HOME THOUGHTS FROM ‘HOME’ 6 THE END OF THE ROAD             Sabbatical time is winding down; I’ll be “back in the saddle” Wednesday morning after Labor Day.  The break has been beneficial both in terms of additional flexibility in prayer time, in writing, and in...

HOME THOUGHT FROM ‘HOME’ 4 IS THERE ROOM…? I remember sitting in an outdoor series of benches in Jerusalem, in front of what is called the “Garden Tomb” or “Gordon’s Tomb.”  It is just outside the Damascus Gate, and it was a 19th century attempt to shift attention...

HOME THOUGHTS FROM ‘HOME’ 3             I have arrived at the rectory of Most Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park.  The journey here from the seminary in Mundelein was interesting and perhaps 45 minutes longer than it might have been, but I chose the way to arrive....

THE SCAPEGOAT AND THE LAMB OF GOD Being a goat may not always be a bad thing, in spite of the press it has received thanks to the famous parable of the sheep and goats at the end of Matthew 25.  Yes, goats represent those who fail to live according to the Corporal...

HOME THOUGHTS FROM “HOME” 2             If a sabbatical is supposed to be about renewal, and if renewal can take many forms, for me it means a time for praying, reading, writing, thinking, and a bit of golf.  Sometimes these can be structured and organized; sometimes,...

As a pastor I am in the midst of quite an assemblage of mixed reviews for the policy and practices Our Savior has been enforcing (I use the word advisedly), based on the instructions of our Chancery Office (relatively unmodified since they first came out) and the...

This is a recap of the homily I preached this past Tuesday morning; I based it on the lament of the prophet Jeremiah (14:17-22).  Much of it is actually also used as one of the canticles from the Old Testament for Morning Prayer in the Breviary.  And I offer...

In early December of 1991, I received a call to anoint someone.  It was my first year as a priest, an associate at St Ignatius.  So I drove out to Mobile Infirmary, and I found Harry Wolcott there, suffering from pneumonia.  He was actually in...

This Wednesday we will celebrate St Mary Magdalene (originally this day was an Obligatory Memorial, but Pope Francis elevated it to the level of Feast).  Who is she, and why would Pope Francis have such regard for her?  I think in part it’s because her life...

          Francophiles especially know that 14 July is Bastille Day, traditionally the beginning of the French Revolution with its motto (above).  Its symbolic meaning is like our Fourth of July, or (more obscurely)...