www.ronrolheiser.com More than 50 years ago Philip Rieff wrote a book entitled The Triumph of the Therapeutic. In it, he argued that widespread reliance upon private therapy today arose in the secularised world largely because community has broken down. In societies where there are strong families and strong communities, he contends, there is less need…
Jem Sullivan 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19 Rom 6:3-4, 8-11 Mt 10:37-42 After Pentecost the Church returns to Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. The outpouring gift of the Holy Spirit begins a graced time of renewal in the power of God’s divine life and love that we each…
A Generation ago, JD Salinger wrote a novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which became immensely popular, as well as becoming required reading in most undergraduate literature programmes. It deserved both. It’s a great piece of literature.Here’s the image: A man is watching children playing in a rye field with an exuberance and delight that…
The Sunday Gospel, Deacon Greg Kandra Jer 20:10-13 Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35 Rom 5:12-15 Mt 10:26-33 How is your Ordinary Time going? After the intensity of Lent and the jubilation of Easter we may think this period is relatively uneventful, but think again. On the 12th Sunday of a time we call “ordinary,” we find ourselves…
Elizabeth Poreba ends a poem, No Good Company, with these words: I’ve got no banter, I’m all judgement and edges, an edgy white lady Wondering what to do, what to do next As in Jesus is coming, look busy. At the wedding feast in Cana, Mary tells Jesus, they have no wine, asking him to…
The Sunday Gospel 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 19:2-6a Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rom 5:6-11 Mt 9:36-10:8 The Roman catacombs are unique, unlike any other place, where the faith, courage and love of the early Christians is evoked powerfully. In these ancient networks of tunnels and chambers deep beneath the eternal city of Rome one encounters…
Although not too many people might recognise this, the #MeToo movement is, in essence, a strong advocate for chastity. If chastity can be defined as standing before another with reverence, respect, and patience, then most everything about the #MeToo movement speaks explicitly of the non-negotiable importance of chastity and implicitly for what our sexuality is…
Deacon Greg Kandra June 11 – Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 1 Cor 10:16-17 Jn 6:51-58 Years ago, I heard the story of a priest who was getting ready for Sunday Mass. While puttering around in the sacristy, he reached into a storage cabinet, took a plastic…
In a poem entitled, Is/Not, Margaret Atwood suggests that when a love grows numb, this is where we find ourselves: We’re stuck here on this side of the border in this country of thumbed streets and stale buildings where there is nothing spectacular to see and the weather is ordinary where love…
Jem Sullivan June 4, 2023 Trinity Sunday Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9 Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 2 Cor 13:11-13 Jn 3:16-18 Our computers and phones are meant to connect us to the community. However, through the daily traffic of communication in emails, texts, and social media posts, the digital culture in which we…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser