Deep Calls to Deep 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Grudges? How to pray…
Geez, if that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will!!! Mine, too. Many know the old joke about Irish Alzheimer’s – we forget everything but the grudge. Yep. I preached about what provokes us to anger (typically), what problem anger solves (any guesses?), and the grudges we create. How the heck do we […]
23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Judas and “sinning against…”
So, here’s a conjecture, a thought, a theory, an hypothesis, a dang good guess. What if last Sunday’s gospel reflected the early community’s wound that they had not reached out to Judas? Watch this: The Greek, hamartano, “to sin against,” appears three times in Matthew. The first instance began the gospel. The second begins the gospel […]
23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – A Horse of a Different Color
This first reading from Sunday puts us in a bit of a fix. It seems to appoint Jews & Christians as ‘hall monitors’ whose primary job is to go around correcting people “lest we die!” Yikes! That’s one heavy burden. Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the […]
9/11: We will never forget… but what will we remember?
It seems to me that dealing with weakness and vulnerability are essential to maturing. Sometimes the pain of life is so great, we can only deal with it through anger, rage, and vengeance. What do we remember now, these sixteen years later? I remember the revelation of the shame of our national impotence. We could […]
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #6: Vocation within a Vocation (C)
It’s funny. I learned to be an adequate lector. I felt terrified of teaching, of standing up in front of others to teach. Yet… From the very first time I preached, almost 40 years ago, I felt I had something to say to the people of God. Go figure. I taught Eucharist & Sacraments for […]
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #5: Vocation within a Vocation (B)
Joy + Study + Suffering have been the foundation of my relationship with God and of composing liturgical music. Now, just in case you have images of all being sweetness & light, didn’t happen. It’s more about slugging through the “stuff” of life with moments of facing it and more time avoiding it all. Such, […]
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #4: Vocation within a Vocation (A)
Why do some doors open and others close? Providence? Surely. Coincidence? Can’t rule it out. Once I entered the novitiate, I met fine guitarists – Greg Christoffel & Bill Laird – and new composers – Bill Geiger & Dan Schutte – who were already there. What a mystery is life!
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #3: The Roots of Vocation during high school
This is what the eight of us looked like when I was a sophomore at Creighton Prep, ca. 1964 or 1965. Lots of personalities there. Still are. Here is another set of stories.
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #2: The Early Roots of Vocation
It is good to remember my roots so as to be mindful of the blessings & burdens, the joys & the sorrows of life that I bring into my every-day-ness. This is quite the photo of grandma & grandpa, mom & dad, my sister, Joanne, and me. Them’s my roots! People of the land.
50 years a Jesuit – Video reflection #1
Here is one way to celebrate 50 years – to remember the men who entered this day in 1967, the men who have died since then, and the several who continue to serve. God bless us all! –roc,sj
Deep Calls to Deep 