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  Wednesday – 19 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew18:15-20 Houston, We Have a Problem Tekakwitha Conference 2022 A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended. Later, the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage. “Go to the marketplace.” he said, “and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road.” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told. The next day the wise man said, “Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me.” The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand. ...
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  Tuesday – 19 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 A Child-like Wonder Mass at Kateri Center The Saint Kateri Center, where I minister to the Catholic Native American community, first opened as the Anawim Center in 1982, in Chicago’s Uptown community, which was then the center of American Indian life.   The name ‘anawim’ has its roots in the Hebrew language, the language of the Old Testament. It literally means ‘those who are bowed down’ and refers to the poor of every sort – the vulnerable, the marginalized, the socio-economically oppressed, those of lowly status without any earthly power.   In Jesus’ time, it meant children, widows and lepers, those who were completely dependent on others.   So it should come as no surprise that, when Jesus is asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, His response is not religious or political leaders, not the rich or powerful but “a child.”    One who is little and possesses a p...
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Monday – Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr Gospel – John 12:24-26 Service with a Smile Zucchini Five years ago we hit the ‘garden jackpot’.   We had 3 zucchini plants in our garden that year!   3 plants grown from 3 quite tiny seeds, each one barely a half-inch long.   And yet, from those 3 plants, we made 40 loaves of zucchini bread, 2 dozen zucchini lemon cookies, 4 dozen zucchini chocolate muffins, and 1 zucchini blueberry cake.   And that doesn’t include the 5 zucchinis still waiting to be cut up, much less the many that were still on the vine.   Such little seeds!   Such an abundance of life and productivity!   Side note – this year in Tennessee, the harvest was rather underwhelming!   But the baking shall continue!!! We are all a bit like the seeds in today’s Gospel.   The life, the real life, lies inside the seed.   And, in order for the life to germinate and grow, the seed has to die, to break open and let the life...
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