Today, the third Sunday of Advent, is known as Gaudete Sunday. We are getting closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. The first reading from Isaiah gives rise to the sentiment of joy. He tells us, “The desert and the parched land will exult; the...
“Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Those are the admonitions for Advent from St. John the Baptist. These are a true wake-up call to make a good confession during Advent, especially for the people who have not confessed for...
My mother died five days before Christmas last year. This past Independence Day, I went to my brother’s home to pick up the remnants of my parents’ estate. I unpacked Dad’s footlocker from his Air Force days, which contained Mom’s afghans, his anniversary watch from...
The Gospel today, as always, presents us with a challenge. The challenge begins in the first reading from Wisdom, “For who can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern what the Lord wills?” (9:13) We have often heard it said that God’s ways are not our ways. We...
In the Protestant church in which I grew up, I was taught that we had a hold on truth. How my church interpreted the Bible was correct, and all other churches were wrong. The pastor said had the final say on the truth that was in the Bible. I was a normal member of...
