Solemnity of All Saints
Today is a solemnity, the highest ranking feast in the Church. All Saints’ Day is also usually a holy day of obligation, when we are required to go Mass to celebrate this great feast, which commemorates all the saints, both those known and those unknown. In other words, this solemnity celebrates those who have achieved the beatific vision of God in heaven. This is in contrast with the feast we celebrate tomorrow – All Souls’ Day – of all those who have died but have not yet reached heaven.
Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
I recently had the opportunity to attend “The Longest Table” here in Dayton. The premise of this event was to invite people of all races, religions and from all parts of our city to come together and share a meal. Over 500 people registered, and I enjoyed a wonderful meal with people who were from many different races, ages, and religions. There was open conversation about the struggles that each individual had, and there was also a shared vision of making our city a better to place to live for all people.
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
This is my first year as a citizen… and I am soooooo looking forward to vote!!! Electioneering this time around has been brutal. This has been the mother-of-all negative campaigning. The candidates have tried their best to bring out the worst in the opponent. The goal is to make the other person look bad, so that the candidate looks better is comparison to the worst. I think a campaign should try to bring out the best in the other so that voters can decide who is the best. As a first-time voter in the US, instead of choosing the best among the best, I am having to chose the lesser of the worst.
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Are you familiar with some of the following questions? Are we there yet? Is it finally over? When can we leave? Can I just have a break? Maybe we have heard a child asking those questions. Maybe we have asked those questions or similar ones. Let’s sit with these questions for a little bit as well as St. Paul’s words to the Philippians.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
In our Christian faith, the twelve apostles hold a special place of distinction. They were Jesus’ closest associates, and the ones he entrusted with mission. Today we celebrate the feast of two of these apostles, St. Simon (known as the Zealot) and St. Jude. Very little is known about either of these apostles, though there are various traditions associated with them. St. Jude, for example, is known as the cousin of the Lord and is regarded as the patron of hopeless causes.
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Paul’s words in our first reading today replicate a warrior preparing for battle. He says, "Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
A chance encounter at the hospital recently stirred up an old fire in my heart. This person and I were sharing the lessons of our faith journey and we landed square in the middle of a discussion about salvation. The conversation seemed to be growing in a tone I feel completely uncomfortable with. As a chaplain for all faiths I work very hard to be interdenominational in my ministry. As I am a Catholic chaplain at a Catholic hospital, it is impossible to completely set aside who I am. So when someone even implicitly challenges me that Catholics are not saved, one hits a nerve in me. This is especially true if the person was raised a Catholic. Instead of taking it as a challenge, I pivoted and moved to see the next patient.
Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
It’s hard to imagine that someone in our society would experience too much love. Perhaps those introverts, like myself, might easily become overwhelmed by too much attention – but even admitting that fact it seems obvious that our society cold use more love in general. Today’s first reading calls on those in married relationships to use their love in a way that models it for all of society – married or not.
Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel sent me down memory lane. Growing up in the sixties, Sunday was always set aside for Church and family. For us, a really special part was knowing Dad would be home the entire day. On summer afternoons he would take us—all nine of us loaded in a station wagon—to get ice cream. It was the most treasured day of the week. When my own kids were growing up, things were a bit different. In the early years, I often worked at the hospital on weekends or my husband was traveling and then an occasional school commitment. Nowadays, Sunday can look like any other day of the week. It doesn’t happen overnight but, over time, the little encroachments get bigger and the rationalizations become easier. Whenever I’ve fallen short of ‘keeping holy the Lord’s Day’, I realize I have also ignored a ‘whisper’ or a ‘tug of heart. This always reminds me it is not the ‘law’ I am ignoring. It is Jesus.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Even though today's homily is written specifically for Immaculate Conception Parish, I have approached this reflection from the perspective of "Missionary Discipleship." You may apply this to your life no matter what parish you belong to).
Each year, the Parish Finance Commission gives a financial report to the parish. Since this is my first year as pastor, I thought it would be appropriate to address you on the state of the parish. However, my focus is not financial even though numbers are important. I would like to share with you my thoughts on “missionary discipleship,” a construct given to us by Pope Francis. After all, a local parish, which is an extension of the universal church, exists not for its own sake, but for the mission entrusted to her by Christ. It is an awesome privilege to part of this mission. Our parish is one tangible way to participate in the Church’s mission. Let me share three points with you.
Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Besides maybe jousting or hurling (hurling not curling), Lacrosse is my favorite sport. If you are unfamiliar with it, in either its guys or girls version, I recommend learning about it. It has historical roots back to Native Americans. It is fast paced and high scoring. My keenness for Lacrosse comes from my upbringing in Maryland, where it is our ‘state team sport,’ and my experience playing in high school. Well, playing might be too generous. I practiced lacrosse but seldom played. I suppose you could say I was a bench-warmer, though I was more of a bench shouter. I embraced that my role as bench-warmer also made me our team’s unofficial cheerleader. I might not have been playing, but I still had something to contribute. This is the message we find in the second half of our first reading.
Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
We seem to be a nation of advice-seekers. Advice columnists in the newspapers thrive on dispensing advice to letter writers. Teenagers and young adults text each other asking for up-to-the-minute advice. Self help books remain a top selling genre at bookstores.
Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings make an interesting pair. Whereas the passage from Ephesians seems uplifting, the gospel reading from Luke might be one we’d rather forget. And yet both of these texts are a part of our tradition, and they are not contradictory but rather complementary.
Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs
Dying even under the best of circumstances can be painful for both the person whose life is slipping away and their family. While death is a physical reality, the effects of death are not limited to that realm. Being present for these moments has changed the way I look at the reality of death. Sometimes the patient is suffering and almost kicking and screaming, most times it seems to happen during sleep, but occasionally I am with people who die with a smile on their face.
Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist
After today’s reading I was left humming the tune of a popular pop song by the little known artist Taylor Swift. The song is called "Shake It Off", you may have heard of it and if not that’s okay. The song consists of Taylor saying she isn’t going to let the negative words, thoughts or actions of others affect her feelings or her actions, she is simply gonna shake it all off. Why did this song pop into my head after reading His holy word? Not only was it Jesus’ advice to his disciples before sending them out on a mission, saying “whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you” (Luke 10: 10-11, two versus after today’s gospel Luke 10: 1-9). But this shake it off mentality was also Paul’s attitude for coping with his sense of abandonment by his followers and his oppression by his adversaries. Even in his trial, Paul writes “At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim: 16-17).
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
When I was growing up, my Mom always stressed to me and my siblings the importance of writing thank you notes when we received any gift. This is a practice that I tried to instill in my children and I hopefully try to continue to practice this now. These notes take effort to write, but they remind me that the gift I received was something that I did not earn or deserve. By thanking the sender, I recognize his or her generosity and I show my gratitude for the thoughtfulness and blessing I received.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Over the last two weeks the scripture readings have been about faith, prayer, intercession, and healing. If you remember, they were not the easiest topics to write reflections about. I was ready to move on to something else. But God was not! So here is another week of trying to deal with these themes. God sure has a sense of humor!
Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
My oldest sister is a religious sister with the Nashville Dominicans. Her state of life has humbled me, guided me, and even perplexed me. I experienced disbelief one day as she explained how we would be communicating once she entered. She told me that texting, phone calls, and emails were out unless it was an emergency. Instead we’d be writing letters; real, snail mail letters. Now, I don’t write many letters. I write emails, send text messages, and keep up with Facebook messages but don’t really write letters and unfortunately I haven't gotten much better just because she is a sister. Then, as I read today’s first reading, I was really convicted by Paul’s letter-writing and my own written correspondence in the first place.
Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Occasionally, I take the time to make bread or beer, both of which use yeast as a leaven. Leaven is mentioned in today’s Gospel (Luke 12:1-7) and the concept is important for understanding today’s scriptures, as well as for understanding our own spiritual lives.
Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
The selections for today’s readings make an interesting pair. In the gospel passage from Luke, Jesus continues along a strand of “woe to you” statements. Undoubtedly, it was not a pleasant message to hear. The people listening were meant to feel convicted for their participation in the past persecution of God’s prophets; Jesus intended to affront them with accusations regarding their behavior. In fact, the least surprising part of this passage is the last two verses: “When Jesus left, the scribes and the Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him in something he might say” (Lk. 11:53-54). It’s no surprise that the people would be upset by Jesus’ words. And yet it is perhaps a bit surprising that they felt they needed to interrogate him further. This indicates that his accusations were not unfounded; Jesus’ statements in today’s passage were not cause for Jesus’ own conviction.