Rise & Inspire: A Symphony of Motivation The Four Pillars of a Life Anchored in Grace Life is a journey of peaks and valleys, triumphs and trials. In…
What Are the Four Pillars That Anchor a Life in Grace?
John Allen’s conspicuous absence explained
ROME – Regular readers of Crux, or regular consumers of my weekly video or podcast, will have noticed my rather conspicuous absence these past three …
John Allen’s conspicuous absence explained
Sad day! John Allen has always been one of my favorite columnists; both at National Catholic Reporter and Crux. I pray for his healing and recovery.
“Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord.”
“Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord. Praise and exalt him above all forever….. All you winds, bless the Lord. Fire and heat, bless the Lord. Cold and chill, bless the Lord. Dew and rain, bless the Lord. Frost and chill, bless the Lord. Ice and snow, bless the Lord.”
(Daniel 3)
Homily for 30th Sunday In Ordinary Time
“Jesus said to him in reply ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man replied to him, ‘Master, I want to see.’ “
In today’s Gospel of Mark, we see the encounter Jesus had with Bartimaeus, a blind man. Bartimaeus must have known something of who Jesus was, and the power of healing he seemed to possess. Bartimaeus decided to take a risk and began calling out loudly to Jesus, begging for help. Some in the crowd thought of him as a nuisance.
Jesus did not think so, he had Batimaeus brought over to him. When this was done, Jesus did not lay his hands on him, as some of the people would have expected. Instead, Jesus told Bartimaeus that he could leave, “..your faith has saved you.” His sight was restored to him.
Now most of us do not have to deal with blindness; at least, not physical blindness. But what about social blindness, spiritual blindness? Where and when have we turned a “blind eye” to others in need, to others who are in suffering; to our own personal suffering?
It is moments such these, that we need to open ourselves to the Presence of Christ, to enter into prayer, to pray that our eyes, our minds, our hearts, our souls; be opened to the needs of others. And to our own need for healing.
So, I invite all of us, to, at the best of our ability, be present to our Savior in the Eucharist. And let ourselves be transformed, our eyes opened, and our journey with Christ renewed.
Saint John’s Seminary, School of Theology, Boston, MA
A looong time ago, I felt I had a calling to the Catholic priesthood. I spent four years in the Boston Archdiocesan College Seminary, then three years in their School of Theology. I finally came to the conclusion that was being called to another life path. Still, I never have regretted my time in the seminary.
The college seminary no longer exists, but the original seminary still stands and is training and forming men for the priesthood. The seminary is celebrating its 140th year of being in existence.
The Influence of Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi
“I have done what was mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours.” Saint Francis of Assisi
Every October 4th, people around the world, Catholics, Protestants, persons with no declared religion; celebrate the memory of Saint Francis of Assisi. Born in the year of 1182, Francis was an energetic young man, talented, had a gift for drawing other young men of Assisi to himself for parties. He would soon felt the desire to become a knight, a heroic defender of Assisi. Being a commoner, that only way he could achieve this goal, was on the battlefield. He joined his fellow citizens in a military campaign against a rival Italian city state. The battle went terribly wrong for Assisi, Francis and others who survived the battle were captured and held in dungeons. There they waited for their families to ransom them. For some, like Francis, it was a long wait as families and friends tried to gather enough ransom money. Francis returned to Assisi as a broken man.
During his recovery, he would ride out into the countryside. On one such ride, he come across a beggar, who was also suffering from leprosy. Out of fear, Francis turned his horse around, ready to flee. But something made him stop, turn his horse around to face the leper. Getting off his horse, he went to the leper, took his money pouch and put it into the hands of the beggar. And then he kissed them. It was a moment of transformation, a moment of conversion.
Later, Francis found himself walking by a dilapidated chapel. He felt a strong desire to go into the chapel to pray. K in Before a wooden cross, with the image of the Crucified Christ, he knelt. Deep in prayer, Francis heard the Lord speak to him from the cross, “Francis, rebuild my church, which, as you see, is falling down.” And the rest, as they say, is history!
His life of prayer, voluntary poverty, and caring for the poor; has inspired thousands of men and women around the world. Men have joined the Order of Friars Minors, in it’s various formations, to work amongst the poor, to help the ill and disabled. Francis’ lifestyle inspired a young noblewoman, by the name of Clare, to take up a life of poverty and prayer. Drawn by her example, other women joined together to form like communities. Today, these communities bear her name, now called the Poor Clares. And still, the influence of Saint Francis continued to grow, indeed, continues to grow. Lay men and women also found inspiration from Francis’ example. The more they heard about the lives of Francis and his followers, the more they wished to imitate the Franciscan lifestyle. These lay followers soon formed their own groups, to pray together, to help the poor, to serve their families as well.
The Franciscan Family continues, it may experience times of growth, and times of loss; but it continues. Pace e Bene!!
Homily for Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2024
“He began to ask them, “‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.” (Mark 9: 30).
Every time I have read that sentence from the Gospel of Mark, I find myself wishing I could change a small part of that sentence. I have to believe that they were not “discussing” anything …..they were arguing about who amongst them was the greatest. And no matter how quiet they may have tried to be, eventually they caught Jesus’ attention. It was then that He brought them to the side of the road; had them sit down; and told them flat out what it means to be first of His followers. And it was by being last of all. It meant being a servant of all. It meant being last of all those he or she may encounter, seeing to the other’s needs; before their own.
Now if this is what it means to follow Christ; can you imagine the reaction of some of our families and friends; our neighbors and the strangers we meet. In today’s society, in parts of our country and elsewhere; the goal is to be number one, numero uno, whether because of wealth; intelligence or power. And there are many who are loathed to give that up.
However, if Jesus is calling us to become the servants of all; we must take that call seriously, and open our hearts to whatever inspiration the Holy Spirit may give us. Whether we are called to small or great deeds, we do so with the help of Christ. Whatever challenges lays before us.
Jesus said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and and whoever receives me, receive not me but the One who sent me.”
A Homily for Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 25th, 2024
“He performed these great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore, we also will serve the Lord for He is our God.” (Joshua 24)
In this chapter from the Book of Joshua, we see the children of Israel, the ones who fled from Egypt, and their children, make a promise to obey God, follow His teachings, and live according to His commandments.
As we read through the Old Testament stories, we see how they struggled to be faithful to that initial promise they made to God. They were not always successful.
In today’s Gospel reading, we also see the inability for many of the people who had originally committed themselves to Jesus ; only to find that they could not accept His teaching and went back to their old ways. Only the Twelve remained; and even they could not fully understand, at first, what Jesus was trying to teach them. But they knew something wonderful was happening; they believed in Jesus.
The question that is before us this day is how strong is our belief in, of our acceptance of the Good News that was proclaimed by Jesus. I read in the newspapers, watch on television, see on my laptop, the news of the decline in church attendance. We hear of the lack of interest in practicing the faith. It pains me to see how few young people are not coming to church, to experince the love and joy one gets from encountering Christ in the Eucharist.
So what are we going to do? First of all is that we must not lose hope. Hold onto the Jesus, embrace Him and His teaching. Open our hearts and let the grace of the Spirit flood in; guiding us on how to live the Good News in today’s fractured world. Each of us, in our own unique ways, can help make Christ present and active in our homes, our communities. Where we socialize or where we work; we can become living examples of Jesus Christ’s teachings; living examples of what it means to live the Gospel, here and now.
“Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
May Simon Peter’s response be our own, as we go into the world around us.
Boston’s new archbishop: ‘I realize my life is not my own now. I’ll be completely theirs.’
The new archbishop of Boston, Richard Henning, spoke with OSV News recently — and attention must be paid. He has a lot to say about his new …
Boston’s new archbishop: ‘I realize my life is not my own now. I’ll be completely theirs.’
Homily – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
A long, loooong time ago, my father and uncle bought a motor boat. Back then these boats were all wood, not fiberglass, with wooden benches, instead of cushioned seats. Our families used it for water skiing, and for fishing, fresh water or ocean. One Saturday, my father and uncle took me, my brother and a cousin out into the sea, off of Lynn Harbor, for some fishing.
We were having an enjoyable day, when suddenly a storm came down on us. The waves were huge, the boat was bouncing up and down. The bench we were seating on suddenly collapsed; to say we were scared would be an understatement. We did finally reach the safety of Nahant harbor; but that was an experience.
Needless to say, I think I can empathize with what the disciples were going through, on their own boat. Still, these were veteran fishermen, who should have known how to sail through rough seas. One can understand Jesus being peeved with them.
Still there is a lesson to be learned. I think that all of us need to reflect on our own responses might be, when the world tosses challenges at us, especially challenges to our faith, to what we believe; to what actions we are being asked to take, in the name of the Gospel; which we are called to proclaim by word and deed.
In the world, out there, we see new challenges; challenges to world peace, challenges to peace and harmony in our nation, in our communities; some would say even in our Church. There are storms a brewing out there, storms that threaten to swamp us.
How do we respond? By first of all, by having faith. To believe firmly that God is with us. Yes, it is a challenge, and there may be times when we may not meet that challenge. Yet, Christ is with us, encouraging us to strive to live the Gospel, to proclaim the Good News. The Holy Spirit is with us, to calm our fears, to inspire us to push on, in living the Gospel. And Father is there to embrace us all, to be a comfort to us all, no matter what trials we face.
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Musings From St. Anthony's Walnut Tree 