Priest. Hermit. Aspie.
“Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” – Exodus 1:8
The gospel passage for today’s Mass looks backward to a previous brutal act by a ruler. It also looks forward as it unmasks for us why human beings can do acts of violence like this one. Thus, it remains an important witness and challenge for every generation, including our own.
Let us begin with that previous brutal act. Continue reading “Insecurity and Inhumanity”
When I was two years old, I began to read without being taught – or so I was told. I don’t remember a time in my life when I could not read, so this is likely true. Soon, I was able to find TV shows in TV Guide. Then, while in the family car, I was naming other cars I could see: Ford, Plymouth, Volkswagen, Studebaker. (Yes, Virginia, Studebakers still prowled the earth when I was a toddler; it wasn’t the car itself so much but the name ‘Studebaker’ that fascinated me for some reason.) Continue reading “What Was From The Beginning”
You may have come across the term “cognitive dissonance”. It is defined as “the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time… or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas or values”. To be a Christian in contemporary American culture is to deal with cognitive dissonance frequently. Although we can find many things in our culture that are praiseworthy from a Gospel perspective, there are other values and practices that contradict the life and teachings of Jesus. Many Christians believe that this is even more true of our society today than ever before, though others would dispute this. Continue reading “Finding Christ in Christmas”
This is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” – or so Andy Williams would have us believe. Indeed, the air around us as we shop is filled with varied songs that say – more or less – the same thing, as they beckon us to open our hearts (and our credit cards) to the season. We are urged not to be like old Scrooge before he met those spirits of Christmas, but to be generous and give.
Not every one of us is in a position to give – or to give as much as we would like. For too many of us, the old Merle Haggard song “If We Make It Through December” comes far closer to our own reality. We’d like to be incredibly generous to all those we love in every way we can. But we can’t always be that generous financially. We begin to feel inadequate. This is one of the unintended pains of Advent.
But there are more. Continue reading “The Pain of Advent”
Having already posted some thoughts on this Sunday’s readings, I hadn’t planned on writing a post today. Two things have conspired to change that plan. One, it is now snowing and is still rather cold out there. Two, I came across an idea in Bishop Robert Barron’s podcast homily for tomorrow that I’d like to play with a bit here today. As an aside, if you aren’t familiar with Bishop Barron and his work, do yourself a favor and go to wordonfire.org. You’ll find free podcasts, videos, as well as resources you can order (books and DVDs) that are all very helpful in exploring the Catholic faith and its implications in our time. Continue reading “Are We There Yet?”