The following post was written by Aimée O’Connell, founder of the Mission of Saint Thorlak – which is now found at autismconsecrated.com. I am also very involved with that website. It seeks to support ministry both by and for autistic people, guided by the Way of Saint Thorlak. Please feel free to browse that site. I offer this post here because I believe it will be encouraging for autistic people who follow my blog. I hope it may be enlightening for people who seek to understand and love their autistic sisters and brothers. Continue reading “Autism in the Pandemic: When We Don’t Conform”
Choosing The Better Part
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C): Luke 10:38-42
Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her. – Luke 10:42
This Sunday’s Gospel is very brief. It tells its story in just a few lines. Yet, this short story has made many people uncomfortable through the centuries, as it makes us uncomfortable now. We naturally relate to Martha, who is busy with all the practical details of hospitality. We feel for her plight, and we are puzzled and irritated by Jesus’ response to her – a response that seems to favor her sister Mary, who – to our eyes – appears to be doing nothing of any practical worth. Continue reading “Choosing The Better Part”
Healing and Mission
Third Sunday of Easter: John 21:1-19
What keeps us from living out, fully and completely, the mission the Lord has given us?
Through baptism, the power that sin and death have over us has been shattered. We have become sharers in the very life of God, and made members of the Body of Christ, the Church. Our baptism also gives us a mission: to witness to all that God has done for us in Christ and through the Church. Each one of us lives out that mission in a different way – in marriage, as ordained, or in consecrated life, to name a few examples. We have a sense of what our mission is. Christ empowers us for our mission by the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist; by the support of fellow Christians; by Scripture; by prayer; by a host of other means.
The Four Gifts of the Magi
Epiphany (C): Matthew 2:1-12
The Magi. The Three Kings. The Wise Men.
These strange visitors, with their exotic dress and lavish gifts, bring a splash of color and a hint of mystery to any Nativity scene. They stand out among the shepherds and animals who are around the Baby Jesus, along with Mary and Joseph. Who are they? Why are they here? Why do they bring the gifts they have brought?
We are not alone in our curiosity. From very early times, Christians have written about the Magi. They were eventually called kings, and given names. Various interpretations were given of the significance of the gifts they brought the Christ Child, and of the star they followed to find Him. Some Biblical scholars dismiss this story as without any historical basis, and the gifts of the Magi as without any significance. They forget, however, that all Scripture is interconnected, like a great web, and that Christ is the ultimate interpreter of it all. Continue reading “The Four Gifts of the Magi”
The Threat of Vulnerability
Christmas 2018
Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about? – Charlie Brown
We Americans like to boast that we are the best country in the world, with the best of everything. We like to boast of our natural resources, our military, our traditions, and our power. We like public officials and celebrities who tickle our ears with such talk. We want to believe that, even now, we Americans stand astride the world like a Colossus – invincible, dominant, able to impose our will on everyone else. We are strong, we are great, we are the best. We believe – or want very much to believe – all these things about ourselves. Continue reading “The Threat of Vulnerability”