God seems to choose the most unlikely people to proclaim the good news a prophet who tried to escape his call and was carried to his ministry in the belly of a large fish simple fishermen who knew a lot about bait and nets but little about preaching a tent-maker who became a disciple when the po

Some of our most beautiful architectural creations are synagogues cathedrals mosques temples of every kind Believing people express religious sentiments in the structures they set apart for prayer It is there that they unite themselves in a special way with God so the place itself is considere

The Christmas season closes with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord This is not the end of things but rather the beginning The readings remind us that the one born of our flesh is the servant of God mdash the very Son of God mdash who brings a promise of justice and hope to a world in desperate

Nowadays we seem to be dissatisfied if we are considered ordinary We seek to be the first or the best or at least to belong to the group that is first or best Yet most of us are really quite ordinary people living ordinary lives Despite this there need be nothing ordinary about being ordinary W

Although darkness can be very soothing and romantic as well it can also be very frightening We lose our way in the dark we bump into things we cannot perceive what or who might threaten our safety The phrase ldquo under the cover of darkness rdquo suggests some manner of deception In our vu

Today we seem deluged with reports of anger abuse and even murder at the hand of a family member Spouses are not attentive to each other parents neglect children and children disregard elders It is time to return to good oldfashioned family values But just what constitutes good old-fashioned f

Is it over yet Are the carols gone from the air waves Have the stores dismantled their decorations Has Christmas been put away to make room for Valentine rsquo s Day It always happens so fast We waited and waited for Christmas and then it came and went in a flash But it did not happen like th

Today we move out of the realm of religious testimony into the real world of history Both the first and the third readings situate Jesus within the family of David nbsp This is a family with skeletons in its closet Judah reneged on his responsibilities so his daughter-in-law Tamar tricked him

The chorus from Handel rsquo s Messiah begins with a delicate ldquo For unto us a child is born rdquo and builds to a thunderous ldquo And his name shall be called Wonderful rdquo The Gospels for the three Christmas Masses follow a similar progression Images from the first two Gospels are cap

The Third Sunday of Advent invites us into a world of reversals.