Last Sunday, with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, the Church concluded the Christmas season. I mentioned to my parishioners at Mass that when they come back to Church this Sunday, all of the Christmas trees will be gone, all the pine wreaths, red bows and poinsettias will be out of the sanctuary. We have joyfully celebrated the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Now that the celebration is over, we must conform our lives to Him. That will take some time and some deep spiritual work.
Sunday Scriptures
In Baptism, We Have Been Claimed
This June, I will celebrate nine years of priesthood. These have been nine years filled with God’s love and mercy. I must say that it has been nine happy years!
Give Yourself to Him – And Don’t Look Back
When I was a newly ordained priest I would make frequent classroom visits to our parish school. I had always enjoyed visiting our school children during the Christmas season. I remember very vividly asking a group of fourth graders the question, “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Christmas?”
A Watchful Eye and Prayerful Heart
“My father is lost.” At least that is what I told the security officer at the New York World’s Fair in 1964.
May the Birth of Christ Bring You Joy
WHEN WE USE the words “Body of Christ,” we are usually making a reference to the Eucharist.
Advent Is a Time to Rejoice and Repent
THE SECOND READING from St. Paul to the Philippians begins with the words, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”
Stay Ready to Meet Jesus Face to Face
December 31, 1999 brought many speculations – Would computers crash throughout the world when the year turned to 2000? Was it going to be the end of the world? It came to be known as the Y2K crisis and caused more havoc than history proved necessary.
Long Live Christ The King
SOMETHING SEEMS seriously out of place! We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, and according to the holiday calendar of the marketplace, Black Friday followed on its heels and Cyber Monday is coming up.
Death Does Not Have the Last Word
Just as the death-dealing King Antiochus did not have the last word, neither did the Roman emperor and neither do the death-dealing powers of our era. Jesus assures His disciples, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Focusing On What Really Matters
WE ARE LIVING in troubling and violent times! On Oct. 27, a gunman entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh during Sabbath services.