It is part of our human condition that grief and fear blind us to heavenly realities. On Easter Sunday, St. Paul challenged us with Colossians 3:1-4: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above…. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” To which I want to say, “Easier said than done!” I have no trouble rejoicing in Christ until I have trouble in my life, and then it’s too easy to fixate on that and forget him. The Incredulity of St. Thomas, by Caravaggio (1601-1602). Wikimedia Commons.   I find it comfo ..read more

Scripture is nearly silent about Holy Saturday.  It’s as if with the death of our Lord, everything stops.  There is a flurry of preparation in the short time between his death and the start of the Sabbath:  Joseph of Arimathea wraps the body of Jesus carefully and lays it in a new tomb not far from the cross.  The women prepare aromatic oils and spices but there is no time to anoint the body, and they retire to their homes. Meanwhile, the chief priests and Pharisees get Pilate to seal the tomb and mount a Roman guard. A profound silence begins. + + + I wrote this reflection ..read more

I can’t stop thinking about the Epiphany this week, as I — like the Magi — seek to find Jesus. There are times I can’t find him. Or he’s there, and I can’t see him. I don’t recognize his presence in people around me, in situations that are hard. Shouldn’t it be easy, to find the Son of God? Sometimes it’s tempting to listen to voices of doubt. God doesn’t exist, they say. Follow your own star; ignore the one in the heavens. I want eyes like the magi’s, who weren’t put off when the king they traveled so far to see, turned up in a cowshed. He must have been nothing like what they expected. And y ..read more

What do you want most in the new year? I’ve been asking myself that for a month. Every thought I’ve had comes down to one word: NEW. 2023 was tough, as I grappled with grief and loss and searched for silver linings. So in 2024, I want a new horizon. A new focus. A new me. Thank God, any newness in my life comes within the context of his unchanging love. He can and does do new things — but he does not change. I can walk forward in hope, relying on who God is and what he has done in the past and certain that he who has begun a good work in me will bring it to completion in the day of Christ (see ..read more

How would your life be different if you read the Bible every day — or if you turned to it as often as you do your smartphone? Pope Francis asked that question and had this to say: “If we had the Word of God always in the heart, no temptation would be able to estrange us from God  and no obstacle would be able to make us deviate from the path of goodness; we would be able to overcome the daily suggestions of evil that are in us and outside of us; we would be more capable of living a resurrected life according to the Spirit, receiving and loving our brothers … and also our enemies” (3/6/17 ..read more

The Psalms are unique in the Bible because on one hand, they are prayers of people pouring out their hearts to God; but at the same time, they are the words of God. When we pray with them, our thirst for him meets his thirst for us. The psalms reveal HIS heart while they bare OUR hearts. They connect with us in our humanity – our weakness, longing, hurts, joys, praise – and lift our eyes and hearts to the One all those emotions are meant to point us to. How do they do this? By giving us words to pray that (when we pray them) help form us in knowing how to pray. St. Augustine recommended that ..read more

How about adding something to your Lenten diet this year, in place of the things you abstain from? I’m not talking about adding food. As Jesus famously said, we don’t live just on bread, but on “every word” that comes from God (see Matthew 4:4). Lent is a great time to see the truth of that, by making it intentional. Pope Francis had an interesting comment on Jesus’s parable of the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor beggar who lay dying at his gate (see Luke 16) . He said that the root of the rich man’s problem was not his wealth but his failure to pay attention to God’s word. The man was ..read more

Israel was between a rock and a hard place. Literally. There they were, camped on the plains of Moab. With solid cliffs behind them and the River Jordan and Jericho ahead, barring their way into Canaan. They were also caught between the “rock” of their sin and the hard job of conquering the land God has promised them. God had freed them from slavery and made them his own. They had exchanged mutual vows of fidelity and love at Mt. Sinai. And then, as God prepared to carry them over the threshold of their new home, they cheated on him. Forgetting God, they consecrated themselves to the god of t ..read more

“Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man…I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.” —Saint Augustine As we move into Christmas, I wish for you the peace and joy that only Jesus brings. Whether you are prepared or not; whether you are well or not; whether you can afford gifts or not; whether you can be with those you love or not … … take time to set your sights on the thing that really matters. Maybe sit beside a nativity scene or where you can see a Holy Family ornament on your tree. Meditate on Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth in Lk 2:1–20. And notice: Mary and Joseph w ..read more

Having recently lost someone dear to me has shifted my focus to beyond the grave, where I imagine him filled with the peace and joy he longed for. It increases my own longing for heaven, too, although I hope to stick around for a good long time! Thankfully we don’t have to wait for eternity, to be with the Lord. Jesus comes here, right where we are, to be with us. I’m listening to O Come, O Come Immanuel a lot these days, especially to the soaring, achingly beautiful violin and piano instrumental version from Casting Crowns. I know the lyrics well enough that my subconscious fills them in whi ..read more