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With the Pope’s passing, many commentators are rendering an array of judgments.  Conservative media have been quick to criticize the man’s representation of the Gospel.  Others, however, have expressed gratitude for his efforts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, protect the oppressed, and save the earth from our destruction of it.  From the New York Times, the Pew Research Group released the following: 90% of Catholic Democrats gave Pope Francis a…

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. We listen to the Passion narrative and a selection that tells of people waving palm branches as they joyously celebrate Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on a colt.  The week is itself a symbol of each life here—Palm Sunday seeing us celebrate (as when your parents and grandparents celebrated your arrival in the world).  Joyous feelings come to mind as we think of small and great moments of happiness we’ve…

This week’s Gospel gives us one of Christianity’s most well-known lines: “You who are without sin, cast the first stone.”  The incident from which this quote is taken tells us about “the woman caught in adultery.”  Contemporary minds might ponder: “What about the man?  Where is he when the religious authorities are considering capital punishment?”  Before reflecting on how this real-life drama is played out in our lives, let’s first take a look at the…

We gather for Mass each week, and we bring to the altar what’s going on in our world of experience.  Some people bring a sense of gratitude.  Some bring their tears, or confusion, or discouragement.  We’re a ‘mixed bag’ of human longing and joy—as depicted in this week’s Gospel story of the prodigal son.” Remember that Scripture tells us about ourselves.  When reading a page, it’s as if we’re holding a mirror and looking at…

With the first day of Spring occurring this past week, I thought of the word “Lent” meaning “Spring season.”  People might associate Lent with fasting and abstinence, our religious observance has the very practical goal of improving our sense of identity, and becoming the best version of ourselves.  As with the Spring season, so we, too, are growing anew (or trying our best to do so). The 40 days set aside for this spiritual “retreat”…

We return this week to the Genesis world of Abram and Sarai.  This patriarch and his matriarch wife came to be called Abraham and Sarah.  Because of their relationship to God, they were blest with descendants numbering more than the number of stars in the sky.  Their faith is the foundation of the 3 great monotheistic traditions known as the “Abrahamic religions.”  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam each claim to descend from Abraham. This week’s Gospel…

Lent is a period of 40 days that calls to mind the 40 days of rain that produced the flood.  Washed away was the earlier life and what came about was a new creation.  Our Lenten observance is INTENDED to be a period of growth, of insight, and greater self-awareness.  We become a new creation owing to our effort to confront and overcome the demons we encounter in the desert of our life (today’s Gospel…

The past couple of weeks, our bulletin has included Gospel-based reflections from the Catholic bishop of West Virginia and a popular Christian pastor-writer.  This week’s bulletin is an article from the National Catholic Reporter.  Each of these articles addresses different socio-political topics that people argue in the news and at dinner tables.  However, the accent of these pieces is a Catholic-Christian perspective on those topics (and not just the opinion of some person on the…