In the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, we meet two people, worlds apart: a very successful king and a 14-year-old Jewish girl from the obscure hamlet of Nazareth. There had been significant ups and downs in King David’s past, yet, all...
In speaking with a friend about his travel plans before Christmas, I asked him whether he was apprehensive about his upcoming drive or looking forward to his planned event. “Both,” he replied. He was looking forward to the event but not...
There is one among you whom you do not recognize. (John 1:26) I find this sentence by John the Baptist quite unsettling because it refers to our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. This is Gaudete Sunday; the priest (and deacon) wear pink vestments as an...
We live in an age of instant communication. Because of satellites orbiting the earth, we can place a phone call to someone on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds; also, our smartphones allow us to speak to someone, text, or pass along...
Working with the Holy Spirit we continue to build up the glory to which we are destined as Body of Christ, so that, at the end of time, we may be as glorious as Jesus Christ, our Head, is. On the first Sunday of Advent we were invited by Jesus to...
There is a modern saying, Bring it On. It refers to a fearlessness of the future. I suppose that if this saying existed in the 16th century, a certain teenager from the south of France would have embraced it. Having been born into a poor...
To live this Advent Season and the rest of our life on earth in a spiritually profitable fashion, we ought to exercise true vigilance by living 24/7 focused on finding clear signs of Christ’s loving presence in our midst. The more signs we find of...
As people of faith, we should say often and with conviction: “Our God is in heaven; whatever God wills is done.” Psalm 115:3 This is what the prophet Isaiah (7:10-14) knows; that’s what King Ahaz knows; that’s what Paul knows; that’s what Joseph...
