“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them…they are in peace.” – Wisdom 3:1 I write this reflection with a heavy heart for several of my friends who have experienced losses recently. Please know that you are with me in my prayers and heart as I write. This Sunday, we commemorate All Souls Day and pray for all the faithful departed. One thing (of many!) I am…
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. – Mark 13:32 During these final dark, chilly weeks of the Church year, we turn our attention to the last things: heaven, hell, the life to come, and the Day of the Lord: the Second Coming of Christ. What a blessing…
An Easter Poem Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? – 1 Corinthians 15:55 At early morning, join the women at the tomb. The tomb now stings of death no more. No more shall death prevail nor scare, for Christ triumphant left it there. There in the morning, join the women, who come to anoint the Son. The Son now risen victoriously—sin and death…
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear how Jesus restored the sight of the man born blind. Just as David was anointed with oil and received the spirit of the Lord in our first reading (1 Samuel 16:13), Jesus anointed the blind man with clay, a combination of the earth and Jesus’s spit: “…he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes…(John 9:6). Recall that God formed…
Considering death is difficult; we may feel like pushing the subject away. But the Church, in her wisdom, sets aside November as a month where we can have a safe space to think about “the last things:” death, judgment, heaven, hell, the saints, the poor souls in purgatory, the death of this age, and Christ’s second coming in glory. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Sadducees challenged Jesus about the resurrection of the body. What…