As Holy Week begins, we read this year the Passion narrative from the Gospel of Mark. The narrative begins with an anonymous woman anointing the head of Jesus with expensive ointment. This is such an important moment it is mentioned in all four Gospels. (Mark 14, Luke 7, John 12, Read more…
Our Lenten journey began with the words: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. The third Luminous mystery of the rosary sums it up well by saying Jesus came proclaiming the Good News and the conversion of life. Lenten is often referred to as the retreat of Read more…
Fr. Cantalamessa references the passage of Mary anointing Jesus (Mark 14:3, John 12:3) in his book, Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations On The Veni Creator. Granted, Fr. Cantalamessa is making a subtly different point, namely about breaking the alabaster jar, which releases the scent of the perfume, making a powerful analogy Read more…
Jesus comes to gather the nations into the one Kingdom of God. As the Passover Feast draws near, the people knowing the Pharisees seek to kill Jesus ask: “Will he come to the Feast?” Jesus is the Feast! He will make that Passover surpass and fulfill all other Passover celebrations. Read more…
Dear friends: Hopefully you are aware that for many years, especially since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has referred to how we live the faith in our homes as the Domestic Church. Recognizing the incredibly unusual circumstance of not being able to gather for Mass on weekends, and anticipating Read more…
I wrote this article over two weeks ago for our NW Catholic magazine. Though Easter greetings are a bit premature, the message is timely. Hang in there, everyone, and keep the faith! +pde Be Stouthearted – Wait On The Lord This column is written on the same day I Read more…
Monday’s Gospel finds Jesus in Bethany, a small town just beyond the Mount of Olives. He is visiting his friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. (John 12:1-11) This account immediately follows the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, (John 11) and immediately precedes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (John 12: Read more…
All of salvation history revolves around the events of Holy Week. God, who created all things, and found them good, who created man and woman in his image and found them very good. The creation account reveals the creative nature of God, who is love. It also reveals that the Read more…
On this Tuesday of Holy Week, our Gospel comes from a scene at the Last Supper (John 13:21-38) in which Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. The betrayer is revealed as Jesus shares a morsel of bread dipped in wine with Judas. It is interesting Read more…
Two years ago, I had the great experience of traveling to the Holy Land during the first two weeks of Easter. The day before that pilgrimage ended, I celebrated Mass in one of the holiest sites of our faith, the Holy Sepulchre. After spending weeks visiting the country side and Read more…