Last Monday we celebrated the Feast of All Souls. A day when we remember those we love who have gone before. Yet, that remembrance also invites us to think about the realities of death and resurrection. We know that the only guarantee after birth is death. Every time we say the Our Father, we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” We know that one day we will each face judgment. And so, the question this parable presents is, “Are we ready?” not “Will we be ready?”
Sunday Scriptures
How We Can One Day Be In Their Number
On this Solemnity of All Saints, the church invites us not only to remember those who have already marched in but also to ask how we can one day be in their number.
A Question About the how And why we ask Questions
This question about questions is ultimately pretty simple — do we ask questions, engage in discourse and discussion on social media and in-person with our friends (and with our enemies) for the sake of clarity, for the sake of learning the opinions of others and why they might hold these opinions, or do we do it to trip the other up, to hammer home our point, to verbally “beat down” those who might disagree with us?
The Lord Sometimes Reveals Through ‘Angels in Disguise’
Today’s first reading, taken from the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Isaiah, mentions a rather curious figure in salvation history: King Cyrus of Persia.
The Lord Strengthens us Through our Virtues
Virtues remind us of the ultimate final goal of our life, what is called in philosophy our ‘telos,’ our end — to become like God! Put everything else aside — all of our temporary desires and preoccupation, for what is important is our destiny.
Jesus Bears the Anxiety of All Humankind
At the very start of the epistle that we proclaim this Sunday, St. Paul tells us: “Have no anxiety at all…” Now this sounds great, but how many of us can follow this biblical injunction as it is expressed here?
The Need for Authentic Witnesses
Most of us who participate in Sunday Mass regularly know that we are imperfect, that we are sinners, that we are so often hypocritical. We do not attend Mass because we are perfect; we attend because we are imperfect. It is only God who can heal and perfect us. This is true of parishioners and preachers alike.
May our Hearts Speak Unto Other Hearts
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of shallow conversations about the weather, about meals, about politics! The art of conversation — true conversation — seems to be absent from today’s world. Many people seem to prefer text messages or emails to talking on the phone or in person.
Jesus Freely Offers us His Love in the Sacraments
All forms of love require self-sacrifice, and our fallen human nature tends to make us close in on ourselves. We can start to think that avoiding love is the safer course in life. C.S. Lewis reminds us that this way of thinking leads only to damnation.
There am I in the Midst Of Them
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Many parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn and around the globe have noticed that attendance at Sunday Mass is significantly lower than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.