Andrew Greeley once suggested that we might profitably meditate on the following vision of heaven: The condition of physical ecstasy and emotional satisfaction which results from sexual intercourse between two people who are deeply in love is the best anticipation currently available to us of our permanent condition in the resurrected state. “The powerful inspirational…
Deacon Greg Kandra August 20, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 56:1, 6-7 Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 Mt 15:21-28 At first blush, you can’t help but wonder: what kind of Jesus is this? The Jesus in this Gospel isn’t the comforting figure preaching love and mercy, with a light yoke and an easy…
A number of years ago, I attended the funeral of a man who died at the age of ninety. From every indication, he had been a good man, solidly religious, the father of a large family, a man respected in the community, and a man with a generous heart. However, he had also been a…
Jem Sullivan August 13 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a Ps 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14 Rom 9:1-5 Mt 14:22-33 Utter disbelief was the sentiment deeply felt in the hearts and minds of many as the rapid spread of Covid-19 brought normal life to a shuddering halt in March 2020. We might remember…
The 13th Century Persian poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, once said that this is how faith moves in our lives: We live with a deep secret that sometimes we know, then not, and then know again. New York columnist David Brooks says something quite similar. In his book, The Second Mountain, he shares how he…
Deacon Greg Kandra Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6Deuteronomy 7:9-10,13-14Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9II Peter 1:16-19Matthew 17:1-9 A lot of children will tell you (and some of their grownup friends will agree) that they are afraid of the dark. The unknown and unseeable can be frightening. There are the usual things to be…
In a 1990s movie, City Slickers, there’s a scene that sheds light on the importance of private integrity. Three men, New Yorkers, close friends, have gone off together for a summer to ride on a cattle drive in the hope that this experience will help them sort through their respective mid-life issues. There is no…
The Sunday Gospel Jem Sullivan 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time I Kings 3:5, 7-12 Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:44-52 Antiques Roadshow is a long running, popular television programme that evokes the treasure hunter in all of us. The show features art experts and appraisers who see people from all walks…
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he held up bread and wine as two elements within which to make himself especially present to us. Since that time, now more than 2,000 years ago, Christians celebrating the Eucharist have used the same two things, bread and wine, to ask Christ to bless this…
Deacon Greg Kandra The Sunday Gospel July 23 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 12:13, 16-19 Ps 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 Rom 8:26-27 Mt 13:24-43 As a city dweller who is more familiar with steel and cement than weeds and wheat, I never really connected with this Sunday’s Gospel. I’m sure the people of Jesus’s…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser