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Reflections
 Angels We Have Heard on High
Christmas is such a powerful, intimate reminder that, once we believe, we are never alone. Once we accept the miracle of God-made-man, then every facet of human life takes on a new dimension ...a Jesus-dimension. Everything is touched by His spirit of love, of peace, of hope. For a brief moment, we put aside all of the evil and the ugliness, the drums of war, the burden of poverty and injustice, the clouds of sadness and sickness - and we move into the silence of Bethlehem, to gaze upon the impossible-come-true. We see the Child-king, the prince of peace, the long-awaited Messiah, the Redeemer and Savior... the light and the hope of the world.
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Come Blest of My Father
It is fitting that the four weeks of Advent are immediately preceded with the wonderful celebration of Christ's Kingship. God becomes man; man becomes priest, prophet and king. But what exactly is this kingship that Christ manifested? What is it - exactly - that He says we shall inherit? It is certainly not what we would expect - and maybe not even what we would desire.
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The Power of Compassion
The problem with an elite system of power - the problem with being in charge - is that one can get very used to it. Before long, one can actually start to believe, with all one's heart, that he/she is in charge of everything, of everyone. And that is a dangerous place for a person to be.
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Understanding the Bigger Picture
A healthy spirit can make us energetic and vibrant people with a hopeful outlook and a sense of life's possibilities for the good. It can energize us to face the most intractable of social ills and not be discouraged. It can prevent us from giving up when we don’t get immediate results. It can give us hope when all seems lost.
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Show Us The Way
When the hierarchy is not written off as irrelevant, when theologians are not silenced, and when the members are not denied their legitimate collaboration, the church is functioning at its best and we can be certain that the work of the Spirit is being optimally facilitated. But when these three are out of sync, when there are distrust and contention among them, when one group assumes that they alone are the voice of authority, the church becomes dysfunctional, is crippled and its problems will never be resolved.
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Perspectives
We are the Church - all of us, together, the community of disciples. We may be hurt, confused, angry, afraid. Nevertheless, we are one, and God is with us. The extent to which each person attempts to live out the spirit of the Gospels, is the extent to which his or her life-style enriches the church's basic mission in the world. And this enrichment knows no barriers...
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Some Thoughts on Holy Week
Each year the Church invites us to bring the heart-aches of our lives, our own personal broken dreams and moments of sorrow and pain to the Risen Christ. We relive the final days of the Savior in order to reinforce our conviction that resurrection always follows death, that victory always crowns our failures.
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The Turning Point
Resurrection takes place in real life situations... with real people... not only our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or employers - but also with all of our sisters and brothers who inhabit this fragile planet of ours.
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