4th Sunday of Easter What does the image of “the Good Shepherd” mean to you? There are many different images of God in the Bible. Some of them speak more to our hearts than others. When I ponder today’s gospel and its image of “the Good Shepherd” through the lens of the Eucharist, two thoughts […]

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Recently I learned of a book series by Melanie Dunea built upon a fascinating idea. She wanted to ask famous chefs around the world, if they could choose, what would they have for their “last supper”? As you can imagine, the chefs’ responses are intriguing not only to other […]

Our Gospel acclamation today comes from Luke 8:15, “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” In the Bible, this verse comes at the end of the Parable of the Sower. Jesus is asked to explain the parable of the seeds. He says the seed […]

As a young girl Naomi Shelton wanted to be a professional singer. She grew up in Alabama, singing in the church choir with her family. She loved gospel music and had a beautiful voice for it. When she graduated from high school in 1958, she moved to New York to follow her dreams. But dreams […]

Have you ever used food to say, “I’m sorry?” Perhaps you gave some homemade specialty, or a bottle of wine to show contrition? You didn’t even have to use apologetic words. The action itself communicated your desire to be reconciled. Or, have you ever invited someone to dinner to offer forgiveness? Likely it wasn’t as […]

2nd Sunday of Lent When many of us think of “Eucharist,” we might think of it as “sacrifice.” However, many liturgists and theologians will remind us that the Second Vatican Council spoke of the Eucharist as a “memorial” sacrifice (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 47). That’s an important qualifier. Eucharist is, in part, a remembering of Jesus’ sacrifice. […]

Authors have observed that sharing a meal is one of the most intimate things we do as human beings. When we share a meal, we move from the realm of business or formality to the realm of the personal or familial. For the host, this entails an openness, a vulnerability. They are in some sense […]

“Nourishment” is a word I frequently use when writing or speaking about the Eucharist. When we think of “nourishment,” we think of food. “Sustenance” is a synonym for “nourishment,” and at its root is the word “sustain.” The Eucharist sustains us. It holds us in being. That has rich meaning in itself in that the […]

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Brothers and sisters, I should like you to be free of anxieties.” This is how Saint Paul addresses the Corinthian community in our second reading. To be free of anxieties, what a gift that would be! After the tumultuous year that just ended and so many current challenges, to be […]