Are you an extrovert or an introvert? I proudly admit that I’m an introvert to my very core. Isn’t a priest supposed to be a people person? Yes, and the seminary did what it could to unleash my inner extrovert with classes on public speaking and homiletics.
Sunday Scriptures
Simon the Rock and the ‘Sons of Thunder’
How good are you at keeping a secret? As Peter, James and John came down the mountain with Jesus after witnessing his transfiguration in this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Decisions, Decisions!
Let’s be clear about one thing: Serpents don’t talk. They never have, and they never will. The inspired storytellers who were responsible for crafting the Genesis narrative that is Sunday’s first reading knew full well that serpents don’t talk, and the earliest hearers and readers of those words didn’t imagine that they could.
To Truly Be a Christian Is Not Easy
When I was growing up, many of my friends would tell me all the time that being a Christian is easy. Because I went to public school, many of my classmates were intrigued by the fact that my family and I were practicing Catholics. My friends didn’t understand why I took my faith so seriously, especially when I was a teenager.
We Are the Light Of the World
by Father Alonzo Cox
I am blessed at my parish to have the Missionaries of Charity living in the convent next to the rectory.
Now, Master, You May Let Your Servant Go in Peace
by Father Alonzo Cox
Over the almost ten years of my priesthood, I have had the opportunity to share in the happiness and joy with parents who have announced the birth of a child. I have been blessed to see the excitement on the faces of parents when their child is born. It’s a beautiful moment to see parents hold their child for the first time, as tears of joy roll from their eyes.
Living Tabernacles in a Glorious Temple
by Father James Rodriguez
As our nascent new year of ordinary time marches on, and the glow of Christmas grows fainter, Isaiah continues to cry out in our wilderness, challenging us not to become complacent, since “anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness.” Though he prophetically looks forward, at the same time he is looking backward, speaking as one who has already seen the promise fulfilled. Such is the trust of true prophets.
God Calls Each Person by Name
As the church and world return to the ordinary time of work and life in the afterglow of Christmas, God continues to nourish and inspire through His word. Isaiah, never too far away, continues to bellow the theme that in many ways defines his prophecy-vocation. God calls each person by name to His service, so that we might find there the freedom of being His children.
The Waters of God’s Creation
Last week, the readings illustrated God’s never-ending work of bringing light into darkness. Today, we look to a different element born at creation — water.
The Light That Pierces The World’s Darkness
by Father James Rodriguez
In timeless and typically beautiful language, the Gospel of St. John tells us that “in the beginning was the Word.” The book of Genesis speaks to us of the void in which the Word existed, how before God gave shape or form to the world, there was “darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.”