An angel said to Joseph in a dream, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod… is searching for the child to destroy him.” Who would want to destroy a child? What must be the anguish, the horror to be a parent who fears for … Continue reading “Journeys of Holy Families”
Category: Communion
Inside Edition: Joseph
I think sometimes I shall never have a son. I’ve wondered why I am forsaken. I am forsaken of my legacy, a bestowing of my self, my property to an heir. How then shall I live on? How shall I show I made a difference in this world? What will be my mark, if my … Continue reading “Inside Edition: Joseph”
Inside Edition: Truthtellers
My senses bring in so much. I see the beauty of people and the verdant landscape. I see too their suffering and its depletion. I hear words of love spoken and laughter exclaimed. I hear too the cry of the poor their sobbing cascading. I feel the softness of skin and flowers. I feel too … Continue reading “Inside Edition: Truthtellers”
Inside Edition: Mary
I have wondered if I am all alone in these feelings. Is it only me who feels suffocated? I struggle to breathe in this enclosure the world constructs for me. It feels like a tomb. They lay me in it from early on and expect I shall live in it, forever. But there is no … Continue reading “Inside Edition: Mary”
Inside Edition: Baby Jesus
Lately, I’ve had the sense I’m upside down. No one has told me this, I just have the sense I am. Shall I be so forever? Will this existence here be my existence forever? Shall this home be my only home? I think not. I can conceive of so much more, for I keep changing. … Continue reading “Inside Edition: Baby Jesus”
Elder Esteem
Why does Jesus tell followers to lessen esteem for their parents? In today’s Gospel he says, “If anyone comes to me without hating father and mother…they cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is undoing the esteem given for worldly position. Unfortunately, Paul, in the second reading reasserts such esteem and thus reasserts its patriarchy and slavery. … Continue reading “Elder Esteem”
A Universal People’s Movement
Jesus has a universal message of communion and is often on the move sharing it. He is thus constantly in contact with a variety of different people always bringing them together. He is creating a new people’s movement. It is a universal movement in which all people are in communion. Jesus’ universal movement is highlighted … Continue reading “A Universal People’s Movement”
Hunger
Hungry people are the concern of the readings from this First Sunday in Lent. First, there are the hungry people fleeing Pharaoh into the desert. Their hunger is satiated by manna and, eventually, after fighting divisive and destructive wars for it, by a “land flowing with milk and honey.” Next, there is the hungry Jesus … Continue reading “Hunger”
From the Heart the Mouth Speaks
Two little kids, aged eight and six, decide it’s time they started swearing. So, the eight-year-old says to the six-year-old, “Okay, I’ll say ‘hell’ and you say ‘damn” All excited about their plan, they head downstairs, where their mother asks them what they’d like for breakfast.“‘Aw, hell,” says the eight-year-old, ‘gimme some Cheerios.’” His mother … Continue reading “From the Heart the Mouth Speaks”
Being Spoiled Isn’t Kid’s Stuff
Jesus has a gift for words and is a highly sought-after teacher. His words, which he gives away freely, attract great crowds as in this Sunday’s Gospel. He is never shown letting the people’s attention spoil him. In other words, he never expresses feelings of entitlement. He never expects others to please him or serve … Continue reading “Being Spoiled Isn’t Kid’s Stuff”