The phone call came late at night. My dad answered. It was Joe. He was stranded in Maine. Out of gas. With no money. Could my father come and rescue him? Dad, who was intensely engaged those days in a journey of personal spiritual discovery, agreed. Joe was one of the Jesus [READ MORE]

A Sermon for Lent 3, Year B originally preached on March 28, 2000 John 2:13-22 If, during this season of Lent, you're asking the question, "Why was Jesus executed?", here is what the gospelwriters indicate is the precipitating cause. While there are many gospel stories about Jesus being on the [READ MORE]

Have you ever considered that the direction of your life is always "away from here?" The following little poem by Franz Kafka embraces the idea that the only way to reach your destination is by mounting your horse (metaphorically) and riding "away from here." Think about what this means for your [READ MORE]

"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." - President Obama, speaking to the United Nations, 2012. I disagree. "The future must not belong to those who kill in the name of the prophet of Islam." The magazine Charlie Hebdo is offensive, rude, even blasphemous. It's cartoons [READ MORE]

Make sure you look UP this coming Tuesday night, January 6th. It's the night of the Star. The Star of Bethlehem. On the Church calendar, the 12th day after Christmas (January 6th) is called "Epiphany". Epiphany celebrates the arrival in Bethlehem of the magi from the East. Their visit with [READ MORE]

"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a son..." Hebrews 1:1-2 I like to think of Christmas this way: God wants to say something important to all of us! That "something" [READ MORE]

As the world once again awaits the Savior's coming, a poem by Edwin Markham comes to mind. It speaks of what our "waiting" should look like.  "A old cobbler named Conrad had a dream that the Lord was coming to visit him. So he washed the walls of his small [READ MORE]

A Jesuit priest by the name of James Martin has written a wise and very eloquent post about the killing of Eric Garner. Step back from all the emotion for a moment and consider his words: You can support our country's police officers, as I do. I know a few [READ MORE]

Yes, it's true. The world is running out of chocolate. According to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ wonkblog/wp/2014/11/15/the-worlds-biggest-chocolate-maker-says-were-running-out-of-chocolate/ : In 2013, consumers ate about 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than was produced, and that deficit could go up to 1 million metric tons by 2020. The Ivory Coast and Ghana produce more than [READ MORE]