On September 29th of each year, the Church celebrates the feast of the Archangels. Although angels have been theologically out of fashion in recent years, they continue to play in important part in popular piety and spirituality. So what is an angel? There is so much misinformation and fanciful speculation about angels that a look at the Catholic understanding of these creatures might be … Continue reading Angels
Like many people, today I’m celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the premier of Star Trek. I’ve been reflecting lately on why this particular cultural phenomenon has had such a grip on me for so long. I started watching when I was about 11 years old— only two years after Star Trek ended its three-year run on NBC, and long before its many movies and subsequent … Continue reading Happy 50th Anniversary, Star Trek!
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:45-46 There’s something about seeing– experiencing– a thing first-hand that is more compelling than having someone tell you … Continue reading Why You Should Come & See
NRVC: Can your career fit into religious life? I’m often asked by inquirers if their career– either the one they’re currently working, or the one they’re in school for– can fit into religious life and the Paulist Mission. It’s a complicated question, and one that really has to be answered on an individual basis. For someone who has a career and skills that the … Continue reading What about my career?
Why is it so hard for us to do the right thing? Sure, there are occasionally situations where we’re faced with some moral ambiguity, but most of the time, we make it harder than it is. If you ever listen to those founts of all modern wisdom, Dr. Laura Schlesinger on the radio or Judge Judy on TV, you know what I mean. Dr. Laura … Continue reading Homily for the 15th Sunday, July 14, 2013
Homily 12th Sunday C – 96 Because I lived in Washington, DC for 15 years, I would often go to those mass demonstrations on the national mall. Pro-life marches annually from 1990 – 2001, marches for housing and employment in 1996, the Million Man March in 1995, even the Promise Keepers in 1997. I was something of an equal-opportunity marcher, although truth be told I … Continue reading Homily 12th Sunday. June 23, 2013
Homily 10th Sunday C – Miracles! Our readings today are about healing, but not just the regular, run-of-the-mill, standard-course-of-antibiotics healing. We’re talking about miracles. Dead-one-minute, walking-around-the next miracles. Even the epistle is about miracles, as St. Paul explains that his deep understanding of the faith came directly from God by a miraculous revelation. It’s as if he’s standing there saying, “I didn’t need to … Continue reading It’s a Miracle! Homily for June 9th, 2013
So last night I went to see the revival of Pippin at the. Music Box theater. A reworking of the 1970s classic, this version is directed by Diane Paulus (Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess). I’ve always been a huge fan of Pippin, coming as it did at a time in my life when the character Pippin’s search for an “extraordinary” life appealed very strongly to my … Continue reading Magic to do!
Our language is full of expressions that reward individual initiative, and see that as a model of leadership. The early bird catches the worm. Take the bull by the horns. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. God helps those who help themselves. (That last one isn’t in the Bible, by the way. It’s from Benjamin Franklin.) Our culture values the go-getter, the entrepreneur, and the … Continue reading Homily for Oct. 21, 2012
Every once in a while we get a set of scripture reading for a Sunday that make it really hard to croak out that “Thanks be to God” at the end of the reading. It can be a real challenge to search out some good news in a set of readings that seem so rigid and unbending. But that’s where we are today, so here … Continue reading Homily for Oct. 7, 2012.
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