May 1, 2022 When I read the Gospel story last week, I said that it was the conclusion to the Gospel according to John, the original conclusion. Today, we read a second story, like an appendix. Whoever wrote this story is not clear when it was added. However, the story is saying: “There is oneContinue reading “Third Sunday of Easter: “
Tag Archives: Jesus
Fifth Sunday of Lent: “Dying once is sufficient…”
April 3, 2022 This is where we begin, this earth; but this is not where we end. While Jesus resuscitates Lazarus for a time, Lazarus will die. The gospels make no mention of Lazarus again. The very first words of Jesus today are: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for theContinue reading “Fifth Sunday of Lent: “Dying once is sufficient…”“
5th Ordinary Sunday: “You will be catching people for God.”
February 6, 2022 We grow up in a certain life setting, determined by place, by others, by culture and by language, by our parents’ circumstances. One reality is for sure, that we can feel love; its lack diminishes us; its presence enables us to grow and to be secure and to dream our future. InContinue reading “5th Ordinary Sunday: “You will be catching people for God.”“
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time:
January 23, 2022: Jesus proclaims God in his life; Are we ready to do the same? Last weekend, we began the return to Ordinary Time. We have reboxed Christmas and put it away. All of a sudden, the baby in the manger has become an adult. The hesitant Jesus stood before us and we watchedContinue reading “Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: “
The Baptism of the Lord: Version 2
January 9, 2022 Yesterday, at St. Mary’s Church in Walnut Creek, I baptized Luca Slovik. I baptized Luca’s mother and I married her to his father. I baptized his grandmother and married her to her husband Jay. When you are a priest for 55 years, you are not only a priest but a grandfather priestContinue reading “The Baptism of the Lord: Version 2“
II Sunday Advent: Is everything falling apart, or is God creating something new with our help and his inspiration?
December 5, 2021 What is the liturgical year that Fr. Robert keeps talking about – its ending or its beginning? It is a way for us to help focus our spiritual attention, to focus the time that we give to God, a way to deepen our sense of how God is present to us inContinue reading “II Sunday Advent: Is everything falling apart, or is God creating something new with our help and his inspiration?“
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe: A Light in Our Minds and Hearts to Show a Way to Integrity
November 21, 2021 We don’t use, today, the language of politics to describe Jesus. The feudal systems of monarchs and kings went out of fashion in the 18th Century with the French revolution. Yet it took much longer for European monarchies to vanish. There are still a few nominal monarchies — England, Belgium, Spain. InContinue reading “Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe: A Light in Our Minds and Hearts to Show a Way to Integrity”
XXI Sunday: To follow Jesus in a simple, authentic, and whole hearted way is the work of a lifetime
August 22, 2021 Jesus has some very interesting things to say about life — attractive points about spirituality that focus on personal fulfillment, the heart of religion, the promise of eternal life. For the people of his day in Jerusalem and Palestine, he was a breath of fresh air. But let me repeat to youContinue reading “XXI Sunday: To follow Jesus in a simple, authentic, and whole hearted way is the work of a lifetime“
XVIII Sunday, Ordinary Time: Shoulder My Yoke and Learn from Me, for I am Gentle and Humble in Heart
August 1, 2021 We do need a savior. We do need mentors and good examples. The “I” in us is distracted easily, diverted willingly and loves to get lost in its own self. There have been and continue to be many religious or spiritual paths that are meant to help us balance the “I” andContinue reading “XVIII Sunday, Ordinary Time: Shoulder My Yoke and Learn from Me, for I am Gentle and Humble in Heart“
VI Sunday Easter: God Shows No Partiality
5/9/21 “‘Peter began to speak, saying, ‘In truth, I see that God shows no partiality; rather, in every nation, whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.”’ (Acts 10:34-35). A practicing Catholic is different from a cultural Catholic. A cultural Catholic was brought up in the Church and remembers certain outward forms ofContinue reading “VI Sunday Easter: God Shows No Partiality”
Harvest and Hope 