Breaking Self-Exile: Returning to Community and Christ’s Love
Pastoral Reflection The first reading from the Book of Leviticus and the gospel passage from St. Mark’s Gospel stand in sharp contrast to...
Restoring Light: How the Church Can Lift the Burdened
Pastoral Reflection In the 1st reading for today we see that poor Job, who has suffered so many problems and deprivations, is tempted to...
Welcoming All with Grace: A Call to Compassionate Ministry
Pastoral Reflection Notice that when Jesus encounters the man with the unclean spirit, he does not condemn the man so afflicted. Rather, he...
Journeying Through Lent: Aligning Our Hearts with Christ
Pastoral Reflection Although Sts. Matthew and Luke give us more detail about Jesus’ desert experience, St. Mark notes that it is the...
God’s Simple Messengers: The Shepherds’ Lesson for Our Parish Community
Pastoral Reflection (based on the reading for mass at dawn) The shepherds referenced here by St. Luke were remarkably simple people...
Answering the Call: Continuing the Prophetic Mission of Christ in Today’s World
When we are baptized, we are baptized into the threefold ministry of Jesus himself (the munera Christi), as priest, prophet, and king....
Answering the Call: The Urgency of Discipleship in St. Mark’s Gospel
In this liturgical year our gospel passages come from St. Mark and St. John. In today’s gospel proclamation from St. Mark, we encounter...
Guided by the Light: Preparing Our Hearts for the Journey of FaithPastoral Reflection
These few short weeks after the Epiphany and before Lent are a time of recognizing Christ as the light of the world. The light not only...
Advent Reflections: Inviting Christ into Our Lives Today and Beyond
John the Baptist is in the desert, near to Jerusalem, proclaiming a baptism of forgiveness and announcing the coming of the Lord with great...
Rediscovering the True Meaning of Advent: Welcoming Christ in Every Moment
John the Baptist is in the desert, near to Jerusalem, proclaiming a baptism of forgiveness and announcing the coming of the Lord with great...