READINGS: Exodus 12: 1-8; I Cor. 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15 Have you ever wondered what keeps a people united? Why allows the people in France, or the United Kingdom, or the United States to live peacefully together and see themselves as bonded to neighbors and those living in the same country? Scholars offer many

I must turn on the tap on my kitchen sink, dozens of times a day. To wash dishes, for cooking, to fill up my dogs’ water bowls, to fill up our water filter for my little family of four. I access safe, affordable drinking water over and over again throughout the day, without a second

Readings: Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 5:7-9; John 12: 20-33 A few years ago a public opinion survey of teenagers asked what they wanted to be in the future and the answer, perhaps understandable but also shocking, was to be famous. Not just young people but many of us today would love to be famous, to be

READINGS:  2 Chr. 36: 14-26, 19-23;  Eph. 2: 4-10;  John 3: 14-21 Today’s Gospel reading starts halfway through Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus and, while the Gospel of John can sometimes be hard to follow, it tells us something important if we look at what is going on before verse 14 begins. As Chapter Three of

Readings: Exodus 20: 1-17; I. Cor. 1: 22-25; John 2: 13-25. Who likes rules and regulations? I know of no one who relishes being told what to do; it used to be inherent in our character as Americans to resist any attempt to restrain our freedoms. So how do we relate to the first reading

READINGS: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Romans 8: 31b-34; Mark 9: 2-10. Who hasn’t made the traditional “New Year’s Resolutions’ for self-improvement? Or who has not dreamed of the day when not shackled by some bad habit, sinful inclination, or a character flaw? We all do and, as Americans, concern about ‘self-help’ has been

READINGS: GENESIS 9: 8-15; I PETER 3: 18-22; MARK 1: 12-15. Remember the last time you traveled through a desert; perhaps it was the Mohave Desert or that Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico. Do you remember what you experienced? If you are like most people what was most striking is the seemingly barren, dry

Readings: Joel 2: 12-18; II Cor. 5:20-6:2; Matt. 6: 1-6; 1-18. There is much focus nowadays on the environment and our relationship to it. While much of this is framed in apocalyptic terms which induce endless hand-wringing with a sense not only of impending doom but of human powerlessness. And who needs that? So many

January 14th is the Anniversary of the passing of Msgr. Anthony Brouwers. How many of us can tell you the anniversary of the passing of a parent or loved one?  These dates, over time, serve as a day of memory rather than sadness, filled with opportunities to pray, remember with joy the lives of those

So many have been looking forward to turning the page to a new year, there were even Christmas ornaments that tried to make light of some of our shared 2020 experiences. I admit I did learn to make sourdough bread, cleaned out closets, and found new ways to work from home. So we take a deep breath, head into