Teach What You Believe

God’s love is often described as a Divine flow of love and grace - movement that is never restricted. Nothing we say or do changes the love that is poured out upon us by God. It is unmerited in every sense – freely given to all. The only thing we have to do is be willing to accept and trust and share in the flow of that love. So during Lent we have been examining our lives to see what blocks that...

Doesn’t it seem strange that God would declare his only son beloved and on whom his favor rests and then send him off into the desert to be tempted by the devil? A heck of a way to treat your only child! So how does Matthew craft this story? And why would angels lead Christ into the desert to meet with Satan? And how does a true story of a dying college grad shine light on all of this? Light criti...

So why do we gather today to receive ashes? It is not a Holy Day of Obligation and yet today our liturgies will be filled with those looking to receive ashes. Ashes – is it just a tradition that we follow? Or…are we looking to make an outward of our Christianity? Or…are we remembering our own mortality and/or that of our loved one? It is for my friend, artist, writer and minister, Jan Richardson,...

This Sunday we hear a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus continues teaching about a new way to live and love. Author Krista Tippett in her recent book reminds us that law and politics are unable to really tell us what matters in life, what matters in a death, how to love, and how we can be of service to each other. “These are the kinds of questions religion arose to address.”But...

Water. It is such a strong symbol and sacramental sign. It is used through the Church and its sacraments. Many will come and go through the doors of the church, dipping their fingers in the holy water fonts, blessing themselves. But on this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we need to take a moment to pause and remind ourselves of the meaning and obligations that this carries for each and everyone...

Unlike most parables, this time the Gospel writer leads off telling us what the story is all about. By having us assume the role of the widow and God the role of the judge we are told of the need to be persistent with our prayer to God. So safe to say, the vast majority of churchgoers this weekend are hearing a homily about the need to pray always. And while prayer is important to us, that is not...

Jesus gives us the parable of the rich man who hoarded all his possessions. But is that all there is to the story, or does it call us to do something more? See how Eunice Shriver Kennedy and Pope Francis shed light on our true calling to make – noise!!

This weekend every year two things happen: we celebrate Father’s Day…and the US Golf Open is played. One of the greatest golfing legends of all times is Billy Casper. This past year he wrote his autobiography called, The Big Three And Me, filled with great insight and wisdom about what impacted his life the most. On this 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time we hear the famous story of the sinful woman who...

Today’s gospel, John describes the appearance of the risen Christ to his disciples who are hiding in the Upper Room. In doing so he reveals three basic skills or spiritual practices to follow in order to strengthen your soul, your well-being and your connection with God and with each other. If you find yourself stuck in your own ‘Upper Room’ you may want to check out what you may be missing.

Today’s Gospel comes from the tenth chapter of John reminding us that there will be one flock, one shepherd. Meanwhile we hear from Acts that there is disagreement between the Jews and Gentiles as to who God is for. I think it is easy for us to forget that we all belong to God – even those who feel that they may be the ‘black sheep’ of society. This season we are reminded that we are all called to...

This Sunday we will hear the familiar Gospel of the woman who was caught in adultery and about to be stoned. All the while it is a trap being laid for Christ. So how does the work of Fr. Greg Boyle S.J. dealing with gangs in LA shed light on what is this Gospel is all about? Check it out

It seems that before Christ was ready to begin his ministry it required barren time in the desert – a place of solitude without distractions. It is there that needed to wrestle with the same temptations we still face today: power, possessions and prestige. And on this first Sunday of Lent we journey into our personal deserts where we are called to ‘repent’ or in other words, ‘to turn around.’ It s...

A great deal of focus this week has been paid to Lance Armstrong and his interview with Oprah and the years of lying about his doping. Most of the media coverage has been discussing whether or not society will forgive him. I think the better question is why now? Perhaps as he began a New Year he felt a need to empty himself so that he could begin to be filled with something else. And just maybe he...

We gather this week, maybe holding onto our children a bit tighter than usual and praying for each other and our families as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. But as the events of these past ten days fall into the background of the season, many find themselves still holding onto the key question: What can we do? We know we can’t wave a magic wand and make guns go away. We can’t snap our...

This is a homiliy for the 3rd Sunday in Advent, also called Gaudete Sunday, taken from the Latin word which means Rejoice! We rejoice for the celebration of the birth of Jesus nears. But it is much more than that. Even with all the trials and tribulations we have in our lives there is so much more to rejoice for. Check it out.