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By way of introduction, the story about a blind man of the past conjures up a story about a blind man of the present.
At a celebrity party, singer Stevie Wonder met golf champ Tiger Woods. Wonder mentioned that he, too, is an excellent golfer. ...
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The Chalice and the Cup
It was Saturday, May 25, 1991. Theodore McCarrick, the Archbishop of Newark, laid his hands on my head, dressed me with a white chasuble, and offered me his golden chalice to touch with my hands bound together with a white lin...
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Huckleberry Finn said it well, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me; it’s the part I do understand that bother me.”
Today’s gospel is one of those parts we do understand, but we don’t want to.
A family a...
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In the year 1981. . .
Prince Charles got married
Liverpool was crowned soccer champions of Europe
Australia lost the Ashes Tournament
The pope was shot
In the year 2005. . .
Prince Charles got married
Liverpool was crowned soccer champions of Europ...
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When I was a newly ordained priest, I was riding in a car with another priest who was many years my senior. In our conversation, I told him a story I had read about St. John of the Cross. It seems that John had been seriously misunderstood by othe...
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Nine young soldiers had received overnight passes from their base camp. When morning came, not one of the nine was present. An hour after their absence was noted, the first soldier straggled back into camp. He was immediately taken before his comp...
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The renowned English author, Chesterton, was once asked, “If Jesus were living in our world to today, what do you think he would be doing?” Chesterton thought for a moment and then replied, “He is living in the world today. He is living and lovi...
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(John 6:60-69)
The question in this gospel is one that every generation of believers has had to face at one time or another: “Will you also go away?”
Some in fact, have gone away. Left the church.
I suspect that there are very few of us here who ...
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John 6:51-58In the gospel of John, one never knows. Water is not really water, but baptism. Wind is more than wind; it is the spirit that blows where it wills. Bread is not only bread; it is life. It is hunger—hunger for God, and hunger by God.Man...
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1 Kings 19:1-9I heard the story of a football coach from an unnamed university in the Midwest; he was experiencing one of those terrible horrors of consistently losing. So, by mid-October the alumni were up in arms and out for blood, and to cap it all o...
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“Better the devil you know than the one you don’t know.” Such popular wisdom reflects the reluctance of most people to change, even if the current situation is difficult. It is easier to hang on to what is, using familiar coping mechanisms, than...
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When The Miracles Stop
It’s the opening words of the gospel I just cited that raise the issue: “A large crowd followed him because they say the miracles...” Well, I ask, who wouldn’t follow? You’d be foolish not to. My challenging questio...
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16th Sunday of the Year
There’s a story about an old monk who had prayed his whole life for a vision that would reassure him that his faith was true. But it never came.
Then one morning, while he was praying, the vision came. It was the most joyous mo...
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FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIMEOh, how we humans adore power! • America enjoys the prestige and swagger of being the only remaining superpower nation. • Our president is called “the most powerful man in the free world.” • ...
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Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle B Mark 5:21-43This story reveals why Jesus captured the attention of the people who first heard him and why he captures us today. It’s the kind of story that began “it” all—the “it” being Christian...
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Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary TimeOnce, a study was made of people who had given up their FAITH in God. Their reasons for giving up their FAITH varied. Let me mention two: * Some ceased to believe because they felt churchgoers were “a bunch of hypocrites....
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CORPUS CHRISTI
When George Bush Sr. was president, he was doing his public relations thing by visiting a nursing home. He came upon an old man hobbling down the corridor. President Bush took the man by the hand and said, “Sir, do you know who I am?...
