Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Tuesday - Feast of St. Jerome Gospel – Luke 9:51-56 Life’s a Journey St. Jerome’s Cave (home), Bethlehem   Speaking strictly as a certified sci-fi geek, I love my Doctor Who.   And one of my favorite lines in the decades-long series is when the Doctor complains to his intelligent time machine (it’s a long story) that it never takes him where he wants to be.   And the Tardis’ response?   Yes, but I always take you where you need to be! Looking back on my life, I could have stayed home in the countryside of Southern Maryland and taken over Dad’s country store and post office.   I could have stayed in the seminary and served as a priest in Mississippi or Alabama.   I could have finished college at University of Maryland instead of moving out to Chicago.   I could have continued my job in retail sales (ugh).   I could have retired (relatively) comfortably after 40 years of teaching high school religion instead of accepting the cal...

  Monday – Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels Gospel – John 1:47-51 Angels Among Us Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth Years ago, I learned that one of my favorite teachers from my high school years in the   seminary, Fr. Brendan, was suffering from terminal cancer.   It was very sad news; Father Brendan was my English teacher, our theater director, my spiritual guide and mentor.   Luckily I was able to get in touch with him in those last few months and we had a phone chat reminiscing about our time together.   It was an opportunity for me to thank him for being such a role model and inspiration to me, especially in those moments of doubt and hardship.   He truly was an angel in my life. We celebrate today the Feasts of Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael the Archangels.   Michael the guardian and protector from evil and harm!   Gabriel the messenger of God!   And Raphael the healer!   We all grew up with that appr...

  26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel – Luke 16:19-31 If I Were A Rich Man… Homeless Sculpture, Capernaum When we first got married, we lived in a very tiny studio apartment.   We used wooden nail kegs as chairs and a cable reel as our table.   We made our own Christmas ornaments that first year and still have some of them to this day.   We would spend some cold days at the Loyola Library because the apartment was too cold.   Our one luxury was a sofa sleeper!   Were we rich?   By any economic standard, definitely not!   Were we happy? Absolutely!   Granted, we look back on that time with a touch of nostalgia but, all in all, we made do with what we had!   We didn’t really focus on what we didn’t have or couldn’t afford!   We just made good use of what we had! The Rich Man in today’s Gospel just doesn’t get it!   It’s not that Jesus is condemning everyone who is rich. I think it’s more about what you are doing with wh...