The Word

The tragedy of Philip Nolan the subject of The Man Without a Country was not merely that he was forbidden ever again to set foot on U S soil or even to hear spoken the name of his country of origin It was his fate chosen by the man himself in a moment of anger to belong no longer to any nation

Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday For many of us mention of sheep conjures up the image of a warm coat or the memory of a good meal We may remember the nursery rhyme ldquo Mary had a little lamb rdquo or the television hand puppet named Lambchop but very few of us regard sh

The Gospels are filled with stories about Jesus sharing meals Each story tells us something more than that he was hungry Some of them illustrate his observance of Passover Lk 17 35 others depict him as a dinner guest at the homes of Simon the Pharisee or Jesus rsquo friend Martha Lk 7 36 10

We have seen the Lord 8221 Who has not longed to hear those words Or who has not longed for the experience that gave birth to the words Most of us are like Thomas in today 8217 s Gospel 8212 not that we are doubters but that our faith is based on the words of others Someone else has the exp

One of the most impressive scenes in the movie ldquo The Wizard of Oz rdquo is Dorothy rsquo s entrance into the Land of Oz At that moment the original sepia tones of the film become brilliant Technicolor Tornado-beaten earth gives way to a boldly colorful magical land where everything is stra

When I was a child I climbed up on a billboard to see a soldier who had returned from an unpopular assignment We waved flags and cheered It was thrilling despite the fact that this hero had come home in disgrace I was proud that I could say ldquo I was there I saw him rdquo I wonder what

The season of Lent is drawing to its conclusion The hour has come We may think that the hour referred to in John rsquo s Gospel is the hour of Jesus rsquo death It is but the author gives that dreaded hour a most unexpected meaning He claims that the hour of Jesus rsquo death is really the ho

How do I love thee Let me count the ways I love thee to the depth and breadth and heightmy soul can reach when feeling out of sightfor the ends of being and ideal grace These tender words of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning reflect a bit of the all-encompassing character of human love But hu

On the first Sunday of Lent we reflected on the covenant that God made with the entire created world Last week we pondered the covenant promises God made to Abraham and his descendants Today we consider one aspect of yet a third covenantthe law associated with the covenant God made through Moses T