Each ecclesial year, early days of the Lenten season take us into the desert with Jesus to encounter the darkness of demons that haunt us, and then to the mountaintop to catch a glimpse of a higher, brighter glory beyond this existence.  Though a mercurial shift in spiritual altitude and a roller coaster-type experience for […]

There are several formulas used for receiving ashes to begin the Lenten season.  The most common ritual is to be smeared on the forehead with soot while a ministering agent proclaims: “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”  Another familiar phrase used is: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the […]

Love is in the air on Valentine’s Day.  According to legends surrounding the saint for whom this day is named, he encouraged courtship and marriage among young couples of his time while the local emperor discouraged soldiers from distracting themselves through romance when they needed to focus on battle.  Valentine knew that love always wins.  […]

Strengthened by recent gridiron mettle and fortified by local beliefs, we’re incentivized by the determination of the Kansas City Chiefs.  The injury list was extensive: many side-lined, while others play in pain, amidst fractures, dislocations, bruises—though all for a greater gain.  Gaining another AFC championship, traveling back for the Super Bowl, we play the Eagles […]

In my senior year of college, the Kansas City Royals went to the World Series for the first time but lost the fall classic to the team from Philadelphia, four games to two.  That was forty-two years ago—a long time to hold on to something.  But that’s what sports fans often do.  “Philly” is the […]

I am no expert on yoga.  But I know that some people think it’s focus is Hindu spirituality that promotes pantheism, the belief that everything is God and God is everything (“pan” means all and “theos” means God).  For them, physical poses unite us with universal divine energy so that we become more closely one […]

Earlier this week, urban parishes in Kansas City came together to commemorate and celebrate the birth and life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his mission, ministry, and message.  King knew that injustice will be with us always, until the end of time, yet he had great hope that, because of the values […]

Increasing numbers of engaged couples do not have a parish in which to host their wedding or they get told by a church official that they don’t qualify for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony for various reasons, e.g., they’re not registered members, they’re cohabitating, one of them is divorced…  Many such couples grew up in […]

As the NFL’s regular season is completed, our attention, perhaps even obsession, for the next month will be dedicated to the play-offs and championship games.  Looking back on this and recent years, the National Football League has been a strong leader in helping our nation sort out what is important.  They also inspire us to […]

At the end 1877, the young Scottish poet, Rabbie Burns, found himself with mates and muckers at a pub where he embellished ancestral ballads passed down by older muckers who recalled times that evaporated into history.  Whether sober recollections of old and spirited souls or from the drunk tank of their harking back, he penned […]