Exploring the Word

14 Dec 2014

Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

Our part to play

It’s the time of year for pageants. Schools and parishes will sponsor them, and many a reluctant or nervous child actor will arrive on cue as Mother Mary or vigilant spouse Joseph, a glorious array of angels or shy shepherds. We’ll have three be-robed kings too, and that’s just the standard cast.

7 Dec 2014

Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

Guess who’s coming?

ANTICIPATION IS ALWAYS half the fun of getting what we want. When holiday guests are on their way, we sweep through the house, plump up all the pillows, make up the guest room, buy flowers, decorate every window and corner until the environment is dripping with sparkle.

30 Nov 2014

First Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

Time is on our side

With the season of Advent, the wheel of time turns again. Now it’s all about beginnings and fresh starts. This season is pregnant with possibilities, expectant with hope.

23 Nov 2014

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle A

Compassion is the measure

The church year always ends on a downbeat: Judgment! Those aware of the three-year lectionary cycle know that three gospels are used sequentially to illustrate the idea of Christ the King, and all involve the idea of choices freely made, and judgment swiftly rendered.

16 Nov 2014

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

What did you do today?

Raise your hand if you’re as busy as I am! Most people I know claim to be running flat out all the time. “Crazy-busy” is a term I hear a lot. We all have a high regard for the amount of industry we pack into the average day.

9 Nov 2014

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Cycle A

Holy places, times, people

SOME THINGS, YOU can’t have a religion without them. Like the indefinable essence we call holiness. That God is omnipresent in no way detracts from the concept that some things, places, hours, people are experienced as holier than others. What do we mean by this?

2 Nov 2014

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day), Cycle A

All is calm

A feast like this is a day of great assurances. There’s nothing to fear. Not misfortune or failure, not suffering or loss, not death or oblivion. “All is calm,” as the hymn of another season reminds us.

26 Oct 2014

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

ALL THE WORLD loves a debate. When two sides square off—across the family dinner table, at a staff meeting, or on the stage of presidential hopefuls—a thrill of tension ripples around the room. Who will get the better of the argument? Will truth win out over clever rhetoric?

19 Oct 2014

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

The coin of the realm

I PAY MY TAXES faithfully. It doesn’t matter which administration is in charge of the White House, or whether my candidates are in office. I don’t fork over money to the IRS because I’m content with where every dollar is going, and despite the fact that I’m mostly unclear what becomes of the money after I write the check. Fact is, I pay taxes not for love of empire or emperor, but because I have a duty to do so. And because I’ll get in trouble if I don’t.

12 Oct 2014

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Get ready, get set

OUTSIDE MY HOMETOWN there was an old highway sign that anticipated a sharp and blind turn in the road. It read: “Prepare to meet God.” Rather ominous to have that evangelical reminder at such a risky bend in the road. But also very effectively placed for a hearty split-second of contemplation.