Gospel, Homily and Coffee

Pope Benedict 16 wrote that Jesus, as THE ultimate prophet, fully reveals the face of God. Pope Francis calls us as Church to be as Jesus in the world. Jesus reveals God. We are called to reveal God. This has profound implications for us as Catholics on how we believe and what we believe. We need to ask ourselves: what does Jesus reveal of God, what does God look like? God has no particular color, characteristics, no political party. God favors no country above another. God loves. God sees good in all and wishes for that goodness to come through. God calls us to be transformed. God is self giving.  And all of us need to be challenged in our concept of God...Continually. Otherwise we settle into a version of God that fits our own individual mode of thinking; we conform God to our vision of the world, our view of politics. We create an idol and that is what we often will spread. This applies left or right, progressive or conservative.   When we spread our own ide...

Recently Virginia, our Coordinator of Youth and Young Adults ministry was telling me about their house in Texas. The foundations of many houses in that area are within in a particular clay. Therefore the foundation and the area around it needs to be watered, otherwise the foundation cracks. If that happens there is laborious repair work. Yet, what an image: watering clay and cement to keep it good. Not just the lawn. A very appropriate image for our faith lives and our own foundations: a foundation in Jesus Christ.  As disciples we need to look at our foundation, our faith in Jesus Christ, from time to time. We need to care for it.  Usually we don’t figure that out until something comes along to upset us: a Pandemic, political and social upheaval, sickness in ourselves or family, to name a few.   There are people who are confused now. How we believe and what we think we believe are challenged in these times. It can be scary. People’s foundations and what t...

The word “Catholic” comes from a Greek word that means “for all people”; universal for all people.  What do we have to offer that is for all people? Israel had and still has a mission: to make known to all the world who God is. Isaiah will especially speak of this universalism, this mission to make known God to all the nations.  Jesus Christ, a child of Israel and the Son of God, fulfilled this mission. He renewed this mission in Israel and he himself acted upon it.   He wanted to offer to the world, to all people a better way to live, so as to experience the reality of the love of the Father. We see this play out in our Gospel. A Gentile who wanted a life for her own daughter. A mother who knew that Jesus had done the same for others and wanted it for her own family. And Jesus seeing this desire, gives it to her. Christians continued this mission. They went out to the known world, to all peoples to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly It worked. Genti...

Fear; a basic and necessary emotional reaction to a perceived threat. Fear; we sense something that is a danger to ourselves, to our wellbeing, to who and what we consider important to us.  And as we grasp what makes us fearful, so we grasp a better understanding of ourselves. And what we perceive as important; and what keeps us from acting with goodness. There is a distinction in the Spanish language that we lack in English. In Spanish, when people are thirsty, or hungry, or scared, they say “I have hunger, I have thirst, I have fear.” (Tengo hambre, tengo sed, tengo miedo). The implication that this experience will go away once dealt with; it does not define the person.  English, well we tend to lack that sophistication. We would say “I AM hungry, thirsty, or scared” It seems to imply this experience is part of our being.  Jesus says “BE not afraid!” He does not say “never have fear”, but rather, do not let fear control you. Jesus certainly experienced fear. ...

I think it is inevitable...at one point, probably many times, we come to a point where we think we have no options. We do not know what to do.  It can be our first heartbreak. It can be the time we lose our job, our home. When our bodies fail us. When it seems a marriage is falling apart. When our goals, our dreams, all crash down around us. When we are confronted with situations beyond any control that we know of. What will we do? It is fairly common for young children to throw tantrums when life does not go their way. It's part of them maturing. They begin, hopefully, to understand that the universe does not revolve around them. It is the role of the parent to guide them in this important step, because that process helps them to be more solid as adults. They will be more at peace. If not, they still throw tantrums; usually now through social media. What will we do? What will we, as persons of faith, do when we are challenged? We have a situation going on. It is in the...