This is the day for which we have been preparing since the beginning of Lent. Jesus believed that his Father would not abandon him but would take him from the cross into his eternal embrace. It was this faith that sustained him especially throughout his suffering and...

Good Friday reminds us that the ultimate experience of the divine is found in love. This is all symbolized in the terrible act of the man who thrust a lance into Jesus’ heart. In that act we see the awful reality of our personal sins, and the sins of which we tend to...

Tonight we are drawn by grace to be present with him and the other disciples at Jesus’ last supper. Rather, we are invited by Jesus to be the Beloved Disciple, for in Jesus’ eyes that is what we are. So let us accept his invitation, be the Beloved Disciple, and take...

The people jubilantly welcome their Messiah with words taken from Psalm 118: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ As you know, the scene ends in a terrible anticlimax: And some of the Pharisees in the...

The greatly loved Pope John XXIII died on 3rd June 1963. On May 31st, just prior to receiving the last anointing, he shared these thoughts with those who stood around his bed: "The secret of my ministry is in that crucifix you see opposite my bed. It is there so that...

Just past the halfway point in Lent, we put aside purple on put on rose — and rejoice. It’s “Laetare Sunday.” Our journey toward Easter is nearing its end. We can see the light, in every sense. We just started Daylight Savings Time, with an extra hour of light at the...

We start three weeks of discovering the richness of Baptism. Why did the Samaritan woman come to draw water at noon, the hottest time of the day? Did she want to avoid the times the other women in town came to the well? What are the places in my life where I am...

St Teresa of Avila was able to describe prayer as nothing other than a close sharing between friends: "being on terms of friendship with God, with Him Who, we know, loves us" (The Life, VIll, 7). For her, words, however beautifully crafted, were not necessary. In her...

The story is told about two men drinking at a bar. One of them said: “Alcohol is not the enemy. It’s the ice.” The other one asked: “Why do you say that?” The first man said: “Vodka and ice will ruin your kidneys. Rum and ice will ruin your liver. Whisky and ice will...

Sometimes people ask, “What are you doing for Lent?” There is one thing to give up during Lent – sin. This season of Lent is a preparation for renewing our baptismal promises during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. Paul says, when writing to the Romans...