Mary’s earthly body has never been found. In the Third Century, Christians believed that because Mary was the Theotokos, that is “God Bearer” she would therefore be spared the death experience of ordinary mortals not so chosen. Instead, God raised her to heaven, just like God did Enoch and Elijah (according to the Bible). Hence, we have the feast of the Assumption most of the Western Church celebrates on August 15. (For Eastern Christians, it is the Dormition, or Falling…
Self-examination, repentance and forgiveness of our sins is not just for Lent. It should be an ongoing spiritual discipline for all times of the year. Each of us deals with sin in our own way. Yes, I am a sinner, too, as we all are. I typically go to confession once a year, on Good Friday. For some, sin is a personal matter with God alone. For others, sin is a community matter. Many Christians, however, find private confession to…
There is no one, proper way to pray. Since God made each of us uniquely, God does not expect us to all pray alike. Prayer, at bottom, expresses our feelings. Our prayers reflect our joys and sorrows, our pleas and our gratitude, our contrition and our forgiveness, and our aspirations and disappointments. Each of these are particular to each of us. Some prefer structured, liturgical prayer, while others find meaning in extemporaneous prayer arising out of particular moments when we…
On the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, many Christians celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, Latin for, “Body of Christ.” Unlike Maundy Thursday, which presents the Eucharist in the context of the Last Supper as a component of our Lord’s passion, Corpus Christifocuses on the Eucharist itself. Corpus Christi begs the question, what do we believe about the Eucharist? What do we believe happens to the Bread and Wine during Mass? And what are the implications of what we believe for…
ALONDRA’S QUINCEANERA St. John’s Church, Indio, CA 11-27-2010 Lessons: 1 Esdras 4: 14-32; Romans 12:1-8; Luke 10:38-42 In case you haven’t noticed, women are taking over the world. On January one, the California Supreme Court will consist of four women and three men, and the Chief Justice will be a woman. California’s two United Statessenators are both women. Our representative in the United States Congress is a woman. In my own life, not only am I married to a woman…
As a teenager, my obsessions were not rock music and beer, but choir singing and acolyting. Sunday mornings, I sang countertenor at High Mass. Afternoons, I was thurifer at Evensong and Benediction. One verse of the Magnificat stood out: “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.” That verse was later to define me professionally as a lawyer….
Lesson: Sirach 38:24-37;39:1-11 Psalm: 8 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16 + In the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. AMEN. I love work. I work as an attorney about ten to twelve hours a day Monday through Friday, another eight hours on Saturday, and usually three to four hours on Sunday. That’s about 70 hours a week. That may sound like a lot to you, but that’s down from the 80 hours a week I was working from about 1995…
Some Christians criticize other Christians for making a big deal over Mary. But what they do not understand, is without Mary, there is no Jesus. But Without Mary, we could not have celebrated Christmas! But from whence did she come? Canonical Scripture is silent. However, the Protovangelium of James, a non-canonical Christian writing from the mid Second Century, identifies her parents as Anne and Joachim. an elderly couple thought to be beyond childbearing years, like Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, Hannah and Elkanah in 1 Samuel, or…