Is 9:1-6, 10 Ti 2:11-14 Lk 2:1-14 An Unlikely Manager Scene I have to admit that if I take into consideration who I am with my sensitive nose, my dislike for the cold, my standoffi...
Is 35:1-6a, 10 Jas 5:7-10 Mt 11:2-11 Miracles Great and Small The other day I sat with a man who was dying. I was told that he was dying and that he was afraid. You could tell by l...
Is 11:1-10 Rom 15:4-9 Mt 3:1-12 My Favorite Flashlights This week I have been thinking about the concept of light and how this season of Advent invites us to open to the Christ lig...
Is 2:1-5 Rom 13:11-14 Mt 24:37-44 “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his...
2 Sm 5:1-3 Col 1:12-20 Lk 23:35-43 Christ the King I have struggled with the readings from November 25th I got stuck on the title “The Feast of Christ the King.” It see...
Mal 3:19-20a 2 Thes 3:7-12 Lk 21:5-19 Grabbing hold of the Kingdom At a recent Sunday liturgy I watched a Eucharistic minister make the sign of the cross on the forehead of his fou...
2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 2 Thes 2:16-3:5 Lk 20:27-38 Sunflower Seeds Recently I heard this phrase: “Even if we cannot find God within, God recognizes Himself within us.” I find...
Wis 11:22-12:2 2 Thes 1:11-2:2 Lk 19:1-10 To be Tall of Heart I have been short a great deal of my life. I am fifty and I can honestly say that I haven’t been tall since the ...
Sir 35:12-14, 16-18 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18 Lk 18:9-14 Rubber Stamp, I think Not! Recently I had the occasion to pray with a patient, her granddaughter and her sister. When it came time ...
Ex 17:8-13 2 Tm 3:14-4:2 Lk 18:1-8 Who is at the Door? In the gospel reading on October 21st, Jesus talks to us about the widow who pesters the judge until he renders a just decisi...
2 Kgs 5:14-17 2 Tm. 2:8-13 Lk. 17:11-19 The Exit Ramp This morning I was coming off an exit ramp from the freeway and a man held a sign which said, “I am dying.” Usuall...
Hab. 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2 Tm. 1:6-8, 13-14 Lk. 17:5-10 In Search of the Mustard Seed This past month I have had the opportunity to learn about God’s faithfulness and about the R...
Wis 9:13-18b Phmn 9-10, 12-17 Lk 14:25-33 The Great Adventure I am at the beginning of an adventure. It began last week with an email offering two temporary contract jobs. I am on ...
Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Heb 12:18-19, 22-24 Lk 14:1, 7-14 Table Places I have been thinking a lot about seating places the last couple of weeks. In the gospel reading from Sunday Se...
Is 66:18-21 Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 Lk 13:22-30 Where will I Sit? I grew up in a large family. I was the sixth of seven children. There was an expectation in our family that when dinner ...
Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 Heb 12:1-4 Lk 12:49-53 Where are we in the Crowd In both the first reading and the gospel of August 19th, I find myself feeling a little shook up and not quite sur...
Wis 18:6-9 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12 Lk. 12:32-48 or 12:35-40 Choices The readings for August 12th walk us into the sacred space of waiting. I think that most of us are R...
Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23 Col 3:1-5, 9-11 Lk. 12:13-21 Fishing for the Right Barn I listened to the readings from Sunday, August 5th differently, especially the gospel from the 12th chapter...
Gn 18:20-32 Col 2:12-14 Lk. 11:1-13 Who will be Spared? In the first reading from Genesis 18:20-32, for the Sunday of July 29th, we find Abraham negotiating for the good and innoce...
Gn 18:1-10a Col 1:24-28 Lk. 10:38-42 Where are we called to be Mary? I was waiting for my plane in Denver, after being forty-five minutes late in boarding, a voice came over the mi...
Dt 30:10-14 Col 1:15-20 Lk. 10:25-37 The Burly Stranger I find myself wondering in certain situations, what is the right thing for me to do regarding this or that. In the readings ...
Is 66:10-14c Gal 6:14-18 Lk. 10:1-12, 17-20 or 10:1-9 Sent Out Recently a friend asked me a very good question. She asked whether hospice patients prayed more for physical healing ...
1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21 Gal 5:1, 13-18 Lk 9:51-62 The Call to Trust I felt called to go to Japan when I graduated from college. I can still hear my Mom saying, “You need to think...
Is 49:1-6 Acts 13:22-26 Lk 1:57-66, 80 Scheduling Conflicts The last couple of days have been very full with work. Loving summer as I do, I have crammed a lot of projects into the ...
Gn 14:18-20 1 Cor 11:23-26 Lk 9:11b-17 Feast of the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus I watch the children each Sunday as they approach the distributor of communion, their hands folded ...
Prv 8:22-31 Rom 5:1-5 Jn 16:12-15 Mapquest Holy Trinity Style I am a hospice chaplain, most of our patients live in their homes, while some live in group homes of nursing homes. Tw...
Acts 2:1-11 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Rom 8:8-17 Jn 20:19-23 WOW! It seems not so long ago that I was sitting at the bedside of my mother as she was dying. It was just me, as my six ...
Acts 7:55-60 Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 Jn 17:20-26 The Door Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, I pray not only for them, but also for those who w...
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 Jn 14, 23-29 Making Room for the Spirit On this Mother’s Day Sunday, May 13th, the gospel reading seemed pregnant with promises. Althou...
Acts 14:21-27 Rev 21:1-5a Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35 Let us Dare to Love During the past week, I officiated at four funerals of patients with whom I have walked. Each person had a unique ...
Acts 13:14, 43-52 Rev 7:9, 14b-17 Jn 10:27-30 In All Ways In the mid 1970’s a new liturgical hymn came out from the St. Louis Jesuits called “Be Not Afraid.” I li...
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41 Rev 5:11-14 Jn 21:1-19 Innie Outtie My housemate and I have two wonderful dogs, they have all kinds of good habits and a few irritating habits. They are not so...
Acts 5:12-16 Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 Jn 20:19-31 Between a Rock and A Hard Place I enter the post Easter readings today a little sheepishly, as my reflections have been missing t...
1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a Eph 5:8-14 Jn 9:1-41 Uncomfortable Blindness I recently found out some information about various wages being offered to my colleagues at work. The informati...
Ex 17:3-7 Rm. 5:1-2, 5-8 Jn. 4:5-42 Bearing Life Giving Water I always feel somewhat sorry for the woman at the well when the story starts to unfold. The first part of the gospel s...
Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 Phil 3:17-4:1 Lk 9:28b-36 A Mountain Top View This past week I have been thinking about the gospel of Luke from the Sunday reading of March 4th. I have always fel...
Dt 26:4-10 Rm 10:8-13 Lk 4:1-13 Leaning on the Lord A week ago I went snow shoeing with a friend on one of the nearby mountains. This was the first time I had really done any snow ...
1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 1 Cor 15:45-49 Lk 6:27-38 Turning the other Cheek The other day I was talking to a dear friend of mine. She was full of good news about work opportunit...
Jer 17:5-8 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Lk 6:17, 20-26 That place of Unknowing This week as I have reflected on the gospel reading from February 11th, I have found myself looking for beatitu...
Is 6:1-2a, 3-8 1 Cor 15:1-11 Lk 5:1-11 Burning Coals The other day at work a co-worker took a short cut through our hospice team room. We have a team room which has two doors and i...
Being Seen from Inside Out We have a nurse who recently had a baby. It was cool to watch how her appearance changed over the months. The other day I saw her in the hallway at work ...
Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 1 Cor 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27 Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Me and my Cell Phone The other day I was at a funeral. At the beginning of the liturgy an announcement was ma...
Is. 62:1-5 1Cor. 12:4-11 Jn. 2:1-11. Hidden Gifts This past week I have had an opportunity to return to my old stomping grounds. I saw lots of people who were a formative part of m...
Is 60:1-6 Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 Mt 2:1-12 Pregnant Dreams I am one of those people who have dreams that are very vivid. I can tell you about dreams that I had years ago. Sometimes my dre...
