July 2026

In the early part of the thirteenth century, Giovanni Franceso Bernardone was headed to a prosperous life as a cloth merchant in the Province of Umbria, Italy.   He was headed to a life of complete self-gratification. He was a young man who loved every sort of pleasure. But Francis, as he preferred to be […]

America’s First African American Priest At night the great Mississippi River looked deeper than ever as a woman rowed across it with her three small children. The Civil War had just begun. The woman and her children were slaves. They had fled Missouri and were crossing over into Illinois, and to freedom. That night, the

Yesterday’s first reading (Hosea 11: 1-4, 8-9) presented a bleak picture of Israel. The more luxurious the life of the people became, the more altars and shrines they built to pagan gods. The more affluent they were, the less faithful they were to God. The prophet Hosea tried to warn them, but the fact is

(Part Two) The book of Hosea relies heavily on word pictures, metaphors, to get its message across. The metaphor of Gomer, for example, her harlotry, and Hosea’s unconditional love are tangible representations of how, even when we offend God, God unconditionally loves us.  Although God has accused Israel of infidelity and made a case for

(Part One) It seems that everyone is talking about it: news, magazines, the internet—everyone is focusing on the difficult times that are engulfing the world. Suicide is dramatically on the rise worldwide, as people are overwhelmed with financial and moral issues that seem hopeless. Mass shootings seem to be happening with horrifying frequency.  People around

ST. THOMAS – Apostle Poor Thomas! He made one remark and has been branded as “Doubting Thomas” ever since. But if he doubted, he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith recorded in the New Testament: “My Lord and My God!” and, in so expressing his faith, gave Christians

Today we begin reading from the prophet Hosea. Hosea lived in Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and began his prophetic career in the last years of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC). Some Biblical scholars believe that he was a priest, others that he was a local prophet, but the only reliable information we have on his life

July 4, 2026 Today, we in the United States celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from England, establishing a country where we can enjoy freedoms that no other country at that time got to enjoy.  Today we have the opportunity to reflect on our freedom and the costs we have paid to have

Part Two Several weeks ago, these Daily Reflections talked about the two ways that evil works against us in our lives:  the devilish works by dividing us from each other, tearing us apart through untruths, slander, jealousy, and accusation; and the satanic that works to unify us in malevolent ways such as drawing us into us