I don’t know if any of you have had the opportunity to live in a desert. When I was 25, I went to live in the friars’ Navajo mission along the New Mexico and Arizona border for two consecutive...
In today’s Gospel we hear an Annunciation Story. It is not the Annunciation Story to Mary of the birth of Jesus but the Annunciation Story to the priest Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptist. ...
This season of Advent is a time of preparation to receive the Prince of Peace in our hearts and family. It is a season that is full of joy and many preparations: cards, food, decorations, buying...
The gospel for today is St. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. It is Matthew's way of showing how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament storyline and takes up the first 17 verses of the gospel - and since...
Who does he think he is? Some of the Jewish religious leaders, some chief priests and elders, irritated by Jesus put this question to him in today’s Gospel: “By what authority are you doing these...
In today’s Gospel Jesus compares his generation to children in the marketplace. These children refuse to respond: “We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge, but you did...
As we all learned in grade school in the USA the Spaniards arrived in the new world in 1492. They attempted to establish settlements and colonies throughout the Caribbean Islands, Santo Domingo, and...
We all like to receive invitations. During this Advent season we receive many invitations to parties and open houses. The most important invitation that we can receive this Advent is Jesus’...
"Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated..." (Isaiah 40:1-2) The Prophet Isaiah is...
The “Hail, Mary” is probably one of the first prayers most of us learned. As we see in today’s Gospel, most of the words of this prayer are taken from the words of Luke’s Gospel. The angel Gabriel...
The enemies are on the horizon. Judah is in a time of darkness or uncertainty, waiting for a light to show there is a better future coming. Today's first reading is from Isaiah 29:17-24. Beginning...
It is so easy for us to develop and then maintain a relationship with God based on natural religiosity. This leads us to only pay lip serve to God without any significance. We also develop a...