Fire can be as dangerous as it is beautiful and useful as it is mysterious. From the burning bush to the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, throughout the Scriptures, its language is rich and often used to reflect the nature of God (CCC 696). (c.f the Seraphim) Our own experience of the summer California wildfires touches us in a particular way. Many of us still have vivid memories of the fires of 2008 that surrounded us on three sides, provoking mass evacuations, destroying many homes and livelihoods. It’s no consolation when we hear Our Blessed Lord saying in the gospel today, “I hav ..read more

  Gospel Luke 11:1–13 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread  and forgive us our sins  for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,  and do not subject us to the final test.” Watching him pray, his disciples could see that Our Blessed Lord was intimately in touch with heaven. In a way it was “written all over his face ..read more

 Luke 10:38–42 Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” The image that comes to mind after reading the Gospel which s ..read more

Invocation Prayer at the Retirement Ceremony for  Gunnery Sergeant Justin Lienemann USMC Marine Corp Recruitment Depot San Diego June 24th 2022 God, creator and sustainer of all that exists. When you unlocked the gates of time, from that first moment of our conception, one by one you called us forth as a son or daughter made in your image, to a place and for a purpose, and into the unfolding of history, not only of this great nation, but of the whole world.  But your work is never done, you never retire from your duty to sustain, protect and nourish all that is good. And as long ..read more

Luke 10:38–42 Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” The image that comes to mind after reading the Gospel which speak ..read more

How do you keep your whites white? This portion of the Gospel we have listened to begins with the departure of Judas from the Upper Room and his descent into the darkness of the street. His mind was made up to betray the Lord. Christ remarks “now is the Son of Man glorified”. Is not Christ glorified while he performed the miracles, in his cross, or by his resurrection? Why “now”, with the simple departure of Judas from the Upper Room? Keep in mind the second reading, from the Book of Revelation (John 21: 1-5) when we hear that John “saw a new heaven and a new earth.” Now that the trait ..read more

The resurrected Christ stands on the shores of the great sea. He looks out into the whole world. In the midst of the great sea of the world, Christ sees a boat - He sees the Church. What does Christ see us doing?  From our perspective on board, it might at times seem very confining, bumping into so many people, everyone with different roles, gifts, backgrounds, abilities.  From where He is, the Lord has a great perspective. He can also see the whole world in which we are in. He can see the weather approaching. He can see any dangers on the horizon. He can also see the distant lan ..read more

  A week has passed since the first disciples found out the news about Jesus having risen from the dead. Some of the disciples had even claimed to others that they had seen him, spoken with the Lord and that he was as real, if not more than he had been while he walked the roads of the Holy Land with them. It was indeed incredible news. But was it believable? For some, yes it was. For others, they first demanded hard evidence. And as if to make this point through an example, we are told today about Thomas, who was called “the doubter”. It seems that he was determined to keep the door of ..read more

 Easter Sunday  Much has happened in these past few weeks and even during these past days. As a Church we have come together, again and again to proclaim the events of the life, the death and now the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Since Ash Wednesday, and Sunday after Sunday we have been approaching, in a way, the city of Jerusalem. Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, we, so to speak, arrived at its walls with Christ, and entered through its mighty gates. Within it, we recalled how, on Holy Thursday night, Christ initiated the model of how his love would be kept fresh within the Chur ..read more

It happens all the time. People get arrested. We are used to the sight, whether we see it be as we drive by minding our own business, or watching it on tv or the internet, even from the perspective of someone recording it with their phone or playing back footage from law enforcement. We are used to it. Unless we are the actual victim, instead of being traumatized, we are more often worked up emotionally.  Individuals get executed. We are used to reading about it, following the appeals process, the back and forth legal arguments about drugs used to administer lethal injections, photogra ..read more