What an abundance of rich sources for reflection in today's two readings!  Paul warns us of the danger of being idolatrous.  There are so many real and potential idols in our world today.  We just finished the Olympics, ...

Have you noticed that there is a phrase used by people when they may have made an error, or just a wee bit of a misunderstanding? It is said in a manner as an apologetic response of self-acknowledgement of fault. Maybe ...

When I teach Zoology, I ask my students to know names of the various animal taxa. Most find the task of memorizing long and complicated names such as Echinodermata, Platyhelminthes and Nematomorpha daunting. But I explain ...

Mission with a Passion|We have become quite familiar with "mission statements" which are produced by institutions, both secular and religious. These statements proclaim the purpose of the institution, what they are about, ...

Today's gospel might be hard to comprehend. What about Christianity and family values? Jesus says that whoever comes to him to be a disciple should hate his own family and even himself. But I do not hate my family. I care ...

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a reply to the brothers' and sisters' questions regarding their distress over their choice of a course in life - their vocation.  Paul confides that he has not received a commandment ...

I believe anyone who engages in honest self-examination who reads today's Gospel must feel at least a twinge of regret for actions taken in one's own life. In my case, it's more than a twinge — it's veritably a knife to ...

Faith. I think we test our faith everyday. We find it hard to have the faith of the centurion in today's gospel, whose faith is so strong that he is willing to turn everything over to God. The words echo the words we say ...

Discipline, compassion, empathy are the words that come to mind for today's readings. My context for this lies within my 40 years spent as a healthcare provider…a nurse….I have had the opportunity to  witness  some of the ...

Our family has a treasured family tradition called the "Cousin Reunion". This annual tradition which started in 1981 brings together all the cousins on my father's side who are 18 or older for a night of food, drink, and ...