Striving For The Politics Of God’s Promise Thoughts on the First Readings -Joe Frankenfield First Sunday in Advent Isaiah 2:1-5 Between the visions of a prophet and the assumptions of a politician there can exist a chasm that few manage to bridge. “What can people do,” the prophet asks? “What will people do,” asks the [...]

Christ: A King Without Airs Thoughts on the First Readings -by Joe Frankenfield The Feast of Christ the King Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 Americans have never been big on kings. There are exceptions but, generally, we view them as autocratic, power-hungry, scheming, pompous, cads. That’s a strange group in which to include Jesus. Pope Pius XI [...]

We Long For A Life Of Intgrity Thoughts on the First Readings -Joe Frankenfield 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 “It worked fine then; it wouldn’t now. Everything’s different. But we loved each other just as much as folks today.” That was how an 80 year old friend in my home parish [...]

The Feel For The Faith Thoughts on the First Readings -Joe Frankenfield 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Wisdom 6: 12-16 “He said that I’ve got no feel for the game and I’ll never be any good,” a friend in deep seventh-grade despair told me many years ago. His Little League coach was right. My friend [...]