Priest. Hermit. Aspie.
As we read through the Gospels, we see stories of healings and other miracles of Jesus come up again and again. Today’s Gospel presents us with one of those healings. Jesus does not heal as a means of “showing off” or “showing up” anyone else. His miracles are given to us as signs and invitations. Our Gospel passage today is one that makes this clear. Continue reading “Rise and Walk”
And I can tell by the way you’re searching
For something you can’t even name
That you haven’t been able to come to the table
Simply glad that you came
When you feel like this try to imagine
That we’re all like frail boats on the sea
Just scanning the night for that great guiding light
Announcing the jubilee
– Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Jubilee
Tucked away among the many commands given in the Law of Moses are two rather interesting ones that would seem downright dangerous to our way of thinking, if we took them seriously. One is the provision for a Sabbath Year – every seventh year. On the sabbath year, the soil was to be given rest and some debts were to be forgiven. The second command is for a Jubilee Year every fiftieth year – in other words, the year coming after seven weeks of years, the “Super Sabbath” year. On the Jubilee Year, all debts were to be forgiven entirely (ponder that one as you finger your credit card or pay your mortgage or student loan) and all slaves were to be freed (how different our history would have been if we had followed such a ‘primitive’ law). These laws, among others, were intended to make Israel a sign for itself and other nations of who their God was and what He intended to do for Israel and, through Israel, for all humanity. Continue reading “Announcing The Jubilee”
The email notifications that many of you signed up for are working inconsistently at best. I’ve emailed the support folks at Jetpack (the ones who designed that widget) and I am confident that the problem will be solved soon. In the meantime, you may not get email notifications. Feel free to check this site for new posts. Thanks for your understanding.
Edit: This is SO weird! No emails went out for my last couple of regular posts. But, when I alert you about the emails NOT working, they work! Who says that God lacks a sense of humor?
Edit #2: The support folks at Jetpack are working on this. They’ve seen this issue with other sites as well. What’s life without a little challenge or two?
“The lonely and lost are just waiting to hear; Any moment their purpose will be perfectly clear.” – Mary-Chapin Carpenter, The Calling
A happy St. Andrew’s Day to all of you of Scottish descent!
In today’s Gospel reading, we are presented with the call of the first disciples according to St. Matthew. In this account, Jesus simply appears, calls out to Andrew and Peter, then James and John, and they immediately leave everything and follow Him. Immediately, we ask? What was it that drew these fishermen so quickly, so readily to Jesus? Continue reading “Follow Me”
In yesterday’s post, I picked up on the theme of “searing judgment” found in the reading from Isaiah at yesterday’s Mass. The first readings in today’s Office of Readings (part of the daily Liturgy of the Hours, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it), from Isaiah, places yesterday’s Mass reading in context and includes that reading. Before we get to the promise of “searing judgment”, we see a promise that our God will come to “overawe the earth”. He will lower the arrogant and the proud, humble the mountains and the cedars of Lebanon, and be the only mountain on that day. Then he will grant vindication to His people.
But how does God “overawe the earth” and “lower the arrogant”? Continue reading “Supersize Me!”