The Belgian spiritual writer, Bieke Vandekerckhove, comes by her wisdom honestly. She didn’t learn what she shares from a book or even primarily from the good example of others. She learned what she shares through the crucible of a unique suffering, being hit at the tender age of 19 with a terminal disease that promised…
Deacon Greg Kandra Is 60:1-6 Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 Eph 3:2-a, 5-6 Mt 2:1-12 On a Sunday that centres on discovery, revelation, and manifestation – the very definition of ‘Epiphany’ – one of the most important discoveries for the magi (and for us!) comes at the very end of this week’s Gospel. A…
Why don’t we preach hellfire anymore? That’s a question asked frequently today by a lot of sincere religious people who worry that too many parishes and too many priests and ministers have gone soft on sin and are over-generous in speaking about God’s mercy.
In paragraph 30 of his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis wrote, “Every family should look to the icon of the Holy Family of Nazareth”. As we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, God’s word invites reflection on the joys, responsibilities and challenges of family life in the light of Christian faith and discipleship.
The Gospel stories about the birth of Jesus are not a simple retelling of the events that took place then, at the stable in Bethlehem. In his commentaries on the birth of Jesus, the renowned scripture scholar, Raymond Brown, highlights that these narratives were written long after Jesus had already been crucified and had risen…
The Sunday Gospel 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38 Do you hear it? If there is one message the world needs right now, in a moment of high anxiety and seemingly unending wars, you can find it buried deep in this beautiful Gospel for the 4th…
In the days of apartheid in South Africa, Christians there used to light candles and place them in their windows as a sign to themselves and others that they believed that someday this injustice would end. A candle burning in a window was a sign of hope and a political statement. The government didn’t miss…
Jem Sullivan Is 61:1-2a, 10-11 Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 1 Thes 5:16-24 Jn 1:6-8, 19-28 “Rejoice in the Lord!” is the invitation we hear this Third Sunday of Advent, when God’s word calls us, once again, to enter into the mystery of the Incarnation, soon to be celebrated in the great feast of Christmas.…
When all is said and done, our lives are not all that serene and peaceful. In a manner of speaking, we are always somewhat pathetic. That shouldn’t scare us. Pathetic is not a pejorative term. The word comes from the Greek, ‘pathos’, which means pain. To be pathetic is to live in pain, and we…
Deacon Greg Kandra Is 40:1-5, 9-11 Ps 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14 2 Pt 3:8-14 Mk 1:1-8 If nothing else, Advent should remind us of this inconvenient truth: We are people in a hurry. The other day, I was leaving Walmart and noticed a tent set up in the parking lot. I looked closer. They had drones…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser