Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends, Be salty! Stay lit! For whatever reason, an advertisement for a sweatshirt with that phrase keeps appearing on my Facebook page. I’ve been tempted to buy it because, in these days more than ever, in the midst of so many challenges in the Church and in our country, it is so important for … Read more

This past weekend, while most of us suffered in the coldness of the snow, Father Liam snuggled up to his computer and attended a virtual ‘Centering Prayer Summit’ entitled, Learning to See in the Dark.  It might be a surprise to you to find out but Father and I speak almost every day. No, not always … Read more

I waited to write. I needed to wait. I needed time for my dismay and then my palpable anger and fear to dissipate. I needed facts and I needed time to assimilate all the news. Then, I wrote. I know I’d make a lot more friends if I didn’t speak up like this, but that’s … Read more

Dear Friends, Last Sunday at Mass I quoted those lyrics from Sarah Kroger’s song, Belovedness. Here are few more of those lyrics: You’ve owned your fear and all your self loathing. You’ve owned the voices inside of your head. You’ve owned the shame and reproach of your failure. It’s time to own your belovedness. You’ve owned … Read more

This Sunday we honor the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This is one of the “theophanies” – that is God’s self-revelation to man. In this one event the whole Trinity reveals itself! It is why I absolutely love artist Mike Moyers beautiful work used as my image today! God the Son makes himself … Read more

So, how’s the ADVENT CHALLENGE going with you?  If you remember (and how could you possibly forget anything I say?!), I offered my traditional Advent Challenge once again this year: During all the noisiness of daily life—which often gets even more frenetic during the Christmas Season), dedicate yourself to 15-20 minutes of silence every day. … Read more

Dear Friends,  Sssshhhh! Be quiet! Do you hear?  Do you see? Can you sense it: the coming of the Son of Man? The Presence?  We begin the Advent Season. And often the readings for the first few Sundays of Adent seem ominous. Like today: Jesus talks about the mysterious “coming of the Son of Man” … Read more

Beloved Family in Christ, As we come to this Sunday’s celebration of the Feast of Christ the King, we’re invited to ask a very personal question:  Who or what really rules my heart?  The Church ends the liturgical year not with a warning, but with a beautiful reminder that above all the noise, uncertainty, chaos … Read more

Dear Friends, Today we see Jesus and the Sadducees discussing resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection and eternal life (So, they were sad, you see?). It seemed impossible for them. It made no sense. There was no verifiable proof. Yet, Jesus counters that it is only because of the limits of their imagination … Read more

Dear Friends,  When we see the grateful leper return to Jesus to thank him, we, of course, think of gratitude. Which, in turn, makes me think of the oft quoted Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it we be enough.” Well, that got me thinking: … Read more

My Dear Friends, This week I will journey to Assisi, the home of Saint Francis, with my oldest and dearest friend, Liam. In the company of friendship, I am reminded of how Francis lived: he saw every relationship as a window into God’s love and every person—no matter how different—as a brother or sister. Our nation, as … Read more

Dear Friends, Greetings from Assisi! With all the violence and chaos going on back home in the US right now and with all the war and violence in many parts of the world, I wanted to share with you a quote from Rowan Williams. This is the quote with which I end each weekly retreat, … Read more

When life gets overwhelming, our instinct is often to look down. We look down at our phones, our shoes, the floor—anywhere but up. When we’re hurting, when we’re tired, when life feels too heavy, we often close in on ourselves, but today, on this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church invites … Read more

Ah, good ol’ Ruby Turpin.  Today’s gospel parable always brings to mind for me the character from Flannery O’Connor’s short story Revelation. In fact, Flannery wrote this story these words of Jesus in mind: “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” In the story, Ruby considers herself … Read more

Dear Friends, Jesus uses not just one, but three parables, to make his point in today’s gospel from Luke! Now far from wanting to frighten us into not “getting caught” misbehaving and suffering the consequences of eternal punishment, Jesus is encouraging us to live fully awake, aware, and alive. As Sr Ephrem Hollermann puts it, … Read more

In our Gospel from Luke, often called, ‘the parable of the rich fool’, for this coming Sunday, we read, “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’’ You see, the rich farmer is a fool not because … Read more

So, there are a few truths that I have decided will never change. First, the NSA will always know where I am, what wrongs I have committed, and what I am doing now. Secondly, Alexa will always record things that I do in my bedroom; let’s just leave it at that! And, if Alexa compares … Read more

Dear Friends, So here we are—finally! — back in Ordinary Time. I love the sacred seasons of Lent and Easter with the big finale of Pentecost. Yet by the end of the Easter Season, I am always ready for a return to Ordinary Time. Yes, there are a few feast days like Holy Trinity and … Read more

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us.” When is the last time you said something like that? “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of me.” We don’t usually talk like that but it’s a really important point for us who are disciples of Jesus: Do we let his Spirit … Read more