The poem below, by an anonymous author, entitled, ‘Twas the Night Before Jesus, will seem rather corny to some readers, including me, but the underlying message is significant. Sometimes we want the resurrection without the crucifixion, the incarnation without the struggles of living, the wood of the crib without the wood of the cross, the […]
Hamilton W. Mabee once said: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” It’s a wondrous scene in urban parishes each December as numerous inner-city residents line up at churches to receive cart loads of groceries and/or gifts to share with loved ones in their humble dwellings during the […]
The Rite of Baptism for Christians begins with parents stating the name of their child. This ancient tradition gives identity to the beloved baby human. Proverbs, 22:1, states: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; a family’s high esteem has greater value than gold.” Some have suggested that this identity is only meant […]
In the mid-1980s, when Eric Clapton was going through dark personal struggles and loss, he wrote a beautiful song, Holy Mother. It is a prayer of surrender which expresses his conversion from being self-centered to being centered in the mystery of life, God, and connecting to others in efforts that contribute to society’s good rather […]
Advent is a mystical journey. Mary and Joseph set the tone for us with their journey to Bethlehem. It is a journey of trusting in visions and locutions, a journey of being ostracized and ridiculed, a journey of believing in impossible things, an adventurous journey that changed the course of human history. Their journey weaves […]
In late November our nation invites us to pause in gratitude for the numerous blessings we receive and share. The ritual began over 400 years ago, before the country was even born, when pilgrim-people from across the Atlantic sailed to the unchartered land we now occupy. According to tradition, colonists gathered with indigenous Pokanoket people […]
My sixty-five-year-old body increasingly reminds me of my age. For the past several months I limped around because my left side, from hip to ankle, has been hurting and dragging. For the first time in my life, walking and climbing stairs was painful. In retrospect and to my detriment, I probably never gave my body […]
I love the Catholic Church and am blessed to have been shaped by it. It has anchored my life and kept me oriented toward the good. It has educated me, inspired me, employed me, ordained me, and helped me through difficult times. Like many other things that I love—my family, my country, my home—I always […]
After a tornado, cyclone, hurricane, or other storm hits us, we can feel both relieved and devastated at the same time: relief that we survived yet devastated by the destruction. After a grueling game or sport season, team members can feel both exhilarated and exhausted. Feelings can be similar on the day after a general […]
At the funeral of Irish rock star Shane MacGowan nearly a year ago, his friends sang “Haunted,” a ballad he wrote in the 1980s for the iconic film, Sid and Nancy, and performed numerous times with Sinead O’Connor. The lyrics, “I want to be haunted by the ghost of your precious love,” could be a […]
UPON THIS ROCK 