ponderings on life and faith
I wasn’t a cradle-Catholic. Growing up, Christmas for me was a time to give and receive presents, and spend time with family. See the nephews play with new toys. Enjoy a family Christmas dinner. There wasn’t much of Christ or church in the day. That religious stuff was what religious folk did. And that was OK […]
This Sunday is called Gaudette Sunday ….. from the latin meaning rejoice. Our theme for this third week of advent is Joy. Its why the candle is pink. As are our vestments. This theme of Joy may however, seem a bit strange. The last two weeks we’ve heard some pretty stark words from John the baptist about end […]
Lord Jesus, you traveled through towns and villages curing every disease and illness.Come to our aid now, in the midst of this second wave of the global outbreak of Covid-19, that we may experience your healing love. Heal us from our fear, which prevents nations from working together and neighbours from helping one another. Heal […]
July came to visit us this week. It was a short visit … just a couple of days, and to celebrate her arrival, I went on a walk in the Rouge forest. Not just any walk. It was a special walk. A prayer walk. A slow sauntering, with senses alive to see, smell, hear, and […]
Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God, what is God’s. I think many of us think about this passage in two ways. The first is that Jesus was a pretty smart guy. He saw the trap that was being laid for him, and skillfully, brilliantly, he not only answered the pharisees question, but created in it an […]
Who do you say that I am? In every age since the first followers of Jesus made their profession of faith in him, men and women of faith have had to come to terms with who Jesus is and what Jesus means to them. Christians of every age have had to answer the question: “Who do you say I am?” and each generation […]
Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the […]
Sometimes when we look at night into the vastness of the stars in the sky, we can get a sense that the universe we live in is so immense that we can’t help but feel small and insignificant. Even our solar system, as vast as it is, is but a grain of sand in an […]
Today is the memorial of the Immaculate heart of Mary. Because of her willingness to put her total trust in God, despite how unbelievable it was that she would be asked to be the mother of the Messiah, Mary’s love and trust in God becomes a model for the way we should love God,for the […]
As we continue to journey through this pandemic, I looked back and realized that I have penned (typed?) some 70 during the past few months. 70 has a number of significant meanings in Hebrew Scriptures. It is the product of 7 (perfection) and 10 (completeness). Well, I am not sure how perfect these musings have […]
Sometimes we can read into a scripture text something that is not there. It may simply be a matter of missing the significance of key words or phrases, and failing to heed their cues. Regardless, we miss the point that the author is trying to make and substitute another lesson – one which may not be bad […]
So, what will the “next normal” look like for the Catholic Church? Well, for the definitive word, I leave that to the Pope and the Bishops. As a Deacon, I am in marketing, not in management! But, joking aside, perhaps this time of being apart from – distanced from – familiar ways of expressing our faith will give […]
Vatican II urged Catholics to return to Scripture as a way of “learning the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ.” There are many ways for us to contemplate scripture. Today, we can look at one of these, called in Latin – Lectio Divina, (Holy Reading). This method of prayer goes back to the early monastic tradition. In those […]
As a consequence of our new ways of encountering “church” in this time of pandemic, many Catholics have been thinking about their own relationship with the church — not just the buildings, but the community, the sacraments, and the liturgies … which typically require a physical closeness that is nearly impossible right now. For many […]
At Saint Johns we have been able to take our security feeds and use them as source for live-streaming our Mass and Communion services. This means that though you have not been able to be in the building during Mass, you have at least been able to see familiar sights and hear familiar voices. As you have […]
A lot of talk in the business media recently seems to be focused on what the world of business will look like in the future. Some have taken to avoid the term “the new normal” and are calling it “the next normal”. Yes, I recognize that much of that is to ‘brand’ their opinions to make them […]
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to Peter, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” How human it is for us to compare ourselves to others and to want to tell their stories as if we knew their minds….. In […]
Well, it is Friday again … and this week’s focus on musical ponderings lead us to one final song to feed our reflections and close out the week. The choice was a difficult one. But I am drawn to the poetry of Leonard Cohen, and in particular his song Hallelujah – a word based on two […]
So, if last week was a time to let movies be the trigger for the pandemerings, then it would appear this week’s trigger is music. Today, we move from the Beatles and Aerosmith to Catholic liturgical musician Dan Schutte, who in 1981 wrote the hymn “Here I am, Lord”. It was based on Isaiah 6.8 and […]
Continuing on our musical theme, I have brought to mind another song that touches me. Today’s song is “dream on” by Aerosmith. The lyrics begin… Every time when I look in the mirror … All these lines on my face getting clearer … The past is gone … It went by, like dusk to dawn …. Isn’t that […]
