Bible
Joy For Jacob
Today was my son Jacob’s birthday. At Mass this morning, the first reading was from Jeremiah 31:7-9. It started, “Thus says the LORD:Shout with joy for Jacob”I poked my sister and we chuckled. A few minutes later, my mom caught the connection as well and poked me. We chuckled too. I thought, I do shout […]
Favorite Psalm
As we finished the book of Psalms in my Bible class, the last homework question was, “What is your favorite Psalm?” This was a tough question as I found so many of them meaningful. I recognized quite a few from my days in the church choir. Then, I recognized even more in the contemporary Christian […]
St. John’s Cave
Many years ago I worked for St John the Evangelist parish. There I met some of the most amazing, faithful, and caring people. Many of them are still friends and we continue to stay in touch. That in itself is a blessing. Today, a friend sent me a picture of the shrine to St John […]
Small Groups
I had my online Bible class tonight. When we met in person for the first 2 years, we met in small groups for the first half hour discussing the homework. As we talked, people shared their faith experiences as well. Last year was online and completely lecture based with no small groups at all. This […]
Psalm 22 Connection
I worked on my Bible class homework tonight and loved getting a deeper understanding of the Psalms. In particular, Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22 when he was hanging on the cross. This would have led the people of the day to be reminded of the entire Psalm. It is basically an outline […]
Into the Psalms
I was talking with my sister the other day about what an emotional roller coaster life seems to be at this point in time. This is something that I have been really struggling with during the past few months. I described it as a nightmare that I couldn’t seem to get out of. As much […]
Same Theme
Sometimes I can feel like I am very alone and that perhaps God has forgotten about me and my troubles. Then, if I am listening and paying attention, I hear the same themes over and over again. I take them as messages from God. The reflection I heard on today’s Gospel reminded of that same […]
Number 6:24-26
Tonight was my last Bible class of the year. The instructor’s final prayer was Numbers 6:24-26, “The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!” These were the words from the song we sang […]
Blessed Deacon
My sister was here today so I was delighted to be able to go to Mass again. I wanted to bring Communion home for my parents, so I stopped by the sacristy on my way in. Getting things ready for the celebration was a deacon that I was happy to see. In my first 2 […]
Fireman, Farmer, and Priest
Today, we listened to the homily of our favorite priest. He always has a way of sharing his humanity while leading through the explanation of the Scriptures. Today he told about when he was a child and role played, as all children do. He would pretend he was a fireman and load up his wagon […]
