Somebody’s Son,” by Richard Pennell. It opens with a runaway teenager, named David, sitting by the side of a road, writing a letter to his mother. Expressing the hope that his old fashioned father will forgive him for leaving home, he writes,

“Dear mother, in a few days I’ll be passing our property. If Dad will take me back, ask him to tie a white cloth on the apple tree in the field next to our house.”

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24th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Scripture

1st Reading: Sarach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
2nd Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a
Gospel: Luke 14: 1, 7-14

Two guys are talking about fishing. One says to the other, “I am NEVER going to take my kids fishing with me, ever again!

“That bad, huh?”

“They did everything wrong! EVERYTHING! They talked too much, they made the boat rock constantly, they tried to stand up in the boat, they baited the hook wrong, used the wrong lures, and worst of all, they caught more fish than me!!!!!!!!

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22nd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

I will never forget the last afternoon of my first vacation as a priest in San Francisco. I stopped at Old St. Mary’s Church in Chinatown and browsed through their bookstore before leaving the city to meet some friends east of Oakland for dinner. I had never driven on the Embarcadero before and I missed the onramp to the Bay Bridge, so I took the next exit and pulled over to study the map to find my way back when the big earthquake hit.

My guardian angel was certainly keeping an eye on me because if I hadn’t stopped at Old St. Mary’s or missed that exit, I would have been on the bay bridge at the wrong moment.  By the way, the name of the book I purchased was Sin Reconsidered.

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21st Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »