Today we commemorate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We celebrate when Mary, already pregnant with Jesus, travelled to her older cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with the future John the Baptist. This story comes in the Infancy Narrative of …

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). This Solemnity is celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, or as in the United States, on the Sunday following Trinity Sunday.  While this Solemnity was not celebrated by …

In today’s First Reading (1 Peter 1:18-25) Peter reminds us that we have been “ransomed”.  In the Scriptures, to ‘ransom’ means to free someone from something bad by paying some sort of payment.  In this case, the ransom price is not silver or gold …

This week we begin readings from the First Letter of Peter. This letter was written around 64 AD and sets forth the nature of the Christian life begun in baptism as an experience of constant regeneration. By their acceptance of Christianity, the Christian communities …

Today, in the United States, is Memorial Day, originally known as “Decoration Day,” an opportunity to decorate the many graves of the over 600,000 men who died in our Civil War (April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865). It was, by far, our nation’s costliest war …

When I think of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, I am reminded of an old African folk tale that speaks of three blind men who examine an elephant to try to determine what sort of animal it might be. One grabs hold …

Whenever I read today’s Gospel (Mark 10:13‑16), I think about how truly dependent children are and about the wonderful freedom and joy they derive from that dependence.  Jesus was trying to help his followers to see two points with respect to allowing children to …

As we come towards the end of his letter, James now has some more encouraging words for his readers (James 5:9-12). First, he tells them they should stop grumbling against each other and show more tolerance and patience.  The community should not be divided. …

Today’s readings are harsh.  In our first reading, St. James tells us that “stuff” is not the way to redemption (James 5:1‑6). Stuff will not last. Material things cannot save us. Not only can things not save us, but they can also condemn us. …

Yesterday, we talked about how the Book of James is reminiscent of Old Testament books, but now spelling out the laws by which a Christian society should live.  In yesterday’s reading (James 4:1‑10), he speaks about the origins of the conflicts and disputes that …