FatherLiam

Dear Friends,  Sssshhhh! Be quiet! Do you hear?  Do you see? Can you sense it: the coming of the Son of Man? The Presence?  We begin the Advent Season. And often the readings for the first few Sundays of Adent seem ominous. Like today: Jesus talks about the mysterious “coming of the Son of Man” … Read more

Dear Friends, Today we see Jesus and the Sadducees discussing resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection and eternal life (So, they were sad, you see?). It seemed impossible for them. It made no sense. There was no verifiable proof. Yet, Jesus counters that it is only because of the limits of their imagination … Read more

Dear Friends,  When we see the grateful leper return to Jesus to thank him, we, of course, think of gratitude. Which, in turn, makes me think of the oft quoted Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it we be enough.” Well, that got me thinking: … Read more

Dear Friends, Greetings from Assisi! With all the violence and chaos going on back home in the US right now and with all the war and violence in many parts of the world, I wanted to share with you a quote from Rowan Williams. This is the quote with which I end each weekly retreat, … Read more

Ah, good ol’ Ruby Turpin.  Today’s gospel parable always brings to mind for me the character from Flannery O’Connor’s short story Revelation. In fact, Flannery wrote this story these words of Jesus in mind: “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” In the story, Ruby considers herself … Read more

Dear Friends, Jesus uses not just one, but three parables, to make his point in today’s gospel from Luke! Now far from wanting to frighten us into not “getting caught” misbehaving and suffering the consequences of eternal punishment, Jesus is encouraging us to live fully awake, aware, and alive. As Sr Ephrem Hollermann puts it, … Read more

Dear Friends, So here we are—finally! — back in Ordinary Time. I love the sacred seasons of Lent and Easter with the big finale of Pentecost. Yet by the end of the Easter Season, I am always ready for a return to Ordinary Time. Yes, there are a few feast days like Holy Trinity and … Read more

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us.” When is the last time you said something like that? “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of me.” We don’t usually talk like that but it’s a really important point for us who are disciples of Jesus: Do we let his Spirit … Read more

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us.” When is the last time you said something like that? “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of me.” We don’t usually talk like that but it’s a really important point for us who are disciples of Jesus: Do we let his Spirit … Read more

Dear Friends, So here we are, entering the Third Week of Easter.  I so appreciate the gospel of John during this season, because he gives us insight into how to live “post-Easter.”  I mean, we had an amazing Easter Vigil and Easter Day at Saint Miriam filled with beautiful music and décor (to say nothing of … Read more

“If you had known the things that make for peace.”  So weeps Jesus as looks out over Jerusalem, right before he enters the city for Passover—that is, right before what we now call “the Triumphal Entry.”  Two thousand years later, we weep as we seek to know “the things that make for peace.” And yet the truth is that Jesus, as he uttered … Read more

What is your image of God? How do you picture God, think of God, “see” God?  The clearest, most complete and perfect image of God is given to us by Jesus is his Parable of the Prodigal Son. We have heard this story so many times and we all love it, but after hearing it so … Read more

Dear Friends, So, what is going on with Abraham and God in today’s first reading? Heifers and she-goats and rams slaughtered, split in two and placed “each half opposite the other” on the ground? What gives? While this scene seems strange to us, in Abraham’s day it was the formal ritual used when two parties were … Read more

So, are you like Jesus? Am I? How much? How little? Jesus says it clearly: “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.”  So, if we are, in fact, disciples of Jesus, we become imitators of Jesus; we become just like our teacher. It really is … Read more

Are you on the mark? Is your life headed in the right direction? Or are you missing the point? Is your life headed nowhere, or worse yet, in the wrong direction? In other words, are you among the “blessed,” or are you among the “woe to yous”? In today’s gospel we hear Luke’s version of … Read more

Dear Friends, How do we find the wisdom to envision a new world and the courage to fight for it? How do we survive seemingly apocalyptic times? In a world on fire, how do we embrace love and joy? Great questions! Questions that people of every age have asked and tried to answer to make … Read more

After visiting Jesus, the magi “departed for their country by another way.” It is no coincidence that at the time Matthew wrote these words in his gospel story, those who chose to be disciples of Jesus were called “followers of the way.”  They weren’t yet called Christians; they had no list of dogmas and doctrines to … Read more

That, the name of today’s Solemnity as we come to the final week of the Liturgical Year, certainly sounds as triumphant as it can get. We are proclaiming that Jesus was, is and always will be the Ultimate Ruler of All—all people, all creation, all planets, all galaxies—the entire Cosmos. Jesus Christ, we profess, is … Read more

‘Well, of course I am’, many of us would respond. I’m baptized. I go to church. I give in the collection. I try not to sin.   That’s all good. (And thank you for your contribution!)   But the question remains: Am I a disciple of Jesus? A student, a learner, a follower? You see, at the end of the gospel passage … Read more