Readings: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-30. Preacher: Gloria Ulterino I’ve spent time in prison. For a number of years I would go to one of the two prisons in town and lead Communion services once a month. I never knew who would cross my path. On one occasion I encountered a talented artist, who brought some of his… read more →
Readings: Acts 2: 14A, 36-41; 1 Peter 2: 20B-25; John 10: 1-10 Preacher: Gloria Ulterino I don’t know a thing about sheep and shepherds. How about you? But we do know about Voice. We know that there are all kinds of voices in our lives and in our heads. Like destructive ones, left over from past hurt. The voices of… read more →
Readings: Joel 2: 12-18; 2 Corinthians 5: 20-6:2; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18 Preacher: Gloria Ulterino It was Ash Wednesday… almost 30 years ago now. I was at work in the parish office, and the phone rang. “Hi, Mom! I just wanted you to know I went to church today!” Her chipper voice conveyed the good news as much as the… read more →
Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2:16-21 Preacher: Gloria Ulterino At the waters of Baptism I was given the name Gloria O’Toole. As a really young child I vividly remember going to Mass, and saying to myself, “What is that gibberish I keep hearing?” (It was Latin, of course.) But then, invariably, the priest would proclaim, loud and clear,… read more →
Readings: Wisdom 9: 13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14: 25-33 Preacher: Gloria Ulterino Jesus, surely you don’t mean what you’re saying! Hate our parents … our spouse … our children … those nearest and dearest to our hearts! What can I possibly say about that? Then I remembered. We were in London, visiting our son and his family. We had… read more →
Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31—13:13; Luke 4:21-30 Ouch! Rejection hurts! Stings! Cuts to the heart! Of all people, prophets are most susceptible to that kind of pain. Prophets, the ones who speak the truth of God, whether they want to or not. The ones who say truthful things that most people don’t want to hear. For the nudge… read more →
WIS 2:12, 17-20; PS 54:3-4, 5, 6 and 8; JAS 3:16—4:3; MK 9:30-37 At every turn, there’s conflict. Turmoil. Cravings gone awry. In today’s readings. On the road with Jesus and his disciples. On our everyday roads, as well. Pick up a newspaper. Watch the news. What do we see? What do we hear? Conflict. Turmoil. Cravings gone awry. On a train in France,… read more →