A priest once told me a story of being invited to the home of a young couple shortly after the birth of their newborn baby. Upon arriving at their home, he was greeted by the proud parents and asked if he would like to hold their baby. And, of...
There is a story of General Stonewall Jackson and his sister crossing a treacherous torrent just below the mighty Niagara Falls. It is said that when the violent current began to rock their boat, his sister became terrified, at which point the...
The 18th century Austrian composer, Joseph Haydn, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful and he replied: “When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen, and since God...
The 20th-century Dutch Catholic priest, Fr. Henri Nouwen, noted that “we should pay attention to the people God puts in our path if we want to discern what God is up to in our lives.” How many of us sit in awe and wonder regarding the...
Last Sunday, on the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we found ourselves in a vineyard parable (Mt 20:1-16) filled with workers and a landowner. In the story, you might remember that there were workers who had toiled in the fields from dawn to dusk...
A man I know once told me the story of a time in his life when his once-thriving business began to decline. As more companies moved into his small town, competition increased, and his sales began to suffer. Not surprisingly, this caused him to make...
The opening prayer for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time begins with these words: “O God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy…” In our first reading, 500 years before the Incarnation...
There is a story of a young woman who, one evening, was waiting for a bus in a crime-ridden area. A rookie policeman approached her and asked: “Do you want me to wait with you?” Quickly, she noted: “No, that won’t be...
