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In today’s Gospel from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth and the light for the world. The second-century historian Pliny declared that nothing is more useful than salt or sunshine. Yet, if you can’t taste salt and if light cannot be seen, what good are they? Read More

At first, this celebration may seem rather strange and out of sequence. We have long taken down the Christmas decorations and put away all the manger scenes. And we have been celebrating Ordinary Time in the Liturgy during which the adult Jesus has been baptized, begun his public ministry and called his first disciples. However, Read More

Today, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Lectionary begins this year’s cycle of Sunday Gospel readings from Matthew. Note that John the Baptist, having been arrested, is no longer on the scene. This, in fact, signals to Jesus that the time for his public ministry is at hand. And so, Jesus “withdrew (literally “returned”) Read More

Peace and all Good! Last Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Today we read the evangelist John’s story of Christ’s baptism, told from the perspective of John the Baptist. Both the version of St. Matthew and St. John describe the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus. For John the Read More

With today’s Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, our celebration of the Christmas Season comes to a close. I know we will all be sad to see all those beautiful poinsettias gone and our magnificent Nativity Scene taken down and stored away until next year. However, we have been truly blessed during this beautiful Read More

Today’s Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates God’s bringing the Gentiles to meet the newborn Savior. Found not in a palace, but in a simple travelers’ lodging, the infant Jesus reveals something of God’s nature, humility, and way of behaving. As our Gospel tells the story of the visit of the Magi, we learn three important Read More

Peace and all Good! Our celebration of Christmas continues today in this lovely Feast of the Holy Family. Among the many insights provided about the Holy Family in Matthew’s Gospel is that their family life was filled with tensions and unexpected turns. In this way, the Holy Family is a role model of faith in Read More

Peace and all Good! As we gather on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, our minds and hearts are focused on the coming celebration of Christmas. As we end Advent, we begin to hear of the events surrounding the birth of Christ: the reason for the Season. Isaiah reminds us of the promise once made to Read More

Dear Friends: Peace and all Good! Today is “Gaudete Sunday”! Like the Fourth Sunday of Lent, today is one of joy in the midst of our spiritual preparations for Christmas. It is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin of the Entrance Antiphon for today. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. Indeed, Read More

Peace and all Good! On this Second Sunday of Advent, we are once again inspired by Isaiah who presents us with a vision of a world of peace and justice. “Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” And he goes on to give a vision of a Read More