Dear Parishioners, As the end of the Liturgical Year begins to appear on the horizon, a scene of individual judgment is presented for our prayerful reflection. Luke’s parable of “Poor Lazarus (16:19-31) might easily be construed as an “after-life reversal of roles.” As always, a parable means much more than
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Dear Parishioners, The Lord “rewards” those who serve well and single-heartedly with even greater responsibilities. The parable of the steward (Luke 16:1-13), which tells us that “those who are trustworthy in small matters are also trustworthy in great ones,” demands that the virtue of prudence be a part of every
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Prayer of His Holiness Benedict XVI Ground Zero, New York Sunday, April 20, 2008 O God of love, compassion, and healing, look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions, who gather today at this site, the scene of incredible violence and pain. We ask you in your goodness
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Dear Parishioners, In Rome today, the Holy Father will canonize Mother Teresa of Calcutta and proclaim her a saint of the Church! While canonization dates often have no relation to when a feast will occur on the calendar, it is most fitting that tomorrow (Monday, September 5) is the day
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Dear Parishioners, Wedding banquets have a prominent place in the Gospels, both in the parables and in the experience of Jesus and the disciples. Saint John places the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding banquet at Cana. The parable in today’s passage from Saint Luke (14:1, 7-14) offers a
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Dear Parishioners, To prepare ourselves to enter into the Eucharist, the Church has provided a Penitential Act which is used for many (but not all) celebrations. Often, one of the invocations is, in part, based upon the Prophet Isaiah (66:19), “You came to gather the nations into the peace of
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Dear Parishioners, We often only equate the Season of Advent with the image of the coming of the Son of Man. While this neatly compartmentalizes the spirit of that holy season and its ordering toward the commemoration of the First Coming of Christ, it is the Second Coming of Christ
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Dear Parishioners, Every once in a while it is healthy for us to share in a bit of “humble pie.” While most of us would rather hear the comforting words of the 3rd Chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes, we are presented with the challenging words regarding the consequences of
Continue readingDear Parishioners, For a second weekend in a row, the text of the first reading is taken from the Book of Genesis (18:20-32) and involves Abraham and his three “visitors.” In what seems to our ears to be a “negotiation” with the Lord, Abraham acknowledges the presence of those who
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Dear Parishioners, The call of Elisha by Elijah begins an apprenticeship in the line of prophetic succession (1 Kings 19:16,19-21). By the gesture of placing the cloak upon his shoulders, Elisha begins a radical response to this investiture by leaving behind the past and keeping his eyes fixed upon what
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