When the late Bishop Kenneth Untener was appointed to the Saginaw Diocese, he asked to meet all his priests. He came into the room where they were assembled wearing an apron, and with a towel on his arm, and said: Hello! I’m Ken and I’ll be your waiter. The leader …
In today’s Gospel reading, Peter reacts like we might! Jesus had been performing mighty acts, great miracles that had people suspecting Jesus was something greater than even a prophet. Peter himself professes that belief as he says, You are the Christ! But then Jesus tells his disciples that he must …
Geography matters in today’s Gospel. Jesus is preaching in “the district of the Decapolis,” 10 Greek cities. So it is Greeks who bring Jesus a deaf man to heal. And in the preceding healing, not read in this B cycle of readings, Jesus healed a Syrophoenician woman’s daughter. It seems …
In Mark’s Gospel passage, Jesus is being accused of being too relaxed about following all the laws of his Jewish religion. Jesus responds by reminding people that too often, religious people substitute human religious traditions for God’s laws. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition, he says. It …
Today is the last of the five Sundays when our Gospels are from John and are about the Bread of Life. But the bread is not really in this reading from the end of John, chapter 6. Instead, today’s reading describes the reaction of the disciples to hearing about Jesus …
Once a poor woman shared her story with me. One part of it was that for a year, she was left in a remote rural area by her trucker husband with only a supply of pinto beans to eat. And, Sister Mary, she said, he did not even give me …
Our second reading this 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time is from Ephesians 4:30-5:2. Today we modern Catholics are aware of our religion as having lots of beliefs, or doctrines, but at its beginning, Christianity was a way of living and a way of praising God; beliefs emerged later. In this …
Parents and grandparents know how hard it is for children to wait. But actually, it is hard for all of us! Research tells us that computer games and casinos allure us by cleverly syncing with our brains to give us pleasure now! But a purpose-driven life is possible only if …
Our current Scripture cycle is B, and Mark’s Gospel is used. But Mark’s is a short Gospel, so for five weeks in year B, we switch to the Gospel of John. We read the “bread of life” passages from John, chapter 6. Remember, John’s account of the Last Supper does …
On this 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (the counted weeks of the liturgical year), the first (Hebrew Scripture) reading and the Gospel both speak about shepherds. I expect we might hear homilies about this theme. The second reading is from Ephesians. In the context where we find ourselves as U.S. …
