Readings: Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; 1Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 Reflection by Sr Mary Ann Brunett It’s halfway through Lent and in the Psalm response we hear that “the Lord is kind and merciful.” What a wonderful reminder during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. Right about now we may need to be nudged a bit about keeping our Lenten resolutions! Today’s… read more →
Readings: Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18; Philipians 3:17—4:1; Luke 9: 28b-36 I’ve often understood this Transfiguration reading as something of a trailer for an upcoming epic film. Jesus, I saw, was sharing coming attractions with his dear friends Peter, James and John. He was showing them the bright, resurrected future that awaited them. He includes the three apostles in an elite… read more →
Readings: Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 Last Wednesday we began the Lenten Season of 2016 in a world teaming with the intertwinement of very serious problems—terrorism, poverty, drug addiction, sexual abuse, faltering economies, racism; and the list goes on and on. So much in the world around us appears hopeless and it becomes easy for us to give in… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11; Luke 5:1-11 Isaiah’s vision of God’s splendor comes with a stunning awareness of his own and his people’s failings followed by such an experience of forgiveness and love that he immediately gives his life over to God. He is driven to bring the Israelites back to their ever-faithful God. In forgetting their… 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 →
Readings: Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 The spirit of God is upon us! We are baptized to share in Jesus’ priestly, prophetic and royal ministry. We may never see it ourselves but we do open the eyes of many who walk blindly. We are to set captives free. The spirit anoints us to be… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; John 2:1-11 Shiva and Shakti, the Divine Couple in Hinduism, are in their heavenly abode watching over the earth. They are touched by the challenges of human life, the complexity of human reactions and the ever-present place of suffering in the human existence. As they watch, Shakti spies a miserably poor man walking down… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11, or Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Titus 2: 11-14, 3:4-7, or Acts 10-34-38; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 My theology nerd heart beats a little faster every time lectionary year C comes around. As my students would tell you (rolling their eyes of course), I love Luke’s Gospel. As would be expected, I love it because it features some… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12 Since 1969, when Neil Armstrong took one small step on the moon, people worldwide have had a love affair with space travel amid the stars. Who, if anyone, is out there? Is there water anywhere? What happens in the life cycle of a comet? Will space travel be available to… read more →
Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28 or Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 or Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:41-52 “Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it—because he is out of place in it, and yet must be in… read more →