Welcome!

July 4th reminds me of my family roots.  My mom sang in the USO (United Service Organizations), which started in World War II to entertain troops.  My brother was a Marine in the South Pacific during that war.  Seeing its carnage in films, I concluded, “It’s good that we learned lessons to never again get involved with holocausts and killing.” At least, that’s what I thought when I was about 12 years old.  I didn’t…

Last Sunday the Mass was referred to as the “Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.”   In being named that way, you and I might be tempted to immediately think of how irrelevant their story is to ours.  After all, who among us is a “saint,” and who among us is regarded with “solemnity?”  These key figures are, by the feast’s name, presented to us as mythical supermen whose faith and commitment and powers were “Far…

When someone realizes they hurt another’s feelings, they will often make an “apology.”  That is, they’ll say they are sorry for what they did.  They might say: “I apologize for what I said to you” and the offended person might reply “I accept your apology.”  This type of experience is part of everyone’s life, and people are very familiar with the words “apology” and “apologize.”  However, very few people use a word that’s related to…

Chuck Norris, the Hollywood action star (e.g. Walker, Texas Ranger) and health food entrepreneur is currently hyping a new (and costly) product that he says can make an 80-year-old feel like 50.  He reminds listeners that they should order now “before supplies run out.”  His statement probably motivates some listeners to place their order immediately lest they be deprived of this snake oil.  Other listeners might wonder why a business would even start if it…

Our special “holy day” that we refer to as “the Ascension” is not an event that took place, literally, 40 days after Easter.  It is, rather, part of the Resurrection narrative itself—the Resurrection and Ascension being 2 aspects of the Easter event.  It takes place sometime between the moment a resurrected Jesus tells Mary Magdalene NOT to touch him and when he tells doubting Thomas TO touch him.  Sometime within this context, the Ascension took…

Picture yourself in the crowd of people who were disciples or followers or regular folks who just liked to hear Jesus speak to them.  You really benefited from his presence, and now he is gone.  Although he was executed for challenging the status quo, you’ve been buoyed by learning that he rose from the dead and still animates those who knew him best.  You learn that he did not just leave the memory of his…

Today’s Gospel has Jesus tell us that our “love” for one another is the mark of his disciples.  On the surface, we might smile and say “Yes, that’s a nice attribute to have.”  But what does “love” mean? C.S. Lewis, one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed theologians, wrote a book that addressed “the 4 loves”—affection, friendship, romantic, and divine. However, the word is used in everyday speech so much that all sorts of meanings…

In these weeks after Easter, scripture readings include passages from Acts of the Apostles.  This book is Luke’s second work, and it takes up where his Gospel left off.  Namely, he’s now showing how the Holy Spirit moved the first Christians to spread the word of God—revealed in Jesus—to the ends of the earth (Rome—symbol of the world this empire ruled).  In a way, this second work could just as well be titled the “Activities…