Don’t give your oil away
Readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A “Don’t give your oil away.” A wise woman said that to me many years ago when I was discerning a vocation as a lay woman in the church. At the … Read More
Clericalism isn’t just for clerics
Readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A One need not be ordained to participate in clericalism. You can find it in any liturgical minister who sees themselves as set apart for their own benefit. However, to be … Read More
Doorways, litanies, and other thin places of the liturgy
Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) These dual feasts of All Saints and All Souls give us an opportunity to reflect on symbols of liminality. One such symbol … Read More
A Child’s Prayer Before Trick-or-Treating
God, bless all the people we will meet. Let our visit with them be a pleasant treat. Whatever the costumes we wear tonight, may we all be clothed with Christ’s light. Protect us from danger and the devil’s ways, that … Read More
A liturgist’s prayer
It can become quite easy for liturgists to fall prey to the sin of idolatry, making the things of the liturgy—rules and rubrics, symbols and actions, all the things of the senses—greater than the work of the Holy Spirit. Don’t … Read More
How children really learn who their neighbor is
Readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Recently, I was on a shuttle bus at the airport, going from terminal to terminal. As the shuttle driver drove, he announced the names of the airlines at the upcoming … Read More
Citizens of two cities
Readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A One of the last documents to be promulgated from Vatican II is Gaudium et spes, the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Today’s Gospel might be a good … Read More
What not to wear to church
Readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Some might be tempted to use the longer version of today’s Gospel to talk about “proper” dress in church. I know that some church leaders have been lauded for making … Read More
Reaping what we sow
Readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A You reap what you sow. We see that clearly in the Gospel today. The violence and greed of the tenants blinded them to the foolishness of their plan. How could … Read More
Three ways Catholics can respond to gun violence – infographic
The most recent events in Las Vegas involving gun violence have put the spotlight on not only lawmakers but also on people of goodwill who genuinely want to offer prayers and thoughts for those affected by such overwhelming tragedy. As … Read More