From the Pastor: 3.25.12

Let me start by squelching the rumor that I get paid a commission for my “cultural plugs”; if I did, I would certainly donate my compensation to the parish!  No, generally when I write (or preach) about a cultural “find,” it is simply to “share the wealth” because I have run across something which I have found both thought provoking and spiritually uplifting.  My latest is the special exhibit “Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit” on display through April 15 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  (I am sure that many of you have seen it already;...

Homily: Lent 5(B), 3.25.12

Franciscan retreat master and spiritual writer, Richard Rohr, ends his recent book on 12-step spirituality, Breathing Under Water, with what he calls “An Unexpected Postscript: Only a Suffering God Can Save.”  In this closing section, Rohr addresses what is sometimes called the problem of theodicy, which he states this way: How can there “be a God, a good God, or a just God in the presence of evil in the world”?  His answer – a God who suffers with us. Rohr writes: “If God is somehow in the suffering, … in full solidarity with the world that God created,...

Homily: St. Joseph’s Day, 3.19.12

Joseph huffed in frustration as he thrashed around wrestling with the covers.  The night was warm, not the best of sleeping weather; but he knew that the real problem was his overactive mind.  He had tried everything to disengage it – to shut it down so that he might have half a chance of falling asleep – but to no avail.  Not for the first time, he half considered grabbing a light blanket and heading for the roof.  Perhaps the cool breezes and the company of the stars would calm him into slumber. His mind of its own accord slipped back to his main preoccupation. ...

Homily: Lent 4(B), 3.18.12

 In his marvelous novel, The Last Western, Thomas S. Klise tells the story of the life of a Christ-like figure named Willie, a multi-racial athlete born in the sleepy little southwestern town of Sandstorm, New Mexico.  Willie rises to national prominence as a baseball phenomenon, and eventually, as a religious leader and peacemaker.  An innocent and a dreamer, he dedicates himself to fostering the unity of humankind; and when he proposes a method for universal reconciliation of the human family, the power-mongers are so threatened that we know Willie’s days are...

Homily: Lent 3(B), 3.11.12

Well, there’s a different face of Jesus, eh?  This is definitely not “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.”  This is Jesus “gone postal”!  But seriously, what are we to make of this story?  How are we to understand it?  Well, for starters, it offers compelling evidence that Jesus was fully human.  At the grave of his friend, Lazarus, we will see him weeping for grief.  In the garden of Gethsemane, we will see him sweating blood from fear.  And here, we see him genuinely angry – angry enough to attack the animal vendors and money changers with an improvised...

From the Pastor: 3.18.12

If you’ve been listening to or reading me at all for the last few years, you will know by now that I am a passionate observer of the ongoing dialogue and interplay between our religious faith and the “dominant culture.”  What role does (or should) faith/religion play in culture?  What elements of popular culture can harmonize with, or even support religious belief?   And where, by contrast, does the Gospel rightly critique the culture and offer a clear alternative path for Christian believers – especially Roman Catholics? Along those lines, I continue to be...

From the Pastor: 3.11.12

Lent is a season for humble self-examination, true enough.  But the word “humble” is easily misunderstood.  It is not about groveling self-flagellation.  Its roots are related to the Latin word “humus,” meaning “earth.”  True “humility,” then, is about “grounded-ness.”  It is about honest and truthful self-assessment – owning one’s strengths as well as one’s weaknesses.  Having said that, good Jesuit parish that we are, many of us (including your pastor) have highly developed critical faculties and are quick to notice and name our...

From the Pastor: 3.4.12

I continue to be inspired and challenged by Franciscan Richard Rohr’s book “Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps” (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2011) – as well as by our Outreach guests, with whom I am reading and discussing the book.  Just when I think that they and the book have stretched my spiritual horizons as far as possible, along come another chapter and discussion to nudge me even further forward!  Luckily for me (or maybe not!), we are nearing the end of the book… This last week, we read and discussed chapter eleven: “An...

Homily: 1st Lent (B), 2.26.12

As a race, it would seem that we humans must be a something of a disappointment to God.  After all, he lovingly created our first parents, Adam and Eve, in his own image and likeness.  He made them stewards of the earthly paradise in Eden and walked with them regularly.  He intended nothing other than for them to enjoy his company in peaceful bliss for all eternity.  All they needed to do was to leave that one tree alone – the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We all know how that story turned out.  The snake seduced Eve with half-truths and empty promises; and...

From the Pastor: 2.26.12

My earliest associations with Lent revolve around the question: “What are YOU giving up?”  And still today, almost fifty years after the end of the Second Vatican Council, that question continues to loom large in the piety of rank-and-file Roman Catholics as they consider how best to observe the season of Lent, which began this past Wednesday with the blessing and imposition of ashes. First off, let me hasten to assure you that I am in no way opposed to “giving something up” as a Lenten discipline.  It is still not a bad place to begin one’s personal Lenten...