Author: The Anchorite

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Fear And Trust

Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

One dictionary defines fear as “an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger”. Fear has always been a part of human experience. Our earliest ancestors must have feared carnivorous animals, bad weather, disease, and other, possibly hostile, tribes – among other things. Even with all the advances that civilization has brought us, many of those ancient fears remain. Each century has found new fears as well. Not only that, but each one of us has things we are afraid of – things that might not be all that dangerous in themselves, but which symbolize for us some deeper, more threatening danger. It may a fear of heights, or of the dark, or of a certain animal. It may be fear of the unexpected or the unknown.  Whatever the face may be that we show to other people, most of us (if not all of us) carry in our hearts some fear or fears.  Continue reading “Fear And Trust”

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Finding A Way Forward

Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

We, the Catholics of the United States, continue to feel the aftershocks of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. We are not only trying to digest the latest revelations – the Pennsylvania grand jury report; the accusations against Cardinal McCarrick – but are also dealing with the highly unusual sight of Church leaders accusing other Church leaders (even the Holy Father) of some degree of complicity in this crisis. This latter piece did not happen even in 2002.  Moreover, we have no way of knowing what new revelation, what new accusation, may be just around the corner. Most of the abuse may have taken place years ago, but this generation, it seems, is now tasked with shouldering the burden of it all.   Continue reading “Finding A Way Forward”

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Disability and Faith

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

A few years ago, I read about a social experiment that a man and a woman were involved in. One day, the two of them went to a busy street corner and began to engage people in conversation. People interacted with both the man and the woman during these conversations.

The next day, the man and the woman went to a different street corner. This time, however, the woman sat in a wheelchair. When they engaged people in conversation, most simply ignored the woman altogether and spoke only with the man. Continue reading “Disability and Faith”

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Law In The Church

Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

Our readings this Sunday all touch on the topic of law.

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with the idea of law. On the one hand, we want laws to protect what we deem to be important. If we value highway safety, we will have speed limits. We will have annual state inspections of our vehicles. We will have local and state police on hand to monitor traffic.

On the other hand, we may chafe occasionally at some of the requirements that these laws place upon us. We may find the speed limits a little too slow for our driving pleasure! We may find state inspections inconvenient. We may feel a little uneasy whenever we see a police car, even if we haven’t been violating any laws.  Continue reading “Law In The Church”

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To Whom Shall We Go?

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

As is usually the case, we find plenty of meat for reflection in this Sunday’s readings. St. Paul’s discussion of marriage in the second reading – especially his teaching that wives should be subordinate to their husbands – can always be counted on to generate lively discussion, shall we say. I have preached on this reading before. The challenge is to explain as faithfully as possible what Paul means by this while remaining sensitive to how this might be understood in contemporary society.

However, given where we are as a Church in this country in recent weeks, it seems best to focus on the first reading and Gospel for this Sunday. In both readings, people are challenged to reaffirm their faith in the Lord. In the first reading, the Lord has led Israel into the Land of Promise through Joshua. Now, Joshua asks the people to renew their commitment to the Lord. In the Gospel, the challenge is different. Earlier in John 6, people were ready to acclaim Jesus as king after he fed a large crowd with a few loaves and fishes. Now, once Jesus begins to explain the meaning of that miracle – and that he himself is the true Bread of Life – people find this “a bridge too far”. Even many of Jesus’ own followers no longer walk with him. Jesus asks the Twelve if they, too, will leave him. Continue reading “To Whom Shall We Go?”