The liturgical cycle has brought us once again to the season of Advent. The Advent season is unique in the sense that it anticipates something we have already experienced. The Christ-child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas is the same...
Reflection for the readings of December 24, 2023, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. We’ve made our journey these four weeks of Advent with the people who led up to Jesus. King David is imperfect but chosen. The prophets, men and...
“That’s not fair.” “That makes no sense.” “I don’t see why it doesn’t count if you just go once, it’s a Sunday.” “Do we still get to open one gift early like we do every year on Christmas Eve?” These...
We sat down as a family and reflected on Advent Stations found in the current copy of Magnificat Advent Companion. I’d love to paint a picture of a scene out of a Hallmark movie, but that’s not how things go...
A reflection on the scripture readings of December 3, 2023, the First Sunday of Advent. The audio, when available, will be posted here. The last few years have felt like a marathon. Between becoming pastor of a growing number of parishes...
In the world of improv comedy, there is a practice called “yes-and.” In an improv session, if something strange or shocking or difficult to understand is mooted, the next person in the session does not resist or attempt to backpedal...
A reflection on the Sunday readings for December 18, 2022, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday at this time, it will be Christmas. Today’s liturgy provides us with inspiration for our final week of Advent preparation. The stories and...
Whereas the lectionary readings for the two previous Sundays have contained dire warnings about what is in store for us all if we fail to adequately prepare for Christ’s coming, today’s readings leaven these warnings with joy, a foretaste of...
Advent, and thus the liturgical year, begins with a whole flurry of liturgical readings, spiritual devotions, and popular hymns referring to concepts like “captive Israel” and “the curse of the Law.” In the New Testament’s theological and cultural language these...
Evangelization is a term that is oftentimes misunderstood, taken to mean the desire to conform another’s will to our own, rather than lovingly introducing those we meet to Christ and the love he offers to all. So often throughout the...
‘Tis the season. The weather is turning colder, the colored lights are going up, family gatherings are being planned—and right on cue, one of the routine culture war battles is heating up. It is time to signal your allegiance; will...
When I was in high school in South Jersey in the late 2000s, I had a classmate who thought that pie was the funniest thing in the world. It wasn’t that pie was his favorite food or that he liked...
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