The Word

If you witnessed a phenomenon in the heavens like those reported at Fatima or Lourdes or Medjugorje would you turn away in disbelief Even skeptics are often mesmerized by what they cannot explain We profess faith in the power of God and in the possibility of a manifestation of that power and yet

Strange as it may seem it is very difficult for many of us to accept gifts When we do receive them we feel compelled to reciprocate in kind We often believe that we must earn what we get Perhaps we do not want to be beholden to others or we are convinced that we do not deserve any such gift O

As children we learned the Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you But as we grew older we realized that the world operates according to a slightly different version of that rule Do unto others before they can do unto you We were told Don rsquo t give an inch Hit lsquo

quot Return to me with all your heart rdquo This is the cry of a lover who has been separated from the loved one either by distance or time or perhaps by betrayal It is a heart-to-heart cry In the writings of Joel it is God begging Israel to return to God rsquo s gracious and merciful love W

What comes to mind when you think of blessings Perhaps some degree of prosperity or good health Your musings might include something as weighty as deliverance from harm or as commonplace as victory in a high school basketball game When circumstances seem to go the way we want it is not uncommon

It is likely that while we were growing up many of us wore clothing or played with toys that had been handed down to us from an older member of the family At such times we grew into the clothing or took possession of the toys making them our own Now as independent as we adults might like to thi

The title of a highly acclaimed musical comedy ldquo I Love You You rsquo re Perfect Now Change rdquo describes some of the dynamics found in many human love relationships We can genuinely love someone and be captivated by that person rsquo s charm and wit intelligence and sensitivity unsel

How can a message that was intended for people who lived thousands of years ago have any meaning for us today Some of the stories in the Bible certainly make exciting action movies but are we expected to live like that To think as they did To cherish the same aspirations Isn rsquo t the newspap

Today we move from one beginning to another from Jesus rsquo coming among us in the flesh celebrated during the Christmas season to his coming among us in ministry remembered during Ordinary Time His baptism by John inaugurates this ministry and it is commemorated today The Gospel says that th

The readings for this Sunday provide us with two distinctive themes a new reality characterized by a wedding and the challenge of life in the Spirit Everyone loves a wedding It is a public manifestation of commitment the beginning of a new family with all its promise and a great time for a party