Saints Sergius and Bacchus Chapel
Palm Springs, California
What is a friend? Is it someone you can count on? Someone who’s always there for you? Someone who’s got your back? Is a friend someone with whom you share a certain intimacy? Is it someone you trust to keep your secrets? Is it someone who has your best interests at heart? Someone who’d do almost anything for you? I suppose so. I think any of us would feel privileged to have someone with those characteristics in our lives.
We’re used to thinking of ourselves – and all other living beings – as separate individuals. Isn’t it true that our births are uniquely our own, our lives are uniquely our own and, most certainly, our deaths are uniquely our own? No one else can actually do any of these things for us. And, if we’re honest about it, no one can actually do any of these things with us, either.
Good morning, fellow sheep! As you’re probably aware, sheep aren’t the brightest animals on the planet. When they’re lose in the pasture, they depend on a shepherd to guide and protect them. As intelligent as we may think we are, nevertheless, we have a lot in common with those sheep.
Who are you? I have no idea who you really are. Do you? Have you “found” yourself yet, or are you still searching? Don’t you sometimes surprise yourself even now, after all these years? I guess we are – all of us – still works-in-progress.
Scripture Readings Sunday, April 11, 2021 Is there life after death? What a question! That this question has persisted even now is testimony to the hardness and stubbornness of the […]
Scripture Readings Sunday, April 04, 2021 Our bodily eyes are blind. All they do is register reflected photons and give our brain cells electrical impulses for it to digest. The […]
Scripture Readings Saturday, April 03, 2021 What does it mean to be in “union with Christ?” After all, in tonight’s epistle, Saint Paul writes, “For if we have grown into […]
Scripture Readings Friday, April 2, 2021 If there were only one theme that I want consistently emphasized throughout this entire Lenten season, it would have to be found in this […]
Scripture Readings Thursday, April 1, 2021 This evening, we commemorate the Lord Jesus’s last supper with his disciples before embarking on the path that would lead him to Golgotha. As […]
Scripture Readings First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8-10,15 Second Reading: First Corinthians 3:9-13, 16-17 Gospel Acclamation: Ezechiel 37:27 Gospel: John 4:19-24 March 31, 2021 I want […]
March 3, 2021 Scripture Readings What’s going on? Why all the excitement? Obviously, the way Saint Mark describes the scene in Jerusalem this morning fills it with symbolism – some […]
March 21, 2021 Scripture Readings The story is told about a coach who was known far and wide for his wisdom, both on and off the field. At one time, […]
March 14, 2021 Scripture Readings I was standing outside Sutherlands IGA stoah one morning when I heard a flivver approaching down the street toward me. Which way to Millinocket? Well, […]
Although today’s gospel is very familiar to us, like much of Saint John/s gospel, its meaning can be quite complex. First, to make sense of it all, we need to […]
In the Lenten Series on this past Wednesday evening, I talked a little bit about the Satan – the prosecuting attorney in Hebrew. Like Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, this being […]
“The reign of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” That’s the meaning of this Lenten season. It’s simple. Or is it? The meaning of the Scriptures is […]
Why do we care about this nameless leper? After all, the gospels tell us that Jesus cured many people — perhaps hundreds — over the years of his ministry. Of […]
Let’s talk about healing this morning. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus comes to Simon and Andrew’s home where Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever — and he cures her. In […]
“What have you to do with us, you who are reading this? I know who you are — a Holy One of God!” How does that make you feel when […]
Why are we here? Isn’t this one of the fundamental questions that have dogged humanity since the dawn of history? The answer my not be immediately obvious to the casual […]