Author: The Anchorite

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Purifying Our Worship

Presentation of the Lord

 

February 2.

Long before it was Super Bowl Sunday… long before it was Groundhog Day… it was known as Candlemas, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  It celebrates the time, forty days after the birth of Jesus, when Mary and Joseph went to the Temple in Jerusalem to present the infant Jesus and to be purified of their ritual uncleanness after childbirth. This they did to follow the commandments in the Law of Moses.

This Feast of the Presentation does not capture the attention or the imagination of most Catholics these days.  It falls within that liturgical neutral zone between the Christmas season and Lent.  It reminds us of Christmas long after we have had our fill of Christmas carols and decorations.  Nevertheless, the readings for this day, and the liturgy itself, invite us to stop, look, listen and ponder.  Something very important is going on. Continue reading “Purifying Our Worship”

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The Kingdom of Heaven

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (A): Matthew 4:12-23

 

People in Maine are usually very interested in the weather.  Although our homes offer us some protection from weather’s extremes – snow, rain, wind, heat, cold – many of our activities outside of our homes are affected by the weather.  Will school be cancelled due to a coming storm? Will we be able to get to work? Will road crews get a heads-up so that they can be ready? How will our vacation be affected by the weather? Someone who owns a motel in Bar Harbor in the summer wants one kind of weather; another person with a motel in Greenville or Caribou in winter wants a different kind of weather.  We – along with all these people – turn to the weather forecasts. Continue reading “The Kingdom of Heaven”

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Saints-R-Us

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (A): I Corinthians 1:1-3

 

Imagine a typical day in your life.

You are going about your daily routine, when you get a call or a text message from a friend: “God spoke to me last night, and told me to tell you this…”

How would you react? Would you immediately accept what your friend is saying? Or would you resist and wonder what your friend drank last night, or what drugs your friend was using? Would you wonder if your friend was being hopelessly arrogant, claiming the authority of God for whatever your friend wanted to tell you? “So God speaks to you, huh?”, you might respond.  “Just who do you think you are?” Continue reading “Saints-R-Us”

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The Stranger Among Us

Epiphany (A)

The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.  –   Leviticus 19:34

A few days ago, I read an article by a young man with cerebral palsy.  In it, he told the story of his painful struggle at Mass when the priest asked everyone to hold hands before beginning the Our Father.  His life is already very challenging as it is.  He comes to Mass, and has to battle his afflictions in such a way at that moment that he can barely focus on the words of the Our Father that he prays.  No one else at this Mass has to deal with such anguish, nor is anyone doing anything to even meet this young man halfway. Continue reading “The Stranger Among Us”

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Holy Family, Our Family

Holy Family (A)

 

It is not easy to come up with a homily for the feast of the Holy Family! One challenge is that, as a Catholic priest, I do not have a wife or children of my own. Nevertheless, I grew up in a family and still have lots of relatives here and there.  Moreover, in my ministry over the years, I have encountered members of many families, and many kinds of families, and have heard many family-related stories.  Besides, I have the teaching of the Church on family life to draw from as a resource.  Being celibate, then, is not an insurmountable problem when it comes to preaching about this feast. Continue reading “Holy Family, Our Family”