A History Lesson The image of Mary as Queen Mother is directly related to the first official Marian dogma defined by the Church: Mary’s status as Mother of God.  The Greek word for the title is Theotokos, which literally means “God-bearer.”  That title is one of the oldest and most commonly used titles for Mary,  Read more …

Knowest thou the things that belong to thy peace? Today’s reading says that  “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (St. Luke 19:41).  Our Lord uses  Read more …

We (Christians) build to see God.  In 1 Chronicles 22:19 God says “Seek me, build me a temple”.  Building a space for a community to encounter God is one of the most basic acts of drawing heaven into your world.  It has been this way for centuries. The Shunamite woman built a room on her  Read more …

Spiritual but not religious A growing number of people today describe themselves as being spiritual but not religious.  They acknowledge the need to find purpose, meaning, hope and love in life (spiritual needs) but refuse to join a community of faith (religious institution) commanded by a Higher Power (God).  Are spirituality and religion opposed to  Read more …

“Rise and Come forward”.  Jesus spoke these words to a man He had singled out in a synagogue almost 2021 years ago.  For us, these words also express our mission and our faith.  Our passion is for people.  For many, life-changing treasures in the Church have remained “buried”.  The Scriptures, the sacraments, the lives of  Read more …

I’m sure you’ve heard and read about how we are supposed to be giving people. While we may accept and agree with that, many of us have an inner dialogue that occurs when God asks us to give something. We wonder why God is asking us to give, especially if we don’t have much to  Read more …

BE AWARE OF FALSE PROPHECIES Searching for God among Many Voices False prophets have been and will always continue to be a very serious threat to the Church and to Christians.  We are surrounded by many voices.  There’s rarely a moment within our waking lives that someone or something isn’t calling out to us and,  Read more …

One of the bigger issues that we have in churches today is the giving tithes and offerings. However if people really knew and could grasp the concept of how powerful giving tithes and offerings is, not only would everybody start giving, they would also do so with a heart of joy and thanksgiving. Today I  Read more …

Are You a Christian? Are you a Christian? I guess the majority, if not all, say yes. But what do you really mean when you call yourself Christian? Is your Christian identity a “status quo” (something acquired once for good)? Is it a “metanoia,” meaning something in perpetual progression? Where do you range your “Christianity”?  Read more …

Faith of Our Fathers, Living Still Happy July 4th I was at a community event one Thursday night, and the host was Frank. He is a veteran; came back from the World War II wounded and disabled.  He has carried the price tag of freedom in his own body ever since.  He, like so many,  Read more …