Some families honor their members, and some do not. What kind of family we come from affects how we relate to God, others, and ourselves unless we make deliberate choices against our upbringing.

The readings at the various Christmas Masses contain many powerful images. Sometimes, because we've heard them so often, we need to come at them with fresh eyes.

Righteousness or self-righteousness? That is the question! Lots of us are tempted to believe in our own moral goodness more than the promises of God.

Are we waiting in joyful hope, or just watching the clock? Patience is one of those virtues that are in short supply in a society in a hurry to get what it wants.

If a shoot can sprout from Jesse’s aged stump, then hope sure does spring eternal even in circumstances we’ve given up for dead.

Advent is our annual season for longing and waiting. Sometimes the thing the parish staff most longs for is the end of the holydays and all that extra work! Let’s consider truthfully what it is we are waiting for this year.

Christ may be king, but there seem to be an awful lot of princes and extra royalty standing around in our lives to which we bow and curtsey.

Trust in God but tie your camel, the Arab proverb shrewdly recommends. We are in the world but not of the world and need to combine the qualities of serpents and doves in our dealings in the marketplace.

The word of God is a vital and dynamic force from the first moment of creation to the present hour, as it compels us to step into the light of truth. The word isn’t a law that binds us but rather a call that liberates us.

God’s magnanimity and all-inclusive love are themes of today’s readings.