A few weeks ago, I stopped in at Rural Services and there was a small birthday party underway. I was invited to take a seat, and happily accepted. However, I tried to sit off to the side, as I didn’t know many of the people there, saying, “oh, thanks, but you’re all…

When I first read today’s gospel I thought immediately of my beginning days in the Formation for Ministry program. There is always work to be done in spreading God’s word and in caring for His people. I thought long and hard, prayed a lot, resisted at first and then in 1988 met…

Our Gospel story this week calls us to unconditionally follow Jesus… no matter how difficult. We are called to be aware and accepting of all situations as they arise and to ponder our role in bringing love to all we encounter. It reminds me of a story……. A young woman went to…

After asking his disciples who do the people say that I am, Jesus gets much more personal by asking them, “but you, who do you say that I am?” If Jesus were to ask you that question, how would you respond? I could answer that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, because…

Today’s Gospel reading leaves me with some interesting questions. Why did a Pharisee, of all people, invite Jesus to dinner? Who was the woman who came into the house and poured the perfume over Jesus’ feet? Was she a slave, a servant, or a family member? I can’t picture her being just…

Were there a Nain newspaper at the time of today’s Gospel, the dead man’s obituary would have had a very short list of these: survived by his mother, preceded in death by his father. Jesus somehow knew this widow was about to bury her only son. She would be left…

Officially, the Easter Season closes with the Feast of Pentecost: Our frequent “Alleluias” cease and vestments for weekday liturgies return to green. We are back to “Ordinary Time” in our Liturgical celebrations. But for the two Sundays after Pentecost we continue to celebrate special feast days: Trinity Sunday (last week)…

“Since you are children of God, God has sent into your hearts the spirit of His Son, the Spirit Who cries out, Abba, Father.” When I was a child, the final reading at Mass was the prologue of the Gospel according to John…”In the beginning was the Word…” Its magnificence always lifted…

When: The first weekend of August, 1994 Where: Catholic Charismatic Conference at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pa. Something had happened that Spring and I was angry with God–so angry that by the time the conference arrived, I didn’t even want to go to Mass. (I can’t ever remember not…

Nested wooden dolls, also called matryoshka, babushka, and stacking dolls, originated in China and are popular in Russia. The set appears as one doll, which opens up to reveal a smaller doll hidden inside; then this, too, opens to reveal a still smaller one, all the way down to the…