As I reflected on the readings, the words of Pope Francis came to mind when he was asked, “Who Is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” and he responded, “I am a sinner.” Good to know I’m in the same company as the Pope. The Book of Wisdom tells us to “think of the Lord in...

Am I willing to do for my faith? Am I will to suffer ridicule for my faith? Am I willing to be formed in my faith by the Scriptures and by the Church? These are the questions that come to mind this Sunday as we read the Scripture given to instruct us in the way of the...

This story which Jesus uses to explain to the Pharisees why he welcomes sinners and eats with them fills me with a sense of hope and possibility. When I sin I am not outcast forever but embraced with love. The angels celebrate when I repent. This image gives me...

Today Saint Charles Borromeo remind us that the program by which we are to address effectively the great spiritual challenges of our time is, in the end, Jesus Christ alive for us in the Church. He explained: The program already exists: it is the plan found in the...

He wants to see Jesus. We can learn several lessons from this story. If you are like Zacchaeus, who seems pretty happy and quite successful in life, but feel deep down inside that you are missing something, then please know, that all you need is Jesus. If you will go...

The gospel today does not tell us WHO are saints but how to reach for holiness. We mourn, we hunger, we thirst, we lack, we are hurt, we make peace. These are actions and not states of being. Sanctity is a verb and not a noun. Today is a day to rejoice in all the...

Around Halloween, we might wonder if there really is a world of invisible spirits surrounding us. The Apostle Paul sees life as a battle between good and evil forces, in which we are all engaged. But it’s a battle we can wage with confidence because Christ is on our...

What is the "narrow gate"? It can be a metaphor for many things, all challenging. Perhaps a reminder that we can never be complacent in our faith. We may have made a commitment to follow Jesus but that means we are on "the way”; we can never say "I have arrived; I'm...

Today's feast honors saints Simon and Jude, called by Jesus to be his disciples. St. Jude is regarded the Patron Saint of desperate cases and lost causes. This makes Jude a popular figure for the troubled times of our lives particularly when we feel lost and alone....

In Jesus' time it was widely believed that if bad things happened to a person that it was direct punishment from God. A child born blind, for instance, was suffering for some frightening sin committed by his parents. Even today, we carry vestiges of that sort of...