The first reading today from the Old Testament book of Leviticus offers us a glimpse into the mindset of the Hebrew people in the midst of the sojourn in the desert.
Sunday Scriptures
Seeing With the Eyes of Christ
Today’s Gospel reminds me very much of the cross worn with the habit of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan.
Vocations Are Rooted in the Domestic Church
By Father John Cush It’s fascinating how trends go in Hollywood for film genres. Think about it – the 1940s brought big, busy, brightly colored musicals. The 1950s gave Westerns pride of place and the 1960s offered the surf film. The 1970s gave us the outer space, sci-fi aspects with the success of “Star Wars” and […]
Sinfulness Cannot Stop the Power of God’s Word
by Father Robert M. Powers The Book of Jonah is unique and fascinating. A short narrative that is only three pages long, Jonah is a rich theological text, dense with meaning. Unlike the other books of the prophets which primarily are collections of oracles, in the Book of Jonah we hear only a sentence of Jonah’s doomsday […]
Embracing Our Vocations Brings True Happiness
The Church encourages us to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life and we certainly should. I wish, however, we prayed more often that every baptized person discern and respond to the vocation or vocations to which God is calling him or her. Today’s readings challenge us to embrace every dimension of the vocation […]
Be Open to Life’s Epiphanies
By Fr. Robert M. Powers We conclude the Christmas season with a magnificent epiphany. We no longer end the season with last Sunday’s Epiphany of the Lord, the shining forth of the divine presence to the Magi at Bethlehem. We close with another epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord. And the recipient of this epiphany […]
Imitate the Wise Men: Embrace Change
By Father Robert M. Powers WHEN I WAS 25, I was not happy when I learned that a second beloved dimension of Christmas was not true. I still loved the custom of Christmas gifts and appreciated what I thought was its obvious apologetic in Matthew’s account of the Magi’s visit. A friend who was a […]
Facing Life with the Holy Family’s Courage
By Sister Karen Cavanagh, C.S.J. I’VE ALWAYS HAD a special devotion to the Holy Family. The Sisters of St Joseph were founded with a tradition of modeling our lives on Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Our founder spoke of them as our “created trinity,” our models for living our “yes” to God’s plan. During these past […]
Called and Challenged to Live in the Now
By Sister Karen M. Cavanagh, C.S.J. It’s week two in Advent and we wonder, “Where is the time going?” Last Sunday, Advent’s first, was during the Thanksgiving weekend and many of us were already tired. Were we able to hear, let alone absorb Scripture’s reminders that we often “wander away, harden our hearts and wither […]
When Enough is Not Enough
By Msgr. Joseph P. Calise I suppose most college students have at least one moment that began as an embarrassment and ended up being a great lesson in life. While I was living at the North American College, I managed to amass a fairly substantial phone bill. The telephone process was simple: We would call […]