Readings: Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3: 17- 4:1; Luke 9: 28b-36 Preacher: Nancy J. DeRycke Remember times in your life, growing up or as an adult when you needed a “guiding light?” In this Transfiguration story that we hear every 2nd Sunday of Lent, Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, to sort things out as he struggles with the… read more →

Readings: Dueteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10: 8-13; Luke 4: 1-13 Preacher: Sr. Joan Sobala Who is this Satan, anyway? In today’s Gospel, Jesus recognizes Satan for who he is, but in our daily lives, we don’t … or at least we don’t easily recognize Satan for who he is. The Evil One (a.k.a. Satan,  the Adversary) is present wherever people and cultures… read more →

Readings: Sirach 27: 4-7; 1 Corinthians 15: 54-58; Luke 6: 39-45 Preacher: Lourdes Perez-Albuerne In today’s gospel reading, Luke gives us a number of sapiential sayings, which are familiar, but that on Jesus’ lips point to what God expects from us.  These sayings also remind us that God’s expectations do not contradict common sense or human reasoning, but instead, perfect them… read more →

Readings: 1 Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49; Luke 6: 27-38 Preacher: Susan K. Roll Oh gee, could this be any more of a tall order? What was Jesus thinking?  Does he even live in the real world? This Sunday’s Gospel picks up from last week’s and takes the “Sermon on the Level Place,” or Sermon on… read more →

Readings: Jeremiah 17: 5-8; 1 Corinthians 15: 12, 16-20; Luke 6: 17, 20-26 Preacher: Deni Mack My mother’s father, John Monaghan, at age fourteen, promised his father on his deathbed, to educate his sisters. He was a blessing to his poor family as he worked to support them.  No longer poor, his sisters Kate and Mary blessed hundreds of New York… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11; Luke 5: 1-11 Preacher: Margot Van Etten What do you do when you come face to face with God? Isaiah, Peter and Paul are unanimous: “I am unworthy!” Isaiah despairs. Peter says, “Go away.” Paul still, decades later, declares himself least worthy of those called to be apostles. (Killing Christians does not… read more →

Readings: Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12: 31-13:13; Luke 4: 21-30 Preacher: Patrick Fox As we are in the early days of our walk through Ordinary Time I find it interesting that either of the two allowed readings today from 1 Corinthians present us with the words that the Corinthians heard, “Love is…” I have often used this section of… read more →

Readings: Nehemiah 8: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1: 1-4, 4: 14-21 Preacher: Ruth Marchetti Nearly 60 years ago a preacher from Atlanta Georgia held a throng in awe at the Lincoln Memorial as he called for an end of oppression for African Americans. Martin Luther King’s stirring speech resonated far beyond the crowd as people turned with… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; John 2: 1-11 Preacher: Marlene Bessette As a woman and a mother, the interchange between Jesus and Mary at the Cana wedding feast is always a little jarring to me. “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” Reading this immediately brought back an unpleasant memory of an interchange I had with one of… read more →

Readings: Isaiah 42: 1-4. 6-7; Acts 10: 34-38; Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22 Preacher: Sonja Livingston This past summer our parish welcomed a new pastor. The first Sunday I heard Father Daniel celebrate Mass included a baptism. As much as I enjoy the sight of babies and christening gowns, when I saw the family gathered at the back of the church, I… read more →