New Years Eve Reflection As we prepared to welcome the new year twelve months ago, we had no concept of what it would bring. It caught the world by surprise. Its impact was unimaginable. Many who celebrated the new year that night are no longer here to see it end. We are glad to see it go. We long to…
Reflection Every major religion recognizes the role of the Creator in the development of life. Gods everywhere look down from the heavens of the world religions and pronounce laws or grapple with demons or pass judgment from on high. Only Christianity argues that the Creator has taken on the flesh and blood of creation in order to bring us to…
Reflection Christ shines into the world through us when we carry his spirit within. When we live his vision of love and harmony, when we are moved with compassion for those who suffer, when we lend our efforts to building relationships of justice and peace, when we try to heal divisions and acrimony, then we enflesh his words and allow…
Feast of the Holy Innocents Reflection Today is the traditional Feast of the Holy Innocents, those children who according to the Gospel story were killed at the order of King Herod in order to protect his own power and domination. This abuse continues in our own time. We see children victimized by war and terrorism. Children suffer and die from disease,…
Reflection As we reflect on the experience of this Christmas, we realize our commonality in this moment of planetary distress. We are one family sharing our small planet as we spin through space. This is the human family of which we all are a part. This is our home and these are our brothers and sisters. We cannot be irresponsible,…
Reflection The gospel story of the birth of Jesus, and circumstances in which we encounter this reality provide us with the Jesus way to live in the midst of a world terribly divided by political, economic, and nationalistic tensions. What if each of us sought to bring love and light, warmth and peace, to the situations of our lives much…
Christmas Day Reflection Christmas is a day of hope as well as joy. We do not celebrate Jesus’ birthday remembering something that happened long ago. We celebrate the stupendous fact of the Incarnation. “This is a profound faith statement by which we hold that the Holy One, the source of everything that is, emerged most fully in Jesus of Nazareth. …
Christmas Eve Reflection Christmas Eve is a time of anticipation. Each of us holds a store of memories that sustain us. We feel a sense of hope and the promise of good news. For us this Advent has been a dark time, and the darkness in our nation lies heavy on our hearts. Separation has made us realize how much we…
Reflection O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come set us free, Lord our God. Emmanuel means God is with us. It reminds us that through Jesus we are shown what the gift of that presence means. It is the vision of a society freed from physical concerns and spiritual confusion. It…
Reflection O Ruler of all nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come save the creature you fashioned from the dust. The metaphor in this antiphon positions Jesus as the keystone of the arch of humanity. We know now that we are all related in our origins from that primal matter…