Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time When we were younger, mom would make us sit down after Christmas and birthdays to write thank you notes for all the loot we collected. Now that I live away from my parents, it’s tougher to keep up the habit. Expressions of gratitude rely on the receiver’s perceived value of…

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Do you possess enough faith? And exactly how much is enough faith? Think back to when you were starting out. You were young, inexperienced, full of ideals and hopes. You believed in the inherent goodness of people and wanted badly to make a difference in the world. You wanted to…

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Does money buy happiness? In a May 2022 episode of his podcast “Margins of Error” Harry Enten of CNN[1]cites a 2010 study from Princeton University which says money can buy happiness … but only to a point. A major conclusion of the study suggested that the subjective measure of one’s…

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time I am no politician. In fact, I detest the ways of partisan politics and the toxicity it injects into everything it touches. Yet we must all wade into politics to participate in the human drama. I much rather prefer the term diplomacy to intentionally include some measure of natural and…

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Whenever we read about forgiveness in sacred scripture, we are often looking at it from God’s point of view, where God is the offended party and humanity through various representatives is often the offending party—from Adam and Eve who ate fruit from the forbidden tree to Cain who slew his…

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time We might occasionally invite friends out to dinner or to our homes for a meal. It is a widely acceptable way to nurture friendship and share our blessings. And we can get together as often as we choose, sharing a meal, or drinks, or just hanging out and shooting the…

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time I am not a parent in case you didn’t know. Yet a good many people I meet will address me as “Father.” So, I take the opportunity to let you know that “Father” is not my given name. While among Catholics addressing a priest “Father” has historical precedence and is…

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time I would not make a very good prophet. As far as I can tell, wherever a prophet is found, trouble is not far behind. I am a middle child. I will avoid tension and conflict at all costs. Rarely would a middle child initiate tension or conflict. And if it…